Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Path of Discovery ❯ Chapter 12 ( Chapter 12 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Fanfic 
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 11.03.2002 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 522 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 11.03.2002 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 522 | Status: Completed
"HIEI! KISAMA!!!!!!" yelled Kuwabara. "For that you will die! REIKI NO KEN!"
"Hn... Baka! Look at her!" replied Hiei. Kuwabara looked at Yukina's body. Already it was changing: she had fangs and turning into an ugly purple creature. Kuwabara looked up just in time to see the false Makoto sink her teeth into Hiei's neck. Kuwabara lunged his sword at the monster as Hiei disappeared, confusing the creature. It fell under Kuwabara's attack.
Hiei was just in time to stop the false Keiko from sinking its teeth into Yuusuke's neck. Kurama snapped out of his sadness just in time to take Yuusuke out of the path of the Reiki vampire. It shrieked when it met its demise at Hiei's sword.
"MY GOD! WHAT ARE THOSE?" yelled Kuwabara.
"Reiki Vampires..." replied Kurama, wiping his tears away. "They can suck blood as well as spiritual energy..."
"Hn! Clever... But not clever enough..." spat Hiei.
"How did you know, Hiei?" asked Yuusuke.
"They were far too eager to kiss you..." started Hiei. "And they didn't show any emotions or sadness when they told Kurama Yaten was supposed to be dead. I found that odd, especially for Mako-chan..."
Yuusuke nodded and helped Kurama up. "That means Yaten is still alive." He smiled at Kurama. The red haired boy nodded.
"Then, let's go get those losers who sent us those pathetic tricks, to get at us!!!" said Kuwabara as he advanced into the corridor.But he couldn't help but wonder how Hiei would know that Makoto wouldn't have reacted that way. Unless... He blinked and slapped himself mentally. NAAAAAAAHHHH! he thought, that couldn't possibly happen in a thousand years.
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Kuronue arrived at the edge of the forest and motioned for the group to wait. He peered under the bush and saw a couple of zombies guarding the crack in the wall.
"Oh great! They saw it..." grumbled Kuronue.
"Don't you have another way in?" asked Seiya.
"It's a stronghold... not swiss cheese you know, kid!" replied Kuronue while Seiya grumbled.
"What are those anyway?" asked Usagi.
"They look like zombies..." said Mamoru.
"That's because they are..." replied Kuronue.
"ZOMBIES!!!!" cried out Usagi, everyone rushed to cover her mouth, sweat dropping.
"Maaaa! Usagi-chan! Can you be a little louder and make them rush us?" whispered loudly Rei.
"Muhumpt..mmm..mpht!" replied Usagi still muffled by the others.
"Well I'll transform and blast them... piece of cake!" Seiya was about to transform when Kuronue stopped him.
"Are you crazy? If you transform now... We'll lose the element of surprise!"
"He's right, Seiya..." added Taiki to calm Seiya down. He seemed to begin to find Kuronue annoying. "We'll have to find another more quieter way to get in..." Kuronue nodded.
"Anybody got any bright ideas?" Kuronue asked.
"Actually, I do..." said Rei as she took out two ofudas. Kuronue seemed unimpressed.
"What are you planning to give them with those... paper cuts?"
"Watch and learn..." replied Rei. "Rin, pyou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen... Akuryou taisan!" She threw the ofudas and they stamped themselves on the brow of the two zombies. They dropped like flies, without making a single sound.
Kuronue blinked. "Hey, nice trick..." he smiled then realized something. "Hey! you were about to throw me one of those!"
"Well, are you just standing there?... Let's go!" replied Rei.
Kuronue shook his head unbelieving and took the lead. "Follow me!" Rei giggled softly.
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Meanwhile, in the human world, Michiru was holding her mirror in front of her, gasping at the images that were forming. Already, she saw Kiku and his siblings, and on the side, two figures were forming. As those two were becoming clearer, two other forms were beginning to show, too.
The ones that were clearer made her gasp. She saw a young woman about Yaten's age when she first came to Earth. She was dressed in the Sailor Star Healer fuku. She would have thought it was Yaten except that this green eyed girl had bright red hair. Next to her stood a slightly younger version of Kurama, except he had silver hair. Then the two last figures were easily seen. Michiru blinked.
"It's... It's..." she hiccuped. She felt Setsuna come next to her. Next to her, Hotaru peered into the mirror.
"It seems you found out Kiku-chan's little secret..." said Setsuna, her expression as unreadable as ever. Next to her, Hotaru gasped.
"It's Yaten and Kurama... but... why is Kurama as a Youko?" asked Hotaru.
"That's something Redi-chan will be able to tell us..." Said Setsuna.
Haruka, puzzled, lowered her guard as she gazed into the mirror. Michiru had turned around for her benefit. Unconsciously, she lowered her hand, the ones that held the rings, low enough for Kiku to leap. He jumped and took the rings away from a dazzled Haruka and took off.
"KIKU-CHAN!" called Redi. Haruka was about to chase after him when Setsuna prevented her to do it.
"Let him go..." said the Senshi of Time.
"Demo... He's just a little kid..." started Redi.
"It's okay, he'll be all right and he'll come back here..." replied Setsuna.
"You knew about Kiku-chan, Redi-chan?" asked Michiru.
Redi nodded, knowing all too well that for some odd reason now, Setsuna wanted her to tell them what she knew.
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While their captors were busy with the preparations, Makoto was slowly breaking her bonds. Yaten was on the look out for any suspicious actions from their jailers. They seemed to have forgotten about them, so Yaten signaled with his head for Makoto to continue. Keiko realized that Makoto was almost free.
That girl has an incredible strength, thought Keiko, it's almost inhuman. But why did she lie about her strength earlier? She looked at Yaten closely. He seemed to know of this girl's strength. All these coincidences were too much. There had to be something that connected Makoto and Yaten together and Yaten to Kurama. One thing for sure, they were hiding something to her and Yukina.
"Listen, guys..." whispered Keiko. "We are all in the same boat. I think you better add us into the game if we want to get out of here. You two seem to have a plan... so let's hear it."
Yaten and Makoto looked at each other. They didn't want to say their secret out loud. Just in case, someone might be hearing them.
"Keiko-chan..." whispered back Yaten. "I'm sorry, but you will have to trust us on that one. We can't afford to be found out. Too much is at stake. I for one, hope that we won't have to come to the extreme measure we think of using... But if what Yukina told us is true, I'm afraid we won't have a choice..."
"You won't have a choice for what?..." Asked Keiko. Yaten bit his lips but kept silent and resumed his watch while Makoto was working on freeing him.
Keiko looked to Yukina. The ice maiden shook her head. She knew no more than Keiko. The brunette sighed. She wished she knew what was going on and at the same time she wished she didn't.
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Kiku ran into the street. He didn't know the faces before him. He wished his mother or his father were there, or Ya-chan or even Ku-chan would do. That mean woman wanted to take his rings away. Sure, he felt bad taking them away from Ya-chan and Ku-chan but he needed those rings. He hoped they could understand.
"Tousan, Kaasan... If I hadn't lost my key, I could go back and give you back your ring. I'm sorry I lost yours..." Kiku started to cry softly as he entered a small street. "I didn't mean to make you mad at each other... I lost your special rings and then you started to yell at each other. It's my fault, I know..."
Kiku sat down on a box that was lying in that street. He looked down at the rings. Tears were forming into his eyes. He needed to bring back the rings to his parents. But he didn't like the fact that he had to take them from Ya-chan and Ku-chan. He loved them very much, especially Ya-chan; he looked so much like his Kaasan. Ku-chan didn't look a thing like his Tousan, but when he slept next to him last night, it felt so much like him. Kiku had felt protected in his presence. They will be mad at me, Kiku thought, when they find out I took their rings. Kiku hid his face into his hands, crying. What could he do?
"Kiku-chan..." a familiar voice said softly. Kiku blinked. It couldn't be...
"Hey... Chiisai-chan... Don't cry..." said another as familiar voice. There only two people who called Kiku like that. He wiped his tears and sure enough, there they were.
"Shiroi-chan... Shiro-kun..." said Kiku.
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"I think you better tell us what you know, Redi-chan..." started Haruka. "And why didn't you speak before now?" Redi didn't reply and only looked at Setsuna. The Outers understood perfectly.
"First of all, Kiku-chan lied about his age... He's five years old, not three. He was the smallest when he was born and his growth got affected a little. Ami-san told Yaten he should start growing at a more normal rate." started Redi.
"So Kiku-chan is Yaten's son?" asked Hotaru.
"Hai, and Kurama's... Why is he a fox spirit? You guys heard of the attack of the Black Moon that occurred in Crystal Tokyo?" asked Redi.
The Senshi nodded, Redi continued. "Pluto was at the Portal of Time and couldn't interfere. As the attack unfurled Kurama was able to open a portal to the Makai and push Taiki, Seiya, Hiei and Yaten inside, unfortunately he took the brunt of the explosion that occurred when The Black Moon family breached the castle. He fell into the Makai mortally wounded, he was at Death's Door and Botan had come for him. But he cheated death once again, Botan was real glad he did that, and transformed himself into his Youko form. Minamino Shuuichi ceased to exist from that day on. Since he was away from my mother she couldn't cure him and since he wasn't a Senshi. Mother couldn't recall his old body..."
"When they heard that Sailor Moon had come from the past to save Crystal Tokyo, Kurama reopened a portal and Taiki, Seiya and Hiei were reunited with their loved ones. Kurama told Yaten he would stay behind in the Makai, since he was now a Youko. Yaten was heartbroken and cried for many days, nothing could cheer her. In the Makai, Kurama didn't fare much better and Neo-Queen Serenity appeared to him in the Makai. Kurama had rejoined Yomi for whom he had already worked in the past. When Neo-Queen Serenity appeared asking to Kurama to come back to Crystal Tokyo with her, Yomi interceded when he saw that Kurama didn't want to go back because he had no longer a human body."
"Yomi proposed to my mother that Kurama be sent to Crystal Tokyo as a goodwill ambassador. Indeed, by working together, Yomi and Mukuro had achieved a Golden Age in the Makai. Both of them thought it would be a good idea to extend a hand of Peace to Crystal Tokyo. Kurama was a natural choice and he accepted his new role as Ambassador. Mother made him also an official citizen of Crystal Tokyo, just like she had done for Hiei."
"When Kurama came back everyone was very happy to see him. None were more happy than Yaten and they went away for 2 years before all the paperwork could be finished before Kurama would perform his new functions. I learned that it could have been done in a couple of days but Mother lied so they could pass some time together. When Kurama was sworn in as Ambassador, Yaten announced that she was pregnant again, surprising everyone, because Sailor Senshi only gave birth to one descendant. Yaten had already broken that tradition by having twins earlier, Shiro and Shiroi." Redi paused to point to them in the mirror. "Imagine our surprise when Ami-san told us she was carrying quadruplets. After a year, (*) Ran, Bara, Sakura and Kiku were born, two boys and two girls." finished Redi.
"So the other twins are human, because Yaten had them before Kurama's human body was killed?" asked Hotaru, Setsuna nodded.
"But why tell us that now?" asked Haruka.
"Because you would feel less startled when you would see us..." said a soft male voice behind them. They all turned around to see Kiku held by silver haired young man, slightly younger than Kurama, but his spitting image if not for the silver hair. Next to him, standing slightly taller than Yaten was a bright red hair girl with green eyes.
"Are... are those?" stuttered Haruka.
"Hai, Uncle Haruka, we are Yaten and Kurama's twins I am Shiroi and this is my brother Shiro. You already know about our younger brother Kiku..." Said softly Shiroi.
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Yuusuke and the others stood ready. They were approaching the battle ground and had managed to pass through all the palace defenses and that without using much of their spiritual energy. Kurama thought that those who kidnapped their friends and loved ones (Hiei shot a quick glance at the others when Kurama said that) probably were connected with the original Shiseiju. They probably displayed the same powers but not necessary the same levels, if they needed to use all these traps in the hope they would use up their spiritual energies.
"When we battled their predecessor, we all encountered them individually. Since we didn't encounter a single one, there is much to bet that they plan to attack us as a group..." said Kurama.
"Unless..." cut Yuusuke. "Unless they want us to surrender and they will let go of their hostage."
"Hn... Somehow, I doubt it." replied Hiei.
"I have to agree..." added Kurama. "If they kidnapped them, I really don't think they will surrender their bargaining chip so fast."
"Then we have no choice, we'll have to take them down like the dogs they are so that me, Yuusuke and Kurama may save our damsels in distress..." said pompously Kuwabara.
"Yaten is a boy right, now!" said Hiei dryly.
"You know damn well what I mean!" countered Kuwabara. Hiei scorned him and walked away.
"Hiei!" Said Yuusuke. "We need a plan!"
"That's not going to happen if that idiot," he paused to point Kuwabara, "continues to make a fool of himself. We don't need a plan! We can battle those losers who are too cowards to fight their own battles... Now let's get this over with!" Hiei stormed out.
"I'd never thought I'd say this but the shrimp has a point." said Kuwabara as he followed the Koorime. The other two followed also but Yuusuke asked before they stood outside to meet their adversaries.
"I expected Kuwabara to act like this... But, what's eating Hiei? Ever since yesterday he's been on edge. You know him better than any of us, Kurama. I really don't understand, ever since Yaten and Makoto were kidnapped he's been tense. Well, not that I don't understand, his sister got kidnapped too. Is it that he wants?... To rescue his sister before Kuwabara?"
Kurama blinked, he couldn't tell Yuusuke that Hiei had feelings for Makoto. He couldn't, not until he knew that Hiei had told Makoto, and knowing Hiei... that could take a while. But Kurama still wondered why Hiei was feeling so restless. Did he? Did he tell Makoto he loved her? He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to speculate. Their enemies were there waiting for them.
Kurama, Yuusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei stood in line on one side of the battleground. In front of them stood three figures, a Man-tiger that looked a lot like Biakko, a young man who looked very much like Suzaku and finally a woman.
"Welcome Reikai Tantei..." started the young man. "And welcome to your doom. I am Muraku, younger brother of Sukaku that you have bested in battle Urameshi Yuusuke. I will extract my revenge upon you!"
The Man-Tiger said: "I am Tiakko, nephew of Biakko. I will make you pay for what you have done to my Godfather. You shall suffer greatly before you die..."
Lastly the woman talked. "I am Kooriryu, daughter of Seiryu." She eyed intently Hiei. "I will avenge my father's death." Hiei looked back at her his face devoid of any emotions. "And I know just how to extract my vengeance..." She disappeared only to reappear next to Makoto holding a knife to her neck. Hiei gasped, how could they have known?
"Hey! You said the hostages wouldn't be harmed..." yelled Yuusuke. Kooriryu laughed.
"Oh, but that is the only vengeance I want from Hiei, the traitor, Hiei the Koorime, Hiei, great wielder of the Black Dragon. He killed my father, a man I loved. Isn't it fair play that I kill the one HE loves?..."
Yuusuke and Kuwabara blinked and looked at Hiei, then looked at Makoto, then back at Hiei. Chained to their chair Keiko and Yukina were doing the exact same thing.
"No friggin' way..." said Kuwabara.
"So that's why she was kidnapped, too!" said Yukina. In her chair, Makoto was starting to fume. That woman had a knife to her neck but she didn't seem to view her as a threat.
"I hope you like the irony of this Hiei..." Kooriryu flashed a dangerous smile. "Your speed is legendary, but do you really think you can stop me before I end her life?..."
Hiei tensed ready to pounce on her. He could see a good fifteen ways he could kill her. The only thing he wasn't sure was if he was fast enough to prevent Makoto's death. Maybe, she was just bluffing and she couldn't match his speed. If she wasn't, he couldn't put Makoto's life on the line.
Yuusuke blinked. He never saw Hiei hesitate before. He had half expected Hiei to jump on her the moment she touched the ground. He saw a small sweat bead trickle down Hiei's brow. He really did love her, Yuusuke thought. How come we never saw it? Was this recent?
Hiei, thought Kurama, I know exactly what you feel. I wish I knew what to do to help you, my old friend. They still hold Yaten and he's vulnerable because of his sickness.
Kuwabara thought, Hiei and Makoto?... I don't believe it...
"So Hiei, what will it be? Will you just stand there as I kill her or will you try and stop me from killing your beloved?" asked Kooriryu.
"I have another option..." said a voice. Kooriryu looked down surprised as Makoto took the knife away from her throat and threw her aggressor on the ground. She held the woman in an arm lock and made her drop her hold on her blade.
"Your mama never told you it's not polite to kiss and tell?" said Makoto, exercising more pressure on her hold. Next to Makoto there was a blur of black and Yaten, Yukina and Keiko's bonds were shattered by Hiei's blade.
Kooriryu was about to throw Makoto from her back when Makoto gave her a knock behind the head, knocking her unconscious. Hiei smiled at her. He felt weird though; he felt weaker. On the battle field, Tiakko and Muraku were closing in on the rest of the Tantei.
"Are you all okay?" he asked Yukina, Keiko and Yaten nodded. Then in a blur he jumped away and rejoined his friends on the battlefield. As he went away, Makoto felt something soft and warm on her lips. She blushed. As he went away Hiei had stolen a kiss from her. Her heart warmed up at that little touch and her eyes had a far away look.
"Ara?... Makoto-san?... Are you okay?" asked Keiko. Obviously, Hiei had moved too fast for her to see the kiss.
Makoto facevaulted. "Errr... yes.. ah... no..." She blushed furiously.
Yukina gasped. "Hiei-san! Come back! You are in great danger!!!" But it was too little too late, Hiei couldn't hear them any more.
"Quickly! said Yaten. "We have to find a way to go down there and warn them!" The girls nodded and they rushed to the door and tried to find their way down.
They found a stairway that headed down and as they ran down the stairs they heard guards running after them.
"Mako-chan!" yelled Yaten. "We have company!!!"
"Shimatta!" cursed Makoto under her breath as she ran faster. Unfortunately she heard guards coming up to meet with them. They were trapped. "Yaten!!! HENSHIN YO!"
"NANNI????" said Keiko and Yukina.
"JUPITER STAR POWER MAKE UP!" yelled Makoto.
"HEALER STAR POWER, MAKE UP!" yelled Yaten.
"WHAT????" yelled Keiko.
"Oh my..." said Yukina.
Keiko and Yukina watched in amazement the quick transformation of Makoto and Yaten into Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Star Healer. Yaten was delightfully surprised that she could have transformed. The Youkai were rushing them from all side.
"I'll take the front," yelled Jupiter. "Cover our rear! SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!" She let fly a couple of lightning balls to the Youkai rushing them. She had the feeling of a job well done when she heard the Youkai falling down the stairway.
"STAR CORE FUSION... FLARE!" yelled Healer. She blasted the Youkai in one clean sweep. Since she didn't know if she had enough power for another attack, she had preferred not to take chance. Not a Youkai was left standing, Healer felt woozy and her legs shook a little.
Yukina and Keiko started at them. "You... you're one of those Sailor Senshi..." said Yukina.
Keiko stared at Healer, because of her fuku, she couldn't be mistaken by Yaten's gender.
"YOU... YOU'RE A WOMAN?????"
End of part 12
(*) The quadruplets were given flower names: Ran is for Orchid, Bara, Rose, Sakura, Cherry blossom and Kiku, Chrysanthemum. And for those who want to know ^^ Ran and Kiku are boys and Bara and Sakura are girls.
"Hn... Baka! Look at her!" replied Hiei. Kuwabara looked at Yukina's body. Already it was changing: she had fangs and turning into an ugly purple creature. Kuwabara looked up just in time to see the false Makoto sink her teeth into Hiei's neck. Kuwabara lunged his sword at the monster as Hiei disappeared, confusing the creature. It fell under Kuwabara's attack.
Hiei was just in time to stop the false Keiko from sinking its teeth into Yuusuke's neck. Kurama snapped out of his sadness just in time to take Yuusuke out of the path of the Reiki vampire. It shrieked when it met its demise at Hiei's sword.
"MY GOD! WHAT ARE THOSE?" yelled Kuwabara.
"Reiki Vampires..." replied Kurama, wiping his tears away. "They can suck blood as well as spiritual energy..."
"Hn! Clever... But not clever enough..." spat Hiei.
"How did you know, Hiei?" asked Yuusuke.
"They were far too eager to kiss you..." started Hiei. "And they didn't show any emotions or sadness when they told Kurama Yaten was supposed to be dead. I found that odd, especially for Mako-chan..."
Yuusuke nodded and helped Kurama up. "That means Yaten is still alive." He smiled at Kurama. The red haired boy nodded.
"Then, let's go get those losers who sent us those pathetic tricks, to get at us!!!" said Kuwabara as he advanced into the corridor.But he couldn't help but wonder how Hiei would know that Makoto wouldn't have reacted that way. Unless... He blinked and slapped himself mentally. NAAAAAAAHHHH! he thought, that couldn't possibly happen in a thousand years.
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Kuronue arrived at the edge of the forest and motioned for the group to wait. He peered under the bush and saw a couple of zombies guarding the crack in the wall.
"Oh great! They saw it..." grumbled Kuronue.
"Don't you have another way in?" asked Seiya.
"It's a stronghold... not swiss cheese you know, kid!" replied Kuronue while Seiya grumbled.
"What are those anyway?" asked Usagi.
"They look like zombies..." said Mamoru.
"That's because they are..." replied Kuronue.
"ZOMBIES!!!!" cried out Usagi, everyone rushed to cover her mouth, sweat dropping.
"Maaaa! Usagi-chan! Can you be a little louder and make them rush us?" whispered loudly Rei.
"Muhumpt..mmm..mpht!" replied Usagi still muffled by the others.
"Well I'll transform and blast them... piece of cake!" Seiya was about to transform when Kuronue stopped him.
"Are you crazy? If you transform now... We'll lose the element of surprise!"
"He's right, Seiya..." added Taiki to calm Seiya down. He seemed to begin to find Kuronue annoying. "We'll have to find another more quieter way to get in..." Kuronue nodded.
"Anybody got any bright ideas?" Kuronue asked.
"Actually, I do..." said Rei as she took out two ofudas. Kuronue seemed unimpressed.
"What are you planning to give them with those... paper cuts?"
"Watch and learn..." replied Rei. "Rin, pyou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, zen... Akuryou taisan!" She threw the ofudas and they stamped themselves on the brow of the two zombies. They dropped like flies, without making a single sound.
Kuronue blinked. "Hey, nice trick..." he smiled then realized something. "Hey! you were about to throw me one of those!"
"Well, are you just standing there?... Let's go!" replied Rei.
Kuronue shook his head unbelieving and took the lead. "Follow me!" Rei giggled softly.
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Meanwhile, in the human world, Michiru was holding her mirror in front of her, gasping at the images that were forming. Already, she saw Kiku and his siblings, and on the side, two figures were forming. As those two were becoming clearer, two other forms were beginning to show, too.
The ones that were clearer made her gasp. She saw a young woman about Yaten's age when she first came to Earth. She was dressed in the Sailor Star Healer fuku. She would have thought it was Yaten except that this green eyed girl had bright red hair. Next to her stood a slightly younger version of Kurama, except he had silver hair. Then the two last figures were easily seen. Michiru blinked.
"It's... It's..." she hiccuped. She felt Setsuna come next to her. Next to her, Hotaru peered into the mirror.
"It seems you found out Kiku-chan's little secret..." said Setsuna, her expression as unreadable as ever. Next to her, Hotaru gasped.
"It's Yaten and Kurama... but... why is Kurama as a Youko?" asked Hotaru.
"That's something Redi-chan will be able to tell us..." Said Setsuna.
Haruka, puzzled, lowered her guard as she gazed into the mirror. Michiru had turned around for her benefit. Unconsciously, she lowered her hand, the ones that held the rings, low enough for Kiku to leap. He jumped and took the rings away from a dazzled Haruka and took off.
"KIKU-CHAN!" called Redi. Haruka was about to chase after him when Setsuna prevented her to do it.
"Let him go..." said the Senshi of Time.
"Demo... He's just a little kid..." started Redi.
"It's okay, he'll be all right and he'll come back here..." replied Setsuna.
"You knew about Kiku-chan, Redi-chan?" asked Michiru.
Redi nodded, knowing all too well that for some odd reason now, Setsuna wanted her to tell them what she knew.
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While their captors were busy with the preparations, Makoto was slowly breaking her bonds. Yaten was on the look out for any suspicious actions from their jailers. They seemed to have forgotten about them, so Yaten signaled with his head for Makoto to continue. Keiko realized that Makoto was almost free.
That girl has an incredible strength, thought Keiko, it's almost inhuman. But why did she lie about her strength earlier? She looked at Yaten closely. He seemed to know of this girl's strength. All these coincidences were too much. There had to be something that connected Makoto and Yaten together and Yaten to Kurama. One thing for sure, they were hiding something to her and Yukina.
"Listen, guys..." whispered Keiko. "We are all in the same boat. I think you better add us into the game if we want to get out of here. You two seem to have a plan... so let's hear it."
Yaten and Makoto looked at each other. They didn't want to say their secret out loud. Just in case, someone might be hearing them.
"Keiko-chan..." whispered back Yaten. "I'm sorry, but you will have to trust us on that one. We can't afford to be found out. Too much is at stake. I for one, hope that we won't have to come to the extreme measure we think of using... But if what Yukina told us is true, I'm afraid we won't have a choice..."
"You won't have a choice for what?..." Asked Keiko. Yaten bit his lips but kept silent and resumed his watch while Makoto was working on freeing him.
Keiko looked to Yukina. The ice maiden shook her head. She knew no more than Keiko. The brunette sighed. She wished she knew what was going on and at the same time she wished she didn't.
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Kiku ran into the street. He didn't know the faces before him. He wished his mother or his father were there, or Ya-chan or even Ku-chan would do. That mean woman wanted to take his rings away. Sure, he felt bad taking them away from Ya-chan and Ku-chan but he needed those rings. He hoped they could understand.
"Tousan, Kaasan... If I hadn't lost my key, I could go back and give you back your ring. I'm sorry I lost yours..." Kiku started to cry softly as he entered a small street. "I didn't mean to make you mad at each other... I lost your special rings and then you started to yell at each other. It's my fault, I know..."
Kiku sat down on a box that was lying in that street. He looked down at the rings. Tears were forming into his eyes. He needed to bring back the rings to his parents. But he didn't like the fact that he had to take them from Ya-chan and Ku-chan. He loved them very much, especially Ya-chan; he looked so much like his Kaasan. Ku-chan didn't look a thing like his Tousan, but when he slept next to him last night, it felt so much like him. Kiku had felt protected in his presence. They will be mad at me, Kiku thought, when they find out I took their rings. Kiku hid his face into his hands, crying. What could he do?
"Kiku-chan..." a familiar voice said softly. Kiku blinked. It couldn't be...
"Hey... Chiisai-chan... Don't cry..." said another as familiar voice. There only two people who called Kiku like that. He wiped his tears and sure enough, there they were.
"Shiroi-chan... Shiro-kun..." said Kiku.
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"I think you better tell us what you know, Redi-chan..." started Haruka. "And why didn't you speak before now?" Redi didn't reply and only looked at Setsuna. The Outers understood perfectly.
"First of all, Kiku-chan lied about his age... He's five years old, not three. He was the smallest when he was born and his growth got affected a little. Ami-san told Yaten he should start growing at a more normal rate." started Redi.
"So Kiku-chan is Yaten's son?" asked Hotaru.
"Hai, and Kurama's... Why is he a fox spirit? You guys heard of the attack of the Black Moon that occurred in Crystal Tokyo?" asked Redi.
The Senshi nodded, Redi continued. "Pluto was at the Portal of Time and couldn't interfere. As the attack unfurled Kurama was able to open a portal to the Makai and push Taiki, Seiya, Hiei and Yaten inside, unfortunately he took the brunt of the explosion that occurred when The Black Moon family breached the castle. He fell into the Makai mortally wounded, he was at Death's Door and Botan had come for him. But he cheated death once again, Botan was real glad he did that, and transformed himself into his Youko form. Minamino Shuuichi ceased to exist from that day on. Since he was away from my mother she couldn't cure him and since he wasn't a Senshi. Mother couldn't recall his old body..."
"When they heard that Sailor Moon had come from the past to save Crystal Tokyo, Kurama reopened a portal and Taiki, Seiya and Hiei were reunited with their loved ones. Kurama told Yaten he would stay behind in the Makai, since he was now a Youko. Yaten was heartbroken and cried for many days, nothing could cheer her. In the Makai, Kurama didn't fare much better and Neo-Queen Serenity appeared to him in the Makai. Kurama had rejoined Yomi for whom he had already worked in the past. When Neo-Queen Serenity appeared asking to Kurama to come back to Crystal Tokyo with her, Yomi interceded when he saw that Kurama didn't want to go back because he had no longer a human body."
"Yomi proposed to my mother that Kurama be sent to Crystal Tokyo as a goodwill ambassador. Indeed, by working together, Yomi and Mukuro had achieved a Golden Age in the Makai. Both of them thought it would be a good idea to extend a hand of Peace to Crystal Tokyo. Kurama was a natural choice and he accepted his new role as Ambassador. Mother made him also an official citizen of Crystal Tokyo, just like she had done for Hiei."
"When Kurama came back everyone was very happy to see him. None were more happy than Yaten and they went away for 2 years before all the paperwork could be finished before Kurama would perform his new functions. I learned that it could have been done in a couple of days but Mother lied so they could pass some time together. When Kurama was sworn in as Ambassador, Yaten announced that she was pregnant again, surprising everyone, because Sailor Senshi only gave birth to one descendant. Yaten had already broken that tradition by having twins earlier, Shiro and Shiroi." Redi paused to point to them in the mirror. "Imagine our surprise when Ami-san told us she was carrying quadruplets. After a year, (*) Ran, Bara, Sakura and Kiku were born, two boys and two girls." finished Redi.
"So the other twins are human, because Yaten had them before Kurama's human body was killed?" asked Hotaru, Setsuna nodded.
"But why tell us that now?" asked Haruka.
"Because you would feel less startled when you would see us..." said a soft male voice behind them. They all turned around to see Kiku held by silver haired young man, slightly younger than Kurama, but his spitting image if not for the silver hair. Next to him, standing slightly taller than Yaten was a bright red hair girl with green eyes.
"Are... are those?" stuttered Haruka.
"Hai, Uncle Haruka, we are Yaten and Kurama's twins I am Shiroi and this is my brother Shiro. You already know about our younger brother Kiku..." Said softly Shiroi.
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Yuusuke and the others stood ready. They were approaching the battle ground and had managed to pass through all the palace defenses and that without using much of their spiritual energy. Kurama thought that those who kidnapped their friends and loved ones (Hiei shot a quick glance at the others when Kurama said that) probably were connected with the original Shiseiju. They probably displayed the same powers but not necessary the same levels, if they needed to use all these traps in the hope they would use up their spiritual energies.
"When we battled their predecessor, we all encountered them individually. Since we didn't encounter a single one, there is much to bet that they plan to attack us as a group..." said Kurama.
"Unless..." cut Yuusuke. "Unless they want us to surrender and they will let go of their hostage."
"Hn... Somehow, I doubt it." replied Hiei.
"I have to agree..." added Kurama. "If they kidnapped them, I really don't think they will surrender their bargaining chip so fast."
"Then we have no choice, we'll have to take them down like the dogs they are so that me, Yuusuke and Kurama may save our damsels in distress..." said pompously Kuwabara.
"Yaten is a boy right, now!" said Hiei dryly.
"You know damn well what I mean!" countered Kuwabara. Hiei scorned him and walked away.
"Hiei!" Said Yuusuke. "We need a plan!"
"That's not going to happen if that idiot," he paused to point Kuwabara, "continues to make a fool of himself. We don't need a plan! We can battle those losers who are too cowards to fight their own battles... Now let's get this over with!" Hiei stormed out.
"I'd never thought I'd say this but the shrimp has a point." said Kuwabara as he followed the Koorime. The other two followed also but Yuusuke asked before they stood outside to meet their adversaries.
"I expected Kuwabara to act like this... But, what's eating Hiei? Ever since yesterday he's been on edge. You know him better than any of us, Kurama. I really don't understand, ever since Yaten and Makoto were kidnapped he's been tense. Well, not that I don't understand, his sister got kidnapped too. Is it that he wants?... To rescue his sister before Kuwabara?"
Kurama blinked, he couldn't tell Yuusuke that Hiei had feelings for Makoto. He couldn't, not until he knew that Hiei had told Makoto, and knowing Hiei... that could take a while. But Kurama still wondered why Hiei was feeling so restless. Did he? Did he tell Makoto he loved her? He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to speculate. Their enemies were there waiting for them.
Kurama, Yuusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei stood in line on one side of the battleground. In front of them stood three figures, a Man-tiger that looked a lot like Biakko, a young man who looked very much like Suzaku and finally a woman.
"Welcome Reikai Tantei..." started the young man. "And welcome to your doom. I am Muraku, younger brother of Sukaku that you have bested in battle Urameshi Yuusuke. I will extract my revenge upon you!"
The Man-Tiger said: "I am Tiakko, nephew of Biakko. I will make you pay for what you have done to my Godfather. You shall suffer greatly before you die..."
Lastly the woman talked. "I am Kooriryu, daughter of Seiryu." She eyed intently Hiei. "I will avenge my father's death." Hiei looked back at her his face devoid of any emotions. "And I know just how to extract my vengeance..." She disappeared only to reappear next to Makoto holding a knife to her neck. Hiei gasped, how could they have known?
"Hey! You said the hostages wouldn't be harmed..." yelled Yuusuke. Kooriryu laughed.
"Oh, but that is the only vengeance I want from Hiei, the traitor, Hiei the Koorime, Hiei, great wielder of the Black Dragon. He killed my father, a man I loved. Isn't it fair play that I kill the one HE loves?..."
Yuusuke and Kuwabara blinked and looked at Hiei, then looked at Makoto, then back at Hiei. Chained to their chair Keiko and Yukina were doing the exact same thing.
"No friggin' way..." said Kuwabara.
"So that's why she was kidnapped, too!" said Yukina. In her chair, Makoto was starting to fume. That woman had a knife to her neck but she didn't seem to view her as a threat.
"I hope you like the irony of this Hiei..." Kooriryu flashed a dangerous smile. "Your speed is legendary, but do you really think you can stop me before I end her life?..."
Hiei tensed ready to pounce on her. He could see a good fifteen ways he could kill her. The only thing he wasn't sure was if he was fast enough to prevent Makoto's death. Maybe, she was just bluffing and she couldn't match his speed. If she wasn't, he couldn't put Makoto's life on the line.
Yuusuke blinked. He never saw Hiei hesitate before. He had half expected Hiei to jump on her the moment she touched the ground. He saw a small sweat bead trickle down Hiei's brow. He really did love her, Yuusuke thought. How come we never saw it? Was this recent?
Hiei, thought Kurama, I know exactly what you feel. I wish I knew what to do to help you, my old friend. They still hold Yaten and he's vulnerable because of his sickness.
Kuwabara thought, Hiei and Makoto?... I don't believe it...
"So Hiei, what will it be? Will you just stand there as I kill her or will you try and stop me from killing your beloved?" asked Kooriryu.
"I have another option..." said a voice. Kooriryu looked down surprised as Makoto took the knife away from her throat and threw her aggressor on the ground. She held the woman in an arm lock and made her drop her hold on her blade.
"Your mama never told you it's not polite to kiss and tell?" said Makoto, exercising more pressure on her hold. Next to Makoto there was a blur of black and Yaten, Yukina and Keiko's bonds were shattered by Hiei's blade.
Kooriryu was about to throw Makoto from her back when Makoto gave her a knock behind the head, knocking her unconscious. Hiei smiled at her. He felt weird though; he felt weaker. On the battle field, Tiakko and Muraku were closing in on the rest of the Tantei.
"Are you all okay?" he asked Yukina, Keiko and Yaten nodded. Then in a blur he jumped away and rejoined his friends on the battlefield. As he went away, Makoto felt something soft and warm on her lips. She blushed. As he went away Hiei had stolen a kiss from her. Her heart warmed up at that little touch and her eyes had a far away look.
"Ara?... Makoto-san?... Are you okay?" asked Keiko. Obviously, Hiei had moved too fast for her to see the kiss.
Makoto facevaulted. "Errr... yes.. ah... no..." She blushed furiously.
Yukina gasped. "Hiei-san! Come back! You are in great danger!!!" But it was too little too late, Hiei couldn't hear them any more.
"Quickly! said Yaten. "We have to find a way to go down there and warn them!" The girls nodded and they rushed to the door and tried to find their way down.
They found a stairway that headed down and as they ran down the stairs they heard guards running after them.
"Mako-chan!" yelled Yaten. "We have company!!!"
"Shimatta!" cursed Makoto under her breath as she ran faster. Unfortunately she heard guards coming up to meet with them. They were trapped. "Yaten!!! HENSHIN YO!"
"NANNI????" said Keiko and Yukina.
"JUPITER STAR POWER MAKE UP!" yelled Makoto.
"HEALER STAR POWER, MAKE UP!" yelled Yaten.
"WHAT????" yelled Keiko.
"Oh my..." said Yukina.
Keiko and Yukina watched in amazement the quick transformation of Makoto and Yaten into Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Star Healer. Yaten was delightfully surprised that she could have transformed. The Youkai were rushing them from all side.
"I'll take the front," yelled Jupiter. "Cover our rear! SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!" She let fly a couple of lightning balls to the Youkai rushing them. She had the feeling of a job well done when she heard the Youkai falling down the stairway.
"STAR CORE FUSION... FLARE!" yelled Healer. She blasted the Youkai in one clean sweep. Since she didn't know if she had enough power for another attack, she had preferred not to take chance. Not a Youkai was left standing, Healer felt woozy and her legs shook a little.
Yukina and Keiko started at them. "You... you're one of those Sailor Senshi..." said Yukina.
Keiko stared at Healer, because of her fuku, she couldn't be mistaken by Yaten's gender.
"YOU... YOU'RE A WOMAN?????"
End of part 12
(*) The quadruplets were given flower names: Ran is for Orchid, Bara, Rose, Sakura, Cherry blossom and Kiku, Chrysanthemum. And for those who want to know ^^ Ran and Kiku are boys and Bara and Sakura are girls.