Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ THE WOLVES OF MUSHIYORI CITY ❯ Word Of Mouth ( Chapter 12 )

 

CHAPTER 12: WORD OF MOUTH

 

 

After thirty minutes of paralyzing Kaito by standing on his shadow Asato gave him enough room to sit down so they could both rest.

"Have you come to you senses yet?"
"Not yet." Kaito answered. "If you remain immobile your leg muscles will only atrophy again."
"I can still walk around and keep you pinned down. Put on some Earth, Wind, and Fire let's chill out some. You're too smart of a guy to do something stupid like wander around the makai."

Kaito pushed his thick rimless glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I can break your psychic territory and easily escape simply by opening mine. One can only survive for so long after I have taken their soul, Asato. Bear this in mind."

Asato hung his head for a moment then snapped it back up to look at Kaito."How in the hell do you manage to have an IQ twice the size of mine yet still behave like a complete fucking idiot? Let me spell something out for you. That maniac that tortured Yana and almost killed Mitarai and Hannah? He was their weakest guy. I'll put it into Star Trek terms so you'll understand. That guy was one of those nameless guys in the red shirts that always gets killed. This redshirt took out our best people and you want to go right after Captain Kirk?"

Kaito smirked. "You'll forgive me for suggesting that you are merely projecting your own fears onto me. I am not afraid. Therefore I will go into the makai."

"....Fuck you, Kaito. Yeah, I'm afraid. Petrified, nervous and just plain shit-scared. But that doesn't make your idea any less stupid."

 

Asato sighed as he closed his territory and freed his friend.

"Go on. I'll watch one of those old Bullwinkle cartoons you like in your honor after you die."

"....Thank you, Asato....thank you, and I'm sorry. I had no grounds for judging you."

Asato took a deep, ragged breath and tried to keep his voice from breaking as he spoke. "I'm just afraid you'll have plenty of grounds when you get back. That's if you get back. Don't go. Please. I-I'm running out of friends. Just don't go."

"I have to. There's no logic in this, I know that. It's more of an instinct and I can no more ignore my instincts than one can kill themselves by holding their breath."

 

"You and Mitarai as such selfish knobs. He uses me and Yana and you go around sacrificing yourself no matter how it'll make us feel."

Asato once again opened his psychic territory and moved his shadow on to of Kaito's thereby paralyzing him. He then went about turning off all the other lights in the apartment so he could roam freely without releasing his hold on Kaito's shadow.

"I'm taking a shower and then we're leaving. Don't go anywhere."

"Funny."

 

After a twenty minute wait Kaito debated opening his territory and taking his friend's soul. Before he could make a decision he felt Asato's territory diminish and saw his friend emerge from the back cleanly shaved and combing his long blonde hair back.

"Seen my good coat?"

Kaito pointed to the long black leather coat on his coat rack which Asato claimed and left without a word with Kaito in tow.

 

"What happened to all of your synonyms for being afraid, Asato?" Kaito asked once he and Asato entered his car.

"I still got the fear...it's just that your stupidity is contagious."

To lighten his friend's mood Kaito lip synched the words to the song "Mothership Connection" which played on his cd player.

 

Throughout the drive and leading Asato through the maze of tunnels in Irima cave Kaito never ceased singing under his breath or swaying to his own rythym.

"Hey, Funkmaster General, when are we getting to the demon tunnel?"

Kaito pointed to the opening mouth of another cave. "Once upon a time called now. And you may refer to me as Doctor Funkenstein," he said in that oddly dry form of humor he practiced.

Asato almost asked if Kaito had a flashlight but knew it would only launch him into another song.

 

Kaito's rare bout of humor and mirth went into remission the second the glimpsed the demon tunnel. "I do not mind telling you that I'm somewhat terrified."

"Moron. Now that we're here it'd be stupid not to go into the makai."

Kaito extended his territory beyond Asato. "Don't speak any Klingon."

"I'll try to restrain myself."

 

Despite having Kaito's psychic territory surrounding and protecting him from harm Asato opened his own territory and readied his shadow for a fight. The demons that attacked them suffered from damage in direct proportion to their attacks. After the seventh demon broke their arm on the barrier around the two psychics the others decided to patiently wait in line for their turn to enter the demon tunnel.

 

"You are the one with greater spirit awareness, Asato. Lead on."

Asato shrugged and pointed in a random direction. Kuwabara had taught him years before how to harness his mid-level awareness and that his random guesses were his best hope of finding what he needed.

"If this is hell," Asato said after nearly a mile of silence "I'd expect it to be frozen over....I mean, you did decide to use your vacation time, right? Now I'm sure the world will end."

"You do realize that your attempts at humor only amuse yourself, right?"

"I am the target audience, after all." Asato pointed to a tall bone spire on the horizon. "I think that's it. How about we just ring the doorbell and run? I'm sure that's what Sun-Tsu would have done if they had doorbells in his time."

Kaito decided that the only proper response to Asato's question was ignoring it.

 

Upon reaching a cliff the two psychics stopped and looked down at a horde of hundreds of demons swarming around the outside of the spire.

"Any idea how we're going to get down, Kaito?"

"Why don't you jump first and tell me if it's safe once you reach the bottom?"

"You're sure full of humor tonight. I'm looking for an escalator."

 

Once Asato found a staircase carved into the cliffside he sat down at the top and looked down at the two oblivious fire demon guards at the bottom. It wasn't until he was five minutes into resting his sore legs that the two guards noticed him and charged up the stairs.

With the sun behind them the two demon's shadows stetched far enough for Asato to slowly open his territory and overlap their shadows with his own and still stop them half-way up the stairs.

After he was rested and Kaito caught up with him Asato began making his descent down the stairs. When he made it to the two paralyzed demons he pushed them off the side of the stairs while Kaito tried to suppress a smile.

 

After dozens of guards were either frozen in place or suffered broken limbs from trying to attack the two humans the rest decided to cut Asato and Yu a path and let them walk into certain doom.

A tall, silver-haired wind demon stopped them at the doors flanked by two goblins each holding a long spear which dwarfed them in size.

"I take it you are the slaves we sent Shinji out for." He bent down and squinted at Kaito. "You look like an office slave." He then turned his head toward Asato. "You...um...I don't know. Talk our demon resources department."

"We are not slaves. We're here to negotiate on behalf of the Spirit Detective," Yu said, trying to keep his voice level and diplomatic.

 

"Uh-huh.....you don't say...."

The demon reached for one of the spears being held but stopped when he heard the door open and turned his head and saw a gray ogre in a black demon pelt loincloth that reached to his ankles.

"I suggest not killing them at this moment, Wladimir."

The fair-haired one narrowed his eyes but conceded. "Say your piece and leave. Normally we don't negotiate with food but my lieutenant seems to think you might have something worthwhile to say. I suggest being brief."

 

Kaito took a series of shallow breaths to center himself. "I take that you two are behind the coming demon invasion?"
Wladimir rolled his red eyes. "Yes. Anything else? Nevermind. If you have some sort of assinine plan that you think can benefit us both please relay it to my second Etrigan."

The gray ogre stepped forward.

"Your best chance at survival is to join our slave pool. You did well to make it past our guards but they're nothing but cannon fodder. Join or just walk away."

 

Asato and Kaito looked at eachother and opened their territories simultaneously. Etrigan found himself paralyzed by having Asato on his shadow but could not fathom what Kaito's psychic ability was and kept silent.

For brief second Asato lost consciousness which was more than enough time for Kaito to be knocked out and himself to be pinned to the wall of the spire by his throat.

"If you lose concentration for even an instant you can consider yourself dead. Me, I don't waste valuable advice on the soon to be deceased. I always throw back the little fish anyway. Pick up your friend and count yourself lucky you weren't dealing with my master."

 

Once the humans left the wind demon once again joined his ogre subordinate.

"Are you sure that was wise, Etrigan?"

The ogre shrugged. "You sensed the fear rolling off of them. They'd serve us better sowing panic amoung their allies. If you disagree I can bring them back."

"Nah. Eat 'em now or later, it doesn't matter to me."

Etrigan chewed the inside of his cheek as he pondered admonishing his master. "Shinji was killed by one of their ilk. We should take them more seriously. Most of the weaker demons we've been sending through haven't been making it back."

As every other time Etrigan tried to advise his master Wladimir looked disinterested and he eventually gave up.

 

Kaito regained his consciousness after being dropped on the stairs by Asato.

"Ow. I'm guessing that we didn't win."
"I always said you were the smartest guy I know. I don't know what happened. I lost it for half a second and he's all over me. Either he psychicly distracted me or I'm getting senile."

"I felt it too," Kaito said as he sat up. "Apparently our ogre friend is a concentration breaker. I'm more worried about his leader, though since he's an unknown quantity. I think we should pick a fight and-"

"I don't like you enough to be involved in a double suicide. Let's just go home."