Invasion of the Youja-kai* - chapter 2
*note - I know that Shinjuku is a part of Tokyo, but for this story's purpose, I set it away from Tokyo...^_^ Also I didn't mention it before, but this takes place after the Youma saga in YuYu Hakusho, and well, you'll be able to tell what parts of Samurai Troopers... :)
Yusuke was walking home a few days after his trip to the demon-infested city of Shinjuku. The images of what he'd seen still echoed in his mind. The armor of the Samurai Troopers looked awesome - he could tell it was very powerful from what he'd seen of Ryo in his fight, almost if not more powerful then his 'rei-gun'. He sighed and almost wished Kuwabara was there challenging him. At least there would be someone to talk to. Sure they were rivals, and Yusuke ended up kicking Kuwabara's butt every time Kuwabara tried to fight, Yusuke still respected him, if secretly. Kuwabara, however, had disappeared during lunch, and even though they both cut class alot, he wasn't anywhere near the usual places Kuwabara went to. Even his gang hadn't seen him. Yusuke sighed again, and turned the corner to get to his house. The images he had been thinking about intruded on his thoughts, and he kept asking himself the same question, 'why was that blue-haired Trooper giving him such odd feelings?!' It was like he'd seen him before, but Yusuke knew he had never met him.
A tree rustled behind him. Knowing the wind had died down earlier in the day(he'd been on top of the school roof, his favorite hideout when he was cutting class), he turned quickly, his fist already charged with rei-ki swinging towards -- KURAMA! He gasped, and jumped to the side to avoid hitting the taller boy. "What did you do that for?" Yusuke almost yelled at Kurama. "You know how my reflexes are. Normally, Hiei is the one..."His voice trailed off as he got a better look at Kurama. The large green eyes darted from side to side, little glitters of gold appearing in them at times, and his breathing came in little gasps. It was almost as if Kurama had just been fighting.
"Kurama?" Yusuke asked him when he didn't answer, and caught him as Kurama almost fainted. "Kurama! What happened? Did you get in a fight?"
Kurama looked up at him, his long red hair hanging in wisps around his face. "No, no..." the almost feminine voice answered him. "There's something, it's making all the spirits and demons jumpy, and drawing some of the weaker ones to it. Even Hiei is worried."
"Where is Hiei?" Yusuke was realizing what was going on and got a little worried. If Hiei had gone to Shinjuku... Kurama settled his fear though by telling him that the small fire demon was already at Koenma's Judgement Offices. Yusuke told him some of what was happening in the city of Shinjuku.
"What?!" Kurama straightened in surprise. He'd obviously never heard what had occured. "We have to go there! We have to help somehow."
"No, you can't!" Yusuke said, remembering what Koenma had said a few days before. "You'll become part of it, no matter how powerful you are. Koenma said it's something that can possess demons as well as humans. You can't go there! Do you want Hiei's power working for them? Or your own?"
"You're right," Kurama nodded. "Koenma spoke the truth in his assumption, as I've seen."
Yusuke touched a certain button on his watch, and the top flipped up to reveal a blank screen that now hissed with static. The image of Koenma appeared, stamping papers as usual. After a couple minutes of ignoring them(and getting Yusuke a little angry at the delay), Koenma looked up to glare at them.
"What is it, Yusuke?" Koenma's eyebrow jiggled a bit as he showed his impatience at being interrupted in his work. "I have lots of paperwork to catch up on because of your fights."
Yusuke was seething at this point, but he kept his control (barely), and through clenched teeth, he said, "Kurama has something to tell you..." He thrust the watch face at Kurama, who seeing the situation was about to explode into major proportions, told Koenma in a terse voice what was going on, and what he and Yusuke had just talked about. The paper Koenma was holding fluttered out of his hand, as his anger was replaced by amazement.
"It's getting that strong already?" Koenma faltered, as his fuumaken(pacifier) dropped out of his mouth to land on the desk. "I'd thought it would be resolved by now. That's why Hiei demanded to come here, but I couldn't get anything out of him." He picked up his pacifier and popped it in his mouth again. "What are these Samurai Troopers doing?"
"Samurai Troopers?" Kurama looked at Yusuke, confused.
"They, for what we've been told, have been given magical power and armor from this guy called Kaosu," Yusuke told Kurama about the Trooper he'd seen in action. "...and his armor gave off tremendous power, especially when he was fighting the soldiers of the Youja-kai. There are four more too."
"I'm going to send every person I have to collect all the demons that will willingly come, plus any free spirits before they get drawn to Shinjuku," Koenma determined. "We do not need the Youja-kai to get any more powerful and spread itself more. Even the Makai is nervous." He held up a letter.
"That's it," Yusuke smacked one fist into his other hand, causing Koenma to get temporarily disoriented as his picture moved wildly. He grabbed his chair and glared again. But Yusuke was talking already. "I'm going to go over there and see if I can help!" Both Kurama and Koenma stared at him.
"Yusuke, you can't!" Kurama gasped and grabbed at his arm. "You'll get captured!"
Yusuke shook his arm out of Kurama's grasp. "No, I won't," he retorted. "If I can beat Suzaku and any of his tricks, I can certainly handle anything they throw at me!" He turned off the link, causing Koenma to sputter in anger again.
Yusuke turned to go, but felt a hand on his shoulder again. He was about to brush it off, when Kurama gave him a thumb's up and smiled weakly. "Be careful, Yusuke. This does not seem like an ordinary case of demon infestation..."
Yusuke nodded, and smiled back. "Take care of yourself and Hiei!" He ran home, and got a few things packed quickly. He had a feeling that once Koenma recovered from being angry, he would send Botan or someone else to stop Yusuke. As he left, he wrote a quick note telling his mother he was training again and wouldn't be home for a while.
*******
It had taken him a day to reach the city of Shinjuku. He'd taken the trains as far as they would go, but about 10 miles out of the city, they wouldn't go any closer. So he'd had to walk, and try to avoid the scientists and military that patroled the area, investigating the weird apparition. Even then, the strange
power balls he'd seen in the sky above during the night still puzzled him. He'd seen one explode only a couple hundred feet off the ground, with another roaring its way upwards through the clouds. He had gotten massive energy readings from both. Then an hour later, as he was about to fall asleep, a comet apparently fell from the sky and crashed into the mountains on the other side of the city. It wasn't the same as the previous energy balls, but he noticed it well enough because it was dark blue in color. There was so much 'rei-ki'(spiritual energy) associated, he wondered if Arago was responsible. Maybe he was as powerful as Koenma said... But the last one could have been something else, maybe a Trooper.
He cast an eye upwards as he entered the empty city. The greenish-black clouds had rumbled, almost, he could have sworn, like gates opening. 'Couldn't be,' he thought as he walked down the street, watching for anyone near the abandoned buildings. 'I didn't see any before...' His thoughts trailed off in shock, as he caught sight of a particular building. He stared at it, it was obvious this was not natural, as the building was cut clean in half as were several buildings behind it! His growing spirit sense told him it was done at least four days ago. 'Reminds me of what Kurama did to Genbu...' the image came to his mind of the battle for the 'Insect Flute' that occured the previous week. He shook it off, and continued down the street. "Have to keep on going," he said determinedly. About ten minutes later, he had to stop, halted by the sight of an immense gate blocking the road. Red with a brown stipe running along the opening, it stood taller then the Tokyo Tower! It stood partially open, however, either the Troopers were already inside, or they figured no one would willingly enter, or both. As Yusuke walked through, he stopped again for a minute. Did he just hear a flute? Glancing around quickly in case any soldiers appeared, he looked upwards, just catching sight of a wisp of white cloud passing above, but after nothing happened, he continued down the street, but more carefully this time. The immense castle floating silently in the clouds above gave him a very bad feeling.
He sensed them before he saw them. Two soldiers turned from an alley and approached a subway opening. Yusuke ducked hurriedly in a doorway, but it didn't appear they'd seen him. He was glad he was keeping his power low, otherwise he'd be caught for sure. Or was he? More soldiers appeared from down the road, their metal armor clanging as they all took up positions near the opening. Yusuke gritted his teeth in frustration. Had he been discovered
after all? Were they looking for him? He felt a little anxiety, but he ran through his options. a) He could risk discovery and use his power, basically in the form of his 'shot-gun' or b) he could do it the old-fashioned way and just use fists - after all, he was the best fighter of his school district, but all that armor might
hurt...
Before he could think of any more options, a sound reached his ears. It was coming from the subway. The armored enemy surrounded the opening, gripping their weapons as they apparently waited for something. Yusuke risked peeking around the corner, just in time to see a soldier fly up out of the opening and crash to the ground right near his hiding place. He jumped back into the doorway, but it appeared the soldier was dead since it was looking right at him
and hadn't raised any alarm. All the soldiers rushed the opening then, making unearthly sounds as they disappeared underground.
Yusuke risked glancing out again, and this time was treated to a blast of power rise upwards, bringing with it some of the armors that had been the spirit-soldiers. He could feel the heat from it, but for some reason couldn't feel any power from it. An armored form, smaller then the soldiers it was fighting, rushed up the stairs, slashing at the opponents not hit by the blast with two katana blades. As it disappeared down the street, Yusuke couldn't resist following, stepping carefully over the pieces of dark green armor strewn along the road. Down the street, out of the shadows, he could now see clearly that it was Ryo, the Trooper he had observed a few days earlier.
Ryo was fighting his way along the road, taking on all the youja coming towards him, but his thoughts were on the others. Where were the other Troopers, Nasutei and Jun? Byakuen had disappeared, so he was assuming Byakuen was with the latter two people. But why couldn't he sense any of the others? The city wasn't that big, and he knew they were fighting like he was, but there was nothing out there. Did it have something to do with those weird spirits that had prevented him and the others from summoning their armor before? A sudden presence made him blink in surprise, was it one of the others? 'No,' he thought, shaking his head as he killed another soldier. 'I know this, it's familiar somehow...' A feeling of before, while he was fighting Sh'ten, it
had bothered him enough that he'd lost his concentration and been flung into the volcano. A clanking step behind him intruded in on his thoughts. He turned quickly, bringing his katanas up, but the sword was already coming towards his throat. He closed his eyes, he knew his swords wouldn't stop the bigger sword, when a groaning sound made him open his eyes. The sword was inches from him. He drew in a gasping breath, and noticed a clenched human fist punched through the youja. His eyes widened as the soldier fell away from him to reveal a boy his age, grinning at him. He had short black hair with slicked-back bangs and large brown eyes, and was wearing jeans with a white T-shirt. "You should be more careful, Ryo," the boy said. "You almost lost it there." He looked down at the soldier that had almost killed Ryo. "Yuck, who would think that they would smell so bad? Almost as bad as Kuwabara's socks!" He laughed and kicked the helmet away.
Ryo was confused. Who was this person, and how did he know who he was? "Who are you?" he asked, defensively, bringing up his swords in a guard position. Ever since Touma's report that Sh'ten was human, they had determined that humans could be possessed and turned to Arago's side. "How do you know who I am?" His eyes narrowed.
"Whoa, take it easy!" The other boy brought up his hands in a non-threatening gesture. "Let me explain. My name is Yusuke Urameshi, and I'm here to help you." He smiled, and crossed his arms. "We'd thought you'd have all of this taken care of by now."
Ryo blinked, "We?"
Yusuke nodded. "Have you heard of the 'Rei-kai?" When Ryo nodded hestitently, Yusuke explained that he had been chosen to solve crimes related to the Spirit World. "... and now I'm a 'Rei-kai Tantei'(Spiritual Detective)." He brought a hand to his chest. "So where are the other Troopers? Koenma told me there were five of you." He looked around expectantly.
Ryo still didn't trust Yusuke, since this was the same presence that he'd felt by the volcano. "You were near the volcano, weren't you?" but he wasn't given much of a chance to get an answer as more soldiers appeared. Yusuke turned, his brown eyes growing angry as the youja approached them. "Hey, butt out, you're interrupting us!" He clenched his fist, and as Ryo watched in shock, he yelled "Shotu-gun!" Bluish-white light streamed out of his hand in little bursts, and hit most of the soldiers, felling them in one shot. Ryo slashed the ones that he had missed, watching the smoke empty out of the holes in the armor as he glanced over his shoulder at his new companion. Yusuke was breathing a little hard, watching for more to come. Ryo stared at him, and figured maybe this guy was for real. He nodded at Yusuke, "thanks..."
Yusuke nodded back, getting his breath back. "I almost used full power there, but it won't take long for my power to recover though." He looked at Ryo again, the smile gone. "Yes, I was at the volcano. Koenma sent me and a partner to observe you, since Koenma had sensed the Youja-kai invading here. We saw the battle between you and the Demon-General Sh'ten, and I kinda did want to jump in a few times..." Yusuke gave him a sheepish look.
"Oh..." Ryo didn't know what to say. Then something occurred to him. "How did you get chosen?" he asked, starting to walk down the road. He had to find the other Troopers, and maybe Yusuke could help him.
"Well," Yusuke said. "It involves me getting hit by a car while saving a kid and dying." This earned a gasp from Ryo. "But Koenma, the son of the ruler of the Rei-kai, brought me back to life on the condition I solve cases for him." He smiled again. "Most of the time we usually fight demons, the four of us."
A laugh stopped any more conversation as a tall figure appeared, surprising them both. It was still in the shadows, but they could tell the figure was wearing armor, with two swords held in a relaxed position. The laugh came again. "Rekka..." the voice sneered, followed by more of the laughter.
"A MaSho?" Yusuke asked, startled. It wasn't Sh'ten, as the armor was different. Also, the Demon-General had a helmet that leered out, making it appear that his features were that of a snake. Ryo brought up his swords. "Naaza...," he said grimly, then turned to Yusuke. "Yusuke, get into the alley. I'll deal with him."
Yusuke shook his head, and brought up a fist that glowed with rei-ki power. "I can handle myself. I've fought against demons that were more powerful."
"You don't have any armor, how can you defend yourself?" Ryo asked, still watching the shadowy figure warily.
"Trust me, I can," Yusuke smiled in a threatening way.
The MaSho stepped out of the shadows, revealing more of the red and green armor he wore. "Hello there...," he growled, but his voice sounded
amused. "I knew I would find a Samurai Trooper sooner or later. Separating you all was part of Master Arago's plan. But I guess finishing you off will be an added bonus."
"What?" Ryo gasped. "That's why all those youja were following Nasutei and Jun?"
"Oh, you only just figured it out now?" Naaza threw back his head and laughed insanely. Then abrubtly, he stopped and rushed forward, swords extended as he rushed Ryo. For some reason, he seemed not to notice Yusuke was next to Ryo.
"Kuso, only an insane idiot like you would use innocent people as bait!" Ryo didn't see Yusuke move. One second he was standing next to the Trooper, the next Yusuke was attacking the on-rushing MaSho with his glowing fists, managing to dent the chestplate. But it seemed not to affect Naaza. Yusuke then jumped out of the way to avoid the sword swung his way.
"Oh, another one?" Naaza smiled evily, apparently finally noticing Yusuke was there. "He's almost like that one kid we caught earlier." The smile broadened. "The sword was a bit irritating, especially to Anubis. I understand his cape got ripped a little."
"What??" Yusuke's little smile faded, he'd been enjoying himself til now. He knew who Naaza was talking about. 'Kuwabara, you baka yaro! Why did you come here!?' But aloud, he shouted, "Kuwabara? What did you do with him?"
"Oh, he's safe..." Naaza was having fun with this little boy. "At least as long as he's up there..." One gloved finger pointed up towards the floating castle.
"Kisama!" Yusuke used the speed he'd gained when dealing with Hiei and Suzaku, and ran forward towards the Demon-General. But this time Naaza was ready for him, as he casually flicked one of his swords at Yusuke. The gesture seemed defensive, but Ryo knew that poisonous liquid dripped from those swords occaisionally. He'd been blinded by it when he was rescuing Seiji from the caves that had trapped the blond-haired Trooper. Obviously the poison was still in effect as Yusuke suddenly screamed in pain and stopped his advance, holding a hand to his other arm.
"Yusuke!" Ryo rushed forward, and stood in front of Yusuke. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed a long blistered-red streak on his arm where the skin burned. Instead of taking the advantage, Naaza just stood there, an evil smirk on his face. The half-lidded eyes gazed passively at them. Knowing that the MaSho displayed bouts of insanity at times, Ryo stared back at him, while asking Yusuke if he was all right. Yusuke nodded, his face contorted by pain and anger, and held up his fists that glowed with his power again. "Kuwabara!" he yelled at the castle. "Don't worry, I'll rescue you!"
'Kuwabara?' Ryo thought, 'that's who Yusuke meant...' Must be the 'partner' that had been at the volcano with Yusuke then. Naaza seemed to snap back to his senses then, and raised his swords over his head, bringing them together. "Rescue? I'd worry more about yourselves..." Ryo's eyes widened, he knew what was about to happen. He would be protected somewhat with his armor, but Yusuke couldn't shield against all that poison, even with his powers.
Knowing he had only a few seconds before the attack hit, he did the only thing he could - he punched Yusuke hard, knocking him out(and out of the way), just before the poisonous wave of power hit Ryo head-on. He could feel the acid burning the armor, and getting through to his skin. Ryo screamed, staggered, and fell to the ground.
Naaza laughed and stood over him. "Ha! I did it! I captured a Samurai Trooper! Now Arago will reward me favorably when the invasion of the Ningen-kai occurs!" He picked up Ryo by the shoulders, and looked at him. "You know, I can't figure out why you punched him..." Naaza glanced over his shoulder at the unconscious kid, and smiled back at Ryo. "Is it because you didn't want him to get hit by my special attack?" The Trooper's eyes fluttered and opened a crack. "You..." he seemed to be whispering.
Yusuke groaned, and opened his eyes, immediately putting a hand to his head, gingerly feeling the bump already forming. He'd been about ready to try attacking the MaSho again, when a red and white blur filled his vision, followed by blackness. He realized what had happened, Ryo had knocked him out! Clenching his fist, he looked around to yell at Ryo, but the anger dissolved when he first noticed the pavement burned next to him, then that Naaza had Ryo. 'He took the blow meant for both of us, trying to save me...' Yusuke was really starting to admire the Trooper now. He stood up, assailed briefly by dizziness, but he shook it off as he gathered his power.
Naaza was about to call Arago when he heard a growl of rage behind him. Turning, he saw the boy unconscious only a minute before now approaching him almost invisibly, he was running so fast. His whole body glowed now, with his eyes the same color without any sign of the brown they had been previously. One of the fists came at his arm, causing him to shout in pain. That had hurt so much more then when the boy had punched him earlier! He was forced to drop Ryo, whom the kid then caught in mid-air. Naaza took a step back, he'd never seen power like this before.
After setting Ryo down, Yusuke turned, and held up his hand, extending the index finger. "Take this to your Master!" He pointed at Naaza, the tip of his finger beginning to glow very brightly.
Ryo opened his eyes all the way as the armor healed him slightly, it would continue to heal him even if slowly. He stared at Yusuke, 'This is full power?' It seemed more powerful then his or any of the other armors. Yusuke shouted "REI-GUN!", as the blinding bluish-white power flashed from the finger to hit the MaSho almost in the center of his chest, causing him to fly backwards, part of his armor shattering from the impact. Just before he hit the ground, however, a beam of light shot from the castle above them and enveloped Naaza. When the light faded, the MaSho was nowhere to be seen. Yusuke smiled, and as Ryo sat up, Yusuke fainted from the energy drain.
******
Voices were the first thing he heard as he regained consciousness. Yusuke opened his eyes, and sat up. Remembering the fight, he looked around, and spotted Ryo. "Ryo?" he asked, then spotted someone else. It was another Trooper, he saw. Visualizing the picture the old monk had shown them, he recalled that he was the one with brown hair and the light blue armor. The Troopers wern't wearing their ornate armor, only the basic form of it that Yusuke had seen Ryo wearing.
"Yusuke!" Ryo sat next to him, the other Trooper following. With curiousity in his eyes, he studied Yusuke. "So this is the one that helped you against Doku MaSho Naaza?" He smiled. "Wish I had been here to help."
"Huh? Which are you?" Yusuke asked, holding his head with his hand. He hated the times after he used almost full power, it made his head hurt.
"This is Suiko no Shin, but you can call him Shin." Ryo smiled. "I already told him about you, I hope you don't mind."
"No, I don't, as long as you don't go by reputations," Yusuke grinned back. Then he stood up. "So what now?" He looked up warily at the castle. He'd definately felt the power that had picked up Naaza, it seemed so immense and so... old.
"Well..." Ryo trailed off as he and Shin looked up at the castle too. "I have to find the other Troopers. Shin found his way here when he saw your power. But I don't know where the other three are."
"Probley scattered fighting youja like we were," Shin surmised. His personality and face made him seem eerily like Kurama, Yusuke realized. He walked to a side building, and picked up a bag Ryo hadn't seen, and slung it over his shoulder. "How about I go with you?" He pointed a finger upwards. "I might have used all my power against Naaza, but I do get it back eventually." He smiled as the tip of the finger glowed softly.
Shin and Ryo looked at each other. Seeing there was no way they could really say no because he would probley follow anyway, they nodded. Starting down the road, the three watched for any sign of the other Troopers or more youja.
******
The ghostly head appeared as the candles sprang to flame. Naaza appeared, after being healed. He gave his version of what had happened, and bowed.
"Hmm....." the voice echoed around the chamber, it was full of terror and had a hint of people screaming. "This boy was able to beat you, and he wasn't a Trooper...." A spirit-priest appeared, holding a tall youth with short orange hair. He attempted to get out of the ghost's grasp, but couldn't. He gawked at the huge apparition before him, a vision filling his mind with a picture of people screaming in terror being sucked into that gaping mouth. Then his face grew angry, "Let me go, I'm not scared of some little spirits and demons. I've fought aginst them and won! I'm Kazuma Kuwabara and I will destroy you!" A glowing sword appeared in his hand, and he tried to slash at the ghost holding him.
Arago just laughed, and a bolt of power struck Kuwabara. He screamed as the power ran through his body. "I wish I could use you to make my power grow larger," the voice sneered. "But you would be more useful in fighting the Samurai Troopers and their new ally." A picture appeared, of two of the Troopers, and... "Urameshi!!" Kuwabara yelled. "I won't help you!" he shouted back at Arago.
Arago just laughed again, and the priest disappeared, taking Kuwabara along with. The ghostly red eyes looked at Naaza. "Make sure you analyze his power, so you can get him ready to be possessed." Naaza smiled, bowed once more, and disappeared. The ghostly head of Arago looked at the picture of the three teens,
and laughed again. "I await your assault on my invincible castle, Samurai Troopers and Yusuke Urameshi!"
to be continued...