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Four-04: Shield Maiden - Part2

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        Amaya looked from the darkness to the protective talisman in her hand, then eventually the captive child.

        Kurama emerged from the fog to find himself at a far corner of the warehouse. He turned quickly, ready to evade the next attack, only to be surprised when it never came. The cloud of black grew increasingly denser by the moment, slowly congealing into a more solid state that reminded him alarmingly of the stuffing inside the smaller versions of the six colorful demons.

        The snarls and howls of the children grew quiet in a matter of seconds, leaving only the music of the shakuhachi. A series of sharp pops, six to be precise, heralded violent churning of the dense cloud as it twisted and swirled into rounded shapes. It was by the fourth pop that the fog thinned enough for Kurama to witness what exactly was happening – portions of the thick darkness condensed itself into several balls before bursting into the colorful demons in their diminutive state until there were exactly six in total once more.

        Irokafue stopped playing so that she could reach out and caress each of the color demons in turn, as they hovered around her. A veritable sea of glistening oil black children crouched at her feet, creating a densely packed protective ring around her on all sides. “You see, Demon? My little ones love their big brothers and sisters too. That’s why they will never let even death destroy our happy little family.”

        Although the situation was still unfavorable due to the children placed between Kurama and Irokafue, the demon fox found circumstances slightly better than they were a moment ago. The revival of the color demons complicated matters, but not by much. A quick glance out of the corner of his eye verified that Amaya and Botan were still safely within the Spirit Detective’s Territory. That just left him with the problem of freeing the children from Irokafue’s thrall and placing them out of harm’s way. He needed a way to separate her from them somehow.

        “You sound so sure that your children love you, but I have to wonder,” Kurama said. “Everything I’ve seen so far suggests that those six aren’t real living creatures, but artificial constructs you created with your demonic energy. Do they really love you, or did you create them to act as though they are capable of possessing that emotion?”

        A small spasm in Irokafue’s cheek caused her eyelid to flutter. “Whom are you to speak of love? You, whom are incapable of feeling such emotion? You, whom feel no hint of desire towards the female form whatsoever? You, whom showed no mercy in murdering innocent children? I think not!” Her expression grew easier and she began to smile. “But worry not, I shall show you a demonstration of what true artificial love looks like.”

        Botan made a noise that was somewhere between a growl and a repressed scream, as her hatred for everything Irokafue had done so far mounted to the breaking point. She shook her arms at the silver demon, alternating between clenching her hands into fists and wagging her finger. “I’ve had just about all I can take from you! Where do you get off saying these horrible things about Kurama when you don’t know the first thing about him? You’re absolutely one of the most selfish, hypocritical monsters I’ve had the misfortune of laying my eyes on! You deserve to be locked up in a tiny cell in a dungeon in the deepest depths of Demon World so that no child will ever risk getting anywhere near you again!” She paused to take a breath and let it out through her nose. “And it’s ‘who’ not ‘whom’!”

        Irokafue played another song on her shakuhachi, one that sounded distinctly different from the last, yet still somehow seemed just as sinister. Kurama readied himself for anything, not yet able to do much more than that. He held a half formed plan of attack in his mind, but he could not act on it until he was sure what the female demon’s move would be and he had a better sense of her abilities.

        There was energy in the music produced by the bamboo flute. Kurama could feel it resonate inside his head, attempting to command his thoughts. The former thief suppressed the minor urge he felt to indulge in old habits and snort in disdain when he realized the purpose of this particular song. “I hate to disappoint you, but that tactic won’t work on me. My mind is not nearly weak enough to be controlled by something like that.”

        Irokafue did not so much as twitch beyond moving her fingers across the surface of the shakuhachi.

        Kurama made sure to be discreet as he glanced in the direction of his comrades, who were located at the opposite end of the warehouse. Botan did not display any unusual behavior, just exasperation at the current situation. Amaya appeared troubled, as she was unable to keep her gaze fixated on any one spot. Perhaps the music did not have an effect on women, or, more likely, the Spirit Detective’s Territory protected the pair from that as well. If Irokafue’s intention was to control any of them, then now was the time to make his move before she realized that her strategy was not working.

        “Do you intend to force me to submit?” Kurama said. “I can assure you that I am not like those dolls you created, which lack anything resembling a brain or a soul. You cannot even overcome the minds of the children you’ve stolen and force them to love you. Instead, you rob them of their sanity and leave them only with the basest of animal impulses.”

        “Stop talking about Mamma like that, you jerk!” Aoirappa said.

        “Yeah!” the purple demon said. “We love Mamma.” The rest of the demons chimed in their agreement as the transformed children growled.

        “I tire of your puppet show, Irokafue,” Kurama said, sounding faintly bored. “I will not stand for you insulting my intelligence by pretending any of these toys of yours or your captives can speak for themselves.”

        The green demon flailed her stubby arms, steam literally spewing from the sides of her head. “Stop it, stop it, stop it!”

        “Stop it or we’ll make you stop!” the orange demon said.

        Kurama narrowed his eyes a fraction. “Have you forgotten how easily I’ve dispatched your toys, Irokafue? Unleash them upon me again and I promise you that I will not even leave so much as scraps behind.”

        Irokafue’s eyes were slits of blazing light that focused entirely on Kurama. Around her, the color demons shuddered and drew closer to their creator, as though remembering the results of the previous attack. The transformed children rose to their feet, bodies hunched and ready to spring as they snarled at the demon fox.

        Botan wrung her hands together. “What is Kurama doing?” she whispered. “Surely he realizes Irokafue is just going to send the children after him again if he keeps talking like that. He won’t be able to fight back against them!”

        “Maybe he figured out how to change them back,” Amaya whispered. “Does he have the power to purge demonic possession or reverse transformations or something?”

        A quick recall of Kurama’s abilities only brought a grimace that marred Botan’s already troubled features. “No. At least, I don’t think so.” The reaper moaned and rubbed her forehead, trying to ease the unbearable tension there. “I know he must have a plan, but I can’t think of any attack that might end well in this situation. There’s no way he could be planning… Not after Amanuma…” She allowed that direction of thought die, not wanting to consider the idea that Kurama might have given up hope on saving all the children under these circumstances.

        The implication was enough for Amaya. Forcing back the sickening feeling of bile in her throat, she turned to the child captive in the inner barrier, cupped the talisman in her palm, and waited for the boy to pause in his futile scratching at the shield that kept him captive. He might not have been able to pass through the border of the Spirit Detective’s Territory, but Amaya felt no resistance whatsoever when she reached in and snatched up the child’s wrist. She felt the energy blazing through her arm into her palm, where the talisman turned it into miniature bolts of lightning that made their way along every inch of the boy’s body, causing him to fall into uncontrolled spasms, as though he were undergoing electrocution. The noise he made was not of a terrifying creature, but the cry of a child in agony.

        The boy’s scream set off a chain reaction of events. The rest of the transformed children burst into action, charging towards Kurama like flood of dark water gushing forth from a ruptured dam. Before the children got close, Kurama unleashed plumes of specially powdered mold from his palms to create a cloud of white around him, which quickly enveloped the brood and filled the rest of the warehouse. The color demons shot towards Amaya’s Territory as fast as bullets from a gun before the smokescreen reached them, only to bounce harmlessly off the light blue dome.

        Botan barely noticed the attempted breach, too fixated on Amaya. The boy had gone limp, dangling by the wrist clutched in the Spirit Detective’s faintly trembling grip. The child’s torturous scream still rang in the reaper’s ears. “Amaya… what… what have you done?”

        The whisper did not register to Amaya. She brought her arm around the boy, who hung as wilted as a dying flower in her arms, and lowered him to the ground. She brought her fingers to his neck, seeking out a pulse, as she moved her ear just above his mouth. The warm brush of raspy breath against her cheek and the steady pulse she felt beneath her fingers brought Amaya such a rush of relief that it made her lightheaded. When she leaned back to get a better look at the boy, she was welcomed by the sight of healthy peach colored skin and a face that looked entirely right for a boy to have. “Thank God…” She paused to wipe the moisture from her eyes with the back of her sleeve. “He’s still alive.”

        The barrier that once separated the girls from the boy shattered into pinpricks of light that disappeared in the blink of an eye, allowing Botan to kneel beside Amaya and the boy. She felt so overwhelmed by what had transpired that it took her a moment to recover. “It worked? He’s back to normal?” She ran her hand over the boy’s body, using what minor healing abilities she possessed to check the child’s vitals. His body gave signs of fatigue and stress, but otherwise appeared normal. “You’re right. I can’t sense any demonic influence in him anymore. He should be fine as long as he gets some rest.”

        When Amaya spoke, her words came out rushed, making her feel as if she was giving a confession rather than an explanation. “I know you said the talisman might hurt him, but I remembered how Fukui was possessed by that demon insect back then and the talisman killed it but didn’t hurt her, so I thought that maybe it would work here too even if he was transformed into a demon, and there wasn’t enough time to just wait when all the other kids are in danger so I thought…” She whipped her head towards Botan, her eyes blazing. “Anyway, we have to hurry up and let Kurama know and help him change the rest of them back before any of the other kids get hurt!”

        Botan nodded, pushing back her ill feelings towards the gamble Amaya took and stood up. “Right.” She turned to the perimeter of the Spirit Detective’s Territory, seeking out Kurama, but saw only white smoke. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled as loudly as she could muster. “Hey! Kurama! We found a cure! We know a way to change all the kids back to normal!”

        The yellow color demon smashed his face into the surface of the barrier, causing Botan to cry out and jump backward out of reflex. Aoirappa and the red demon followed suit, slamming their bodies repeatedly into the shield. “Give us the little one and we’ll let you live!” one of the three said. They moved in and out of the smoke too quickly and sounded too similar for the reaper to be sure which one spoke.

        Botan pressed her knuckles into her hips and gave the demons a reproachful look. “You might as well stop that right now. None of your other attacks even came close to breaking through. We’re going to beat your mother and free all the children, so just give it up and maybe King Yama will show a little mercy on you.”

        “You’re going to die,” one of the color demons said. “You can’t keep us out forever and Mamma will never, ever let you escape.”

        Botan never had the chance to retort. Aoirappa screamed as he crashed into the shield, black stuffing bursting outward from his midsection thanks to a brief flash of green slicing him vertically in half. Two more cries echoed the first further out into the smoke before a very welcome sight appeared outside the border of Amaya’s Territory. “Kurama!”

        A shrill screech pierced the air as the sound of the shakuhachi abruptly ceased. “My children! You killed my children again! How dare you! How dare you!”

        Kurama ignored Irokafue’s ranting as he looked from Botan to Amaya holding the unconscious boy and back again. “We don’t have much time,” he said lowly, so as not to be overheard by the enemy despite how the silver demon shrieked. “How were you able to reverse the transformation?”

        Amaya readjusted her hold on the boy and held up her charm. “I used my Spirit Energy through this talisman. It protects against demon attacks and can apparently force them out of people.”

        The haunting notes of the shakuhachi once more filled the air. The song was almost instantly recognizable as the same one that Irokafue played earlier.

        A slight smile tugged at Kurama’s lips, making him look every bit as crafty as the fox he was. “Perfect. Amaya, I need you to come with me and create a new Territory exactly where I tell you to after you dispel this one. Botan, take the boy out of here while they’re distracted.” He pointed to the side. “Just go straight in that direction and you’ll find a door leading to the outside. It should be far enough away for you to escape their notice.”

        “Right,” Amaya said. She felt relieved as she switched over the weight of the boy to Botan when the reaper knelt beside her. As dangerous as it was to leave the safety of her Territory, the dark haired girl could no longer stand the idea of doing nothing but watch. It was time for the new Spirit Detective to fight back.

        Botan cradled the boy in her arms and looked in the direction Kurama had indicated before returning her gaze to the demon fox. “What about the other kids? They must be searching everywhere in this smoke looking for you.”

        “You needn’t worry about them,” Kurama said. “Now go. Hurry!”

        The group separated immediately the instant Amaya revoked her Territory. Botan dashed blindly into the smoke, trying to maintain a straight path while silently praying that she would not run into anything worse than the wall. The route Kurama traversed was more complicated, which forced Amaya to hold tightly to his hand in order not to get lost, as visibility ended after only half a meter in front of her eyes, rendering the redhead mostly obscured by the white cloud. The Spirit Detective took care to keep the charm clutched tightly in the palm of her opposite hand, as she did not want to risk finding out what might happen should the talisman touch the fox demon.

        Anxiety bled like a poison through Amaya, bringing an unpleasant tension to her muscles that caused an unwanted strain as she forced them to move quickly. She expected an attack at any moment, particularly when the white smokescreen darkened until it turned pitch black. The murky smoke felt dense and gave a slimy sensation that created goose bumps on her skin. When Kurama finally indicated where to start marking the boundary of her Territory her entire body flinched at the sudden sound of his voice. She did her best to recover quickly and concentrated on forming the barrier, occasionally dropping marbles to ensure that there would be enough lattice points. She nearly lost her focus when the black smoke suddenly disappeared with the sound of three distinct pops before the shakuhachi stopped playing.

        The white smokescreen had been somewhat thinned by the black smoke, allowing Amaya a little more visibility. She occasionally caught glimpses of shadowy figures that thrashed in the smokescreen, which she could only guess were the children, yet for some reason they never came close. She wondered how Kurama managed to keep them at bay and what his plan entailed. The two stopped running as soon as they reached the beginning of the circle and the Spirit Detective opened up her Territory. A strange sense of resistance caught her off guard, but she forced the dome to form despite feeling as though had metaphorically expected to lift a one-kilogram weight but found it to be closer to ten. It was not difficult to figure out the reason – the Territory Kurama directed her to make was at easily four times larger than any she had created before, spanning half the length of the warehouse.

        Kurama released Amaya’s hand once he was sure she had finished forming her Territory. He was quick to note the tense posture of her body and the tightness in her face. She had taxed herself, as he had feared might happen when forming a shield so large. He needed to end the fight quickly before the Spirit Detective’s strength gave out. “Stay inside the barrier, but take care not to wander far from the boundary.”

        Amaya had been ready to question the meaning behind Kurama’s warning when she noticed shapes writhing within her Territory. Cut off from the fox demon’s energy, the smoke quickly dispersed inside the barrier, revealing a field of plants that she at first mistook for very long but thin blades of grass. Each slender leaf stretched at least two meters tall and was covered in a plethora of tiny fibers that glistened wetly, reflecting light like countless prisms to make a field of miniature sparkling rainbows. Violet and white flowers adorned the plants, each the size of a hand. As lovely as the plants were, the sight of the demonized children struggling to break free of numerous leaves that coiled around them tainted the picturesque scene. “What… are those?”

        “The Captivating Rainbow Plant,” Kurama said. “It’s a relative of the Byblis, only this particular branch was cultivated by a little known race of demons in Demon World to catch food. They’re harmless on their own, but it’s quite difficult to escape once caught by the mucilage they excrete, so try not to get too close.”

        Amaya held up her charm as she looked to Kurama. “Should I–”

        “No,” Kurama said. He could guess what Amaya was going to ask, but the risk was too great. There was no telling how long her energy would last, and Irokafue was likely to launch a counter offensive at any moment. “Just focus on maintaining your Territory. We can concentrate on curing the children once Irokafue is defeated.”

        Amaya felt somehow dissatisfied that she was once more relegated to simply standing by on the sidelines, but gave her assent regardless. She knew that she was not in a video game or television show. She could not simply run around half-cocked attacking the enemy with no real fighting experience and expect everything to miraculously work itself out.

        Once Amaya entered the safety of her Territory, Kurama stopped putting his energy into maintaining his smokescreen, allowing it to begin dissipating as he turned in the direction he detected Irokafue. Now that he cut off a source of her power, the silvery demon would be more vulnerable and desperate.

        Frustration welled up in Amaya, squeezing her chest like a vice as she watched Kurama disappear into the smokescreen. Despite the turmoil she put herself through and the risk she took to test the talisman’s effects, once more she was left with nothing she could do but stand behind a shield and wait. She knew that Kurama was right, that she needed to conserve her energy in order to protect the children, but she could not shake the feeling that there was something more she could do to help. Her head and shoulders sagged as her eyes strayed to the Concentration Ring. If only I had a clear shot and more practice.

        Inspiration struck Amaya when the Psychic Spyglass slid down the bridge of her nose. She quickly readjusted the glasses and turned on the switch. Instantly the white cloud surrounding her Territory appeared to retreat. It was not gone completely, but it had thinned to the point that she could see virtually the entire warehouse and some of the streets outside through a translucent gray haze that was the warehouse walls.

        Amaya found Kurama quickly enough as he used his Rose Whip to dispatch the blue, red, and yellow color demons while they flailed about blindly within the smokescreen. Heat flooded her cheeks and she nearly looked away the instant she spotted him, but she managed to suppress that reaction with some effort. Now is not the time to be embarrassed.

        Kurama stood calmly not far Irokafue, watching her come into view through the thinning smoke. Her fingers clutched her shakuhachi, curved and tensed, as though she might break it or lash out with her fingernails at any moment. He readied himself for an impulsive attack even as he waited for the flute-bearing demon to see the results of his smokescreen. He would make her aware that she had lost utterly before he delivered the final blow to such a repugnant woman. He waited for the faintest widening of her eyes, a sign that she had spotted Amaya’s Territory behind him, before he spoke. “It’s over.”

        Irokafue’s breath came out in a wet hiss through her tightly gritted teeth. “You… What have you done? What have you done to my children? Return them to me!”

        “You can no longer use these children as shields or as a source of power for your constructs,” Kurama said. “They will be returned home to their true mothers.”

        Irokafue swung her shakuhachi around in a wild arc, the wind whistling through the holes. “You will pay. You. Will. Suffer. You whom stole babes from their mother’s breast shall know the true meaning of suffering!” She pointed her flute towards Kurama. “I will make your torment unend–”

        Kurama did not give Irokafue the chance to counterattack or finish her tirade. His anger prompted him to act on impulse – much as he had done against the older Toguro brother – and he struck the silver demon with his Rose Whip. The thorny vines wound around Irokafue’s neck and neatly tore her head from her shoulders in a spray of black blood. He felt a familiar grim sense of satisfaction as he watched Irokafue’s head hit the ground and roll away from him, her hair tumbling across her face. Her body toppled a moment later, still tightly clutching her shakuhachi.

        Amaya turned away, not wanting to see the corpse that was once Irokafue. The decapitation reminded her too much of the way Horumon killed Nobusuke. It was a quick death, true, and it was likely just as necessary to kill Irokafue as it was to kill Horumon, but she did not want to look at a dead body any longer than she had to. Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention, and she cast her gaze towards the warehouse walls, jerking back at what she saw through them. “Kurama! Outside! There are–”

        A scream drowned out Amaya’s words, causing both her and Kurama to turn quickly towards its source. The pair instantly recognized the voice. “Botan!”

        Kurama wasted no time and ran in the direction the scream came from, sparing only a brief glance over his shoulder towards the Spirit Detective. “Stay in your Territory!”

        “Wait!” Amaya said, but her warning came too late. Kurama was already gone. There was no way to alert him of the danger outside now – not as long as she was hiding within her Territory.

        A wetly rasping voice went almost completely unnoticed beneath the din of the captive children. “Unending… suffering.”

        Amaya whipped her head around and choked back a scream when she saw Irokafue’s hands move, fingernails scraping grooves into the cement floor, as the silver demon’s headless body rose to its knees. The head of Irokafue twitched and flopped around before the hands picked it up and placed it back on the stump of the neck. The corners of Irokafue’s mouth stretched to her jaw line as the supposedly dead demon spoke. “A mother always keeps her promises for the sake of her children.”

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Story Summary: With Yusuke gone and Koenma on the run, King Yama chooses a new Spirit Detective, but there's something off about the person he's selected. It's up to Botan and Kurama to figure out the truth and keep the new Spirit Detective alive.

Chapter Summary: It's time for Botan to lead the new Spirit Detective group on their first mission to a heart of a demon hunting grounds. Amaya must prove that she is ready to help save Mushiyori from demonic invasion, in spite of lingering doubts. With someone as powerful as Kurama, D class demons don't stand a chance.

(Half) Chapter Summary: Hostages stand in Kurama's way, preventing him from dispatching the horrible human hunting demons. Botan and Amaya are left helpless on the sidelines, only able to watch until someone comes up with a new plan of attack. The Spirit Detective has a tough decision to make.

:iconderpyhooves: Yes, a cliffhanger. No, this isn't another break for a hidden third part. The chapter ends here. Sorry, but you'll just have to wait for chapter five to find out what happens. This is what happens when drafts expand to at least twice their original size. But, hey, everyone likes cruel cliffhangers that leave you waiting on the edge of your seats for an entire month, right? :icontwilightsparkleplz: Or maybe not.

:iconpinkiepieportal1plz: In lighter news, I believe Portal Pinkie Pie shall be the official mascot for two-part chapters. These ponies ain't going anywhere from these descriptions anytime soon.

2 out of 3 other posting sites for alternate reading venues suggest you read this chapter in one sitting.
FanFiction.Net [link]
You-fic.net [link]
Livejournal - Part 1 [link]
Livejournal - Part 2 [link]
Archive of Our Own [link]

Yu Yu Hakusho, Botan, Kurama, and all associated original concepts © Yoshihiro Togashi
(Pending) Art, Amaya Mamori, other original characters, and story © Yuki Ryu
Please do not alter or redistribute without permission.
© 2011 - 2024 yukidragon
Comments11
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NoNamedFish's avatar
An interesting story; perhaps a bit too ambitious for fan-fiction.

Now, I'm trying to remember where I've heard the term 'shield-maiden' before. Is it a Yu Yu Hakusho thing? I'm thinking A Song of Ice and Fire, but my memory's not cooperating.