Colorblind

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Here's a new chapter. I'm fairly pleased with how this turned out. I haven't really had a whole lot of practice writing Yusuke, and when I do I feel like he only has three emotional states, but hopefully these next few chapters will give him more depth. This is also the last time all four boys are going to be together until the end of the story, and I wanted them to part on a high note, so this chapter is full of random moments of silliness. :D

The Last of the Saint Beasts…

Above Maze Castle, thunder rumbled as the storm clouds crashed into each other. Lightning lit the clouds from behind, changing them from dark brown to pale. Soon, a faint shh sounded throughout the land. Rain had begun to pour, pattering heavily against the stone structure. By the time the Urameshi Team reached the top of the castle, it was soaked.

Kuwabara raised his eyes to the sky as light flashed across it once more. Kurama held out a hand to catch the raindrops, measuring them to see how they would affect their progress. Hiei wrinkled his nose distastefully at the water.

Yusuke didn't notice a thing.

"So that's the watchtower," he said, eyes locked on the tall tower ahead. "We're coming up on the end of this mission, guys. Just one more Beast and we're done."

"Just one more Beast?" Kuwabara raised his chin and sent a critical look down at Yusuke. "Listen Urameshi, I know we made it look easy and all, but these guys are actually pretty tough."

"And I'm sure the last of the Beasts is the strongest," Hiei pointed out.

"Well, good for him," Yusuke said brazenly. "He might last five minutes."

Kurama sweatdropped while Kuwabara and Hiei sent dirty looks at Yusuke. The Spirit Detective either hadn't gotten the message or just thought he was that strong—either way, he wasn't taking them seriously. But Yusuke was already running toward the tower, and there was no time to dwell on the matter. Kurama ran after their leader, and Hiei followed moments later. Kuwabara sighed in exasperation before going after the others.

What happened to Natsuko? I've never seen her act that way before. It was like she was a different person…!

Keiko tore down the hall, adrenaline pushing her to move quickly even though the danger had passed. She was making her way to the nurse's office, all the while trying to come up with some kind of explanation for what had happened. What in the world could have made one of her best friends attack her like that? Academic envy was one thing, and Keiko knew that some people did awful things out of jealousy, but Natsuko just wasn't that kind of girl. She wouldn't even pull a prank, much less hurt someone… Had she snapped under the pressure from studying?

A door opened up ahead. Keiko stopped in her tracks as a man in a green striped suit walked out of a classroom and let the door swing shut behind him.

"Mr. Iwamoto!" Keiko ran toward him. He paused but didn't turn toward her. "Mr. Iwamoto, there's something wrong with my friend! She…she attacked me…" Keiko gripped her wounded neck more tightly. "I think she might be having some kind of nervous breakdown. She's in the bathroom now, she—"

But Keiko trailed off when Iwamoto finally turned to look at her. He had the same glassy, unfocused eyes as Natsuko. Keiko's stomach lurched.

"S…sir…?"

Iwamoto tilted his head back and to the side, that same puppet-like limpness to his movements, and slowly reached out to her with one hand. Keiko's blood ran cold when she saw the deep, oozing red scratches up and down his arm. Sets of four in the pattern of human fingernails… Keiko gasped and slapped his hand away, ducking under his arm to run past him.

Watching as Keiko ran down the hall, Iwamoto scoffed. Natsuko, grinning maniacally even as her head wound continued to paint one side of her face red, stepped up beside him. They started off in the direction Keiko had gone—leaving behind the classroom where four students lay unconscious, beaten and strangled by their own teacher.

Something is very wrong here, Keiko thought as she shoved her way through the school's front entrance. She wished she had taken her cell phone with her so she could call the police, but she had left it in her bag back in the classroom. It hadn't seemed like a big deal when she'd left for the bathroom, yet now she was mentally kicking herself for making such a mistake. Still, it wasn't the end of the world. She just had to get off school campus and find someplace safe. There were two neighborhood police boxes less than a block away in either direction. If I can get to a police box, then maybe—

Keiko abruptly stopped running. The front gates of the school were blocked off by a small army of people. Even from far away, Keiko could see the way their heads flopped around and the way their steps stumbled.

This… Keiko took a step back with trembling legs, eyes wide with disbelief. This doesn't make sense… Why are they all coming here?

One of the people spotted her and turned in her direction.

"Yukimuraaaa," he rasped. Keiko's face went ashen. One by one, the mob that had been milling about all turned to look at her, all began to mutter her name.

Whimpering, shaking her head in denial, Keiko bolted.

Those fanatics are all after me! She hurried along the side of the school building, taking the shrubby path that led to the athletic center. But why? How do they even know who I am? None of this makes any sense!

As Keiko glanced over her shoulder to check how far behind they were, a hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm. She screamed in terror as she was dragged in between a pair of bushes, one hand clamping over her mouth while the arm that had grabbed her wrapped tight around her middle and pulled her close against a feminine body.

"Keiko, please don't scream," a voice whispered. "You'll give away our position."

Keiko took a deep breath through her nose, her eyes flicking to the side as the person who had grabbed her let her go.

"You're…"

"Botan," the blue-haired girl reminded her distractedly, reaching into her jacket and pulling out a powder compact. Keiko was about to say that this really was not the time to check her makeup, but then Botan opened the compact and lifted up the applicator and powder to reveal something that definitely wasn't makeup. Keiko stared blankly at the strange gadget as Botan pressed a button. The ordinary-looking mirror turned black and a beeping ringtone sounded.

Then Yusuke's annoyed-looking face appeared in the mirror.

"Botan, we are literally spitting distance from the last Saint Beast—"

"Yusuke, we have a problem," Botan cut him off. She angled the mirror slightly to the side.

"Keiko?!" Yusuke yelped, his annoyance changing to panic the moment he saw her. "What—"

"No time for that, Yusuke. Here's the situation. We're at your school right now, and from the looks of things, just about everyone who's infected is here. They all just dropped everything and headed over in droves," Botan explained. Her eyes shone intently. "Yusuke… I think the Saint Beasts sent them after Keiko. They probably want to use her as a hostage."

"Are you serious?"

"Do you think I would joke about something like this?" Botan shot back.

"No, but—"

"Yukimura!" There were twin gasps, a rustle of leaves, and then the world was a blur as the mirror dropped to the ground. Botan screamed "Look out!" and Yusuke had a brief glimpse of Botan tackling Keiko out of the way before the picture dissolved into static.

"Are you all right?" Botan asked. Keiko didn't have a second to answer as an old man with a large pair of gardening shears continued to snap his way through the shrubbery they had hidden behind. The man's grinning, drooling face was visible through the hole he'd made, and Botan's expression firmed as she raised her hand. A spray can materialized, and Botan quickly aimed it at the man's face. He snarled and staggered backwards, rubbing at his eyes.

"Nothing beats bug spray from the Spirit World," Botan said with grim satisfaction. Keiko blinked up at her (Spirit World?), and Botan turned to offer her a hand up. Keiko accepted the hand, and the two girls fled.

"Botan! Are you there? Botan!" Yusuke yelled, having seen none of the dramatic escape. The Communication Mirror remained blank, and Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei all watched as Yusuke continued to yell at it in vain.

"Yusuke, that won't do them any good," Kurama finally spoke up. "The only thing we can do to help them is destroy the Whistle."

Yusuke growled furiously and thrust the mirror back into his pocket.

"Let's go then! We've gotta smash that Whistle as fast as we can!"

The Master watched the detective team in his crystal, a small smile playing across his lips.

"Well now. Looks like that struck a nerve," he observed. The image switched back to Keiko, who was now accompanied by a blue-haired girl. "But I need my hostage subdued before he gets here." The Master twirled the flute between his fingers like a baton and raised it to his lips again. "Shall I send out a welcoming party?"

Through the rain and the thunder and the pounding of his own blood in his ears, Kuwabara could hear a strange sound.

"Is anyone else hearing that?" Kuwabara asked, listening to the high wooden notes. "What the heck is that creepy noise…?"

Kurama clenched his fists and stared at the top of the tower through waterlogged bangs.

"He's playing the Whistle. That's not a good sign."

Yusuke frowned, but then he caught sight of a door at the foot of the tower.

"There! That's our door!" His eyes widened slightly, blinking in surprise and then narrowing. There was movement in the two dark arches to the sides of the tower. The detective team all stopped in their tracks, watching the archways closely for signs of life. Soon, things began to emerge from the darkness. They were ugly, filthy creatures, starved and battle-scarred, moving on bent legs with their knuckles on the ground like apes. Their faces were half-hidden behind manes of matted hair, but every once in a while there was a glimpse of sightless eyes and frothing mouths full of rotting, bloodstained teeth.

"What the hell are those things?" Yusuke asked.

All emotion drained from Kurama's face.

"You don't recognize them, Yusuke?" he said softly. He watched as the creatures gathered around the foot of the tower like a herd of animals—a herd that kept on growing by the minute, their numbers quickly rising to thirty, forty… "Those things are what happen when the insects take a host for a prolonged period."

Kuwabara's face twisted with horror. "You mean they're human?"

"No," Hiei said coolly. "Their humanity died long ago. They're nothing but shells now."

"Well, whatever they are, they're blocking our way!" Yusuke yelled angrily.

"Then we'll just have to fight our way through." Yusuke blinked at Kurama's proposition, a little taken aback (for some reason he had been expecting something more complicated). Hiei unsheathed his sword, clearly approving of the plan, and Yusuke and Kuwabara glanced at each other. Their surprised looks faded into eager smirks.

"Heh. Works for me," Yusuke said.

"Poor guys. I'm gonna feel bad kicking their butts," Kuwabara commented solemnly. He raised one fist dramatically and patted his bicep, his eyes gleaming as imaginary banners reading The Great Hero Kuwabara! and other such nonsense unfurled all around him. "But if there's really nothin' left in there but a bunch of bugs, I guess it's up to Kuwabara and his team to put them out of their misery!"

Your team? Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei all managed to think simultaneously, faces showing various degrees of amusement or discontent. Oh well. They'd get things straightened out later.

With that, the Urameshi Team charged.

The insect-humans prowled around, gnashing red-black teeth warningly as the team raced toward them. This did little good once Yusuke and Hiei ran into their midst, Yusuke delivering a flurry of punches while Hiei slashed and stabbed anything that got within two feet of him. Kurama hit next, twisting into an elegant spinning kick that knocked his first opponent back into the next three, who slipped on the wet stone and fell. Kuwabara, last to arrive to the party, simply bulldozed through everyone that was left in his path.

"At least they're not tough!" Yusuke said.

"Of course not. They're like fugaki; they'll overwhelm you with sheer numbers." Hiei sent a sideways glance at Yusuke. "Move forward. Try to get to the door."

"Bet I get there first," Yusuke taunted. Hiei rolled his eyes.

"Utterly ridiculous…" But Yusuke couldn't help noticing how Hiei sped up his own approach to the door. Apparently the challenge wasn't ridiculous enough to prevent him from accepting. Yusuke smirked. Who said Hiei was no fun?

It took a minute of punching, kicking, shoving, and occasionally stepping on top of fallen bodies, but Yusuke finally managed to reach the entryway. One of the insect-humans crashed into him at the last moment, slamming him chest-first into the wall just to the left of the doorway. Growling with annoyance, Yusuke used his feet against the wall as a lever so he could push back against his attacker. The insect ended up bumping a few of his fellows over like bowling pins, and Yusuke grinned over his shoulder at the mess of tangled bodies before running through the door.

His grin fell when he heard the loud rattle and clang behind him. Yusuke whipped around and found himself staring at a black iron grille and a glowing red energy barrier.

"Guys!" Yusuke scrambled to the door, trying to pull it back up, but in spite of his reiki-enhanced strength the thing wouldn't budge. Nothing was getting through, not even the rain that pounded insistently against the forcefield. "The door—damn it—it won't move!"

Hiei, who was just on the other side, cursed softly as he stabbed an insect-human and then kicked its still-falling body off of his sword. He spun around, water droplets rolling in streams off of the ends of his coat, and slashed through another insect to his right, then shoved his sword under his arm to stab one who had been sneaking up behind him. Yusuke watched the whole thing with admiration. Damn if Hiei didn't look cool when he fought.

"Just go!" Hiei snarled. "We will deal with the rest of them."

"We will be waiting right here when you get back," Kurama called out, several feet behind.

"Yeah! Beat the last Beast, and then we can all go back to Earth together!" Kuwabara shouted from even further away.

Yusuke stared at them for a moment, one hand resting on the iron bars as he watched the three fighters gravitate toward each other—Kuwabara moving forward, Hiei stepping back, and Kurama shifting slightly to the side to make room for the other two. Odd, really. They moved like they had been fighting together for years rather than just days. Like they were best friends rather than near-strangers.

"…Thanks, guys," Yusuke said finally, seriously. "I'll see you when this is all over."

"Right back at you, Urameshi!" Kuwabara said, mouth curved in a smile that helped soften his bony features. Hiei nodded his agreement and Kurama tossed his soaked hair. Yusuke smiled back at his friends. Then he turned and ran up the spiraling steps.

As Yusuke disappeared up the tower, the insects fell back and formed a circle around the rest of the Urameshi Team. They didn't try to attack just yet—perhaps sensing that the three of them were more dangerous together and realizing a strategy of some kind was needed. Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei moved until they were back-to-back, all facing outward, each one covering the others. Kuwabara raised his fists and tucked his head down like a boxer; Hiei held his sword at waist-height with both hands; Kurama lifted his own hands in a fluid judo stance.

All at once, the insects surged forward in a swarm. Then lightning flashed and the world became a cacophony of white light, bestial snarls, and battle cries from the three left behind.

Yusuke wasn't sure how far he climbed before the circular steps finally opened up. Running into the tower room, Yusuke skidded to a stop and looked around. The large, round space he had entered was all gray walls and domed ceiling. All around the perimeter of the room, forming a gigantic circle, fires burned inside of basins similar to birdbaths in shape but made of gleaming gold. In the very center of the room, sitting in a golden throne with one leg crossed neatly over the other, Yusuke saw what he could only assume was his opponent.

The last Beast didn't look like much, Yusuke decided. In fact, this one looked like the weakest of all. He appeared no older than Yusuke, and he had much the same build as him too—perhaps a bit taller but not nearly as muscular. His hair fell just above his shoulders in waves of bright gold, red strings braided neatly around two strands that framed either side of his face. He wore a sleeveless red tunic with golden trim over white linen pants, and over his shoulders was a diaphanous yellow cloth that floated around him like a cloud. On a pedestal next to him was a crystal sphere, and in his hands, pressed up to his lips, was the Makai Whistle.

"Put that thing down," Yusuke ground out.

The blond youth stopped playing. He lowered the flute and opened his eyes, peering at Yusuke for a moment before tipping his head to the side.

"You don't care for music?" he asked.

"Cut the crap. I didn't come here to listen to your cover of Swan Lake," Yusuke snapped.

"Prelude to Carnage, Fourth Movement," the blond youth corrected. "Oh, yes, I know why you're here," he continued, slinking out of his throne so he could stand on his feet. "The question is, do you know?"

"Give me a break, Blondie. What are you trying to do, confuse me with dumb questions?" Yusuke scoffed. "I'm here for that Whistle."

"Wrong. Try again."

Yusuke twitched with annoyance, then spoke with as much stress as he possibly could: "I—am—here—for—the—Whist—le—so—hand—it—o—ver."

"You—are—wrong—a—gain—and—e—nun—ci—at—ing—does—not—change—that." Yusuke growled angrily, and the blond youth smiled. It was not a friendly smile by any means. "Come now. You enter the sacred Chamber of Suzaku and you don't even know what you have been sent here to do?"

"Suzaku, huh? That the name I get to write on your gravestone?" Yusuke asked.

"No, no," the youth waved his hand dismissively. "I am not Suzaku. That is Suzaku." He pointed one finger upward, and Yusuke looked up despite his better judgment. Near the ceiling, sitting on a perch, was something that from far away looked like a shriveled up wild turkey. Yusuke felt a bead of sweat roll down his temple.

"Uh… You're joking, right?"

The bird let out a faint croon and opened up its wings, making the shadows on the ceiling change like a black-and-white kaleidoscope.

"No, I am not joking. I am Kouryuu…" The blond youth held up his forearm, and the ugly, molting bird flew from its perch, making a circle of the room before coming down to land on Kouryuu's outstretched arm. "…Master of Maze Castle and of the Four Saint Beasts."

If you would like to read the rest of the Yu Yu Hakusho Saisei Project, please PM me so I can give you the address of the official site. This is where I will be updating the series from now on. It also has stories from the Saisei series that aren't available on Fanfiction . net.