Solitary Mask

Chibi Tsuki

A/N: Here's another chappie. I just hope you guys don't feel that it's too rushed. I'll start on the side fic when I find some spare time.

Chapter 15

Final Assault

Wind blew through a recently made opening into chamber, howling eerily. Soft moonlight splayed over the chamber floor, illuminating the splendent stalagmites. The entire Reikai Tantei watched as the masked enemy took two strides towards Kurama, a finger and pointing at him. A slight smirk boarded his face. Yuusuke glanced at Kurama, noticing the subtle tension as he tightened the grip on his rose whip and stated, "This is a fight between us. A fight to the death…" Without another word Kurama bolted, charging towards a fraction left of his enemy. His whip cracked against the doubled-bladed sword, once, twice, thrice. Their weapons met at their edges, slicing at each other. Just from this melee fight, he could determine his opponent's perseverance and energy. His enemy's weapon which he assumed to be only a few kilograms meant fast, swift movements in one stroke, the impact not being as strong, but this wasn't exactly the case. With two blades on one sword it meant that his opponent was skilled with controlling it or else it would be too risky to use in case he stabbed himself, having forgotten the other blade behind the handle. Again, their weapons clashed, seeming endless. Dodging to the left, Kurama managed to find a gap, thrusting his whip with great force at the undefended area. A second blade blocked the attack, knocking it off track. He grunted and continued launching attacks at him.

Mikazuki swung her sword, managing to redirect Kurama's whip in another direction. The whip immediately relaunched at her, even though they seemed to be pointless attacks, Mikazuki could see that his attacks held greater purpose but now was not exactly the right time to investigate it. Creating a fistful of ice shards in her empty hand, she kept her hands enclosed, waiting for the perfect time. He was about ten metres away from her; a good distance away, enough for it to be effective. She threw her arm forward, unleashing the razor sharp shards. Their course was straight-ahead, aimed for her opponent. Kurama dodged left just as they reached him, but something unpredictable happened; the shards exploded into mist, fogging up the air around him. Stroking her blade upwards at Kurama's position, she sliced through the air. Kurama had disappeared! Her left ear pivoted upwards while her right rotated constantly, listening for sounds. The wolf-youkai paused before leaping sideways just as the thorny whip landed where she formerly stood. She made several back flips and regained her stance as the mist dispersed. Kurama's silhouette appeared; his build distinctively different to before. He'd transformed into Youko Kurama although how she didn't have the faintest clue. Well however he transformed, it definitely wasn't because of her mist. His golden eyes shone coolly at her; his silvery hair radiating while his lips formed into a grin. Oh how she craved to brush her hands through his silky hair, a contrast to her own soft, fluffy hair. He had a subtle muscular upper body every man would long for; looking neither too strongly packed nor the least bit scrawny. The rose whip wrapped around his arm like a vine and clung onto his waist. Biting on her lower lip, Mikazuki breathed out, falling into a stance. Her head was hammering and her ears hurting as if a high pitched note had just been blasted into them. Beads of sweat glistened on her cheeks and neck. Something was wrong; she felt as if she would lose control of her body and consciousness within an instance. She pulled at her cloak which hung in folds around her neck, allowing air in. Her hand brushed against the sweat covered chain she had tucked inside her shirt. Whatever it was, it could prove to be disastrous if it ended up in the wrong hands. The only difficulty would be handing it to Kurama.

Water dripped from the crack, landing into the pool. 'Drip, drip, drip.' Suddenly an idea formed in her mind; this would be the only way without the others knowing about it. Exerting energy into her arms, she forced the water out of her arm; through her skin and materialise into a blade of ice, the length of her entire arm on her lower left arm, ripping through the arm guard. She breathed heavily, her right arm gripping steadily onto her weapon. Quickly she dashed forward, her eyes kept on him.

His eyes shone subtly with admiration as a blade shaped like a shark fin formed on his lower arm. Kurama watched as he darted at him, revealing faint signs of desperation. Perhaps this was his limit, perhaps this was going to be a final attack. He raised an arm as his opponent covered the distance between them. The two-bladed sword flew at him; changed the shape alike a boomerang. He tilted his head as it flew past his cheek. This was such a disappointment. The kistune dodged the ice blade dropped, swinging a leg under his foe. The wolf-youkai flipped onto his hands; his blade barely slicing through Kurama's white robe-like garments. 'Swoosh' the two-bladed sword came flying past him again, brushing past his arm perilously close. It produced a thin red line. Without warning, water splashed onto his body, soaking his arms and chest. The water was freezing cold. Glancing up, he noticed that the wolf-youkai's blade had vanished; it must've been the ice from the blade on his arm. Suddenly, he felt his arms stiffen and numb. He growled as he realised what was happening. That youkai was freezing the water rapidly, restricting his movements. The enemy advanced swiftly, shoving a fist into his stomach. Sliding backwards a fair distance, he felt the firm ground under him disappear, falling into the ice-cold water. His vine stealthily grabbed onto his opponent's ankle and dragged him in as well.

Pulling the chain off her neck, Mikazuki stuffed it in Kurama's pocket, and slid in front of him like a marine animal. His movements, unlike hers were restricted in the water and since no one knew the water better than her, she would be perfectly capable of giving it to him with him oblivious. Now to get him out of the water… if only he would stop sending punches everywhere. She dug her knee into his back as softly as she could without making it seem obvious. He flew out of the water, landing on his feet perfectly. His entire body was saturated; his clothes feeling much heavier than before. Leaping out of the water, Mikazuki felt content; her job was done and the rest would be over soon.

Iryoku watched as his comrade launched out of the water after Kurama. A smile ran across her face; water dripping down her body. Faint white and blue markings appeared on her neck and arms, growing more and more solid in colour in seconds. It was like a tattoo, only this wasn't visible before. He blinked disbelievingly several times and narrowed his eyebrows. Why were there markings? He knew that everyone else was thinking the exact same thing as they too were puzzled by it. She stepped forward, still wet. A high-pitched scream escaped her as she clutched her head as if in agony. Her whole body trembled. Kurama stood his ground, ready to defend himself if anything were to happen. Mikazuki's fingers raked at her head as she groaned. Pain was running through her veins. She was fighting something mentally although no one knew what. Falling silent, she stopped shaking and steadily stood up. Her body was in control again. Confidently she picked up her weapon that lay on the ground and inspected it. Once she was satisfied, she slid into a fighting stance. She flung ice shards at him with dead accuracy. Her blades seared through his skin. The atmosphere was totally different to it was before; it was as if the tip of her blade meant death.

A cackle echoed in the chamber; sound waves bouncing off the walls. Everyone except Mikazuki turned to the evil laugh, seeing the fake leader bursting into joy. His eyes gleamed and he clutched his stomach. "My brother has stupidly given me this chance! Now I control the most powerful youkai, it is only time until I can build my own clan and show the world that I'm not the useless fool everyone thinks I am!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Iryoku glanced at Mikazuki worriedly and back at him. His cool, calm demeanour had vanished, replaced by a perilous anger, seething inside him. "Release her or we'll lead you to your coffin!" he spat and brought his flute up to his lips.

"One note from you and you shall face your worst nightmare Iryoku. I know your abilities fairly well you know," the imitator stated, noting the anger on Mikazuki's companions. "Perhaps I should just get rid of you all, or else I may face more troubles in the future. Kill them all!" Mikazuki tossed her weapon aside and placed a supportive hand on her lower right arm, holding it just above her wrist. She held onto it tightly and focussed energy into her palm. Lifting her hand up she curled her fingers, her index and pointing finger stretched out the furthest like an eagles crooked talons, and shoved her arm forward. A flash of blue and white was followed by a vague outline of a massive dragon head with pupil-less eyes, a narrow muzzle and sharp spikes flying everywhere. Its body was faint blue and white; a mist forming around it as it pursued the enemy. It looked much like an illusion since it wasn't solid, but when it touched something it would pierce through it and whatever the mist landed on would freeze. It was a deadly sight. The Reikai Tantei dodged, narrowly avoiding the assault. The attack was much like a homing missile, chasing after each and everyone who could become its victim.

"Get out of here!" Kurama yelled at the top of his voice. He hurried everyone out of the tunnel; making sure that they had left before making a retreat. His foot was nearly in the tunnel when he looked backwards; noticing the struggle between his enemies as Iryoku and Hiketsu clung onto her. The dragon had also disappeared. His eyes scanned across to the other side of the chamber; to the man idiotically laughing at the chaos occurring. Running straight at him, Kurama took out another rose whip. His footsteps were light and in his free hand were two seeds. The whip missed him barely, scraping his skin as his enemy leapt away. "Hah! You're trying to sneak up on me eh?" Kurama flicked the seeds at him, hitting him on his wound. "What are you trying to do? Kill me with two little pebbles?"

Kurama looked at him smugly, a grin across his handsome face. "Think again." He gestured at the scratch with a finger a then clicked. Two vines sprung out, lengthening in seconds and wrapping themselves around his arm. "These vines feed on blood; they grow within seconds at my command. Release their companion or you can enjoy having these vines drench you dry of your blood."

The youkai's golden eyes were daring his enemy to refuse but as he could see, Kurama knew that he wouldn't for he was saturated in sweat and his breathing quickened. "Just take the earring off her! Let me live! I beg you, let me live!" he yelled. Without letting the man out of his sight, Kurama could hear the Kokudo struggle as they tried to unclip the single earring off their companion's wolf-ear.

It wasn't that simple for she was rebelling every second they had their hands on her. Iryoku fumbled on the clip as Hiketsu restrained her. When it was finally undone, Iryoku crushed it with his hand, letting the sprinkles of metal drop onto the ground. Mikazuki fell limp in Hiketsu's arm, seemingly unconscious. Lifting her up, the orange-haired man walked over to the water and gently let her sink into the water.

Mikazuki opened her eyes, feeling slightly dizzy. She glanced around and realised that she was underwater. The last thing she remembered was a voice in her head, yelling at her, ordering her. Looking up, she saw the moonlight shining through the crack and into the chamber. Her entire body felt lifeless as if she was on the very brink of death. It could take up to twenty-four hour lying in the pool to regenerate her energy again. She had over-exhausted herself like a car engine, except she had no idea how she had managed to use up so much energy. Suddenly, a pair of arms scooped her out of the water, much to her discomfort. "Iryoku?" she managed to mumble. The blue-haired teen held her closer to him and listened to her breathing. Glancing to the side she spotted Kurama in his youko form, looming over the man who was identical to her master. His body lay limp over the floor, blood soaking into his cloak. Something must've happened although she wasn't in the mood to find out why. Slowly Kurama walked away, coming towards her in a steady pace. She could feel his uncertainty behind his cool golden eyes. Her eyes fell onto the fallen man, his hands lay flat on the ground, his fingers facing the ceiling. It moved! Blinking several times, Mikazuki looked at his hands again; his nails had changed in a split second. They were over twenty centimetres long; dark purple in colour, a colour that often represented poison. With all her strength, she rolled to the side and sprung up, darting right at Kurama. His hands lifted up and turned at Kurama's direction. The wolf-youkai forced the kitsune aside just as the nails extended. They connected with her mask; five nails stuck in five different holes in the metal mask. Cracks formed down the face of the mask, splitting it into thousands of pieces.

Kurama gasped and grabbed onto Mikazuki as she tumbled forward; nearly crashing into the rough ground. He swung her body around and threw out a supportive arm behind her back. He brushed the bangs out of her face, checking for any wounds. Not at all did he seem surprised when he saw her face; he was merely concerned for her safety. Her eyes slowly opened and stared into his beautiful gold ones. "Youko Kurama?" she rubbed her hand against her forehead and blinked once, twice. Seeing him glance at the dead body behind him, Mikazuki groaned as she sat up, "He's dead. I struck the stalactite on the roof before I pushed you away. If the broken fragment of stalactite hadn't killed him at that exact second, I bet his nails would've gone through my mask and my head." She shuddered and automatically grabbed onto his arm for support. Again she was feeling dizzy. "I'm sorry I deceived you… Shui… Kurama."

The kitsune merely shook his head and smiled, "No, don't be. I'm really happy to be able to see you again." Mikazuki giggled and once again found herself drowned in his eyes.

"I know it's rude to stare, but I jut can't help myself from gazing into your eyes. They're so beautiful," she remarked, her hands brushing away those strands of hair that covered them. Kurama's face loosened, and his eyes wandered from her left cheek to her right cheek. "What is it? You're looking at me as if I've got dirt on my face."

Shaking his head, Kurama timidly placed his finger on her cheek, tracing a line of some sort. "I can't make out this; it's a picture of a dragon, very much like the one that appeared before. Also, the scar on your right cheek; it's gone." Mika frowned, and placed a finger on her cheek, accidentally wiping away the water on it. Kurama looked startled again. "The markings just vanished…"

"It vanished? How did it get there in the first place?" she asked no one in particular, slightly off in her own little world. Her eyes then landed on her arms; there were tattoo-like markings on her arm, one that resembled the body of a dragon; the body of the ice dragon. Its shape reminded her of the dragons from Japanese mythological drawings she'd learnt about it history; slender, wingless bodies that were graceful in their own form. She let the water soak through her skin and glanced at her arm again; the markings had disappeared. It was a possibility that these markings would appear when her skin came in contact with water. Her breathing laboured as her eyes slowly closed, her upper body leaning against his shoulder. Her hands slid beside her.

"Hey Mika, are you ok?" Kurama asked worriedly, immediately placing a hand against her flushing cheeks and sweaty forehead. Digging from inside his pockets, his hand touched something cold and solid. It was smooth and there were holes between this object. Nevertheless, he stuffed something into her mouth, forcing her to swallow it with a sudden tilt of the head. He placed two fingers on her pulse, feeling the steady rise and fall. She was merely asleep, over-exhausted from using too much energy.

Glancing at his companion, Hiketsu noticed the smile on Iryoku's face. "What's the matter? You jealous of the fox?" Hiketsu joked, nudging his blue-haired friend.

"Why should I be?" Iryoku asked coolly. "I'm just happy for my little sister."

"Little sister? Since when was she your little sister?" Hiketsu's expression was priceless; his mouth a gaping hole. "Didn't you find her in the woods?"

"Since the day I saw that scar again. Unlike Mikazuki, I'm not a wolf. I don't have the ability to transform into a wolf like her. Not one person in our blood line can transform into a wolf, only Mika can. Likewise, no one can transform into a falcon; the creature I am spiritually bonded to."

"How can this be? I've never heard of this before."

"We lived in the mountains, a secretive place. Never did we leave our home; it was forbidden, for exposure to the rest of Makai meant that our clan would be risking being discovered by enemies. But then, seventeen years ago the clan was destroyed, and only a few survived; me, Mika and several others. Our clan had been betrayed by someone in our own clan that consisted of over two thousand people. All those people could transform into their own unique creature and those people died on the same tragic day; eight months after my little sister was born. I was only three then and yet I still remember everything so clearly.

"Legions of demons had come that day; threatening us to hand over the 'dragon spirit' or the 'phoenix spirit'. We were confused; no one understood what they'd meant because there was no such person bonded to the dragon or the phoenix. Perhaps the elders knew but they never said anything and merely pretended ignorance." He paused, his blue eyes gazing at Mika's sleeping form.

"How did you escape?" Hiketsu prompted, waiting for Iryoku to continue.

"I didn't." There was another long pause, but from his blank expression, Hiketsu knew that he wasn't going to get anymore information from Iryoku. He scanned around the chamber, searching for the other elite members; they had long disappeared ever since Mikazuki had lost control of herself.

"Does anyone know about this? Does Mika know?"

"No. Only you, me and Izure." Iryoku looked at Kurama, knowing that he had clearly heard the conversation. "And him. This information can mean disaster to both Ningenkai and Makai, kitsune. I also know that you've grown considerably fond of the Ningenkai and the people there – beware. One more thing, watch her for me, I'll return shortly to collect her." The pair turned around, departing from the chambers.

"Wait! Why are you leaving her with me?" Kurama questioned.

"You like her don't you? You'll treat her well. Besides, she's too weak to stay in Makai – she's just a sitting target." Without another word, the two left; leaving through a different tunnel from the one they originally came from.

"Kurama!" Yuusuke shouted, running through into the chamber. "Are you ok? What happened?" Kurama had already changed back into his human form and was sitting on the floor, with the girl's head on his lap.

"Nothing," he murmured and gently lifted her up into his arms.

Dumbfounded, Yuusuke looked at him and at the youkai, unconscious in his arms. "Is that that guy you fought before?" he asked whilst scratching his head in confusion.

"She was in disguise, to hide… from me." He turned his green eyes away from Yuusuke and continued walking through the chamber, into the tunnel where the others were. There were so many questions in his mind at the moment, he didn't even know where to start thinking. How come Mikazuki was a youkai and what was her purpose in the Ningenkai. All these questions led back to the main question; who was Mikazuki and her brother and what did Iryoku mean when he said that the information could lead to disaster of both the Ningenkai and Makai? Perhaps the answers would be revealed to him shortly.

"So they just left her with you?" Kuwabara asked, showing as much confusion as Yuusuke had shown before. "Why would the enemy leave their own comrade with us?"

Botan muttered in reply, "Not us, just Kurama." She sipped her tea and readjusted her position. They had returned straight back to their own world after having fought against the Kokudo, receiving neither victory nor loss, and had gathered at Genkai's temple. "I think that it's a trap. They're just sending her over here, having us believe that she's harmless. Then she's going to strike at us when we're unaware."

Genkai sighed and rubbed her hands together. "That is a possibility, but what bothers me is why they would send someone we'll likely suspect." Slowly she turned to look at the girl sleeping in the next room. Her face was pale, her breathing sometimes fast and sometimes slow. She was still in her youkai form, meaning that it would be difficult to take her anywhere. "What do you think Kurama?"

The red-haired teen sighed, watching as Yukina wiped away the caked sweat on her forehead. For once in his lifetime, he didn't know what to think and say. The entire room was silent, waiting for him to speak. "I don't know." Suddenly he remembered the necklace he had found in his pocket when he was looking for some type of herb in his pocket and brought it out, placing it gently on the table. "I found this in my pocket earlier on and I suspect that she gave this to me." Everyone loomed in, looking at the piece of jewellery with much surprise. But then their faces reverted back to normal. Kuwabara laughed and said in a know-it-all tone, "It's just a necklace. It must be a present that somehow got mixed up in your pocket." All the eyes in the room were staring at him.

Genkai coughed purposely, regaining everyone's attention. "It's not just any piece of jewellery Kuwabara. Although I've never seen it before, I believe that it could possibly be some treasure; or perhaps the treasure of the Fury Whirlpool."

"So what are we going to do about the girl?" Yuusuke asked nonchalantly.

"We'll keep her here for the while," Genkai murmured.

End of part one

A/N: I just thought that I'd do it in parts of about 15 chapters – seems easier this way. I'm also going to make the chapters longer.