Even though Riya slept late last night—or rather morning since she slept way past midnight—she woke up earlier than the others. She woke up way early, just before the sun began rising into the sky. She was about to get up when she felt something wrapped around her body. Frowning a bit, she turned around in bed and stared at the person lying next to her with his body facing her own.
That was when she remembered that Kurama insisted on staying beside her after they talked last night. It was his arms that wrapped around her body now, his breath fanning her face. He was sleeping peacefully on his side, with a small smile on his face. All she could do was smile sadly to herself as she continued looking at his face.
Riya carefully slipped out of Kurama's grasp and got out of bed. She successfully went out of the room without creating a noise that would wake him up. When she decided to head out to the backyard, she wasn't surprised to see Hiei sleeping on a tree just near the house. As careful as she could, she passed by the tree where the fire demon was. She didn't want to wake anyone up by now. They needed all the rest they deserve as a preparation for the battle at the rise of the full moon.
Sighing to ease a heavy heart, Riya headed to the field where Kurama confessed to her. Beneath the sakura tree, to be exact. She didn't know why she decided to go there but it was the place she had in mind at that moment. Probably to reminisce the memory and the feeling she had felt back then for one last time. She didn't want everything to end but that was how she was feeling at the time.
She decided to stay there for a while as she watched the sunrise in the sky leaning her back against the tree. The morning breeze felt so refreshing as it gently blew across the green field. This was one of the moments in her life in she would treasure to the fullest. Why was it that a person learned to finally appreciate the world's beauty when he/she was dying?
"I thought I'd see you here," a voice said that startled her and made her turn to know who it was.
"It's a surprise to see you woke up early," Riya replied with a smile before Yusuke approached her and sat beside her, his back also leaning against the tree. "What made you come here?"
"I wanted to talk to you since we haven't done that for a long time. And besides, I'm worried about you."
Riya had no outward reaction, though. And that made Yusuke continue speaking.
"I wasn't angry at you at all for keeping all of this from me. You did that to protect us and I appreciate that. If it's me, I'd do the same thing. We all have secrets to keep. What I'm saying is..." Yusuke paused, unable to continue. He then sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Now that we're about to face the demon shinobi's leader, I want you to know that I'll protect you and Kurama no matter what. I'll protect you and we'll all come home safe and sound. I'm not going to let them kill you or Kurama. It's my promise to you. Okay?"
It took a while for Yusuke's words to settle in Riya's mind before she smiled.
"Thank you... Onii-chan..."
Riya called Yusuke "onii-chan" because that was how he was to her back in Hokkaido. If Hiroto wasn't around, it was Yusuke who was protecting her from the bullies. And now, even though she wasn't interacting much with the team, he was still doing his job not just as a cousin but as an older brother, as well.
"I thought I'll never hear you call me like that again," Yusuke said before laughing. "I missed you calling me Onii-chan. Now I felt like I'd gone back to Hokkaido. Do you know? During those times Mom and I would visit you during the holidays..."
Riya ended up heaving a sigh upon hearing that. "I guess it won't happen again..." she murmured, making her receive a whack on her head from Yusuke. "Ow! Why did you do that for?!" she asked as she held her head whacked by her cousin.
Yusuke glowered at her before sitting back with his arms crossed in front of him.
"Your fault. I'm trying to stay positive here but you ruined it with your pessimistic attitude," Yusuke said with a glare.
But instead of getting angry with that, Riya just let out a laugh. Yusuke stared at her strangely.
"Sorry. But I can't help it. Though I have to thank you for giving me that. It helped me wake up from my trance somehow," Riya said. With that said, she let her head rest on his shoulder.
Yusuke smiled and from behind, placed his hand on her shoulder as he dragged her closer. "I'll always be your big brother, okay? With or without Hiroto-niisan..."
Riya nodded before staring at the field once again.
"You know, I would be extremely jealous if I didn't know you're cousins and found you two like this."
Both Riya and Yusuke were startled and then they turned around. It wasn't a surprise for them to see Kurama smiling at them as the redhead started to approach them.
"Well, it's a good thing you found that out earlier," Yusuke said with a smile before he stood up. "Anyway, better stay with your girlfriend here. She needs you to know now more than ever."
Kurama understood that so he nodded. Yusuke approached him and tapped Kurama's shoulder before leaving them.
Kurama sighed before sitting beside Riya.
"You got up early," Kurama started.
"I had a bad dream..." she responded. After a few seconds, she shook her head gently. "No... more like a nightmare..."
"You too, huh?"
That made Riya look at Kurama. His face has worries etched on it, making her heave a heavy sigh.
"What's going to happen now?" she murmured before shutting her eyes in anguish as thoughts ran in her mind.
The only answer she got so far was a hug from Kurama, in which she gladly returned.
'If only this moment would last, then I wouldn't ask for anything else...' Kurama thought as he relished the comforting aura of his partner. 'I love you, Riya. So much. And I can't afford to lose you in any way...'
But that comforting moment together halted to a stop upon sensing an extremely powerful aura drawing nearer and nearer. Riya pulled away and stood up, facing a certain direction where the clouds started to get dark and gather. And then she looked up, to where the moon was.
"It's starting..." she whispered.
That was when the others arrived—the rest of the team, the wielders, the two demon shinobi siblings, and Botan.
After a short while, Riya materialized the Crystal Spear in her hand and held it close to her before closing her eyes. All of a sudden, the sky grew dark and thunder roared through the sky.
"This is it..." Riya whispered as she opened her eyes and faced the others. "Everyone, get ready," she said.
But before she could take a step forward, she felt someone grab her wrist that making her turn about and face the person who did that.
"Don't overdo it," Kurama said. Riya smiled before nodding.
And with that, all of them headed in the direction where the clouds gather.
'Riya-chan, we need to split up to cover more grounds. Our enemy's attacking in six groups,' she heard Keiko say telepathically which made her stop.
'Six groups? That much?' Riya asked. 'By the way, where are you?'
'I'm with Botan-chan and Akane-chan right now. Yusuke made me stay here where you left us since he doesn't know about me being a wielder already. Anyway, I sensed it using the winds. The winds are ominous but cooperative somehow,' Keiko answered.
'Thanks. I'll inform the others.' And with that, she continued to run. Through telepathy, she informed the others about Keiko's discovery. Of course, she didn't mention who said that to her.
Botan, Sei, and Keiko formed one group. Hiei and Yumi, Ayako and Ren, Soujiro and Kuwabara, Yusuke and Yukari, and Kurama and Riya formed groups 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 respectively. They headed in the suspected directions as a group. As for the first group, they would stay on guard since Keiko and Sei sensed the demon shinobi coming there.
But even though each group were consisting of only two members, they never had a hard time fighting and dealing with the demon shinobi. Their willpower had gotten a lot stronger than before, making them even more powerful. And this was something Erithea had not anticipated.
"Curse you, Celeste!" Erithea gritted her teeth as she looked at the situation using her crystal ball, particularly with the vision of Riya wiping out a large group of demon shinobi by firing a silver beam from her hands. Kurama was wiping out another large group using his whip and other demon plants he summoned.
Both Riya and Kurama could see flashes of lights from different spots across Genkai's land. As for the apparitions who were staying there, they were already warned of the ongoing battle and they had evacuated the area for a while. So the apparitions' safety was the least of the team's concerns. What mattered most to them was to finish the battle as soon as possible and assure Riya and Kurama's safety.
Unfortunately, they would be disappointed when Erithea decided to finish this on her own when she saw her army all wiped out.
'Everyone! Be on guard!' Sei exclaimed telepathically when more thunder roared through the sky followed by crackles of lightning flashed.
Upon annihilating the rest of the demon shinobi, all of them looked up to the sky as the lightning bolt struck through. They all watched seriously as a woman with long wavy black hair and red eyes draped in a long flowing black dress wearing a spiky crown appeared before their eyes.
"And who the heck is that?" Yusuke asked sarcastically.
"That's probably... Erithea, leader of the demon shinobi," Yukari muttered as she looked up then around the land. "We need to go after the others. I think we're done here," she said before running away from that place. Yusuke soon followed.
Yumi was busy burning the scattered bodies of the dead demon shinobi when Erithea made an appearance. She smirked at the sight of that.
"Looks like she wanted to settle the matter on her own hands," she commented.
"Which is why Riya and Kurama need us now more than ever," Hiei said seriously.
"You're right. Let's go." And then they left their respective areas.
As for the other groups, they headed towards the spot where Riya and Kurama were located. But then several tentacles burst up from the ground and thrust each of them up in the air—something that they had not sensed and anticipated. They all tried to escape but to no avail since the tentacles were steel-hard. Before they could even try to use their powers to escape, the tentacles began releasing electrical blast after blast into their bodies. All of them began screaming in pain as the blast intensified for a minute or so before they were dropped to the ground.
No one from each of the first 5 groups was exempted when Erithea did that to them. The demon shinobi leader just laughed at the sight of the tortured fighters. Even Botan and Keiko were electrocuted. They struggled to get up but were too weak. Botan passed out after the first try.
'Keiko-sama, can you still move?' Kazemi asked in a panic and worry for her master.
'I don't know, Kazemi-chan, but I'll try,' Keiko answered determinedly. 'I can't allow that wretched woman to kill my friends, let alone destroy the world and rule over the 3 realms just like this.' And with that, she slowly stood up which was later followed by Sei who carried the unconscious Botan.
"Keiko-chan, are you alright? You don't have to force yourself. You're still hurt," Sei said concerningly.
But Keiko didn't seem to hear her. She just proceeded, heading out to the direction where she sensed Riya's spirit energy earlier.
Riya could only close her eyes as her friends were tortured, covering her ears so she would not hear their screams of pain. Only she and Kurama didn't get tortured because she disintegrated the tentacles long before it could get them both.
'Everyone, can you hear me? Are you still alright?' Riya asked linking her mind to everyone affected by Erithea's torture.
'We're alright, Riya-chan. As of now, they're unconscious but they'll be waking up sooner,' Keiko answered which made her sigh with relief.
At that moment, Erithea moved into a strike which Riya managed to sense. Out of protective instinct, she stood up and went in front of Kurama.
"Riya, what are you doing?" Kurama asked.
But Riya didn't answer him. Instead, she raised her hands and closed her eyes. It was later followed by conjuring multiple sigils in front of her as her hands began forming a silver orb.
"You think you can deal with me and my powers without transforming yourself to your true form, Celeste?" Erithea asked smirking that surprised not only Kurama but also the other who had just regained consciousness.
'Celeste? The deity who once owned the Crystal Spear 500,000 years ago?' Kurama asked himself.
"That's right, fox boy," Erithea responded to his thoughts. It caught him surprised since he didn't realize Erithea could read minds. "Your girlfriend here is the present incarnation of the deity who once owned the Crystal Spear that died 500,000 years ago... Celeste!"
Riya's eyes hardened upon opening them. But she didn't mind the fox demon's questioning stare at her. Right now, what mattered to her was to finish the battle and deal with Erithea as soon as she could.
"Come forth, silver spirits that traverse the night sky and become the spears of light which pierces through everything..." Riya murmured before bringing down her hands with the orb and placing them behind the main sigil. The sigils began spinning faster as they glowed brighter. "Silver Phantom Blast!"
Upon screaming the spell, each of the sigils shot silver beams of light directly towards Erithea.
Erithea stared in surprise as the beams came towards her. "You can still release this much power even in your human form?" she murmured in disbelief but it didn't catch her off guard. "Dark Beam Crusher!" she screamed as a beam of pure dark energy shot towards her hands.
The two beams collided with each other which made the other look at the battle in awe.
"I thought Riya-chan's powers are weak to release that kind of power output?" Kuwabara asked.
"It is," Soujiro answered as he stood up and helped Kuwabara stand. "But... her desire to protect us and more importantly, Kurama, had made her release that kind of attack. On a normal case, though... that attack is already considered suicidal if you use your life force as your power source."
"Which means she's drawing her powers from somewhere," Yumi said.
"...or someone," Yukari added.
The beams colliding created an enormous explosion as they continued to clash, followed by an extremely strong gust of wind from the area of the explosion. Both spell casters were breathing heavily as Erithea landed on the ground.
"How come you could still do that much, Celeste?" Erithea asked.
But before Riya could even answer her, her knees lost their strength to support her. If it wasn't for Kurama catching her, she would've fallen to the ground.
"You did great," Kurama whispered to her ear.
Riya smiled weakly before facing Erithea. "I'm not exactly as weak as you think, Erithea. I have lost most of my powers a long time ago and I admit that. But the Alyssum Castle still has some powers which I can still draw upon."
That information enraged Erithea and confused Kurama since he had no idea what they were talking about.
"I'll never forgive you! I'll never forgive you!" Erithea screamed as she summoned a spear of dark crystal in her hands.
Kurama's eyes widened at that and soon, Erithea hurled the crystal at the pair with rage. He used his Rose Whip to strike the crystal, shattering it in the process. Riya cast a shield to protect themselves from the flying crystal shards. One of the shards, however, managed to pass through and struck Riya in her right arm which made her scream in pain. Unconsciously, she fired several wind blades that shattered the rest of the shards to bits.
Riya collapsed to her knees as she clutched her bleeding arm with a worried Kurama on her side.
But before he could say something to her, he noticed a floating spear of dark crystal in the corner of his eyes. To be specific, it was floating a few meters behind Riya. Realizing what was about to happen, Kurama knocked Riya out of the danger with much force as he pushed her aside. It surprised Riya but couldn't do anything as the pain in her arm intensified upon landing on the ground away from Kurama.
Riya tightly closed her eyes due to that. But her heart seemed to have stopped beating when she heard a dreaded stabbing sound, followed by the sound of someone dropping to the ground.
Despite the pain, Riya tried to get up and looked around. Erithea was gone which relieved her somehow. But after looking around even further, she saw a dark crystal poking out of a body.
Wait...
It wasn't just a body. She stood up in a daze and stared blankly at the body that received the dark crystal as she walked towards it.
Realizing that it wasn't a dream, her eyes widened just at the same time the dark crystal vanished from the man's body. That realization made her fall to the ground as she dealt a crushing blow.
Riya flipped the man's body. Her hands quivered as she carried him into her arms, not minding of the blood flowing to her clothes. Her tears streaked down to her cheeks from her eyes as she screamed the name of the unconscious man in her arms right now.
It was the man who took the fatal attack meant to kill her.
"KURAMA!"