Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Battle Lord Chronicles: Of Truths and Lies ❯ The Jagan ( Chapter 37 )

A/N: *is hiding* Please don't kill me after reading this chapter! I hated having to write this (you'll see why). I have nothing else to say because I'm sure that I'll be getting some shocked and angry responses. Please read and review! Ja ne! *still hiding from readers*

 

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.

 

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'Telepathy'

 

Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------

 

Of Truth & Lies

 

Chapter 37
The Jagan

 

----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------

 

Quickly I spun around, striking out with one hand, but my fist met nothing but air. The laugh came again from behind me. I spun around once more, moving down into a defensive stance, but didn't attack. I was starting to realize that I wouldn't be able to fight against whoever this was--not here, in the dark.

 

"Who are you?" I demanded. "What are you doing here?" And for that matter, I thought to myself, how are you here?

 

The voice continued to chuckle. "Why am I here? What about you? You certainly are not welcome here, and would not even have been able to access this mind had I not let you in."

 

I faltered. "...You let me in? What do you mean? Who are you?!"

 

"I am the Jagan," the voice answered simply. "To answer your earlier question, I am here because Hiei had me put here, though I do not think that he realizes the extent of my abilities. Nonetheless, I do what he asked of me and in return I have a host. Have you not noticed his 'last name'? It's Jaganshi: 'wielder of the Jagan'." As if sensing my shocked expression he let out another bark of laughter. "Do not be so surprised, child.

 

One does not have to have a body in order to have a consciousness. I myself am a concentration of psychic energy. I manifest myself on the physical plane in the form of an eyeball--which, at the moment, is implanted in Hiei's forehead." He chuckled once more. "It's fitting, don't you think? An eyeball."

 

My mind reeling, I couldn't help but nod. An eye was often used as a symbol for psychic abilities. Being as caught up with these new revelations as I was I jumped when I suddenly felt a cold finger tracing my jaw line.

 

"But you," the Jagan continued, "You're such a fascinating specimen. Four bloodlines manifested in one person. All that energy..."

 

I took a step backwards, my eyes wide. "H-how do you...?!" I stuttered.

 

"How do I know? My dear, I am psychic energy. I can see everything about you, all of your memories, every single thought that has ever passed through your mind..." His voice was at my ear again, causing me to shiver once more, though he wasn't standing in front of me. I was beginning to wonder if he was just a disembodied voice.

 

I took a deep breath. "Well, Jagan..." I began, sounding much braver than I felt. The Jagan could probably sense this too. "If you can see so much, then you probably know why I'm here."

 

The Jagan snorted and it almost sounded as though he was turning away from me, though I couldn't tell due to my lack of sight. "Yes, I know," he replied. "But I'm afraid that I can't help you there. I let you into Hiei's mind solely out of interest to meet you. What kind of person would I be if I just let you take over his mind?"

 

I wanted to wave my arms around and shout that he technically wasn't a person, but I knew that it would do me no good. Besides, I could kind of see it from his perspective. It would be a bit strange if he just let me take over Hiei's mind.

 

"Well, I'm afraid that our little chat has come to an end," the Jagan said. "I hope to speak more with you later. For now however, I bid you farewell."

 

Quite suddenly I felt myself pushed out of Hiei's mind and back into my own. I groaned as I rolled over onto my hands and knees. Before I could make another movement however, a pair of feet came to a stop at the edge of my vision. I quickly looked up, only to have to cross my eyes to stare at the edge of Hiei's katana.

 

I looked past the blade, upwards towards Hiei's smirking face. "Damn it," I hissed. The Jagan had distracted me!

 

Hiei opened his mouth to reply when his eyes were suddenly drawn down to a point below my face. I scowled at first, thinking that he was staring at my chest, but the feel of cool metal around my neck quickly dissuaded me of this. A quick glance downward had me blanching: my necklace, the one that Hiei had given me, was hanging out for all the world--and more importantly, Hiei--to see.

 

My heart began beating quickly in panic just as my vision began to swim. `Crap!' I thought. I'd been out of my body for too long on top of already being exhausted. I desperately attempted to keep a hold of my consciousness as I watched Hiei's eyes widen in shock and his katana fall out of his hands.

 

As I fell back into the darkness of unconsciousness I heard Jason yell out my name in worry from the sidelines. Hiei echoed it, though in a bit of a different tone.

 

"...Kristy?!"

 

------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------

 

I felt as though I was floating. Floating in darkness. It was a strange sensation, but not entirely unwelcome. I shivered suddenly, though I wasn't quite sure why.

 

"Little puppy," a smooth voice whispered through the darkness. "Wake up, little puppy." The voice seemed to wrap around me, causing me to shiver once more. I opened my mouth to reply--

 

--And was suddenly plunged into bright light. I instantly sat up, gasping for breath. Not at all recognizing the small, white room that I was in, and knowing that it definitely wasn't where I'd passed out. I looked back and forth frantically, trying to get my bearings. Just as quickly, however, the memories of what had happened recently slammed into my mind with all the force and grace of a freight train.

 

I dropped my head into my hands and groaned. 'Shit. Shit. Shit,' I thought. How was I going to fix this now?

 

I was broken out of my thoughts by the sound of a door opening. I looked up, my eyes widening in surprise as I saw Jason peeking into the room.

 

Upon seeing that I was awake, Jason's eyes seemed to light up. He quickly slipped inside, a small grin on his face.

 

"Hey, you alright there?" he asked in concern, gently brushing some hair out of my face. "You've been out for a while."

 

Scowling, I batted his hand away, ignoring the grin that sprang to his face in response to my actions. "I'm fine, I'm fine," I said. "Where am I? What happened?"

 

"You're in the infirmary," Jason replied. "As for what hap--"

 

Before he could finish his sentence the door suddenly slammed opened once more. This time however it was, surprisingly, Yusuke who strolled in. He was soon followed by Chris, Jessica, Kurama, Kuwabara, Kiara, Hiei, Jin, and Touya.

 

"Oi, you're finally awake, Kristy?" he asked loudly. My mouth opened and closed a couple of times as I struggled to say through my surprise.

 

Seeing my shock, Jason's grin widened. "We told them," he said. "Everything."

I looked back and forth between Jason and the group. "But, they--I...uh..."

 

Kuwabara laughed. "Don't worry!" he exclaimed. "We're not going to tell Koenma or nothin'."

 

Kurama nodded. "And besides," he added, "I'm sure that he'd understand anyway."

 

Yusuke folded his hands behind his head, his usual cocky grin on his face. "And if he doesn't, we'll just pound him into the ground until he does!"

 

"Wait," I said my mind still reeling, "What about the tournament! What happened?"

 

At this Yusuke's face fell and he began to sulk. Jason, meanwhile, smiled widely.

 

"I won my fight against Yusuke," my brother told me. "We won the tournament!"

 

I practically beamed up at him. "Congratulations!" I exclaimed happily. "Now all you have to do is fight against Bashere."

 

“I will," Jason replied, nodding resolutely. "I will, and I will win."

 

And somehow, I knew that it was true. Jason had been training his whole life to take down Bashere. In a fight against him, he would be the victor.

 

All of us continued to chat for a little bit. After a while however, Jason suddenly began to usher everyone out of the room. Eventually only Hiei and I were left. I eyed him worriedly as he slowly began to approach the bed that I was in.

 

"...Hiei," I started slowly. "I..." I trailed off, unsure of exactly what I wanted to say. I'm sorry for not telling you? No, I wasn't really. I'd done what I'd had to do, and I didn't regret it in the least.

 

Our awkward silence was broken by the sound of Hiei's chuckles. My eyes widened, showing my surprise.

 

"This...has been interesting," he commented. "You're a good fighter. You almost stalemated me."

 

I nodded. "It was indeed...interesting...to fight you too."

 

Hiei leaned back against the wall near my bed. "So, a youkai, huh? You always did seem to be a bit different from the rest."

 

I shrugged lightly. "I didn't even know until a day after I first met you," I admitted. "And what about you? Mr. Dragon Tattoo."

 

Hiei shrugged uncomfortably. "...Sorry about that," he replied. "But, you know..." He fingered the bandages wrapped around his arm. "...It's called the Dragon of Darkness," he said softly after a moment. "It took me forever to master control of it..."

 

I nodded my understanding. "I can see that," I replied. "He was massive..."

 

The two of us stayed silent for another minute before I slowly started to shift out of the bed. "How long have I been out for anyway?"

 

"You've only been unconscious for about a half an hour. The Healers took care of all your wounds." I nodded my thanks at his explanation.

 

"Well," I said brightly as I stood up completely. "We'd better get going then, ne? Lunch sounds really good right about now."

 

"Hn," Hiei grunted, smirking slightly. He opened the door and we both stepped out.

 

------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------

 

Ten minutes later found my friends and me walking along an empty upper balcony of the stadium. According to Kurama there was a quicker passage to the hotel this way. I was speaking with Jessica and Yusuke as we walked when I stopped abruptly, my eyes narrowing.

 

Before us, leaning up against the railing, was Bashere.

 

As we all stopped Bashere turned to face us. No one said a word for a minute before, finally, Jason stepped forward warily.

 

"Good luck with the upcoming fight," he said confidently. "May the best youkai win."

 

Slowly, Bashere let a smirk come over his face. "Yes," he began. "Unfortunately, it is not you that I wish to fight against." Without any other warning he was suddenly moving forward before my confused brother could even react.

 

I froze, becoming completely and utterly still. I stared with wide, shocked eyes at the sight before me, unable to believe what I was seeing. It couldn't be true. It couldn't.

 

Bashere was standing not an inch from Jason, his cold, cruel smirk contrasting greatly with Jason's shell-shocked face. Beneath the two, crimson blood was already starting to pool. It was originating from where Bashere's hand was shoved all the way through Jason's chest. I could see his claws protruding from Jason's back.

 

Time suddenly seemed to start up again. In one smooth motion Bashere jerked his arm out of Jason. Unsupported, Jason crumpled to the ground. Bashere let out a short bark of laughter and then glanced at me before turning and disappearing.

 

Jason's glazed, sightless sapphire eyes stared upwards toward the sunny, cloudless sky.