Pirates of the Makai

Pirates of the Makai
Part Ten

The mutineers had turned into monsters. Now it turns out, they were monsters all along, the reincarnated spirits of evil sages. Figures. Suzaku was their leader and now sole survivor. And he was going use his powers to take over Reikai and then the world. But all those things meant shit to Yusuke Urameshi beside the fact that this man was threatening his friend.

“If you think you’re laying one hand on Koenma‘s head, you got another thing coming.”

“Try me,” Suzaku said unaffected.

“Fine I will!” Yusuke sprang at him fist first. It wasn’t as easy now that Suzaku was expecting his blows. He blocked Yusuke’s left, his right, dodged his uppercut. “Not bad,” Yusuke said, “But how’s your footwork?” He brought his leg up clear over his shoulder and delivered a devastating kick to the side of Suzaku‘s head.

“Wow, Yusuke. When did you get so flexible?” Koenma exclaimed.

Yusuke gave him a saucy grin, “Hey you don’t know half of what my body can do.”

“Oh and what about Captain Hiei? Does he know?” Koenma returned the grin.

Yusuke blushed, “Uh, you know about that?”

Koenma’s grin spread. “I’ve been watching you in this mirror, since that near miss of yours at the front gates. I heard that little proclamation of love you gave there. My goodness, what happened on that pirate ship?”

“Lots of things. But wait, you’re okay with me and Hiei?”

“He seems like an exceptional young man, other than being a pirate. He’s enterprising, obviously protective of you, and kinda cute too. So, I’m happy for you.”

“Oh man, Koenma you don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that.”

“Excuse me!” Suzaku broke in on them as he pulled himself to his feet, “You’re forgetting that nether one of you is leaving here alive.”

Hands on his hips, Yusuke said, “How much am I going to have to kick your ass before you give up?”

“Grrr, insufferable mortal, you have no idea what you’re dealing with!” Abruptly his snarl turned to a smirk.

“Oh now you’ve done it,” his bird tittered, “He’s not going to go easy on you anymore. You’re going to die and it’s going hurt!”

“Yes, you have not yet seen my true power!” The air around him began to stir and crackle with an electric charge. His armor tipped forelocks lifted clear up. That was when Yusuke realized that they weren’t hair anymore, but some sort of antennae. The energy enveloped him like second skin. And then he rushed Yusuke. His fist aimed strait for Yusuke’s jaw.

Being an experienced boxer as he was, Yusuke recognized that threat and raised his arms to block it, but to no avail. He did block the punch. But when Suzaku’s fist came in contact his skin, a terrible burning lashed through his body, made his blood feel like it was boiling and skin feel like it was being ripped apart from the inside. It was like being struck by lighting-- or at least, Yusuke assumed that was what being struck by lighting felt like.

When it was over, the seconds seemed like an eternity, all Yusuke could do was utter a pathetic gurgling sound before he sunk to the floor.

Suzaku stepped over Yusuke‘s body as if he were of no significance, and paced menacingly toward Koenma, “Now that that little pest is out of the way,” He paused and waved his hand in air. Instantly the large mirror on the wall lit up and showed three men battling an endless horde of vegetable men. “They’ll be awhile-- if they survive at all. Shall we can get started, Koenma?”

“Keep your hands off--” Koenma started to struggle, but when Suzaku touched him, a volt shook his body. His limbs tingled. He couldn’t move them. * * *
Hiei abruptly stopped fighting. He looked up at the tower. The impossible sky seemed to dim. He could swear he could smell rain. A tightening feeling in his gut told him something wasn’t right.

“Hiei!” Kuwabara shouted as he slashed his cutlass through a creature that had shambled up behind Hiei. “What’s a matter with you, spacing out in the middle of a fight?”

Hiei shook himself, “I’ve made a mistake. We need to get up to that tower now!”

“Easier said than done,” Kuwabara hissed back.

“Kurama,” Hiei shouted to the other redhead, “You have any bombs on you?”

“Bombs?”
* * *

There was something very bright, so bright Yusuke didn’t want to open his eyes. What the hell could be so bright? He forced his eyelids to part. To his horror he saw what looked like a giant ball of lighting suspended in the center of jewel the size of a buffalo. Suzaku was there beside it, his antennae raised with sparks of energy jumping between them and the crystal. Was that the holy treasure of Maze Castle? It must have been.

Yusuke moved his eyes down, not daring to move his head just yet. Koenma was laid out on the floor beneath it. Eerily sentient tendrils of light stretched out from the jewel, threatening to touch the young prince.

“Oh no you don’t,” Yusuke muttered under his breath. He leveled his pistol at Suzaku’s heart. But just as he pulled the trigger a sharp squawking fell on him.

“Ahh! You dirty human, how dare you raise as weapon to my beautiful Suzaku!” The bird screeched and knocked at his hand.

The shot went off, but it went far wide of its target. Yusuke heard the bullet ricochet off some solid object then lodge itself worthlessly into the wall. He cursed.

“What is this?” Suzaku was startled from his work. Subsequently the tendrils of electricity withdrew from Koenma, thank goodness for small favors. His eyes narrowed on Yusuke with such intent that they might literally burn into him. “You’re alive. That shock was meant to kill you. Ah, I must be rusty from all these years of dormancy. I’ll just have to try harder this time.”
* * *
“This is crazy!” Kuwabara cried out as he hopped over another crumpled green body.

“It makes perfect sense. We’re out numbered so we kill in bulk!” Hiei lit another bomb that Kurama had produced from his jacket and lobbed it ahead of them into the hordes of green creatures. Seconds later it exploded, hurling the things high into the air along with a great deal of smoke and dust. They ran straight on into the cloud.

“I can’t even see,” Kuwabara complained.

“Then neither can our enemies,” Hiei snapped back, “You just have to run straight, that shouldn’t be too hard, even for you. Unless your legs are as uneven as your intellect.”

“Shut up. You’ve got no room to be making fun of other people’s legs. You look like you traded legs with a gerbil and got cheated out of an ass!” Kuwabara barked back.

Hiei growled, “I’ll have you know my lags are in perfect portion with my body and I’ve got an ass you could bounce a quarter off of!”

“Gentlemen,” Kurama cut in, “I think I see the portal to the tower. Yes this it. We made it.”

They shut the heavy oak doors behind them, taking it for granted that the remainder of the vegetable men were not bright enough to open it up again. Just then the tower shook violently.

Kuwabara said, “Dang it Hiei, lay off the bombs already!”

“It’s not me, you--” He stopped when he saw a piece of stairway break off above Kurama and that start to fall. “Look out!” He dove for Kurama, knocking him out of the way. The two of them rolled over the floor until they came to a stop, Hiei sprawled atop Kurama.

“Oh, Hiei I never thought the day would come,” Kurama chortled like a school girl, “But is this really the time and place?”

“Knock it off,” Hiei pulled himself off the redhead and looked up into the dark spiraling heights of the tower.

“What’s wrong?” Kuwabara asked.

Hiei answered soberly, “That blast, it cam from above.”
* * *
“AHHHEEIIIII!” Yusuke yelled as he dove to avoid the most recent of Suzaku’s attacks. He barely managed to dive behind a large trunk before if struck. It hit the trunk, bursting it open like an over cooked sausage, hemorrhaging gold coins and jewels everywhere. He was running out of places to hide and hiding wasn’t going to defeat Suzaku or rescue Koenma.

But what could he do? Suzaku had the power to throw friggen lightening at him. All Yusuke had, was his fists, his pistol, and bunch of gold coins he was sitting on. Well, when reason fails, it’s time to do something stupid. With a war-cry, he took a fist full of coins and leapt over the chest, running toward Suzaku. He threw the coins out in front of him. With any luck the shinny pieces of metal would prove a distraction.

He raised his weapon at the same time as Suzaku formed his ball of lightening in his hands. In his mind, Yusuke made note of apology to his friends, to Hiei. The short man never said it in so many words, but he was sure he loved him, in some fashion. At least when this was over he’d still have his Yukina. He could take the gold from this room, buy her freedom, and perhaps marry her. Maybe that was why Hiei refused her services; he was waiting until he could properly marry her before taking her to bed.

Oh well, it wouldn’t matter to him soon. He would be dead, but then so would Suzaku. Two things happened then, in the moment before he was going to pull the trigger. First he heard his name being called. His attention was drawn to the peripheral of his vision. Kurama, Kuwabara, and Hiei were standing in the doorway. Seeing their startled faces, Yusuke forgot to pull the trigger.

The next thing that happened in that split second that seemed to draw out for all of eternity was that Suzaku threw his attack. Yusuke saw it coming, through the hale of coins that had yet to fall. But then the most miraculous phenomenon occurred. The ball of lightening snagged in the space between the gold coins like it had run into a curtain. The energy jumped and sparked between the gold coins, but went no farther. Then it exploded, sending both Suzaku and Yusuke sprawling.

“The heck,” Yusuke sat up rubbing his head.

“It’s was the gold,” Kurama said, “It conducted the lightening away from Yusuke and into it!”

“Awesome,” Kuwabara cheered, “Uh, is there some way we can use that?”

Kurama shook his head, “I doubt he’d fall for it twice. There’s prince Koenma over there. Quick let’s get to him before--”

A bolt of lighting exploded the floor between them and the Reikei prince. Suzaku had pulled himself up off the floor. The power around him was visible, crackling with his fury.

“Spread out,” Hiei ordered. And they did quickly. He hissed, “You’re out numbered Suzaku, even if with your powers, you can’t defend against all four of us.”

“That might be true,” Suzaku said calmly, as if he were to considering this seriously. “Three of you did defeat my colleagues in individual combat. Hmm, I wonder if we would have done better if we had engaged you as a unified force. Only one way to find out.”

He turned to face the great electric crystal, raised his arms, and then like viper striking, a tongue of crackling blue energy lash out at Suzaku, himself. He screamed, clenched his teeth and then screamed again as the power ran through his body causing it to jump and twitch in a horrifying dance of pain, until it glowed red like a hot poker.

Then he stilled. He barked, “HAAH!” The red power covering his skin shot off into three separate directions. Where one struck the floor, a massive spear of ice shot up from it. It cracked and then shattered and where it was, now stood the towering blue faced Seiryu. In another place the floor exploded with a massive animal roar and there appeared Byakko the white tiger. And in the third spot the flagstones seemed to melt, rising up to form the stone monster Genbu.

“Impossible!” Kurama gasped.

Genbu chuckled and tut-tuted him, “The holy treasure of Maze Castle returned our lives once, as you recall. What made you think it couldn‘t do so again?”

“Yes, I’ have another chance to crush you little mortals,” Byakko growled.

“What? You’re still on their side?” Kuwabara shouted to his former first mate, “Don’t you remember that Seiryu killed you, just cuz I out smarted you.”

Suzaku intervened, “Yes, an unfortunate and rash decision. I think we all learned a little lesson about teamwork, didn’t we men?” Muttered, cowed agreements were heard from all the monsters. Suzaku sniffed, satisfied with his power. “There is no power greater than that of the treasure of Maze Castle and as long as it stands, we are destined to rule the world, immortally. Now attack!”

Seiryu struck first, his attack naturally aimed for Hiei, who made to dodge out of the way.

“Look out!” Yusuke warned too late, Genbu’s tail shot out of the floor behind Hiei and struck him hard in the side. Then as he ran to protect Hiei’s flank, Genbu caused the floor to rear up and throw Yusuke into the air, where he was a sitting duck for the lighting bolt Suzaku threw at him.

“No!” Kuwabara yelled. In a desperate move he snatched up a broad gold platter and hurled it like a disk into the space between Yusuke and the crackling bolt of energy. In doing so he’d left himself wide open to be clubbed by Byakko‘s mighty fist. Suzaku’s lighting struck the platter and exploded, sending Yusuke crashing down into a pile of riches that, believe it or not, did not cushion his fall one bit.

After he landed, it was all he could do to grit his teeth and will his ears to stop ringing. He looked up with blurry eyes to see his friends fighting uselessly against the monsters. Koenma was stirring on the floor, becoming aware of the melee around him. Like he could do anything to help them or even himself.

Yusuke could see all their hope fading-- the hope of the world even! When this was all over and done with Suzaku planned on taking over the world. And as a backdrop for this devastating scene, that stupid crystal. The treasure of Maze Castle that gave Suzaku and his cronies their powers.

Yusuke scuffled forward weakly on his hands and knees, toward the fray where his friends were being slaughtered, not really knowing what he planned on doing when he got there. Probably join them in death.

“Oww!” Yusuke’s hand fell on something that seemed to bite him-- no shock! Under his hand he found a little shard of crystal with small sparks of electrically jumping from it. In a flash of inspiration, Yusuke remembered that failed shot he had fired off at Suzaku when he was next to the holy treasure. He remembered the sound of a ricochet. His bullet must have hit the crystal and broke off this piece. A plan formed in Yusuke’s head as he palmed the tingling piece of rock.

Meanwhile, Yusuke’s companions had been herded into the center of the room, beaten down. They all but awaited their execution at the hands of their foes.

Suzaku gathered a massive bolt of lightening in his hands and asked them, “Any last words?”

“Yah!” Yusuke stood up and shouted, “So long!” He fired off his pistol. A brilliant burst of crackling blue energy exploded from its tip.

“A shard from holy treasure!” Suzaku gasped. He recognized the power right away and fainted out of the things flight path. Then he sneered at Yusuke, “Clever move. Too bad it was wasted on bad aim.”

“Not really,” Yusuke said confidently, “Wasn’t aiming for you.”

Suzaku and the others didn’t understand until a monumental crack sounded behind hind them. They spun and looked at the giant glowing crystal, now sporting an ugly crack and spitting energy dangerously. Hiei grabbed Kurama and Kuwabara by their collars and hauled them down to the floor. Koenma scudded around behind a stone partition. Yusuke dove from the protection of a pile of gold just as the crystal growled blindingly bright and detonated in an ear bursting explosion.
* * *
Hiei coughed and rolled over. He could see the sky above him, the sky that couldn’t be there, but was. An impossible breeze blew against his cheeks. He regenerated these things vaguely as he came to. The blast Yusuke had caused had blown off both the ceiling and the walls. It was as if they were on the roof of the tower, rather inside the topmost a room. He heard Kurama groan and Kuwabara curse. Good, they were alive.

“Yusuke?” Hiei struggled to his feet.

“Here!” Koenma called the others. He was kneeling over Yusuke’s body, half buried under an avalanche of treasure, desperately trying to dig him out. “I- I don’t think he’s breathing!”

The others rushed to help him. Kuwabara said, “Maybe he just needs mouth to mouth!” He pinched Yusuke’s nose and leaned down.

A hand clasped over his open mouth. “Don’t you dare,” Yusuke grumbled flatly.

Kuwabara jumped, “Y-you’re okay.”

“Yeah I’m okay,” he sat up. “Dang it Koenma, it’s a good thing you’re a prince, cuz you’d never make it as a doctor. Can’t even tell if a guy’s breathing or not.”

Hiei let out a heavy breath and shook his head. Yusuke spared him an endeared smirk. Hiei gave him a pout in return.

“There’s just one thing I’d like to know,” Kurama asked Yusuke, “How did you know you could destroy the holy treasure by shooting it with a piece of itself?”

Yusuke scratched his nose and said, “Well, I didn’t know for fact, but I know that if you shoot a barrel of gunpowder with a bullet, it’ll explode. So I took a gamble that this worked o the same principle.”

“You didn’t know!” Kuwabara shrieked, “What if you had been wrong and nothing happened?”

Yusuke laughed, “Get torn to pieces I suppose.”

“What?!” Kuwabara’s jaw dropped.

Hiei and Kurama laughed. So did Koenma as he slapped Yusuke on the shoulder, “You never change, do you?”

Their laughter was cut short as a pile of rumble churned. A hand clawed its way out, followed by a body, Suzaku’s body. “You,” he hissed at Yusuke, “You destroyed my holy treasure, my power, even my insufferable colleagues are gone, without the power of the treasure to sustain them. How could this be my destiny….”

Hiei put his arm around Yusuke, “It was a conflict of destinies, and Yusuke had the better one.”

Suzaku studied them for a moment. Something changed on it face, “I suppose you’re right. Congratulations.” He let out one last shuttering breath as his head drooped to the tattered flagstones. A breeze blew and his being blew away with it as dust.
* * *
TBC…
A/N: I would have had this out a few days sooner-- I feared I’d never get it out at all. My laptop suffered a complete meltdown. But the boys at Happy Tom’s fixed her up better than new, so let the smutty fanfics continue! Final chapter is next and I’ve got a brand new story waiting in the wings, featuring a character that to my knowledge has never been included in a fanfic before! Next time!