Only You
by Misty
Chapter
13
Naomi
blocked Mishina’s sword with her own fire blade. She attacked Mishina, only to
be blocked, too.
“If
it weren’t for Urameshi Yusuke…” Mishina started.
“If
you mean that if it weren’t for Yusuke I’d be dead now, you’re wrong,”
Naomi said, attacking again. “The fire blade was ready to come out of my hand.
Genei could have been dead now, if that happened.” Mishina blocked her fire
blade.
“That’s
not what I meant,” Mishina said, delivering another blow to Naomi, who evaded
it easily. “If it weren’t for him, we would have had this fight then. We
could have settled this already.”
“You
don’t even care what would happen to Genei?”
“Genei?”
Mishina said. “Of course not!”
“The
guy loves you, for goodness’ sake!” Naomi said angrily. She jumped away from
Mishina’s sword before it hit her.
“Love?”
Mishina said. “Love is only for the weak. Weaklings like you.”
Their
fight continued.
Kurama
was able to avoid Yusuke’s blows, but he was finding it more difficult to do
so with every blow. Yusuke had always been more powerful than him, but he was
more so now that he absorbed more power. It seemed as if he was now Super
Class-S youkai, if any of that sort existed.
Suddenly,
he was hit by one unexpected punch from Yusuke. He fell back, dropping the
sphere.
Yusuke
grabbed the orb, and gave a powerful kick to Kurama, who slammed into a tree
because of the force of the kick.
“Why
don’t you just try to kill me Kurama?” Yusuke said sarcastically. “So what
if I die, Yusuke dies, too? He’s just one less person in this world. Who
cares?”
Kurama
tried to stand up, his breath coming in short gasps.
“Well,
let’s try this thing then,” Yusuke said. “How about on you, for
starters?”
The
orb began to glow even more brightly, and power began to build up in it.
Now’s
the time, Kurama thought. He touched the ring on his finger.
“Die,
Kurama!” Yusuke hollered.
The
Yusukes leapt towards them. Wasn’t there any way to escape them?
Kuwabara
clamped his hands together. Finally, a chance to fight!
Suddenly,
someone, moving with such great speed, gave a series of punches to the Yusukes
about to attack them.
“What
are you waiting for?” the black-haired fire demon shouted. “Run!”
They
all followed him out into the hallway, with Shizuru supporting Michiko.
“Whoa,
Hiei, you are just full of surprises,” Kuwabara said, rather stunned. “When
did you wake up?”
“Just
shut up, BAKA, and keep running!” Hiei grunted, and looked back. The band of
Yusukes were still hot on their tail.
Yukina
felt weaker by the second. She just can’t keep running like this, for she was
just living on spiritual energy given to her.
She looked back, and gasped in horror. The Yusukes were beginning to
catch up with her!
She
suddenly lost her balance, and fell to the floor.
She screamed. Yusuke—one of them—was about to get her!
“YUKINAAA!!!!!”
Kuwabara yelled, and ran up to her, but he couldn’t get to her in time…
Suddenly,
Hiei appeared in front of her, and punched Yusuke in the face. He carried the
sobbing Koorime away.
“Oh,
oniisan…” she murmured without thinking.
Hiei
turned a surprised face to her. Does she know?
he thought, turning pale.
“Oh,
I’m sorry, Hiei-san,” Yukina stammered, looking away. “You..you just seem
so much like my brother to me, that I…I couldn’t help calling you that…”
“Your
brother is dead,” Hiei told her gruffly. “Don’t go thinking of me as a
replacement for your brother.
You just might be disappointed.”
Kuwabara
just couldn’t get over it.
Hiei carrying Yukina-san? “Why I oughtta…” he muttered, and punched
the Yusuke coming towards him with such ferocity that he went flying into the
wall. Kuwabara ran towards Yukina and Hiei, extremely jealous. Does
Hiei like Yukina? The little shrimp…
They
all tried to escape from the Yusukes, who were still chasing them.
Kurama
removed the ring from his finger. Now it’s time… he thought, and he
started to open a small latch in the ring.
Yusuke
looked at Kurama. Was he cowering in fear right now?
No,
wait a minute. Mishina told him that Kurama was very cunning, and planned
his every move. And right now he was doing something to his ring right now… it
all seemed so suspicious…
Yusuke
stopped the buildup of energy in the weapon, and darted towards Kurama.
He gave the red-haired lad a swift kick in the stomach, which caused
Kurama to collapse into the ground.
With
another quick movement, Yusuke seized the ring Kurama held in his hand.
“Interesting
ring, eh, Kurama?” Yusuke said, moving away. “Wonder why it’s so
significant?”
No…he
must not…Kurama thought, and hastily stood up. He rushed towards towards
Yusuke, but Yusuke brought out a rei ken, and swung at him. Yusuke hit him on
the shoulder, and gave him another kick that sent him flying into the air.
Yusuke
opened the small latch in the ring. Suddenly, a blue light came out of the ring,
and rested on a space beside him.
It
was a youkai, with green scales all over his body, and he had sharp fangs, and
four pairs of ears. The youkai tried to attack Yusuke, but with just one swing
of the rei ken, Yusuke was able to slay the green monster. It dropped down at
his side.
Kurama
clutched his bleeding shoulder, and stared aghast at the dead youkai.
“So
I see Mishina was right,” Yusuke said, and picked up the orb on the ground.
“You are cautious. That ring was sort of like a cage for youkais like
that, and you thought that if ever your plan fails, at least that youkai would
become your shield, and you’d probably suddenly
get that sphere. You really are so clever…”
The
ball began to glow more brightly again. Energy began to buildup inside it again.
“…but
not clever enough.” Yusuke finished. He laughed wickedly.
There
was no escape this time.
Mishina
tried to punch Naomi, but she was able to dodge it.
But because she was busy evading the punch, she failed to notice the
chain coming towards her.
Mishina’s
sword had changed form. It had suddenly transformed into a metal chain, with a
sharp blade at the end.
The
chain wrapped around her body, and the blade pierced her back.
She uttered a cry of pain.
“Hehe,
got you now,” Mishina laughed.
“Don’t
be too sure,” Naomi said, and then the fire blade, still in her hand, suddenly
grew longer, and stabbed Mishina in the arm.
Mishina
shrieked in pain, and let go of the chain.
Naomi
removed the blade from her back and jumped away, now free.
She ignored the throbbing of her wounded back, and started to attack
again.
But
then, she noticed what was happening in the fight between Yusuke and Kurama.
Energy
was beginning to increase in the ball, and it was almost ready to fire. Kurama
was only sitting under the tree, and his eyes closed in resignation.
What
the hell is he doing? Naomi thought in confusion. Why didn’t Kurama move
to dodge the energy ball? She could see that he still had some energy left, so
he would certainly be able to dodge it, wouldn’t he?
She
saw the dead youkai nearby, and suddenly, her eyes widened in realization. She
finally realized what his plan really was, but it had failed. So there was
nothing left for him to do but…
Mishina
suddenly leapt up into the air, and lunged towards Naomi. Her eyes widened, and
she crouched down to avoid the attack. Finally, her chance came—
She
suddenly brought out her fire blade and stabbed Mishina in the chest with it.
Mishina
spurted out blood, and she fell to the ground, her blood staining the ground
beneath her.
Naomi
ran towards Kurama, her hands shaking in her worry. Because his plan failed, she
was pretty sure Kurama would sacrifice his own life now.
She hoped that she wouldn’t be too late.
Kurama
closed his eyes in resignation. He knew that he had to do this, because if
Yusuke continued his attack, other innocent people might get hit by the beam
coming from the weapon. He knew he had to sacrifice himself, for the good of
everyone…his friends…and Naomi…
The
beam started towards him, and he bid a silent farewell to all those he knew and
loved.
Suddenly,
Naomi ran towards him, and stood in front of him, a look of determination—and
fear as well—in her eyes.
“No,
don’t Naomi!” He tried to move her away, but she shook her head resolutely.
“I
can’t let you die, Kurama,” she said, her tears falling freely now. “Not
this time!”
And all Kurama was able to do, was to watch helplessly, as the beam hit the one woman he had ever loved in his entire life.