Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Battle Lord Chronicles: Of Truths and Lies ❯ Revelations and Ceremonies ( Chapter 25 )

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) - A hanyou is half demon, half human.

(2) - Want to know more about this? Read Yusuke'sSister's story Unwanted Child (on FanFiction.net)

(3) - In case this isn't quite clear, Jason's fingerless gloves are the normal ones, that just go up to the wrist, whereas Kristy's go to her elbows.

(4) - Want to finally see what Bashere looks like? Go here: http/i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb85/MrPicklesSporkOfDoom/Ba shere1.jpg

 

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'Telepathy'

 

Thanks to my beta reader, Seer Vixion!

 

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Of Truth & Lies

 

Chapter 25

Revelations and Ceremonies

 

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I stand there for a moment, frozen in shock, before abruptly snapping out of my trance. I quickly dash around a corner--which thankfully is only a few feet away--and into a dark, deserted hallway. I lean against the wall there, panting, despite the fact that I hadn't actually run any distance. It was solely from shock.

 

None of this made any sense! How the hell could my friends be here?! They were all normal humans...Right? I pause my rambling thoughts and take a deep breath. 'Calm,' I think to myself. 'I need to calm down. There has to be a reasonable explanation for this.'

 

Before I can think of what that explanation is however, my slowing down heart beat speeds up again as I hear a laughing voice coming near me from the lobby. It's Kiara's voice, I believe, and she seems to be mentioning something about heading toward the bathroom. I hold my breath anxiously and attempt to flatten myself against the wall behind me, while praying to whatever deities are out there that Kiara will just pass by the entrance to the hallway.

 

I find that I have no such luck however, as not two seconds later the young girl enters the hallway that I'm hiding in. She walks about five feet into said hallway, before finally noticing me and freezing in place. I stare at her with wide, and have no doubt that I probably look like deer in headlights. Kiara, however, just blinks in surprise at finding someone there. She is a bit nervous though, not that I can blame her; this is the Makai after all.

 

"Erm," Kiara says awkwardly. "Do you, uh, know where the bathrooms are?"

 

"Um, I, er, uh..." I stutter incoherently, at a total loss of what to say. "...No...?" I say weakly, my wolf ears twitching as I stumble for words in my nervousness. "Sorry, I'm, um, kind of new here, Kiara."

 

"...Right," Kiara says, starting to turn away. "Um, well, thanks anyway- Hey!" Abruptly she spins back around to face me, a look of surprise on her face. "H-how do you know my name?!"

 

The deer in headlights look comes back onto my face. Crap. Had I really said her name out loud? "Uh-h..." I stutter. "...Well..." I pause for a moment and then sigh. It seems that there is nothing that I can do to get out of this. "...Kiara...It's me."

 

She stares at me for a moment in confusion before a shocked look comes onto her face. "Holy..." she breathes.

 

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(A few minutes before) (Kiara's POV)

 

Laughing at a comment that Yusuke had made, I head toward a hallway near the elevator, intent on finding the bathrooms. I cautiously make my way into the dark hallway, a bit wary of the thick shadows. I've only gone about five feet in however, when I notice someone leaning against the wall just ahead of me. My eyes widen and I freeze, only to have my eyes widen again when I notice just who it is that is standing there. It's the ookami youkai that I saw in the Ningenkai.

 

"Erm," I say awkwardly, trying not to show that I recognize her. "Do you, uh, know where the bathrooms are?"

 

The ookami youkai stares at me with wide eyes. It's a bit disconcerting, though I guess that she's most likely just surprised to see a ningen--or at least what appears to be a ningen--here in the Makai.

 

"Um, I, er, uh..." she stutters, apparently at a loss for what to say. "...No...?" I notice her ears twitching slightly and wonder why she's so nervous. Finally she seems to gather a bit of nerve and continues, "Sorry, I'm, um, kind of new here, Kiara."

 

I find this statement a little strange, but just nod and begin to turn around. "...Right," I say. "Um, well, thank anyway-" Abruptly it dawns on me that the youkai had just used my name. "Hey!" I exclaim. "H-how do you know my name?!"

 

The ookami youkai freezes and stares at me with wide eyes. My expression mirrors hers and thoughts are running rampant through my mind. How does she know my name? Did she catch me spying on her in the Ningenkai? Did she follow me home and learn everything about me so that she can confront me? Did she-

 

My thoughts cut off as the ookami youkai lets out a sigh, apparently having come to a decision in her mind. "...Kiara..." she says hesitantly. "...It's me."

 

I stare at the youkai in confusion, wondering what the hell she means b that. 'Her eyes...' I think offhandedly, despite the predicament that I'm currently in. 'They're so blue. Except for the little silver flecks, they're almost exactly like...' My thoughts freeze as several things click together in my mind at the same time. Kristy. She looks exactly like a silver haired, wolf-like Kristy. Everything about her, from her voice, to the way she moves, even down to the length of her hair, they're all exactly the same as Kristy...

 

"K-k-kristy?!" I choke out. She smiles awkwardly and nervously rubs the back of her head with one hand while giving me a peace sign with the other. Yep, definitely Kristy.

 

This also explains a lot though, such as how Kristy was often busy when all of us wanted to get together. Also, I often noticed how she seemed to have better reflexes, strength, and speed than most humans. And even more so, I remember how that day, when we had returned to the arcade after Botan had been kidnapped, Kristy and Chris had been gone. When we questioned them about it the next day, they had just said something about having to leave early and I remember how something had just seemed off about the whole thing. And now it's all explained...Well except for the part about exactly how it is that she is a youkai. Though, perhaps, she's a hanyou like me?

 

"Hey," I say suddenly, eyes widening with realization once more. "Does that mean that...Chris...?" And by extension... "...Jessica...?"

 

Kristy rubs that back of her head nervously again. "Um...yeah...kinda..."

 

"What...? How...?"

 

"Erm, well..." Kristy sighs again, and then pauses before beginning her explanation. I stand there open-mouthed through the whole explanation. This certainly is surprising.

 

"So let me get this straight," I say slowly once she has finished her narrative. "You're actually a youkai, though you didn't know it until just after you met my brother and his friends. Your parents were powerful youkai who ran away to the Ningenkai with your older brother and yourself when you were a baby because Bashere--who just happens to be the host of this tournament--was after them for some reason that you don't know of yet. They were killed anyway a few years later, but Bashere didn't know about you or your brother, so you were left alone. About nine months ago though, Bashere found you and, a few months later, invited you to this Kuro Tournament. And Jessica, Chris, your brother, Touya, and Jin are here with you."

 

Kristy nods, straight-faced.

 

I drag a hand down my face. "Well, fuck."

 

Kristy laughs for a moment before becoming serious again. "Well, I've explained why I'm here, and now it's your turn. What are you and the others doing here and how do you know about youkai?"

 

"Well, for starters," I answer. "Kurama is--"

 

Kristy cuts me off, "Kurama?"

 

"Ah, Suiichi. Kurama is kind of his nickname, though it's a bit more complicated than that." I wait for Kristy to nod in understanding before continuing. "Kurama is basically a ningen with a youkai's soul--and powers--and Hiei is in fact a youkai. Yusuke and Kuwabara are human. Well, mostly human anyway."

 

Kristy gapes at me. "What?!" she gasps. "Hiei is a...Well, actually, that explains a lot. Especially his violent tendencies..."

 

"Yeah," I chuckle. "Well, anyway, I myself am a hanyou(1). I only even know Yusuke because he had a mission to rescue me." I pause, pushing unwanted memories from my mind. "Let's just say that Si- ...my father...had some...issues..."

 

Kristy nods, apparently filing this information away for further reference. It's understandable really; she'd known that I wasn't related to the Urameshi's, but hadn't known exactly how I'd come to be with them. Suddenly her head jerks back to me from where she'd been staring absently at a wall.

 

"Wait, mission?"

 

I grin. "Yep," I say. "You see, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama are the Reikai Tentai."

 

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(5 minutes later) (Kristy's POV)

 

Still in a slight daze from all that had happened to me, I stumble slowly down the hall towards the room that my team is currently occupying. I fumble with the door knob for a moment before said door finally swings open, admitting me to the room. Not even thinking, I stride over to the couch and collapse down onto it. Everyone, who had been doing various things around the room, pauses to stare at me.

 

"Dude," Chris says as he walks over and pokes me in the cheek. "Are you okay?"

 

I swat annoyed at his hand and then lift my head to glare straight at Touya. The blue haired youkai blinks, too surprised to even glare back.

 

"You knew," I say accusingly.

 

He glares back at me. "Knew what, exactly?"

 

"About who the Reikai Tentai are!"

 

Touya continues to stare at me. "...We already said that we know the Reikai Tentai, remember?"

 

I glare even harder at him, but Jason suddenly cuts in. "Alright, alright," he says to me. "What's this about?"

 

I shift my gaze to him, my mouth set in a tight line. "While I was out on my walk I ran into Kiara." Jason, Chris, and Jessica stare at me like I've gone insane.

 

"Umm, Kristy," Chris says hesitantly. "In case you've forgotten, we're in the Makai right now, not the Ningenkai..."

 

I glare at my currently blue haired friend. "That's my point!" I snap. "It turns out," I continue, shifting my glare back to Touya and Jin, who has come up beside the ice youkai, "That Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama are the Reikai Tentai."

 

Jason, Chris, and Jessica's mouths immediately drop open in shock. Touya and Jin, on the other hand, just blink.

 

"You know them?" Jin asks. I, however, ignore his question in favor of paying attention to Jessica who looks as though she's about to start hyperventilating.

 

"You mean that Suiichi...?" she whispers.

 

"Kurama, actually," I say wryly. My two friends and brother look at me in confusion, so I further clarify, "They call him Kurama because it used to be his name back when he was a youkai."

 

"Wait a second," Jason speaks up. "Kurama? As in Youko Kurama? The infamous thief who died some time ago?"

 

I smile weakly. "Yes, although he didn't die," I say. "Instead he just escaped to the Ningenkai and inserted his soul in an unborn baby, namely Suiichi."

 

Jessica places her hands over her stomach as though she's going to be sick. "Why..." she begins, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, "Why didn't he tell me?"

 

"Hey," I say gently, moving over tell her and placing an arm around her shoulders. "You didn't tell him about what you are either, right? And you still love him, don't you?"

 

She nods mutely, a shaky smile coming to her lips. "Y-yeah..."

 

Jason, meanwhile, is rubbing his chin in though. "Hmm..." he says. "I guess it's a good thing that I never met them then; they probably would have immediately sensed my youki." Jason pauses for another minute before turning a piercing stare on me. "So I guess that this Kiara now knows about us?"

 

"Yes," I reply, and then quickly continue, "But she said that she wasn't going to tell the others. I explained everything about Bashere to her and we both agreed that it'd be best for us not to get Koenma and the Reikai Tentai involved." I shrugged lightly. "We're just going to have to beat them when we face them in the tournament. Kiara said that she'll try as hard as she can to keep them off of our trail for now."

 

Jason nods and we all lapse into silence again, each caught up in our own thoughts.

 

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The next morning I wake up early, probably because I am in an unfamiliar place, but also mainly because everyone else is also getting up. We all ran around for the next hour or so, trying to get ready for the opening ceremony. I myself am currently digging through the clothes that I had brought with me, attempting to put together the outfit that I want to wear while fighting, since the first round will start right after the Opening Ceremony. Finally finding what I want, I grab the clothing, run into the bathroom, and begin to get dressed and washed.

 

A couple of minutes later I step out, ready to go. I am now wearing a high-necked sleeveless black shirt and a pair of black pants. Knee-high soft-soled black combat boots were on my feet, muffling any sounds that I made as I walked. As a final touch I was wearing a pair of black fingerless gloves that reached to my elbows. These, like the ones that I got at Christmas, were fireproof so that I could use my fire without damaging them. Two katanas were attached to my belt that was firmly at my waist and a couple of daggers were hidden in my boots))

 

As I walk over to where the couches are, I tuck a strand of silver hair behind my ear. For once I am wearing my hair in a braid, so that it won't get in my way while I'm fighting. Despite this however, the braid still reaches down past my butt. A pair of bangs frame my face. Glancing around, I see that everyone else is just about ready to leave too.

 

Jessica, whom is pacing nervously near the door, is wearing her usual blue bikini outfit, although now there is a long strip of white cloth hanging in the front and back of her, almost like a very long loin clothe. Amusingly, it kind of reminds me of some of the outfits I'd seen priestesses wear is some games and anime. Her emerald green hair is up in a long ponytail, and she has a pair of traditional sandals on her feet. The whole outfit would probably look pretty interesting once she had her wings out, but, having learned how to hide them a while ago, she doesn't have them right now and so looks mostly like a ningen, except for her hair and the light aura around her.

 

Chris is lounging in one of the comfy chairs and I would have thought him to be completely at ease, if it wasn't for the way his foot is bouncing agitatedly. He is wearing a black muscle shirt and a pair of long green cargo shorts that went to the middle of his calves. On his feet are an average pair of tennis shoes.

 

The last person in the room, wearing something different from usual, was my older brother, Jason. He has on a black sleeveless turtle-neck shirt--one not too dissimilar from mine, actually--and a pair of loose black pants. For shoes he is wearing a pair of black buckled boots that the bottoms of his pants are tucked into. For the first time that I had ever seen, a pair of black fingerless gloves adorn his hands(1). His sword, which is somewhat similar to a katana only longer and wider, is strapped to his back

 

"Well," Jason says, striding towards us. "Is everyone ready to go?" All of us, including Touya and Jin who are standing in a corner near the door, nod. "Good," Jason continues, clapping his hands, "Then let's get going. Rhurac said yesterday, that we need to be down in the arena by nine, and it's already eight and we still need to get breakfast."

 

Moving quickly, we all filed out the door and headed to the elevator. Once we were down in the lobby again Touya--surprisingly--directed us to where the dining area was; we had had dinner in our suite last night so didn't know where it was. It turned out to be a lot like a large restaurant. We all sat down at a table and before long a youkai, the waiter, came up to take our orders.

 

Breakfast only took a half an hour and so before I knew it, we were leaving the hotel and heading toward the large arena. Surprisingly, it took us about ten minutes of walking to reach. Looking up at the walls, I saw why; we had been mislead as to the actual size. It had appeared very large from far away but, up close I could see that it was even larger than anything I had imagined. It was easily close to 15 stories tall and the walls stretched out beyond the limits of my vision on both sides. Thousands of youkai must be able to fit in this arena.

 

With that realization, a shiver slipped down my spine. Just how many spectators were going to be at this tournament? I knew that it was a very big event, but still...Pushing my fears away, I followed the rest of my team through the doors of the arena. The inside was filled with hundreds of youkai milling around and heading toward where they needed to go, which was mainly the large corridors that lead to the seating areas. Pushing past everyone, we headed toward the information desk.

 

"Hello," Jason said to the receptionist behind the desk--a female water demon I guessed from her appearance--as he handed our invitation to her. "We're participating in the tournament."

 

The youkai's eyes flickered with interest for a moment, taking us all in. "The door to my right will take you down to the waiting area. Someone there will prep you on how the ceremony is going to go," she replied in a voice like a bubbling brook. Then, with coy smile to Jason, "Good luck." She batted her eyelashes for extra measure.

 

Completely ignoring the water youkai's actions, Jason murmured a quick thank you and then led to the door that she had pointed out. As I followed, I sent a quick glare at to water youkai. He was my brother damn it! The door led into a long brightly lit hall. We walked down the hall for several minutes with no doors appearing at all before said hall came to an end before a single door. Unhesitatingly, Jason pulled the door open and entered, the rest of us trailing along behind.

 

The room that we entered was very large; my entire apartment could probably fit within it. Scattered about the room were what had to be at least fifty youkai. They were clustered together in isolated groups however, so I guessed that most likely these were all of the teams that were participating. At the back of the room, opposite from the door that we'd entered though, were a large pair of steel doors. Considering the light shining through the bottom of the doors, I guessed that they led out to the center of the arena, where the fighting would take place.

 

Glancing about the room, I tensed up when I saw my friends--who I now knew to be the Reikai Tentai in one corner. Kiara and I locked eyes for a moment, before each of us turned away and acted as though nothing had happened. Her eyes did, however stray over to the rest of the group, eyeing Touya and Jin in recognition and the others in surprise at how different they looked.

 

At the same time, I heard Jessica next to me mutter, "So it's true..." Seeing that she was staring at Suiichi, I looked at her sympathetically. It was a shock for me to find out that my friends were involved with the youkai world, but for Jessica, who was dating one of them, it had to be much more difficult. It probably hadn't even completely sunk in for her until she physically saw her boyfriend here.

 

Carefully, we maneuvered to the opposite side of the room from the Reikai Tentai, not wanting to be recognized. As we then stood looking around, I tensed for a second time as I noticed Rhurac standing with a group of youkai. So he was participating in the tournament then? 'Good,' I couldn't help but think. 'I can't wait to get a chance to smash his face in.' As if sensing my glare, Rhurac looked up and met my eyes. Seeing who it was, he immediately let out what was quickly becoming, to me at least, his patented smirk. Annoyed, I turned my head away and refused to look at him again.

 

We continued to wait for another fifteen or so minutes before someone finally entered the room only at eight o'clock sharp. It was a dark red skinned youkai with pure black eyes long white hair. "Hello, everyone," he greeted with a booming voice. All voices in the room quickly quieted down. "And welcome to the Kuro Tournament. Congratulations on being invited to participate in fighting among best of the best. The Opening Ceremony is already under way outside in the arena. When it comes time to announce the teams you will be called up one by one. When your team's name is called, you will exit though those doors," he said pointing to the large steel ones, "And take your place in front of the crowd. Are there any questions?"

 

No made any sound and so the red skinned youkai left the room again without another word. As soon as the door had closed, whispers immediately broke out. My team and I shared a glance, all of us starting to feel a bit nervous. For the next few minutes we listened to the rumble of the announcer's voice outside of the steel doors. He went on for what seemed like forever, before the first team's name was finally called. The team--a group of fairly nondescript youkai--passed through the steel doors and outside to the large cheer of the crowd. From where we were standing I was unable to see what lay beyond the doors, but the defaming sound the filled up the room before being muted again as the doors closed behind the team hinted to me just what it probably looked like.

 

About five more minutes passed and we still hadn't been called to step beyond the steel doors. By now about half of the teams had already been called, including the Reikai Tentai. Suddenly, the announcer's voice boomed out again.

 

"AND NEXT UP, WE HAVE TEAM KAGEKAZE!"

 

Hearing out name, my team began to walk nervously toward the steel doors. I couldn't help but feel the corners of my lips twitch, however, as I thought about our team's name. After much deliberation we had decided on Kagekaze, Shadow Wind, for several reasons. It was partially because one of Jason's elements was wind and one of mine was shadows. It was mainly, however, because everyone on our team focused more on speed in fighting than strength. And besides, that Kagekaze was just a cool name.

 

When the steel doors opened up and we walked out, we were immediately assaulted with the deafening cheering of the spectators. As we began to make our way toward were the rest of the teams were standing, I was in a state of shock. The arena was actually even more massive than I'd thought. The center area it's self was about the size of two or three football fields combined, which was incredible, but it was the crowd that really got be. The walls of the oval-shaped arena stretched up to the sky and were completely packed with youkai. There had to be at least 50,000-100,000 spectators. I didn't think I'd ever seen this many ningen in one place, let alone youkai. I was completely blown away.

 

The stands appeared to be separated into five floors--though each "floor" was probably about four building stories tall--with a walkway with a railing running between each of the floors, all the way around the arena. A couple of youkai could be seen walked along those walkways/corridors, heading toward their seats. On one end of the oval-shaped arena was a gigantic screen above the first three floors of seating, which currently showed us, walking toward our spot. On the other end was a spot that took up one whole floor in the middle that didn't have individual seating. There were only a few people there, the announcer among them, and there was one larger throne-like chair in the center. It was the person in said chair that caught--and held--my attention.

 

It was a youkai probably in his middle years, though he only looked to be in his mid twenties by human standards. He had a dark brown--almost to the point of black--hair that reached down to the nape of his neck and partially shadowed his coal black eyes(4). It was those eyes that really held me. They were deep pits of shadows that seemed to suck in the light from all around them. They were also colder and harder than anything that I had ever seen, and I could tell, even from this distance, that they were staring straight at me and only me. Their gaze pierced into my soul and I found as I continued walking that I just couldn't look away. I knew, without ever having seen him before, who this was.

 

Bashere.