The un-titled Hiei and Botan shrine
cliqueYu Yu Hakusho: Soeki Saga Episode Two: Attack From the Shadows
The flame flickered weakly against the surrounding darkness of the forest. It was set upon splinters of wood and several large logs beneath that. The night was quiet and calm, yet a foul odor stunk up the air about the small camp. But then again, it always smelled here in the Makai.
Hiei sat on a small log with his arms crossed and his crimson eyes closed. The dim flame illuminated his features, making him appear a mere youth in the firelight. He was clad in a black cloak and white scarf which hung about his neck, along with a white bandana wrapped around his helm to match. His spiky black hair rose upward, defying the laws of gravity, and the white starburst in the center swayed gently.
He had been sent out into the wilderness by his master, Mokuro, who had wanted this area scouted before she began building a small settlement in the area. It seemed pointless to Hiei. There were no valuable minerals or resources to be found here, nor was the water any good seeing as how the rivers in the area had all dried up. Hiei grunted and opened his right eye to stare at the fire. It’s reflection twinkled in his cold eye.
Hiei suddenly shivered as he felt a cold wind brush up against his neck. He now had both eyes open and looked behind him into the darkness of the wilderland. That was no normal Makai breeze. It had felt like something was breathing on the back of his neck. He scowled and got to his feet, peering out into the shadows of the night. Nothing. He neither heard nor saw anything of importance. His scowl softened into a minor frown as he turned about to sit again.
The sound of something sliding across the earth pricked at his ears. He did not sit down, but grasped the hilt of his katana which was strapped to his side. His scowl returned and he slowly cast his gaze to and fro, keeping an eye open for any signs of danger. He was sure of it now; something was out there.
“Hn. Why can’t I sense this thing’s spirit energy? Does it have none?” He questioned in his mind as he took a step backward. There was an eery silence which hing on the air for several minutes. A rustling was heard from behind the short fire demon and he spun about, katana held out to bear. Nothing was there. Hiei took two steps back slowly as a drop of sweat ran down his brow. What the hell was this thing?
“Damnit, you yourself you coward.” He seethed angrily. There was no response. Hiei continued to turn around and around slowly and carefully as to cover all angles of an attack. The rustling noise was heard again to Hiei’s right and he leapt toward it, sending a wave of fire out from his hand, insinerating several shrubberies.
“What the hell is this?”
-
Yusuke leaned forward in his seat on board a train with his head hung downward. Kuwabara was to his right, and Botan and Kurama sat across from the two. The spirit detective rubbed his temples.
“What would someone want with a chemical that no one knows anything about?” Yusuke asked aloud in an annoyed voice.
“It could be for profit, perhaps. It is the only sample of this compound in the world.” Kurama offered in answer. Yusuke sighed and shook his head.
“I have a feeling it’s more than that, though. Why would someone as strong as the person Koenma told us about go through the trouble of stealing the chemical for a ransom? Why wouldn’t they just rob a bank or something?” Yusuke said in retort. Kurama shrugged.
“I suppose that we can’t be too sure, Yusuke. The important thing is that we get the sample back before anyone can get hurt.”
“But for all we know, it won’t do anything to humans.”
“Yes, you have a point. But it would be a sound decision to not take the risk of it actually being harmful.”
“I guess.” Yusuke sighed. He was somewhat peeved about not being able to spend this time with Keiko. He had only recently returned from the Makai and he was already off on missions again.
“Hey, Urameshi. Wanna play the license plate game?” Kuwabara asked. Yusuke just stared at him.
“Kuwabara, how can we play the license plate game when we’re not on a road with cars?” Yusuke asked.
“Oh.” Kuwabara said. Yusuke rolled his eyes and glared out the window, his hazel eyes locking on the form of Mt. Fuji off in the distance. He just wanted to get this over with as fast as possible.
“Don’t worry, Yusuke. Hopefully it won’t take too long.” Botan offered happily in hopes of cheering up the detective, who merely grunted.
“Hopefully.” He muttered.
-
Hiei’s crimson orbs were darting about quickly now in hopes of spotting this enemy. Was it invisible? Was it too fast to be seen? Hiei swore beneath his breath and tightened his grip on his sword. This was getting to him.
Splish.
Hiei looked down at a puddle on the ground he had stepped in. He pulled his foot from it and stared down at it. That wasn’t ordinary water. It couldn’t be. The water in this area was all gone from a drought. He bent over and ran his fingers through it, then scooped his hand up and sniffed the substance. His eyes widened. He was right, it wasn’t water………….
It was saliva.
Hiei slowly turned his head around to glance behind him. There was still nothing to be seen. How could the creature have gotten so close to him that he couldn’t have seen it? It had drooled right next to his feet, too! Hieie sighed and turned around, only to stop dead in his tracks. Before him was what seemed to be the base of a serpent, long and green and covered with scales. Hiei fallowed the base upward with his eyes to see the head of the beast gazing down at him, its red slits glowing with hunger. Its fangs dripped with slobber and blood as it opened its mouth slightly to issue a long hiss.
“Shit.” Hiei muttered as the beast tore down at him with its mouth, hoping to devour the small fire demon. He let out a brief cry of fury and cut at the thing with his katana, making a long slice appear along its cheek. It hissed again and recoiled back, slithering about Hiei in a full circle before lashing at him again. Hiei leapt to the side to dodge the monster’s mouth and rolled backwards, landing on his knees. The serpent struck again, gnashing away at Hiei as he barely dodged its attacks.
Hiei spun about to kick the beast only to have its tail smack into his back, knocking him onto his stomach. The foul creature let out another hiss before opening its mouth wide and diving in at Hiei to devour him whole.
-
“As you had originally said, the spirit detective and his colleagues are on their way to the mountain. I have sent Dread to meet them as you instructed. To you have any other commands?” Asked one of the men from earlier. Now standing in the light of a dimly lit chamber, he could finally be seen.
The man was tall and lean, wearing a light grey cloak, the color of smog. His face was narrow and his skin pale. The bangs of his messy white hair hung down over his eyes.
Another figure stood, yet was in the shadows of the room and could not be distinguished. It seemed as though a cape of some kind fluttered behind him.
“Excellent. Everything is falling into order. Are the test subjects ready?” The being asked in a dark voice. The other nodded, his white hair bouncing slightly.
“Good. I will conduct the experiment myself.” The form finished as a door opened on the opposite side of the chamber. Both men stepped through, the door sliding shut behind them with a mechanical ‘beep’.
The halls of the facility were dark and it was hard to see, as the only source of light were several dimly lit torches on the walls. The two now stood in front of another door. A control panel emerged from the wall and the dark figure pressed several keys before the door slid open for them. They stepped inside of the room.
This room, unlike the others, was lit fairly well by lights on the ceiling. One of them flickered slightly as the light bulb shorted itself out. Chained to three seats were three unconscious humans with several tubes shoved into them and an oxygen mask like contraption strapped over their mouths. Beside the three chairs was a large machine.
The dark figure could now be seen in the light, and still his physical features could not be distinguished. He wore a black tight combat suit with a black tunic strapped snugly over it, fluttering about like a cape. Over his head was a tight black hood, and over that was strapped a face mask. It was a metallic orange with several black lines over it. In the man’s hand was a test beaker filled with the stolen chemical. He passed by two demon guards and inserted the beaker into funnel.
“We will now test the first batch. I want to make sure my research is correct before the final stages of the plan are set into action.” He spoke as he pressed several buttons. The machine issued a humming sound as the liquid poured through the tubes into the prisoners.