Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Battle Lord Chronicles: Of Truths and Lies ❯ Through the Portal ( Chapter 24 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

 

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

 

(1) - This is the explanation that I mentioned in the A/N of the chapter 22. It is because her mother is American (though from the Makai) that Kristy and Jason's names are American. Also, since I don't think it'll be mentioned in the story, Jessica's name is American because her adoptive parents, who adopted her when she was a baby, are American and are the ones who named her.

 

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'Telepathy'

 

Thanks to my new beta reader, Seer Vixion

 

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Of Truth & Lies

 

Chapter 24

Through the Portal

 

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Like everyone else in the classroom, I am staring intensely at the clock on the wall opposite me. Tension is running so high that it feels like a thick cloak, wrapping around us and smothering us. Why are we staring at a clock you ask? Well, it is currently the last day of school and there are only seconds left until the final bell rings.

 

It's been several months since I first started my training with Mr. Rawl and I've been incredibly busy since then. I've had to juggle my training with Jason, my training with Mr. Rawl, keeping my grades up in school, and hanging out with my friends, all while making sure that nothing appears suspicious. I can't have them wondering why I'm so busy after all, because it'd lead to awkward questions that I'm not sure that I can answer; I'm fairly sure that they wouldn't react well to me telling them that I was a youkai, if they didn't just send me to the loony bin first.

 

Well, anyway, in the past few months my training had gone up a level as well. Both Jay and Mr. Rawl were working me to the bone, trying to increase my skill level for the upcoming tournament. Jin and Touya had trained with us as well, knowing that it would be best if we got to know each others' styles before the tournament. They also told us what they knew about the Dark Tournament that they had been in, so we now had at least a slight idea of what the Kuro Tournament would be like.

 

And speaking of the Kuro Tournament, said event is the exact reason why I am probably the tensest person in the classroom right now. Jason, Jessica, Chris, Touya, Jin, and I will all be leaving for the tournament today, only a few hours after school ends. I am nervous and excited for it all at the same time, making for a very strange--and nauseating--feeling in the bottom of my stomach.

 

DING!

 

'Finally!' I scream in my mind as I rush out the door and join to hordes of students rushing through the halls. In nearly no time at all I've gone through the front doors of the building and am heading over to the large oak tree that my friends and I always meet at, my backpack slung over one shoulder. I'm not at all surprised to find that everyone else is already there; it happens every day so I've come to expect it. It still annoys my however, considering that no matter how hard I try to get their first, no matter how much I rush, they always get there before me. Even Yusuke and Kuwabara. Ugh.

 

"Hey, Kristy!" Yusuke calls, waving me over. I move and stand next to Jessica.

 

"Hey!" I greet, grinning. "I'm so glad that school is finally over!" Mumbles of agreement come from everyone in the group.

 

"So..." Chris starts out after a moment, sounding unsure. He is trying to find a way to bring up the fact that we'll be away for the summer, as we--Jessica, Chris, and I that is--knew that we obviously needed to tell the rest of our friends that'd we'd be gone. Tentatively, he continues, "What are you going to do this summer?"

 

The others exchange looks. "Um, well, actually..." Yusuke begins. "...We're going away on a trip this summer. Kuwabara, Suiichi, Hiei, Keiko, Kiara, and I, that is."

 

I immediately perk up, trying to hide a sigh of relief. "Really? That's cool; we are too."

 

The others blink in surprise. "You are?" Kuwabara asks.

 

Jessie, Chris, and I nod. "Mm-hmm," I answer. "We're going back to my homeland." I feel Jessie and Chris tense beside me, obviously wondering why I'm revealing this. I ignore them however, and continue on. "You see," I say. "Though my father was Japanese, my mother is from America(1) and I've never been there before."

 

I continued to smile at everyone, watching as they nodded in understanding. I was happy with the explanation I had just given. I didn't want to lie to my friends, and I hadn't; all I had said was that I was returning to my homeland and that my mother was from America. I never said anything about going to America, and instead am just letting them come to their own conclusions. This way I can give an excuse, without actually lying about what is going on. Beside me, Jessica and Chris grin as well.

 

"Well," Suiichi suddenly speaks up. "We had best be going. Our...plane...is scheduled to leave in just a few hours. Jessica, Chris, and I nod, knowing that we have to get going as well. And so the eight of us exchange goodbyes, telling each other to have a good vacation, before heading off in separate directions.

 

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Not an hour later I'm sitting in the living room and mine and Jason's apartment, a duffle bag beside me. Jason, Touya, and Jin are there too, their bags beside them as well. Now all we're waiting for is for Jessica and Chris to arrive. And, of course, it is at that moment that the doorbell rings, signally my friends arrival. I leap to the door, quickly pulling it open and letting them inside.

 

As soon as they are seated in the living room we all turn to look at Jason. It is at that moment that I'm struck with realization. "Um," I begin, biting my lip. "Exactly how are we getting to the Kuro Tournament?"

 

Jason blinks and looks at me. "You're only just remembering to ask this now?"

 

I immediately feel my face heat up. "Hey, hey, hey!" I huff angrily. "I've been really busy with my training and everything!"

 

Jason just chuckles. He then notices that Chris and Jessica seem to be wondering how we'll get there as well, and so answers my previous question. "Well," he said, ignoring the glare I was still directing at him. "In the letter that we received from Bashere, through Rhurac, there were instructions as to how to get there." I nodded, cutting off my glare to listen to the explanation. Offhandedly, I also realized that I had never actually read the invitation that we had received; Jason had just told us what it said. "Well," my older brother continues. "Apparently, there will be a portal appearing here, in our living room, sometime soon. That's why I had everyone meet here at this time."

 

I nod again, as does everyone else, now understanding. For a moment I am confused about the portal though, as I had been told that only Koenma could make portals between the Makai and the Ningenkai, until I remember that Jason had said that very powerful youkai could create portals as well. And Bashere certainly would qualify as a very powerful youkai.

 

Abruptly, a feeling of intense youkai erupts from the center of the room. Acting upon instinct, all of us jump away, only to relax when a shimmering blue portal flickered into existence. Or at least partially relax; there is no way that we re fully trusting Bashere. After we are sure that nothing is going to come out of the portal, we pick up our bags and slowly approach it.

 

"I'll go through first," Jason tells us sternly. "Touya and Jin, you guys follow after me, then the rest of you."

 

We nod in agreement and then hold our breath as Jason cautiously steps up through portal and disappears. When nothing really out of the ordinary happens, we collectively let out a sigh, but are still tense. Slowly, Jin and Touya go through, followed my Jessica, Chris, and myself.

 

I stumble slightly as I suddenly find myself standing on grass, and am only able to get a passing glimpse of the portal behind me that I had just stepped through before it winks out of existence. Looking up, I see everyone else standing in front of me, all looking fine. The only thing is that Chris, Jessica, and Jason are all in their youkai forms (or in Jessie's case, angel form). Obviously, Jin and Touya have no human forms and thus haven't changed. Glancing down at myself, I see that I am as well. I suppose that going through the portal did that.

 

I then straighten up and glance around me. It seems like we're deep in a thick jungle. Gigantic trees surround us and lush foliage is everywhere. Even the grass we're standing on seems unusually thick. Strange sounds, unlike anything that I've ever heard before, fill the air.

 

'So this is the Makai...' I muse to myself. I wasn't quite sure what to think. This wasn't exactly what I had been expecting, but then again, exactly what had I been expecting? A desolate dying land with fires burning everywhere? I snort at that thought. 'This is the Makai,' I remind myself. 'Not Hell.'

 

There is a paved path not five feet from where we are standing. Said path winds away toward what seems to be a large town. Though the buildings are slightly different from what I'm used to, they are still what humans would consider fairly modern and there are multitudes of them. Many figures--youkai probably--are walking around. Yep, definitely a town. Beyond the town however is a large building that appears to be a stadium.

 

A rough chuckling abruptly pulls me out of my reverie and I immediately tense up. I know that chuckle. Jerking up, I see a familiar green-skinned figure standing casually before us, right where the path to the town starts. All of us immediately move into defensive positions, but he makes no move to attack.

 

"Relax," Rhurac says, that insufferably cocky smirk on his face. "I'm just here to be your guide. I'm not going to attack you...yet..." His smirk widens. We slowly drop our stances, but none of us relaxes. If anything, we are even tenser than before. "Well, come on," Rhurac says as he turns toward the town. "All teams have a hotel suite to themselves." He then starts walking away, seemingly unconcerned as to whether or not we would follow him. All of us share a cautious look for a moment, before Jason starts walking after Rhurac. The rest of us take his lead and begin walking.

 

A few minutes of complete silence later we have entered the town. I am staring at everything, trying my best to hide my amazement. The main thing(s) that I am staring at are the youkai, walking around, completely ignoring us. It is shocking how diverse their appearances are. Some of them appear to be almost human, while others look more like the monsters and ogres that most ningens believe them to look like, and others still looked to be closer to the animal species than bipedal beings. Some have red skin, others have blue, some have horns, others tails, some walk on two legs, others on six. It truly is incredible.

 

Not long after we approach a fairly large building. It appears to have about 10 stories. I figure that it is the hotel, and am proven right when Rhurac leads us into it. Said green youkai walks up to what appears to be the reception desk and speaks to the purple haired woman with bat wings who is working there. After a moment he returns and hands Jason a bunch of keys.

 

"Here," he says gruffly. "These are the keys to your hotel suite. It's room 306 on the 5th floor. The Opening Ceremony begins tomorrow at 9AM. Be in the arena at that time."

 

Rhurac then walks out the door, completely ignoring us. We all share another glance between us before shrugging. Jason hands out the keys--one for each of us--and then we head to the nearby elevator. I couldn't help but feel slightly relieved at the fact that the Makai wasn't in the dark ages and did have electricity.

 

As soon as we exit the elevator--which was surprisingly roomy, especially for a group of our size--onto the fifth floor, we start down the wide hallway, following the room numbers on the doors. Soon enough, we come to room 306. Once we were all inside we were shocked by the size. We were currently standing in what appeared to be a large living room, with several comfortable looking couches and chairs. On the wall across from the door that we had just entered were three doors--the bedrooms. That works out perfectly for us, since it means that there will be just two to a room. On the side walls of this main living room are two other doors (one on each wall), each leading to what appears to be large bathrooms. This works out well as well since it means that Jessica and I will have our own bathroom and the guys with have the other.

 

Slowly, we all drift around the rooms, checking everything out and getting settled in. Jessie and I claim the bedroom on the left as our own, Touya and Jin claim the one on the right, and Chris and Jason take the one in the middle. Each bedroom has two beds, two wardrobes, two nightstands, and one window on the back wall. The window in mine and Jessie's room has a beautiful view of the jungle.

 

A few minutes later, after we're all settled and our stuff is put away, all of us drift back out into the living room. We all sit around and talk for a bit until, eventually, I start to get really bored.

 

"I'm going to go out and look around the hotel," I say as I stand up and begin to head for the door.

 

"Okay," Jason calls after me. "Just be back in an hour or so!" I wave over my shoulder, signaling that I'd heard him and then continue on through the door.

 

I slowly head down the hall towards the elevator, unsure as to where to go. I decide, however, that the lobby is the best place to start. From there I can work my way upwards through the hotel floors. I enter the large elevator and push the appropriate button. The ride goes by surprisingly quickly, and I soon find myself stepping out into the lobby. However, as soon as I do I freeze.

 

Standing there, in the middle of this hotel in the Makai, are Yusuke, Kuwabara, Suiichi, Hiei, and Kiara.