Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Game of Five ❯ And So It Ends ( Chapter 5 )

"Kurama, what is going on?" Hiei demanded as he pushed himself off the wall.

"How much did you hear?" Kurama asked, also pushing off the wall.

"I heard what was said after you all arrived."

"That's about what's happening then. Loki forces her," he pointed at Bekka, who was still dazed against the wall, "to play his games. He decided that we were to play as well. She was supposed to contact all four of us before he got any of us, but he caught you before she started looking for us, maybe before he challenged her."

Yusuke and Kuwabara pushed off the wall, complaining about the sudden burst of energy that threw them there. They did not appear to be harmed, however. Kurama looked again at Bekka, becoming concerned that she still hadn't moved. Hiei followed his gaze, looking intently at the girl. "She doesn't have any aura. Are you sure she's alive?"

Kurama walked over to her, followed by the other three. She was still breathing, but her eyes were unfocused. "Bekka?"

"Hey, Absinthe, wake up," Yusuke put in.

Bekka's fist flew up and landed on his cheek solidly. Her eyes refocused and she glared at him, "I told you not to call me that, idiot."

Hiei grunted, Kuwabara laughed outright, and Kurama tried to smother his laughter as he asked her, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just needed to regroup a bit." She tried to get up and found that her body didn't want to cooperate with her efforts. "Okay, maybe a bit more. Sit down, we need to figure out the next part of this stupid game." She looked around the chamber. "Figures, no doors. Why make anything simple?"

"What do you mean the next part of the game?" Hiei asked, still trying to figure out exactly what was going on. Games were a stupid waste of time, in his opinion. He did not want to be part of this one, but it seemed he was stuck. At least he wasn't the only one, he thought.

"The game has two parts. Find and release you and something about bearding a lion. I'm guessing that we not only have to figure out what that means, but also find the stupid lion to beard. Oh, and then there's getting out of here in one piece."

Any further questions were cut off by a rumbling at the other end of the chamber. Bekka forced herself up and watched with the others as a creature began to take shape out of thin air. The figure solidified, and it did look like a lion, more and less. It had the head and hind legs of a lion, and wings, beak, and front legs of a large bird. Its body transitioned between the two. Behind it appeared a small door.

"What is that?" Kuwabara asked, crouching defensively.

Bekka stood behind the boys, all of whom were on the defensive. "That is a griffon. A mythological creature that is an unholy cross between a lion and an eagle. It can fly like the eagle. Its claws and talons are sharp enough to tear a person in half with the lightest touch. It is also very intelligent. I believe we just have to get past it to get to the door."

"That's it?" Kuwabara asked.

"Well, it's immune to my magic, too, but I was going to leave that part off."

"So we gotta protect you?" Yusuke asked, wincing as his cheek moved. He would be the last to admit that her punch had fazed him.

"I'm not completely defenseless, thank you very much."

He glanced over his shoulder and saw that she had a knife in her hand. It was a short blade, only about 10 centimeters long. "How is that going to help?" he asked derisively.

She grinned wickedly at him. "I can still shield. I just can't use any offensive magic against it."

"Yusuke, shut up for a while, will you?" Kurama snapped at the other boy. "Bekka, quit baiting him. I swear, you two are worse than Hiei and Kuwabara. Bekka, you know about this creature. What is the best attack method?"

Bekka managed to look repentant while keeping her eyes on the griffon. She frowned, "In the myths, they are weakest where the two bodies join, but very defensive of that part of their bodies. I think if we all attack at once, one of us should be able to get to that point. We just have to avoid hitting each other."

"Hn, you're going off of a myth?" Hiei scoffed.

She glared at him, "Got a better idea? Keep in mind that the witch's mirror was a myth, too."

He held her glare. "Fine, we attack."

She smiled sarcastically at him, "Just avoid its feet, Shorty."

"You do have a death wish, don't you?" Kurama asked as Hiei sent her a dirty look.

"I've had a death wish for most of the time I've been playing these stupid games. I just don't want to suffer Loki's non-deaths and that's why I play." She dropped into a defensive stance, ready to charge the griffon. "Ready?" She looked around at each of them. Kuwabara had a glowing sword in his hands, an aura sword, she noted. Hiei had pulled out a katana that glinted sharply at the blade. Kurama had a whip in his hand. Yusuke's hands glowed with his aura. She flicked up a barrier around herself, hoping that the others wouldn't need it because she didn't have enough energy to shield all of them. "Then, let's go."

The five of them rushed the griffon, coming from different angles. The creature was so over whelmed it didn't know which way to turn, trying to catch all of them at once. It reared up on its hind legs, trying to use its claws against those coming against him. Kurama and Bekka kept its head busy and Yusuke and Kuwabara took on the claws. Hiei sidestepped them and plunged his sword into the creature's side. A reverberating howl tore out of the griffon's mouth, throbbing through the five as the creature died.

"Hn, that wasn't so hard." Hiei pulled his sword from the creature and headed toward the door. The other four, surprised at how quickly the fight was over, followed quickly. As they crossed the threshold, they were again plunged in darkness. Bekka fumbled through her pockets for her matches and candle again. As she got it lit, they looked around and saw not a straight path, but several pathways.

"Oh, joy, a maze," Bekka pointed out sarcastically.

"I can lead us out," Kuwabara said.

"Well, that helps. Here, take the candle," Bekka told him, holding out the object.

They walked silently for a long time, taking so many turns that Bekka's sense of direction was completely confused. After countless turns, they found themselves outside the gate they had entered earlier that night. Surprised, Bekka looked around. "That's it?"

"Yeah, I didn't expect you to get past the mirror." Loki was standing behind them, now in a yard of a school, looking like a human.

Bekka gaped at him, unsure what to think or do. "So, the game is over?"

"This game is. This means…" his voice trailed off and he held up his hand. Light came from Bekka's chest, gathered itself into a ball in his palm. She looked woozily at him as he closed his fist around the ball of light and extinguished it. "This means, my dear Absinthe, that you are no longer a witch. I'll give you a little time to get used to the idea." He vanished from sight.

Kurama looked at her and saw a normal human aura and that her face looked like she was going to be sick. "You alright?" he asked gently.

"I feel so weird, like everything's shifted around me." She rubbed her forehead. "I can't feel anything outside my head. Is this what it's like to be normal? It's been so long…" her voice trailed off uncertainly as she looked at him with slightly unfocused eyes. She took a step and her knees collapsed out from under her. She landed heavily on the ground and sat there weaving as if she were drunk.

Kuwabara picked her up, "Let's get her back to my place. Maybe she'll feel better in the morning," although he didn't sound too certain.

She managed to mutter on her way to unconsciousness, "Dum spiro, spero."

A/N Short epilogue to follow tomorrow morning. I've got homework to do tonight. This should make the Shadow happy, no?