The Corpse

Chapter 21: The Attack on Naraku Begins

Mr. Gan, stood on the lightless dock flanked by two bodyguards, wondering where his client was. It was four-thirty a.m. He was a half-hour late. Nevertheless, he ordered his workers to start unloading the shipment from the boat.

Gan sighed in relief when he saw a black limousine drive silently up to the dock, followed by a large truck. "I hear this guy's really tricky," Gan told his bodyguards. "Be alert."

The limo and truck stopped in front of the dock. Two men climbed out of the back of the limo. One had long, dark hair. The other was completely bald.

"You must be Mr. Sakyo," said Gan.

The long-haired man smiled, as if he were amused. "Yes. I am." He looked over at the large crates. "Are those the weapons I ordered?"

"Yes. Would you like to inspect them?"

"Sakyo" turned to his companion. "Renkotsu?" The bald man approached one of the crates.

One of Gan's workers stepped forward. "You need a crowbar to…" He stopped short when Renkotsu easily pried the crate open with his bare hands.

Renkotsu peered inside in fascination. This was one of the mighty miniguns he had heard about. Ever since Naraku had resurrected him, Renkotsu had spent his time studying the marvelous weaponry of this era. The skilled machinist had quickly familiarized himself with modern weapons by studying Sakyo's less than legal arms collection. With a satisfied smile, Renkotsu shut the lid of the crate, easily pounding the nails back in with his hand. Renkotsu inspected the other crates, one by one, before saying, "Everything is satisfactory. Let's get everything onto the carriage."

'Carriage'? thought Gan. "Now, Mr. Sakyo, there's still the small matter of my payment."

"Of course," said Sakyo. A burst of dark miasma issued from his body, quickly engulfing Gan and his men. The black market traders gagged on the poisonous vapors as it burned at their lungs. The last thing Gan saw was his own hand in front of his face as the flesh withered away.

Renkotsu watched in fear. Not fear for Gan and his men but fear for himself. Naraku had killed these men rather than pay them. I wonder if he'll do the same to us, he thought as he put a hand to his neck, where a shard of the Shikon Jewel rested.

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I hate crowded rooms, Yusuke thought. Once he had gotten back to Genkai's compound, he had seen his friends and Inuyasha's group crowded around a small table in Genkai's living room.

"So, Hiei, was it?" said Inuyasha. "Let me get this straight. Naraku turned us against each other?"

"Right," said Hiei. "Naraku is creating another tunnel to the Demon World, hoping to return demons to the Human World. He went through all this to draw out Itsuki, who possessed the last jewel shard."

"So Itsuki's jewel shard is now in Naraku's possession?" asked Miroku.

"No," said Hiei. "The shard is in a limbo between worlds which Naraku cannot reach without Itsuki's help."

Immediately, Yusuke put two and two together. "The shard is in Sensui's corpse?" he asked incredulously.

"More like the last shard is Sensui's corpse. The last shard is Sensui's soul, which Itsuki kept with him. Naraku believes that Sensui is the reincarnation of the priestess who first popped the jewel out."

"Midoriko?" Kagome exclaimed at the same moment Yusuke cried out, "That genocidal freak used to be a priestess?"

"What do you think we should do, Hiei?" asked Sango.

"Hang on!" Inuyasha said, standing up. "Before we listen to anything more from this runt, hand over your jewel shard!"

Hiei's red eyes fixed onto Inuyasha's golden ones. "I will not," he said coldly.

"The shards rightfully belong to us," said Inuyasha.

Hiei stood up, his fists raised. "I'm the one who killed Mukotsu. The shard is mine."

"You're an incarnation of Naraku!" Inuyasha gripped Tetsusaiga's hilt.

"He has no control over me." Fireballs flared around Hiei's fists.

"Inuyasha! Hiei! Please!" Kurama stood, grabbing Inuyasha's shoulder. "I assure you Hiei is not working for Naraku!"

"How do you know what that demon says is true? If Naraku absorbed Hiei, then he could've easily produced an incarnation that looks like Hiei. Prove that you're not a fake Hiei!"

"I can't and I won't. I'm sick of wasting time with you." The flames around his fists went out. Turning away from Inuyasha, he addressed the others. "Naraku is in Sakyo's former residence. He commands a large army of rebels from Demon World as well as the Band of Seven. We need to get into the mansion, find Itsuki, and get the shard before Naraku."

"You're leading us into a trap!" Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga and raised it high over his head. The giant blade arched down, aiming to chop Hiei in half.

The Tetsusaiga was blocked by a sword of orange light. "You bastard. Attacking a demon that's half your power," Kuwabara growled, proud that he had insulted Hiei and chastised Inuyasha at the same time.

"What're you gonna do about it Kuwabara?" Inuyasha grinned.

"Inuyasha, SIT!" Yusuke and his friends were surprised as Inuyasha's necklace flashed and the dog demon was slammed face first into the floor. The Tetsusaiga dropped from his hand, returning to its chipped, rusted form.

Kaitou opened his Territory. "No more fighting!" he commanded.

"Well, it's good to have one sensible student," Genkai quipped.

Hiei stood. "I'm tired of this," he said. "I'm returning to the mansion to find the last jewel. Anyone who wants to come follow me." The fire demon walked out the door without looking back.

Yusuke got up to follow him, but Kurama put a hand on his shoulder. "What if that Hiei really is an incarnation of Naraku?" he said softly.

"Don't tell me you believe that dog!" whispered Yusuke.

"I'm just being cautious. I have a plan," he said, holding up a block of wood.

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"Hey, Hiei! Wait up!" Hiei stopped descending Genkai's stairs to see Yusuke, Kurama, Mukuro's squad, and even Inuyasha hurrying to join him.

"Where's the oaf?" he asked Yusuke. Looking pointedly at Inuyasha, he clarified, "I mean the other oaf."

"Shut up, shorty. Even with your jewel you're no match for me," said Inuyasha.

"That is enough!" Kurama said firmly. "Hiei, lead the way."

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"Lights out!" the prison guard shouted.

Sniper lay motionless on the cot in his cell, like he had for the past few days. The assassin felt empty, as if all strength and vitality had been drained from him. Indeed, he felt barely alive and had spent recent days in a state of limbo, being juggled back and forth between life and death.

When he first heard the screams of the guards outside, he thought he was either dreaming or hallucinating again. But as he sat up for the first time in days, he realized that what he saw was real. A green whip of light was slicing the guards to peaces effortlessly.

A cold voice addressed the prisoners. "You can either stay here and rot in this prison or you can come and fight for me."

"And who the hell are you?" shouted one of the prisoners.

"My name is Sesshomaru."

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Hiei and the group of demons traveled through the dark, dense forest where Sakyo's mansion was hidden. The giant mansion was nowhere in sight but the air was thick with demonic energy. No one doubted that Naraku's congregation of demons was nearby.

"Tell me, Yusuke. Why didn't Kuwabara come?" asked Hiei.

"Aww, you miss him? That's so cute," Yusuke crooned.

"Shut up!" Hiei snapped, glaring at his ally. "It's not like the oaf to sit a fight out, even one he can't win. Especially one he can't win. In fact," he surveyed his group. No Kuwabara, no monk, no old woman, no demon slayer, and no priestess. "Why only demons? Where are the humans?" Hiei's voice softened slightly. "It doesn't matter. The humans would only slow us…what the?"

"I sense it too," said Kurama. "Demons!"

Seeming to emerge from the shadows of the woods, a motley horde of demons charged at the team. Yusuke wasted no time. "Shotgun!" He launched a mixed barrage of spirit and demon energy, thinning out the ranks of the demonic legion.

Kurama commanded nearby tree roots to burst from the ground to form spikes pointed towards the demons to hold them off. Jin conjured up a whirlwind, sending several demons flying into the air to burst open as they hit the ground again. Touya aided Yusuke's barrage attack with his Shards of Winter, causing more demons to collapse, only to be trampled by their comrades. Shishiwakamaru called upon the Chorus of Ten Thousand Skulls and sent his own army to meet the demonic horde. Rinku's cute but deadly yo-yo's wound throughout the crowd, cutting away at whoever they could reach. Chu, after a swig of liquid courage, charged headlong into the fray of demons, smashing in their skulls with his mighty fists.

"Chu, you fool!" shouted Suzuka. The beautiful demon pumped up his muscles and followed Chu into the demon crowd.

"Get back here!" shouted Mukuro. Her command fell on deaf ears.

Suzuka followed Chu who, in his drunken foolishness, had allowed himself to get surrounded by demons. He was holding them off well enough but Suzuka knew he couldn't last long without help. The two demons fought valiantly as all around them, demons were devoured by ghostly skulls, blown away by tornados, or ripped up by shards of ice. But the demons just kept coming, as if there were an infinite number of them.

"Chu! We can't…hold them off forever!"

"You're right, Suzuka," said Chu, fatigue showing in his voice. "These buggers just keep coming." Chu paused as something dropped on his head. "Ouch! Who threw a rock at me?" Looking at his feet, and trying to focus his alcohol blurred eyesight, he gasped. "Grenade!"

And his vision went black. The last thing he heard was an explosion.

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"Got them!" said Renkotsu. A mad grin was plastered across his face as he watched the chaos below from the safety of Kagura's giant feather. Renkotsu was armed to the teeth with wondrous modern weaponry. His armor had been replaced with a bulletproof vest. Several hand grenades and pistols were strapped to his body. Laying beside him was a heavy minigun. At the small of his back hung his personal favorite, a huge .50 caliber Desert Eagle handgun with a golden finish.

"Remember our plan, Renkotsu," said Kagura. Her voice was low, as if Naraku were listening. "Take out Naraku's demons and let the Spirit Detectives through, but don't make it look like you're letting them through."

"Right," said Renkotsu. He grinned as he hefted his mingun. Down below, his targets were scurrying like ants, pulling their two injured comrades to safety. "I'll just kill one of them!" He held the switch on the minigun. Renkotsu felt the Gatling barrel whir to life before it spat out a stream of powerful bullets. Renkotsu fired indiscriminantly, destroying everything that moved below him.

"Die! Witness the power of Renkotsu's minigun!" Bullets rained down on his victims.

"You bastard!" one of Naraku's demons below cried out feebly. "We're on your…" His protests were cut off as the minigun tore him in half.

"Maniac," Kagura muttered.

Down below, Yusuke said, "Cover Chu and Suzuka." He aimed his right index finger at the gun nut. "I'll take care of that NRA wet dream." A speck of blue light appeared at his fingertip. "Spirit Gun!" A blue ray lanced out at the feather. The blast missed the feather and its occupants, but sliced through the barrel of the minigun.

Renkotsu examined his ruined weapon, then turned to glare at the boy. "That's the one I'll kill," he growled as he leapt off the feather, spraying bullets from a pair of Glock 18 machine pistols.

Shrouding himself in spirit energy, Yusuke charged head-on towards the gunman, the bullets doing little damage, even with Renkotsu's genius modifications. Raising his fist, Yusuke slugged Renkotsu in the face. The undead mercenary went flying, dropping his guns as he went.

"Those are some nice guns," said Yusuke. "Why don't you take a look at mine?" Yusuke fired his Spirit Gun. Renkotsu, weighed down with his heavy arsenal, barely managed to avoid it.

"Your outdated mysticism is no match for my technological superiority," Renkotsu taunted Yusuke as he pulled the pin from another grenade and hurled it at the Spirit Detective.

Yusuke batted the grenade away effortlessly. It exploded somewhere in the distance. "When you trash talk, Renkotsu, try not to use so many big words."

"Damn!" Renkotsu swore under his breath as he threw another grenade. This one had barely left his hand when Yusuke hit it with his Spirit Gun. Renkotsu threw up an arm to defend himself as the grenade exploded in his face. "Augh!" he cursed as the shrapnel scoured his skin, leaving his face covered in blood.

Yusuke attacked again. Renkotsu desperately drew a Browning Hi-Power, only to have it knocked from his hand before he could bring it to bear. Yusuke punched him in the face, three times in rapid succession. Renkotsu's fist struck Yusuke's unprotected stomach. Yusuke buckled for a second, giving Renkotsu the time he needed to back away. His hand curled around his golden Desert Eagle.

Yusuke leapt into the air and descended on Renkotsu. "You're dead!"

Renkotsu aimed the Desert Eagle. "You're a fool." He pulled the trigger, sending a .50 caliber bullet flying straight through Yusuke's brain.

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Sorry for the long time between updates. Stuff's gotten in the way. Life, school, and whatnot. It'll be a miracle if I have any readers left. Still, I'd like to thank all my readers and reviewers. You guys make writing worthwhile.