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"A Less Than Charmed Life" by Chris
Part 1
The customary look of confusion crept into Hasukawa’s face as he stared at
the strangers before him. “What do you mean?”
“Well, Kazuya-kun, it’s pretty simple,” said Kurama. “You’re
great-grandfather married the granddaughter of the legendary swordsman,
Himura Kenshin, also known as the Hitokiri Battousai.”
“And that’s why the dead guy wants to kill me?”
“Precisely.”
Hasukawa thought for a moment, looking the picture of contemplation. If he
was being targeted, than wouldn’t… “Wait a minute! Is anyone protecting
my brother!”
“That won’t be necessary,” remarked Yusuke.
“Why not?” asked Mitsuru. “Stands to reason he’s related to this Kenshin
guy, too.”
“He is, but Hasukawa here is more closely related to Himura-san than his
brother is.”
“On a spiritual level, that is,” added Kurama.
The Greenwood group was silently mulling over the information that was just
delivered. Yusuke and Kurama waited for any more possible questions, with
Hiel sulking in the corner. Moments later, the silence ended with a loud
thud when Hasukawa fell backwards onto the floor, muttering incoherently.
“Suka-chan! What’s wrong!” Shun ran over to his roommate while the rest
of the group watched on (except for Hiel who was still rather indifferent
to everything around him). “Is it a spiritual attack?” He leaned in close
to hear just what Kazuya was saying. “What’s wrong?”
In a low whisper, Hasukawa repeated two words over and over. “Why me? Why
me? Why me?”
“What’s he saying, Shun?”
Before replying, he let out an audible sigh, shrugging his shoulders as he
did so. “Just whining again.”
Hasukawa suddenly shot up. “I am not whining!”
“Sounded like whining to me.”
“It wasn’t! I was just wondering why this kind of thing always happens to
me!”
“You’ve been chased by demons before?” asked an incredulous Kurama.
“No! It’s just…” Hasukawa stopped mid-sentence, thinking of what was going
on. Why did strange stuff like this have to happen all the time? He
thought he’d be used to it by now, but everytime he accepts the weirdness,
something even weirder has to happen. Now, he’s been told that some demon
from Hell wants his head on a silver platter. What else could happen? “So
you guys are here to protect me?”
“Hai. That’s our assignment for the week.”
Shinobu entered the conversation. “Only a week? So what’s to stop Shishio
from attacking as soon as you leave?”
“He won’t be able to. Our agents have detected a breach between the Human
and Demon worlds, but where that is, we’ve yet to discover,” said Kurama.
“Shishio plans to use it to his advantage, but as soon as the breach is
closed, he won’t be able to send anyone to attack Kazuya-kun.”
“So you expect the portal to be closed in about a week?”
“That’s right.” Kurama was about to further explain the situation when he
saw Hiel standing up, staring out the window at the night sky. “What’s
wrong, Hiel?”
“We have company.” The group clustered around the window, searching for
the aforementioned guests. Strange looking figures were slowly making
their way towards Greenwood, ambling along as though they were unaccustomed
to walking on land. “Do you see them, Kurama?”
“Yes, but they look like nothing we haven’t dealt with before.” Turning to
Yusuke, he smiled and said, “Shall we go greet them?”
“Why not?” As the trio of spiritual warriors left for battle, Yusuke took
the moment to speak with the others. “Shinobu, can you and your friends
keep Hasukawa out of trouble until we deal with those nasties out there?”
“I believe that shouldn’t be a problem. Good luck.” As soon as Yusuke and
his friends had left, Shinobu immediately turned to Mitsuru and said, “The
Ikeda temple?”
“The family is gone for the week,” he replied.
“Think we can get there quick enough?”
In lieu of an answer, Mitsuru simply flexed his muscles and grinned. “If
not, I think we can handle whatever comes along.” At that Shinobu smiled.
“You up for it, Shun?”
“You bet, Sempai!” exclaimed an excited Shun, who suddenly began performing
amateur martial arts moves, if only to prove her enthusiasm.
“How about you, Hasukawa?”
The red-haired youth stared at his friends, quietly registering just what
he was being asked. Then he started screaming. “What do you think you’re
doing! You want me to go out there with those demons?! Are you crazy?!”
“It’s no big deal, Hasukawa…”
“NO BIG DEAL?! You’re not the one with a price on his head! If I go out
there, they’re going to slaughter me!”
“That’s if they catch you.”
“Huh?”
Shinobu stood up and made his way to the window. “Those three are planning
on fighting those…whatever they are, so we’ll have a chance to get out of
here.”
“But Yusuke-kun asked that we stay put.”
“Correction. He asked that we keep you out of trouble. Besides, I don’t
know if I entirely trust them yet.”
“Why not?” said Shun.
“I just find it rather hard to accept everything at face value.”
“But what about those things outside?”
“They may be nothing more than players in an elaborate hoax, Shun.”
Turning around to face his friends, he continued. “Listen, I’m not saying
we should completely ignore what’s going on around us. I’m just saying we
should take our own precautions, okay? And Mitsuru’s temple may give us
some kind of protection from those demonic types. It’s worth a try, isn’t
it?”
“Well, alright,” agreed Hasukawa. Despite their playful teasing of him, he
knew Shinobu and Mitsuru were people he could trust. If they say they were
doing this for his own safety, than that was their reason. Besides, he
didn’t want to bring any trouble to Greenwood, or any other place where
people might get hurt. As usual, it was time for him to deal with the
madness, something he feared he’d never get used to.
* * * * *
“Rei gun!” As Yusuke shouted the words, a blast of spirit energy shot out
of his fingers, taking out a number of the demonic grunts. However, as
soon as they fell, more of the entities swarmed in to take their place.
“Chikushou! How many more of these things are there!”
“As many as needed to defeat us, I hear,” answered Kurama. “Think, Yusuke.
Do these creatures remind you of anything?”
“Not really. Why do you ask?”
“Sigh. It’s like the time we fought Suzaku. Remember those mindless
drones of his? They just kept coming and coming, regardless of how many
we’ve defeated.” His rose whip slashed apart a trio of creatures. More of
them pressed forward, but Kurama kept fighting. “I think the only way
we’ll get rid of all of these is to get rid of the mastermind pulling their
strings.”
“Shishio?”
“I doubt it. It’s more likely to be one of the demons wanting that price
on Kazuya-kun’s head.”
“So we find him and kill him,” said Hiel, who was busily slashing away at
the demonic entities with reckless abandon. “Simple enough.”
“What do you mean,” inquired Yusuke.
“They’d have to be close by to control such a vast number of creatures,
correct?” Kurama nodded in answer. “So the mastermind behind this attack
is around here somewhere. We just have to look.” Immediately, Hiel leapt
up onto a nearby tree, climbing to the top to survey the area around them.
Soon after, he jumped back down to the ground, slashed a few more zombies,
and said, “I found him.”
“Honto?”
“He’s over in that direction,” he said, jerking his thumb behind him, “ But
you’ll have to make a path for us, Urameshi.”
“Hehe. No problem.” Smiling, Yusuke planted his feet firmly in the ground
and shouted, “Shotto Gun!!” Suddenly, an eruption of spiritual energy flew
out of his fist, plowing down any of the creatures that had the misfortune
of being in the way. With a broad smirk on his face, Yusuke said, “Let’s
go!”
“Show off,” said Hiel, but he followed him just the same.
In no time, the trio was greeted by a mysterious cloaked figure holding a
glowing ball. “So you’ve discovered me, have you?”
“Who are you?” demanded Kurama. “And just how are you controlling those
monstrosities?”
“You mean this?” The cloaked figure held up his glowing orb. “The Shihai
is a powerful madougu that can reanimate and control the dead.”
“Wait a minute…” Yusuke stepped closer to the individual. “Did you say
‘madougu’?”
“What of it?”
Without warning, Yusuke rushed towards the man and ripped off his cloak,
revealing the form of Mori Kouran. “You! What the hell is the cross-eyed,
fifty-something Sakyo rip-off doing here?!” Yusuke then took the
opportunity to start wailing on the villain, but was soon restrained by
Kurama and Hiel. “Let me go! He’s still twitching!”
“Calm down, Yusuke!” Kurama turned to the beaten form of Mori Kouran and
said, “If you don’t want us to let him go, it would be in your best
interest to tell us what you’re doing here.”
Through broken teeth, he said, “I came to assassinate that brat, Hasukawa.”
“But why? You’re still alive.”
“Yes, but for how long? It looks like I’m about to be offed over in Flame
of Recca, so it’s wise to start getting on Shishio’s good side while I’m
still alive.”
Sweatdropping at his reply, Kurama said, “Let’s stick to the story, okay?
Well, at least you can’t hurt him now that we’ve found you.”
Mori started laughing, much to the heroes’ dismay. “Not quite. While you
three were busy fighting my minions, Hasukawa and his friends left the
dorm. Unbeknownst to you, I’ve had some of my creatures follow them. They
should be dead by now.”
“Damn. We have to hurry.” Letting go of Yusuke, Kurama said, “Have fun,
Yusuke.”
With a grin on his face, Yusuke said, “Oh, I will. Now, where was I?”
As Kurama and Hiel ran off, the screams of Mori Kouran echoed through the
night. “TASUKETE!!!!!”
* * * * *
“We’re trapped, aren’t we?” Kazuya had that resigned look on his face that
said ‘we’re doomed’
“Well, if you’re going to be negative about it, then yes, we are,” snapped
Mitsuru.
“Tell me you have a plan, Shinobu,” said Shun.
“I have a plan.”
“You do?! What is it?”
“We run.” With that said, the Greenwood group streaked down the street,
when Mitsuru screamed, “This way!” The gang changed direction immediately,
taking the turn into the alleyway…only to be stuck in a dead end.
“Nice directions, Mitsuru-sempai,” said Kazuya sarcastically. “You live
around here, don’t you?”
“Well excuse me for being a little shaken up by everything. It’s not like
I’m chased by demons everyday, you know.”
Shinobu placed an arm in front of Mitsuru. “Now isn’t the time to be
fighting. We have to find a way out of this.” The group’s attention was
called to the mass of creatures swarming to their location. Just as the
realization of their impending doom came to them, a noise from above caught
their attention. Shinobu said, “What now?”
From the darkness up above, a female voice spoke up. “Stop right there, you
Negaverse goons! We won’t let you harm these innocent students!” Out of
the shadows stepped five young girls dressed in sailor outfits, each a
different color scheme. The one in the middle shouted, “In the name of the
moon, I will punish you!”
…To Be Continued