Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Blood Red Marker ❯ Chapter 5: Cruel Retribution ( Chapter 5 )

Well, I have taken a long time to update and for that I am truly sorry. But, as many of you know, school is about to end. And for me, that means finals. Lots of them. I also have been busy with my soccer team. I usually don't get home till eight or so.

Anyway, here is the next chapter.

Chapter 5- Cruel Retribution

"Yes, Lord, this is your time to die." Zann smirked and cocked her head to the side. She stared without blinking at the demon slaver.

The Lord stared in surprise, then snorted confidently. "You wouldn't dare. You know that you are no match for me, my dear." Defying the cocky sound to his voice, his feet hesitantly took a few steps back.

"And yet," Zann took a step forward. "How can you be so very sure? I have something to fight for." The foul air picked itself up to a wind. It billowed from behind her, sending her dirty-blonde hair into her face. She lifted her blades so that they were spread out on either side of her like extensions of her arms. She brought her left sword up so that the hilt was level with her eyes, and put her right one across it.

"You fool! How dare you speak to me! I am your master! I am your Lord! You should be terrified of me!" He stepped back willingly now, his voice a raging lion on the verge of flight. He brought his own sword out of its sheath is his belt. Though he was almost twice as tall as she, Zann seemed to grow and the Lord to shrink.

"And yet I am not." Zann closed her eyes and began to feel for the flame that she had used before.

"Fool! I shall crush you!" The Lord's voice was pure fear. Never in his career had someone undergone the same treatment as her for so long and kept such a strong spirit for revenge. Never had one of his slaves acted against him in such a way.

Zann chuckled quietly to herself, "Fool? Perhaps, yes. But you, my lord, are the truest fool here. You are the one who bred me in captivity, who kept me in fear and darkness for so long. You were the one who was sure that I would break. You were wrong my lord." Snarling, Zann brought forth her flame so that it fully surrounded her body.

The Lord's eyes grew large. He had not anticipated this amount of power from her.

"You, my Lord, were the one who taught me to fight. You were the one who turned me to the sniveling wretch afraid of your very shadow." Her voice was getting louder as her anger grew. Her grey flames seemed to dance, delighted with the anger she reeked of. "And you my lord, were the one who showed me myself. You were the one who underestimated me. You were the one who let me outside with no bonds." Zann pressed her weight on the toe of her front right foot. She pivoted swiftly, bringing one blade out as a decoy right at his face. As he rose is own sword to block it, the momentum of her movement brought her other sword deep into The Lord's chest. It all had happened within a few seconds, with only the wind to be jealous of her blurred movements.

The Lord looked amazingly down at the sword through his chest, trying to figure out how it had happened. Zann brought her face close to the Lord's, her black eyes making him flinch. "And you, my Lord, are the one who taught me that everyone is against me." She said this in a normal tone, quiet and calm. She stood back, then sent a surge of power into the sword that made it burn even greater. The Lord began to scream, yelling and begging for mercy. Zann watched impassively as his body began to shrivel and turn black, and she only looked away when the Lord was reduced to a pile of charred bones, a screaming skull front and foremost of the stack.

"Now, my Lord, your foolishness has cost you your life."

She walked a couple of yards away, to where the door to her old black prison still hung open. She brought her lip up in distaste. I still have anger to spare, and I shall full and complete revenge. Once again, her swords glowed with black and grey flame. She crouched, and brought them slowly across each other a bit above and behind her head. Yelling, she sent forth an angry blast of fire that immediately wrapped itself around the hill-looking house. The hill burned as well as any wood. The fire seemed to cackle and laugh as it sped through dry joints and splinters. Soon, screams could be heard. Demon and human alike. The demons sounded terrified, and yet to Zann, the human's yells were more of relief.

Just minutes after the house had initially caught fire, there were only stumps of walls and ashes. Zann had not moved from where she stood, with head hung low so that her hair covered her eyes. Her swords were low and on either side of her. Her shoulders sagged with a certain exhaustion, and old bruises and cuts once again began to do her pain. The cut she had received from the human began to open up again, and her shoulder was covered in blood. But still, she did not move.

Hiei looked with hidden surprise at the scene laid out in front of him. They had steadily traveled for the last two days or so, trying to keep themselves unnoticed. It hadn't been hard, but it hadn't been easy either. This region of Makai seemed to be overly populated. Now the destination they had been traveling to lay in burnt shambles in front of him.

Kurama surveyed the scene silently from his side. Both stood for a while, till Kurama broke the silence telepathically. /What do you suppose happened?/

Without turning his head, Hiei answered, /Hn. Whatever it was, it just made our job much easier./ Kurama sighed, and stepped forward into the ruins.

/Quite/

Sifting through the ashes, Kurama, grim-faced, brought a charred scrap of clothing up for Hiei to see. The cloth had blood on it.

Kurama spoke quietly, "Whoever, whatever it was, no mercy did it show." He stood up, and looking at the cloth for a few silent seconds he let it drift to the ground. "I suggest we find whoever did this." Kurama shoved his hands in his pocket, bowed his head, and started walking to the other side of the house.

Internally Hiei sighed. His friend, his only friend as he would like to believe, was becoming very sentimental. He couldn't understand it. Hiei began to walk towards the burned house, when he sensed something. It was as if he could still feel that a fire was burning, a strange fire. It all centered around the farthest point of the house, and spread outward, becoming fainter and fainter. Suddenly it disappeared altogether.

Hiei immediately stood still, and sent a mental message to Kurama. /Kurama!/

/Yes, I know. I am coming./

Hiei disappeared in a flash, heading to where the fire-energy had come from.

Zann was still resting in the same position when she sensed the presence of others. Grunting, she lifted her head enough to see a pair of black shoes and red shoes land in front of her. Without raising her head, she raised her eyes up and looked through the roots of her hair at the strangers.

To her they looked almost human. One was taller than her with long red hair, emerald eyes and a fair face. The other was shorter, a little taller than her, and had spiky black hair and crimson eyes. Both had looks of disgust and hate on them. Damn, she thought, I was hoping that this was over. They must be some more of the Lords servants that weren't in the fire.

There was total silence for a while. Zann could feel their eyes bore into her, raking over her as if trying to decide if she was worth the trouble. Suddenly, the red-haired one spoke.

"Are you the one who caused this?" His voice already had an accusatory ring, and she was sure of what he already believed. Zann didn't answer, she just nodded her head and smiled.

The shorter one looked doubtful at this. "You mean that this human was the one who destroyed this place?"

"Hiei, she smells of the same energy that destroyed this place and all those humans. It must be her." The taller one, Kurama, said calmly. His eyes never left her.

Hiei just sneered and pulled out his katana. "Then Kurama, lets get this over with."

Kurama turned to Zann, who was crouching down in a ready position. "If you would come with us, it would greatly help make things run smoother."

Zann had calculated everything in her mind over the last few seconds. She knew that these were demons. Then they are only out to kill me. I must get not die. Zann was a little doubtful. She could tell that these two demons were strong, much stronger than the Lord had been. She snorted. He was right, she thought, all demons are the same…

"We are forced to kill you rather brutally, then I am afraid." Kurama crouched into a fighting position. From behind his head he brought out a rose. This rose transformed itself into a long thorny whip. Great, and I am out of energy…

"Yes," Hiei grated, "It is time for you to die."

"No." Zann said. She started to laugh. She knew that there would be a way out of this.

"Pardon?" Said Kurama.

"NO!" Zann suddenly raised her head and body, splaying one arm out. Grey fire shot forth, forming itself into a great wall that went straight towards the two demons. It stopped right before them, and started to extend both upward and out at amazing speed.

Hiei and Kurama had leapt back so that they were a foot from one another. They both had rather surprised expressions.

Zann turned around and started to limp away. She halted after a few steps, then said without turning around, " No. I refuse to die." With that her form blurred, and she disappeared altogether.

Hiei's eyes transformed from surprise to anger, glinting in the black light. She thinks that a little fire would stop me? Feh, I shall prove her wrong.

He walked forward into the grey flame. Unflinching, he came to the other side and immediately disappeared. When he was close on the trail of the girl, he allowed himself to wince. The fire had been hotter than what he had expected.

Ok-there is the next chapter. I hope I get the next one up sooner, and you probably do too. Anyway, I decided to give you a preview of the next chapter…

Chapter 6- The Run

Never had Zann ever imagined that such beauty had ever existed. Never had her mind wandered far enough from the windowless prison she had lived in all her life. Her black eyes grew large in surprise, and nothing could make her take her eyes off the site.

Right there in front of her the earth simply stopped and plummeted down many feet until it continued on again. There was a strong wind, not quite so foul yet still not the brisk feeling she had anticipated. Down below she could she many shades of green, which led her to belive that a real forest was down there.

She longed so hard to be among real trees that she forgot what had brought her sprinting to the edge of the cliff. And when she noticed a source of spirit energy pummeling towards her at an alarming rate, it was too late. All she understood was the feel of another body painfully slamming into hers, then an amazing floating feeling. She opened her eyes and found herself moving down, and the edge of the cliff where she had once stood was getting smaller and smaller, occupied by a black shape.

Anger replaced fear, and she had time for one shot of grey flame from the tip of her sword before she blacked out for lack of oxygen.

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