(no subject)
Scene from Nacht Rising.
Minor violence, minor language.
Kuwabara meets the minon of the local demon lord.
He unlocked the doors and let himself inside, smugly pleased he'd remembered which key was which. The television in the living room was on, the muffled sound of a game show filling the foyer. The hallway lights were on, although upstairs was dim and shadowed. He hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, unreasonably paranoid, probing for some sort of reiki or youki, any hint of something lurking in the shadows.
Nothing.
So why do I have such a bad feeling about this? He took the stairs two at a time, pushing the reservations to the back of his mind. It was just a strange place and it was messing with his senses, that was all. There were no demons, no youki, no-
No light.
The upstairs hall was unlit and dark, the far end nothing but black shadows that his eyes couldn't pierce.
There should have been some source of illumination. From outside he had seen several of the upstairs rooms were lit. Even with the hall lights out, there should have been light coming from beneath doors, or filtering up from the foyer.
Instead it was almost as if the darkness had smothered it.
Stay in the light, Zlobena had said. But what if there was no light?
He could go back downstairs, where he knew there was light, and watch TV all night, hoping that whatever it was Zlobena had warned him of didn't find some way to drift downstairs. Or mess with the power. Or just wait and try again.
He flexed the fingers of his right hand, summoning the reiken into existence as his fingers curled shut. The orange glow of the reiken flared in the gloom of the hallway.
And faded as the shadows at the far end of the hall seemed to spill along the walls and ceiling, flowing toward him.
As the darkness wrapped around him, muting the light of the reiken and blinding him to everything else, it brought with it the unmistakable feel of powerful youki.
"Demons," Kuwabara groaned, raising the spirit sword defensively. "I went halfway around the world and what do I get? Demons."
A rumbling growl echoed down the hallway, sounding at once as if the speaker were standing just behind him, and a mile away. Kuwabara could no longer even see the walls or floor - he couldn't even swear he was still in the dorm.
Spirit detective.
Oh, great. It knows who I am. That's never good "Yeah, that's me. You got a problem?"
Koenma should not have sent you.
Kuwabara tried taking a wild stab at the truth. "Koenma didn't send me. Whatever you've got going on, it's none of my business."
No. It is not.
Kuwabara took a step backwards, hoping to feel the stairs beneath his feet. The darkness was heavy, pressing against his skin like it wanted to crush him. He dragged air into his lungs and felt lightheaded. This was not going to be good.
"Listen," he argued, feeling his breath slip away with each word. "It's my first day and I've got orientation in the morning. If we're going to do this, stop talking me to death and let's get it over with."
Somewhere in the darkness before him, a shape took form: the head of a deer and the body of a dog, walking upright on two legs. The legs ended in hooves, the hands were grossly deformed. Huge curved claws extended from each digit. The stag's eyes were a gross yellow, and seemed to be the only things in existence that put out any light.
"You," Kuwabara said, "are the ugliest demon I've ever seen. And that's saying something."
The stag's head snorted, and slime dripped from its mouth and nostrils. My master has ordered that I return you to your child-god. The corners of its mouth pulled back in a grotesque rictus. In pieces.
"Talk," Kuwabara said. "Always talk."
The utter black seemed to warp, reaching out the demon and enveloping him in darkness. Kuwabara fell back a step, bracing his feet and holding the reiken, every sense he had wide open, trying to follow the demon's movements in close quarters, distracted by the effort of breathing in the thick congealing air.
The left.
He dropped to his knee and twisted sideways, bringing the sword up, meeting resistance. The blackness parted and for an instant he heard an inhuman howl, then the resistance was gone, and the darkness swallowed the demon again.
He pushed back to his feet, the move taking more effort than it should have. His lungs ached already; far too early into the fight for him to be out of breath. He'd have to end this fast if he was going to end it at all.
The demon's ki hesitated somewhere behind him, not coming any closer while he levered himself back to his feet. "Was that it?" he demanded, ignoring the breathlessness he could hear in his voice. "I'm blind, trapped and bored! What the hell are you waiting for?"
Something struck his right shoulder, knocking him forward. Claws slashed through his clothes and dug into his skin, then tore away, ripping through the muscle and probably scoring the bone. Kuwabara grit his teeth and reached over his shoulder, hand connecting with something solid-but-not; clay-like, slimy, it gave beneath his fingers and molded itself over his hand, utter-black climbing up his arm.
"Shit!" Kuwabara shook his hand, trying to dislodge the piece of darkness, but it gripped his arm and constricted, grinding the bones of his hand and wrist together. He could feel it against his skin as it wormed beneath the sleeve of his jacket and slid further up his arm. The pressure was unbelievable. Okay. Wasn't expecting that. He didn't dare let the reiken fade to try and pull it away, but if it crawled any further up his arm he might be in trouble. If it got around his throat, or covered his mouth… he could barely breathe as it was.
The demon was moving now, faster than it had been before. Kuwabara tensed, ready for another attack, trying to gauge distance and speed only using his sixth sense.
But his lungs were burning and the pain in his arm was distracting him. The feel of the darkness slithering over his shoulder and down his back and chest sent his sixth sense screaming.
The demon attacked from the left again and Kuwabara barely parried, wielding the reiken one-handed, unable to use his other hand for defense. His left arm was a dead weight, and as the demon pressed the attack, Kuwabara was hard-pressed to adjust his balance.
Too many hits made it through his defense, pushing him further backwards. Kuwabara wondered if he was still standing near the top of the stairs, or if he was backing down the hallway now. I might not be in the dorm any longer, for all I know. If he was trapped in some sort of pocket dimension, like Itsuki had done, then he was really screwed.
The demon scored a strong hit, a fist slamming into the side of his head, another following rapidly to his chest. He fell back further, momentarily stunned. The second hit had driven the air from his lungs.
He sucked desperately, aware that what he was breathing in wasn't exactly air. Something slid up the side of his neck, slithered across his cheek toward his mouth. He saw colors then as something slid down his throat, and the grip of the blackness wrapped itself around his eyes.
The demon lunged again and Kuwabara reacted instinctively, lashing out with the reiken. The sense of youki retreated slightly, but not enough to give him any chance at recovery.
Focus.
Youki directly in front of him.
Wait.
Shifting, ever so slightly, to the left.
Gotcha, you predictable little-
The demon lunged. Kuwabara pivoted and brought the reiken up to meet the attack.
Very far away, Kuwabara heard a fire alarm sound as the demon screamed in pain.
****
That took me three months. Three months. Yes, I am pitiful.
Will edit in the morning. For now I'm just glad it's done.
Minor violence, minor language.
Kuwabara meets the minon of the local demon lord.
He unlocked the doors and let himself inside, smugly pleased he'd remembered which key was which. The television in the living room was on, the muffled sound of a game show filling the foyer. The hallway lights were on, although upstairs was dim and shadowed. He hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, unreasonably paranoid, probing for some sort of reiki or youki, any hint of something lurking in the shadows.
Nothing.
So why do I have such a bad feeling about this? He took the stairs two at a time, pushing the reservations to the back of his mind. It was just a strange place and it was messing with his senses, that was all. There were no demons, no youki, no-
No light.
The upstairs hall was unlit and dark, the far end nothing but black shadows that his eyes couldn't pierce.
There should have been some source of illumination. From outside he had seen several of the upstairs rooms were lit. Even with the hall lights out, there should have been light coming from beneath doors, or filtering up from the foyer.
Instead it was almost as if the darkness had smothered it.
Stay in the light, Zlobena had said. But what if there was no light?
He could go back downstairs, where he knew there was light, and watch TV all night, hoping that whatever it was Zlobena had warned him of didn't find some way to drift downstairs. Or mess with the power. Or just wait and try again.
He flexed the fingers of his right hand, summoning the reiken into existence as his fingers curled shut. The orange glow of the reiken flared in the gloom of the hallway.
And faded as the shadows at the far end of the hall seemed to spill along the walls and ceiling, flowing toward him.
As the darkness wrapped around him, muting the light of the reiken and blinding him to everything else, it brought with it the unmistakable feel of powerful youki.
"Demons," Kuwabara groaned, raising the spirit sword defensively. "I went halfway around the world and what do I get? Demons."
A rumbling growl echoed down the hallway, sounding at once as if the speaker were standing just behind him, and a mile away. Kuwabara could no longer even see the walls or floor - he couldn't even swear he was still in the dorm.
Spirit detective.
Oh, great. It knows who I am. That's never good "Yeah, that's me. You got a problem?"
Koenma should not have sent you.
Kuwabara tried taking a wild stab at the truth. "Koenma didn't send me. Whatever you've got going on, it's none of my business."
No. It is not.
Kuwabara took a step backwards, hoping to feel the stairs beneath his feet. The darkness was heavy, pressing against his skin like it wanted to crush him. He dragged air into his lungs and felt lightheaded. This was not going to be good.
"Listen," he argued, feeling his breath slip away with each word. "It's my first day and I've got orientation in the morning. If we're going to do this, stop talking me to death and let's get it over with."
Somewhere in the darkness before him, a shape took form: the head of a deer and the body of a dog, walking upright on two legs. The legs ended in hooves, the hands were grossly deformed. Huge curved claws extended from each digit. The stag's eyes were a gross yellow, and seemed to be the only things in existence that put out any light.
"You," Kuwabara said, "are the ugliest demon I've ever seen. And that's saying something."
The stag's head snorted, and slime dripped from its mouth and nostrils. My master has ordered that I return you to your child-god. The corners of its mouth pulled back in a grotesque rictus. In pieces.
"Talk," Kuwabara said. "Always talk."
The utter black seemed to warp, reaching out the demon and enveloping him in darkness. Kuwabara fell back a step, bracing his feet and holding the reiken, every sense he had wide open, trying to follow the demon's movements in close quarters, distracted by the effort of breathing in the thick congealing air.
The left.
He dropped to his knee and twisted sideways, bringing the sword up, meeting resistance. The blackness parted and for an instant he heard an inhuman howl, then the resistance was gone, and the darkness swallowed the demon again.
He pushed back to his feet, the move taking more effort than it should have. His lungs ached already; far too early into the fight for him to be out of breath. He'd have to end this fast if he was going to end it at all.
The demon's ki hesitated somewhere behind him, not coming any closer while he levered himself back to his feet. "Was that it?" he demanded, ignoring the breathlessness he could hear in his voice. "I'm blind, trapped and bored! What the hell are you waiting for?"
Something struck his right shoulder, knocking him forward. Claws slashed through his clothes and dug into his skin, then tore away, ripping through the muscle and probably scoring the bone. Kuwabara grit his teeth and reached over his shoulder, hand connecting with something solid-but-not; clay-like, slimy, it gave beneath his fingers and molded itself over his hand, utter-black climbing up his arm.
"Shit!" Kuwabara shook his hand, trying to dislodge the piece of darkness, but it gripped his arm and constricted, grinding the bones of his hand and wrist together. He could feel it against his skin as it wormed beneath the sleeve of his jacket and slid further up his arm. The pressure was unbelievable. Okay. Wasn't expecting that. He didn't dare let the reiken fade to try and pull it away, but if it crawled any further up his arm he might be in trouble. If it got around his throat, or covered his mouth… he could barely breathe as it was.
The demon was moving now, faster than it had been before. Kuwabara tensed, ready for another attack, trying to gauge distance and speed only using his sixth sense.
But his lungs were burning and the pain in his arm was distracting him. The feel of the darkness slithering over his shoulder and down his back and chest sent his sixth sense screaming.
The demon attacked from the left again and Kuwabara barely parried, wielding the reiken one-handed, unable to use his other hand for defense. His left arm was a dead weight, and as the demon pressed the attack, Kuwabara was hard-pressed to adjust his balance.
Too many hits made it through his defense, pushing him further backwards. Kuwabara wondered if he was still standing near the top of the stairs, or if he was backing down the hallway now. I might not be in the dorm any longer, for all I know. If he was trapped in some sort of pocket dimension, like Itsuki had done, then he was really screwed.
The demon scored a strong hit, a fist slamming into the side of his head, another following rapidly to his chest. He fell back further, momentarily stunned. The second hit had driven the air from his lungs.
He sucked desperately, aware that what he was breathing in wasn't exactly air. Something slid up the side of his neck, slithered across his cheek toward his mouth. He saw colors then as something slid down his throat, and the grip of the blackness wrapped itself around his eyes.
The demon lunged again and Kuwabara reacted instinctively, lashing out with the reiken. The sense of youki retreated slightly, but not enough to give him any chance at recovery.
Focus.
Youki directly in front of him.
Wait.
Shifting, ever so slightly, to the left.
Gotcha, you predictable little-
The demon lunged. Kuwabara pivoted and brought the reiken up to meet the attack.
Very far away, Kuwabara heard a fire alarm sound as the demon screamed in pain.
****
That took me three months. Three months. Yes, I am pitiful.
Will edit in the morning. For now I'm just glad it's done.