Tuesday, April 20, 2004

   Past Collides with Present: Chapter 11 Part 1
So sorry for the delay in updating, but college is getting hard. I'll get the second half of this chappie posted soon, I promise.

Chapter 11: Hard Fight

Kurama brought his rose whip around in a slashing arc, only to divert it at the last second as he suddenly found himself staring into his mother's terrified face. He jumped back and cursed at Puso for pulling such a dirty trick. The shapeshifter merely grinned and attacked.

Kurama leapt out of the way, nettled at the image of his mother attacking him, even though he knew it was a fake. /Snap out of it, Shuichi,/ came a voice at the back of his mind. /Let me handle him./ Kurama gladly complied and finally let himself transform into Youko, still jumping out of the way of Puso's slashes.

When the transformation was complete, Kurama flicked his wrist, whipping his weapon upward and wrapping it around the fake Shiori's dagger arm. He pulled, and the doppelganger screamed in pain and dropped the dagger. He stumbled back and returned to his original form, gripping his nearly severed arm. Kurama held back and studied Puso carefully. He had wounded Puso seriously, but he knew that that hardly mattered. Doppelgangers weren't very powerful energy-wise, but their shapeshifting capabilities often allowed them to escape attacks that should have been lethal and deliver attacks that should be impossible. Most were also ambidextrous, which meant that Puso would still be able to handle his dagger very well. What's more, Kurama was still very tired from using Kage's cloud thingy, and even though he had more energy in his full demon form, he was limited to using only less powerful attacks.

Kurama was still running through this information and deciding how to proceed when a red and white blur flew by him. "I wouldn't do-" he began to call.

Too late. Jin tried to punch Puso in the face, but Puso grabbed his dagger with his left hand and brought it up to block. The blade sliced Jin's fingers to the bone, and Jin flew upward, clutching his hand and babbling something too fast to comprehend.

Kurama cursed mentally as Puso stood up smirking. "Your turn, kitsune," he said.

Kurama dropped to crouch as glanced up toward Jin. A plan had formed in his mind as he had watched the Wind Master's failed attack. He brought his whip to a defense position and focused half his attention on the demon above him. /Jin,/ he called with his mind. /Can you still fight?/

"Yeah-of-course-I-can!" Jin yelled out loud. "Wait-who-was-"

/Shut up and listen. I have a plan./

Jin listened, finally realizing that Kurama was communicating with him telepathically. Once the plan was explained, Jin grinned and nodded. Kurama sensed the affirmation and focused all his attention back on Puso, who had begun attacking him again. All he needed now was an opening.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiei and Kage had finally broken out of their sword-lock and begun an all-out battle. At first, the two seemed to be evenly matched as blurs marked the movements of the opponents and the constant ring of clashing swords sounded. However, when Kage jumped into the air, things took a downhill turn for Hiei.

The devil bird swooped gracefully through the air, almost as fast as Hiei's ground speed. He soared toward the ceiling, then pulled around and dove straight for Hiei, katana slashing. Hiei managed to block it..barely. Kage soared around in an arc and came back for another try, which Hiei blocked again. This carried on for several minutes, though Hiei knew that eventually Kage would get past his defenses and score a hit. Being in the air, he had the advantage. Hiei couldn't even try to hit him.

Touya could.

Hiei nearly ducked in surprise when several crystal ice shards flew by his shoulder on a direct path to Kage. Kage saw them coming and swooped left at the last minute, avoiding most of the shards. However, one managed to hit, drawing a line of blood across his cheek. Kage hovered in midair, wiping the blood off his face. He stared at it, then directed his gaze to Touya. He had never been hurt by an opponent before, and he wasn't taking it well.

Neither was Hiei. "Who asked you for help?" he demanded coldly. "Shove off, Ice Boy."

"No offense, but I think you need the help," Touya returned. "Think about who you're dealing with here. This demon is strong enough to nearly kill Kurama, and you can't use the Black Dragon here; there are too many people close by."

Hiei hissed a curse, knowing he was right. If he had thought he could use the Dragon, he would have. As it was, the room was too small, and the Dragon could easily consume everyone in it. Another swooping attack by Kage snapped him out of his thoughts, and he brought his katana up to block again.

Kage smiled cruelly. /He fell for it./

* * *

Kurama was trying to get close to Puso, but the doppelganger kept hopping away. He had his hands full with the Wind Master, and he knew he couldn't handle both him and Kurama. Jin was pulling the same swooping technique as Kage, only he was attacking with Tornado Fists instead of a katana. He kept missing on purpose, partly because he didn't want his other hand to be sliced by Puso's dagger, but mostly because Kurama wanted him to. All Kurama needed was for Puso to be distracted for two seconds. However, Puso was keeping himself in a position that allowed him to watch both his opponents at the same time.

Jin had noticed this, though, and had a little plan of his own. He charged Puso once again and swerved once again. This time, instead of soaring to the ceiling, Jin continued forward and twisted around, planting his feet on the wall. He pushed off and rocketed toward Puso from behind.

Puso turned instinctively to block the Wind Master's attack, and Kurama had the opening he needed. Reaching back, he pulled a seed out of his hair and threw it into Puso's back in about the time it would take to blink. Kurama sent a mental okay, and Jin pulled upward again. Now all they had to do was wait.

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