Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Forever Fornever Tantei ❯ Temptation and Revelation ( Chapter 16 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: purplehairedwonder 
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.20.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 372 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.20.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 372 | Status: Completed
Author’s Note: This is the sequel to Between Death and Reality. While it is not required that you read that first, some of the things referenced here may not make a whole lot of sense.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. I am not making any money from writing this. I do, however, own my plotline.
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Chapter 16
Temptation and Revelation
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Kurama lashed out with his Rose Whip, careful not to cause any fatal wounds. Blue coats fell left and right as they tried to approach the fox. Around him, Hiei and Kuwabara were felling their own attackers. Yusuke, Chuu, and Rinku were somewhere out of the fox’s sight. The number of Organization guards was dropping steadily, but the group was beginning to tire due purely to the numbers.
“Kurama!” The fox turned at the sound of his name to see Maya standing on a ladder above the fray, pointing to the sky. “Up there!”
Kurama turned to the sky and saw Botan on her oar. Below her, guards had tranquilizer guns pointed at her. His eyes widened. She’s a good flyer, but she’ll never avoid all of them.
The sound of pulling triggers reached the fox’s ears and without a second thought, he dropped his whip and launched himself into the air. He grabbed Botan into his arms and pulled her close to his chest to shield her. For a split second he was able to take in her familiar scent before he felt numerous tranquilizer darts dig into his back. He grunted and loosened his grip on the ferry girl out of reflex. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold onto amongst the crowd he was falling towards, especially with the tranquilizers beginning to take effect.
“Yusuke!” he called out and the raven-haired teen looked up. He nodded and Kurama let the ferry girl go.
“Kurama!” he heard Botan cry out.
His stomach clenched for a moment as he distanced himself from her. He looked down and saw he was headed for a large group of Organization members, all of who were waiting for him.
I know what I have to do, he told himself. This way the others will be safe at least. He righted himself and landed on his feet, though his knees almost buckled underneath him. The tranquilizer... he thought woozily.
Kurama reached into his hair and pulled out a seed which soon became his Rose Whip. The crowd broke and between the masses of approaching blue coats, he saw his friends.
Kurama... Hiei’s voice broke in.
Hiei, go. Get them out of here. I’ll buy you some time.
You’re a damn fool.
Maybe. Just go.
Kurama knew the fire demon would make sure the others left, even if they didn’t want to. A moment later, his eyes met Botan’s.
Kurama... her eyes pleaded.
Botan, please go.
Kurama smiled in relief as Yusuke grabbed Botan’s arm and pulled her away. Thank you, Yusuke. Keep her safe. Keep yourselves safe.
His vision spin as the tranquilizers began to wear on him.
“You want the Reikai Tantei?” he growled at his enemies. “Well, one of us stands here before you. Come and get me.”
“Don’t worry, fox. We will.”
Kurama lashed out with his whip, missing his opponents as his vision spin. He had taken enough tranquilizer while protecting Botan to take down even a superior A-class demon. He was going down quickly... He dropped to a knee and dropped his whip. That his friends were safe was all that mattered.
The last thing he saw was approaching blue coats with collars as his vision faded into blackness...
Kurama jerked awake only to find his movement restricted. The fox blinked a couple of times as his eyes adjusted to the dimness of his surroundings. Once everything came back into focus, he took mental stock of his situation. He was in a small, dim room - no, it was a cell. There were bars on the doors and a small window somewhere out of his line of vision that allowed a few rays of sunlight at fall through. Judging the position of the rays, Kurama decided it must be soon after dawn.
Shaking his head in an attempt to clear away some of the grogginess from the tranquilizers, Kurama felt something cold on his neck... he shuddered. A collar. The cold metal suddenly felt very tight on his throat as he realized her kept him from reaching his demon energy. Feeling a similar cold on his wrists, the red-head looked side to side to see his arms were shackled to the wall. The fox’s feet barely touched the floor but were currently free of bondage.
The fight against the lingering effects of the tranquilizer was getting tougher as the fox felt his eyelids becoming unbearably heavy once more. Despite his current situation, however, Kurama felt no regret. He had made his decision and was paying for the consequences. But his friends were still safe and that thought gave him more than a little courage as consciousness left him once more...
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
“Sir, the retrieval team has returned,” a man in a blue coat said with a bow to the back of a tall office chair - or more precisely, the man hidden on the other side.
“And?” came the response from behind the desk.
“One of the Reikai Tantei was captured. He is currently collared and unconscious. The men are putting him in the most secure holding block,” the subordinate replied all businesslike.
“Excellent,” the boss hissed. “Which one?”
“Kurama, Sir.”
The man in the chair gave an appreciative laugh. “Gyuk gyuk gyuk,” he cackled. “I don’t know if our first capture could have been a better one.”
“Sir?”
“The fox is the intellect of the group,” the man replied, obviously feeling generous with his answers in his current good mood. “We can use that brain to our advantage.”
“He’ll never cooperate.”
“Gyuk gyuk gyuk. Of course not,” the boss chuckled. “But that’s of little consequence. None of the others wanted to cooperate either. But in the end we got what we wanted from them. And we will get that from the fox. His power is especially intriguing, considering his odd origin. Not only that, but all his friends feel an intense loyalty towards him, including the other six from the Tournament. They’ll never take his capture lying down.”
“What shall we do, Sir?”
“Let the media know, of course.” The chair began to turn. “I think I’ll announce this one personally.”
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CRASH!
The gathered group jumped collectively as the wall took the brunt of Yusuke’s frustration in the form of a punch.
“Damnit,” he growled helplessly.
“Yusuke,” Maya began, but trailed off uncertainly.
“We just left him,” the ex-head Detective whispered, falling back into a chair. “How could we do that?”
“We had no choice,” Hiei replied harshly. “If we had tried to help, we would have all been captured. Kurama gave us the chance to continue fighting.”
“Sacrificed are often made in battle,” a new voice chimed in.
Everyone turned to see Genkai and Jin standing in the doorway, Mitari right behind them. It had been Genkai who had spoken.
Mitari had warned the other occupants of the revealed hideout and had organized them to leave, spreading them out amongst the other hideouts. He had then made contact with the nearest safe-house so they would be ready to receive the fleeing Tantei. The nearest safe-house had just happened to be the one to which Genkai and Jin and fled.
“Genkai,” Kuwabara began, but the aged psychic cut him off.
“Kurama is very old and very experienced. Sometimes you just have to trust his judgement. You’ve done that before, haven’t you?”
Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded mutely.
“Then you know that if he had wanted you to help him - if it would have been prudent - he wouldn’t have told you to run,” she finished.
The only problem being, I don’t think he was thinking at all when he acted, Yusuke thought. Instead, he said: “He always has to be the damn hero.”
“You’re hardly one to talk, dimwit,” Genkai retorted.
“What’s done is done,” Hiei interjected irritably. “What’s important now is where we go from here.”
“Hiei’s right,” Jin said. “What we need now is t’ focus on th’ future.”
“So what do we do?” Rinku asked.
“We can’t just leave Kurama to the Organization,” Yusuke growled. “There’s no telling what they’ll do to him.” And I can’t let that happen.
Botan let out a dry sob at this. Everyone jumped in surprise at this, as they had seemed to forget the deity was present. She had been so quiet and still since they had arrived. Yusuke had a sinking suspicion that she blamed herself for the fox’s capture. He suddenly hoped that once she recovered from her shock that she wouldn’t do anything foolish.
“And how do you suggest we find him?” Maya snapped bitterly. She was obviously taking this hard as well, as she had once harbored feelings for the fox as well. “We’ve lost a base, a fighter, and we still have no idea where the Organization is headquartered.”
“What about the Jagan?” Yusuke asked suddenly.
“Yeah!” Kuwabara interjected, suddenly excited.
Hiei shook his head, deflating the room.
“Believe me, I’ve already tried.”
“And you couldn’t find him?” Botan whispered.
Hiei shook his head once more and the ferry girl groaned.
“Well they aren’t going to keep this a secret,” Genkai cut in. “They’ve captured one of their biggest targets. They’ll want to boast to the public about ‘good triumphing over evil’ or whatever crap they come up with.”
“And they’ll want to goad us into acting foolishly,” Hiei added tersely.
“Who would do that?” Yusuke asked innocently, only to be on the receiving end of death glares from his friends. Chuu snorted rather than glare. “Okay, okay, I get the point. We sit tight for now.” He crossed his arms across his chest and slumped further into the chair. “As much as we may hate it.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Kurama moaned softly as the darkness began to recede once more. The effects of the tranquilizers were finally wearing off, leaving the fox with the feeling of a jackhammer grinding at his skull. His acute senses only made it worse. He opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times before his feet came into focus. He lifted his head carefully, painfully aware of the pounding in his skull and looked up. The room hadn’t changed since his last stint of consciousness. The room was still dim. Judging the few lingering rays of sunlight, Kurama figured it must be late evening. Had he really been out of it for that long?
At the sound of approaching footsteps, Kurama looked toward the door. This could very well be the best opportunity to get some information... the only problem being what to do with it.
The footsteps stopped at his door. Following the sound of a key being turned in a lock, the door opened to admit four unfamiliar men in blue coats and one very tall and familiar looking man not in a blue coat...
“Risho?” Kurama could barely contain his surprise at the appearance of the earth master. Was he the mastermind behind all of this? It somehow seemed unlikely, but he had good reason to hold a grudge against the Tantei and their friends. He had almost caused their team’s end once before, but he had had help back then.
Kurama hissed in pain instinctively when he felt a sharp object penetrate his neck. He could feel something cold being emptied into his system. He jerked his head to his side - immediately regretting it as the pounding in his head doubled - to see one of the blue coats stepping back holding an empty syringe. Kurama’s eyes widened before his vision blurred. Blinking the induced fatigue away out of sheer willpower, Kurama slowly turned back to Risho, who was smirking.
“While those collars should keep you from reaching your power and this cell being warded against your energy signature, our boss would rather not take any chances with one the legendary Team Urameshi,” the former Shinobi leader told the captive fox.
“Your boss?” So Risho wasn’t in charge after all.
“Yes. He has grand plans for you, Kurama. For you and all your precious friends. And I’m going to enjoy watching them come to fruition.”
“What kind of plans?” Kurama asked, hoping to keep the black-haired demon talking. Kurama blinked suddenly. Risho wasn’t collared despite the fact he was a demon. Now that was interesting. He filed the information away for later.
“I would think what would be obvious to one of your intellect, fox,” Risho retorted coolly.
“Then why demons?” Kurama demanded. “Why us?”
“Again, I would think it would be obvious, but then again, perhaps the drugs are slowing you down - like they should.”
“What are you going to do with me?” Kurama asked after a moment, deciding to take a different angle. He could definitely feel whatever drugs they had injected into his system taking their effect which was making it harder for him to concentrate.
Risho grinned. “Use you, of course.”
Something in the former Shinobi leader’s tone caused the drifting fox to shudder. Something in his tone kept the fox was insisting that he would rather die than help whoever Risho was working for. That something promised cooperation wasn’t necessary.
Kurama’s vision swam. The fact that there was a potent enough drug to affect a superior A-class demon so quickly in such a small dose was information to save for a later time... a time when the fox’s head wasn’t spinning.
One smirking Risho suddenly became two and Kurama knew there was no getting around what they had dosed him with.
“The boss is planning to test your friends,” Risho said before turning for the door. “To see how far they can be pushed.”
“Pushed?”
“Before they act.” Risho’s eyes seemed to glint, though it could have been an effect of the drugs. Risho turned and left the cell, his company following him and locking the door.
Kurama’s chin dropped heavily onto his chest.
“This isn’t good,” he whispered before losing consciousness yet again.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
“It’s been an entire day,” Yusuke growled, turning away from the window from which he had been watching the last rays of sunlight fade into the night.
“Not quite,” Maya replied off-handedly.
“It’s been long enough,” Yusuke grumbled. He looked over at his companions.
Currently, Hiei was leaning against the wall, arms crossed across his chest and ruby eyes shut; Jin bobbed up and down irritably in the air, legs crossed under him; the others were seated on the mismatched furniture of the room. None of them had been very talkative the whole day. A television had been brought in earlier as they waited for the inevitable media circus that would arise once this news was reported. But so far, nothing had come up. And what was leaving the group very disheartened and antsy.
Throughout the day, Mitari and Maya had come and gone and they had evens seen a few other occupants of the hideout. Maya had made contact with the other hideouts to let their friends know what had really happened the previous night. Needless to say they had all been alarmed to hear of their friend’s capture and had immediately wanted to mount a rescue. Maya had managed to convince them to wait an see what kind of move the Organization would make before acting. However, they all knew the ex-Tantei and their friends were not going to wait around long while their friend was in danger.
“Maybe they aren’t going to report this after all?” Rinku suggested tentatively.
Genkai shook her head.
“No, they will.”
“Then what’s keeping them?” Yusuke demanded.
“They’re probably seeing how we’ll react with a wait like this,” the psychic replied.
“The longer we wait, the more some of us will want to act without thinking,” Hiei added.
Yusuke knew Hiei was referring to him and felt a slight twinge of discomfort at this, but said nothing. The fire demon was right, after all. And rash actions this time could very easily cost them Kurama. That was a risk Yusuke was not willing to take.
“They’re counting on it,” Hiei finished.
“They’re mocking us,” Kuwabara growled.
“If anyone is in a position to do it, it’s them,” Maya sighed.
No one disputed that.
“We’re not going to rush into things this time,” Yusuke said resolutely. “Not if we want to help Kurama.”
Genkai nodded approvingly at her former student.
“How long can they wait for us before they make an announcement?” Kuwabara asked.
Before anyone could reply, the television flared to life with color. Everyone turned to the screen.
“Turn it up!” Maya exclaimed.
Mitari quickly grabbed the remote and turned the television from mute.
“Breaking news! We have received information that one of the Reikai Tantei has been captured! We repeat, one of the infamous Reikai Tantei has been captured and taken into holding by the Organization.”
“There’s your answer, Kuwabara,” Yusuke muttered, not taking his eyes off the screen.
“This is unprecedented! We have received worse that on this momentous occasion, the head of the Organization would like to make a statement.”
The room fell silent in shock at this. It took a moment before the first jaws were picked up off the floor.
“Are they serious?” Maya whispered.
Even Hiei was bothered enough to open his eyes for this.
“It is in times such as these that we are reminded of the fight between good and evil. And we learn about those who will become our champions as they step up in the face of danger,” a new voice recited.
Yusuke blinked. This voice was familiar... where had he heard it before? He tore his gaze from the screen to look at his teammates. Kuwabara’s eyes had gone wide. His mouth was moving but no sound was coming out. Genkai had the look of someone trying to grasp at a memory that was just out of reach. Hiei’s eyes had widened slightly - an uncharacteristic amount of emotion for him. Botan’s face was frozen as her gaze was locked on the screen. Jin, Chuu, and Rinku were frowning in thought while Maya and Mitari watched on without any sign of recognition of the voice.
“The demon thief Youko Kurama, alias Suuichi Minamino, has been captured and is currently being held under maximum security,” the familiar voice continued.
The image on the screen changed to a video of an unconscious Kurama. He was shackled to a wall, his chin on his chest and red hair falling in a veil over his face. He didn’t appear to be injured... yet.
“Kurama,” Botan whispered, eyes wide.
“As you can see, even a powerful creature such as this demon will not be able to escape us.”
Yusuke felt his blood beginning to boul at the sight of his captive friend. Somewhere deep down he knew the Organization was trying to provoke them, but at the moment, the former head Detective didn’t care.
The video of Kurama changed once more and Yusuke felt his jaw hit the floor yet again at the new sight. His mind went strangely blank in surprise.
“I have a message for the rest of the Tantei and their allies: strike one.”
The image faded from the screen but remained burned into Yusuke’s mind.
“How?” Botan asked faintly.
“Of all people...” Kuwabara muttered.
Maya and Mitari exchanged glances before turning back to the group.
“Do you know that guy?” Maya asked.
Yusuke’s eyes narrowed into thin slits.
“Dr. Ichigaki...”
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Author’s Note: Dun dun dun, the villain is finally introduced. I know he may seem like an odd choice for a super-villain, but that will be explained soon, I promise. Anyway, hope ya liked! I like reviews =)
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. I am not making any money from writing this. I do, however, own my plotline.
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Chapter 16
Temptation and Revelation
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Kurama lashed out with his Rose Whip, careful not to cause any fatal wounds. Blue coats fell left and right as they tried to approach the fox. Around him, Hiei and Kuwabara were felling their own attackers. Yusuke, Chuu, and Rinku were somewhere out of the fox’s sight. The number of Organization guards was dropping steadily, but the group was beginning to tire due purely to the numbers.
“Kurama!” The fox turned at the sound of his name to see Maya standing on a ladder above the fray, pointing to the sky. “Up there!”
Kurama turned to the sky and saw Botan on her oar. Below her, guards had tranquilizer guns pointed at her. His eyes widened. She’s a good flyer, but she’ll never avoid all of them.
The sound of pulling triggers reached the fox’s ears and without a second thought, he dropped his whip and launched himself into the air. He grabbed Botan into his arms and pulled her close to his chest to shield her. For a split second he was able to take in her familiar scent before he felt numerous tranquilizer darts dig into his back. He grunted and loosened his grip on the ferry girl out of reflex. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold onto amongst the crowd he was falling towards, especially with the tranquilizers beginning to take effect.
“Yusuke!” he called out and the raven-haired teen looked up. He nodded and Kurama let the ferry girl go.
“Kurama!” he heard Botan cry out.
His stomach clenched for a moment as he distanced himself from her. He looked down and saw he was headed for a large group of Organization members, all of who were waiting for him.
I know what I have to do, he told himself. This way the others will be safe at least. He righted himself and landed on his feet, though his knees almost buckled underneath him. The tranquilizer... he thought woozily.
Kurama reached into his hair and pulled out a seed which soon became his Rose Whip. The crowd broke and between the masses of approaching blue coats, he saw his friends.
Kurama... Hiei’s voice broke in.
Hiei, go. Get them out of here. I’ll buy you some time.
You’re a damn fool.
Maybe. Just go.
Kurama knew the fire demon would make sure the others left, even if they didn’t want to. A moment later, his eyes met Botan’s.
Kurama... her eyes pleaded.
Botan, please go.
Kurama smiled in relief as Yusuke grabbed Botan’s arm and pulled her away. Thank you, Yusuke. Keep her safe. Keep yourselves safe.
His vision spin as the tranquilizers began to wear on him.
“You want the Reikai Tantei?” he growled at his enemies. “Well, one of us stands here before you. Come and get me.”
“Don’t worry, fox. We will.”
Kurama lashed out with his whip, missing his opponents as his vision spin. He had taken enough tranquilizer while protecting Botan to take down even a superior A-class demon. He was going down quickly... He dropped to a knee and dropped his whip. That his friends were safe was all that mattered.
The last thing he saw was approaching blue coats with collars as his vision faded into blackness...
Kurama jerked awake only to find his movement restricted. The fox blinked a couple of times as his eyes adjusted to the dimness of his surroundings. Once everything came back into focus, he took mental stock of his situation. He was in a small, dim room - no, it was a cell. There were bars on the doors and a small window somewhere out of his line of vision that allowed a few rays of sunlight at fall through. Judging the position of the rays, Kurama decided it must be soon after dawn.
Shaking his head in an attempt to clear away some of the grogginess from the tranquilizers, Kurama felt something cold on his neck... he shuddered. A collar. The cold metal suddenly felt very tight on his throat as he realized her kept him from reaching his demon energy. Feeling a similar cold on his wrists, the red-head looked side to side to see his arms were shackled to the wall. The fox’s feet barely touched the floor but were currently free of bondage.
The fight against the lingering effects of the tranquilizer was getting tougher as the fox felt his eyelids becoming unbearably heavy once more. Despite his current situation, however, Kurama felt no regret. He had made his decision and was paying for the consequences. But his friends were still safe and that thought gave him more than a little courage as consciousness left him once more...
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
“Sir, the retrieval team has returned,” a man in a blue coat said with a bow to the back of a tall office chair - or more precisely, the man hidden on the other side.
“And?” came the response from behind the desk.
“One of the Reikai Tantei was captured. He is currently collared and unconscious. The men are putting him in the most secure holding block,” the subordinate replied all businesslike.
“Excellent,” the boss hissed. “Which one?”
“Kurama, Sir.”
The man in the chair gave an appreciative laugh. “Gyuk gyuk gyuk,” he cackled. “I don’t know if our first capture could have been a better one.”
“Sir?”
“The fox is the intellect of the group,” the man replied, obviously feeling generous with his answers in his current good mood. “We can use that brain to our advantage.”
“He’ll never cooperate.”
“Gyuk gyuk gyuk. Of course not,” the boss chuckled. “But that’s of little consequence. None of the others wanted to cooperate either. But in the end we got what we wanted from them. And we will get that from the fox. His power is especially intriguing, considering his odd origin. Not only that, but all his friends feel an intense loyalty towards him, including the other six from the Tournament. They’ll never take his capture lying down.”
“What shall we do, Sir?”
“Let the media know, of course.” The chair began to turn. “I think I’ll announce this one personally.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
CRASH!
The gathered group jumped collectively as the wall took the brunt of Yusuke’s frustration in the form of a punch.
“Damnit,” he growled helplessly.
“Yusuke,” Maya began, but trailed off uncertainly.
“We just left him,” the ex-head Detective whispered, falling back into a chair. “How could we do that?”
“We had no choice,” Hiei replied harshly. “If we had tried to help, we would have all been captured. Kurama gave us the chance to continue fighting.”
“Sacrificed are often made in battle,” a new voice chimed in.
Everyone turned to see Genkai and Jin standing in the doorway, Mitari right behind them. It had been Genkai who had spoken.
Mitari had warned the other occupants of the revealed hideout and had organized them to leave, spreading them out amongst the other hideouts. He had then made contact with the nearest safe-house so they would be ready to receive the fleeing Tantei. The nearest safe-house had just happened to be the one to which Genkai and Jin and fled.
“Genkai,” Kuwabara began, but the aged psychic cut him off.
“Kurama is very old and very experienced. Sometimes you just have to trust his judgement. You’ve done that before, haven’t you?”
Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded mutely.
“Then you know that if he had wanted you to help him - if it would have been prudent - he wouldn’t have told you to run,” she finished.
The only problem being, I don’t think he was thinking at all when he acted, Yusuke thought. Instead, he said: “He always has to be the damn hero.”
“You’re hardly one to talk, dimwit,” Genkai retorted.
“What’s done is done,” Hiei interjected irritably. “What’s important now is where we go from here.”
“Hiei’s right,” Jin said. “What we need now is t’ focus on th’ future.”
“So what do we do?” Rinku asked.
“We can’t just leave Kurama to the Organization,” Yusuke growled. “There’s no telling what they’ll do to him.” And I can’t let that happen.
Botan let out a dry sob at this. Everyone jumped in surprise at this, as they had seemed to forget the deity was present. She had been so quiet and still since they had arrived. Yusuke had a sinking suspicion that she blamed herself for the fox’s capture. He suddenly hoped that once she recovered from her shock that she wouldn’t do anything foolish.
“And how do you suggest we find him?” Maya snapped bitterly. She was obviously taking this hard as well, as she had once harbored feelings for the fox as well. “We’ve lost a base, a fighter, and we still have no idea where the Organization is headquartered.”
“What about the Jagan?” Yusuke asked suddenly.
“Yeah!” Kuwabara interjected, suddenly excited.
Hiei shook his head, deflating the room.
“Believe me, I’ve already tried.”
“And you couldn’t find him?” Botan whispered.
Hiei shook his head once more and the ferry girl groaned.
“Well they aren’t going to keep this a secret,” Genkai cut in. “They’ve captured one of their biggest targets. They’ll want to boast to the public about ‘good triumphing over evil’ or whatever crap they come up with.”
“And they’ll want to goad us into acting foolishly,” Hiei added tersely.
“Who would do that?” Yusuke asked innocently, only to be on the receiving end of death glares from his friends. Chuu snorted rather than glare. “Okay, okay, I get the point. We sit tight for now.” He crossed his arms across his chest and slumped further into the chair. “As much as we may hate it.”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Kurama moaned softly as the darkness began to recede once more. The effects of the tranquilizers were finally wearing off, leaving the fox with the feeling of a jackhammer grinding at his skull. His acute senses only made it worse. He opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times before his feet came into focus. He lifted his head carefully, painfully aware of the pounding in his skull and looked up. The room hadn’t changed since his last stint of consciousness. The room was still dim. Judging the few lingering rays of sunlight, Kurama figured it must be late evening. Had he really been out of it for that long?
At the sound of approaching footsteps, Kurama looked toward the door. This could very well be the best opportunity to get some information... the only problem being what to do with it.
The footsteps stopped at his door. Following the sound of a key being turned in a lock, the door opened to admit four unfamiliar men in blue coats and one very tall and familiar looking man not in a blue coat...
“Risho?” Kurama could barely contain his surprise at the appearance of the earth master. Was he the mastermind behind all of this? It somehow seemed unlikely, but he had good reason to hold a grudge against the Tantei and their friends. He had almost caused their team’s end once before, but he had had help back then.
Kurama hissed in pain instinctively when he felt a sharp object penetrate his neck. He could feel something cold being emptied into his system. He jerked his head to his side - immediately regretting it as the pounding in his head doubled - to see one of the blue coats stepping back holding an empty syringe. Kurama’s eyes widened before his vision blurred. Blinking the induced fatigue away out of sheer willpower, Kurama slowly turned back to Risho, who was smirking.
“While those collars should keep you from reaching your power and this cell being warded against your energy signature, our boss would rather not take any chances with one the legendary Team Urameshi,” the former Shinobi leader told the captive fox.
“Your boss?” So Risho wasn’t in charge after all.
“Yes. He has grand plans for you, Kurama. For you and all your precious friends. And I’m going to enjoy watching them come to fruition.”
“What kind of plans?” Kurama asked, hoping to keep the black-haired demon talking. Kurama blinked suddenly. Risho wasn’t collared despite the fact he was a demon. Now that was interesting. He filed the information away for later.
“I would think what would be obvious to one of your intellect, fox,” Risho retorted coolly.
“Then why demons?” Kurama demanded. “Why us?”
“Again, I would think it would be obvious, but then again, perhaps the drugs are slowing you down - like they should.”
“What are you going to do with me?” Kurama asked after a moment, deciding to take a different angle. He could definitely feel whatever drugs they had injected into his system taking their effect which was making it harder for him to concentrate.
Risho grinned. “Use you, of course.”
Something in the former Shinobi leader’s tone caused the drifting fox to shudder. Something in his tone kept the fox was insisting that he would rather die than help whoever Risho was working for. That something promised cooperation wasn’t necessary.
Kurama’s vision swam. The fact that there was a potent enough drug to affect a superior A-class demon so quickly in such a small dose was information to save for a later time... a time when the fox’s head wasn’t spinning.
One smirking Risho suddenly became two and Kurama knew there was no getting around what they had dosed him with.
“The boss is planning to test your friends,” Risho said before turning for the door. “To see how far they can be pushed.”
“Pushed?”
“Before they act.” Risho’s eyes seemed to glint, though it could have been an effect of the drugs. Risho turned and left the cell, his company following him and locking the door.
Kurama’s chin dropped heavily onto his chest.
“This isn’t good,” he whispered before losing consciousness yet again.
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
“It’s been an entire day,” Yusuke growled, turning away from the window from which he had been watching the last rays of sunlight fade into the night.
“Not quite,” Maya replied off-handedly.
“It’s been long enough,” Yusuke grumbled. He looked over at his companions.
Currently, Hiei was leaning against the wall, arms crossed across his chest and ruby eyes shut; Jin bobbed up and down irritably in the air, legs crossed under him; the others were seated on the mismatched furniture of the room. None of them had been very talkative the whole day. A television had been brought in earlier as they waited for the inevitable media circus that would arise once this news was reported. But so far, nothing had come up. And what was leaving the group very disheartened and antsy.
Throughout the day, Mitari and Maya had come and gone and they had evens seen a few other occupants of the hideout. Maya had made contact with the other hideouts to let their friends know what had really happened the previous night. Needless to say they had all been alarmed to hear of their friend’s capture and had immediately wanted to mount a rescue. Maya had managed to convince them to wait an see what kind of move the Organization would make before acting. However, they all knew the ex-Tantei and their friends were not going to wait around long while their friend was in danger.
“Maybe they aren’t going to report this after all?” Rinku suggested tentatively.
Genkai shook her head.
“No, they will.”
“Then what’s keeping them?” Yusuke demanded.
“They’re probably seeing how we’ll react with a wait like this,” the psychic replied.
“The longer we wait, the more some of us will want to act without thinking,” Hiei added.
Yusuke knew Hiei was referring to him and felt a slight twinge of discomfort at this, but said nothing. The fire demon was right, after all. And rash actions this time could very easily cost them Kurama. That was a risk Yusuke was not willing to take.
“They’re counting on it,” Hiei finished.
“They’re mocking us,” Kuwabara growled.
“If anyone is in a position to do it, it’s them,” Maya sighed.
No one disputed that.
“We’re not going to rush into things this time,” Yusuke said resolutely. “Not if we want to help Kurama.”
Genkai nodded approvingly at her former student.
“How long can they wait for us before they make an announcement?” Kuwabara asked.
Before anyone could reply, the television flared to life with color. Everyone turned to the screen.
“Turn it up!” Maya exclaimed.
Mitari quickly grabbed the remote and turned the television from mute.
“Breaking news! We have received information that one of the Reikai Tantei has been captured! We repeat, one of the infamous Reikai Tantei has been captured and taken into holding by the Organization.”
“There’s your answer, Kuwabara,” Yusuke muttered, not taking his eyes off the screen.
“This is unprecedented! We have received worse that on this momentous occasion, the head of the Organization would like to make a statement.”
The room fell silent in shock at this. It took a moment before the first jaws were picked up off the floor.
“Are they serious?” Maya whispered.
Even Hiei was bothered enough to open his eyes for this.
“It is in times such as these that we are reminded of the fight between good and evil. And we learn about those who will become our champions as they step up in the face of danger,” a new voice recited.
Yusuke blinked. This voice was familiar... where had he heard it before? He tore his gaze from the screen to look at his teammates. Kuwabara’s eyes had gone wide. His mouth was moving but no sound was coming out. Genkai had the look of someone trying to grasp at a memory that was just out of reach. Hiei’s eyes had widened slightly - an uncharacteristic amount of emotion for him. Botan’s face was frozen as her gaze was locked on the screen. Jin, Chuu, and Rinku were frowning in thought while Maya and Mitari watched on without any sign of recognition of the voice.
“The demon thief Youko Kurama, alias Suuichi Minamino, has been captured and is currently being held under maximum security,” the familiar voice continued.
The image on the screen changed to a video of an unconscious Kurama. He was shackled to a wall, his chin on his chest and red hair falling in a veil over his face. He didn’t appear to be injured... yet.
“Kurama,” Botan whispered, eyes wide.
“As you can see, even a powerful creature such as this demon will not be able to escape us.”
Yusuke felt his blood beginning to boul at the sight of his captive friend. Somewhere deep down he knew the Organization was trying to provoke them, but at the moment, the former head Detective didn’t care.
The video of Kurama changed once more and Yusuke felt his jaw hit the floor yet again at the new sight. His mind went strangely blank in surprise.
“I have a message for the rest of the Tantei and their allies: strike one.”
The image faded from the screen but remained burned into Yusuke’s mind.
“How?” Botan asked faintly.
“Of all people...” Kuwabara muttered.
Maya and Mitari exchanged glances before turning back to the group.
“Do you know that guy?” Maya asked.
Yusuke’s eyes narrowed into thin slits.
“Dr. Ichigaki...”
*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Author’s Note: Dun dun dun, the villain is finally introduced. I know he may seem like an odd choice for a super-villain, but that will be explained soon, I promise. Anyway, hope ya liked! I like reviews =)