They split off into groups of two to search the different parts of the camp. Rika went off with Kuwabara. Hiei went off with the masked fighter. Yusuke went off with Kurama.

The tents on the east side of camp were packed with preserves and medical supplies. Makoto walked down the aisle of stacked crates checking for anything out of the ordinary. Regardless of the few streams of sunlight piercing through the small windows, the tent was still filled with many shadows.

“There is enough supplies here for a small army.” Kuwabara stated as he looked over the contents of tent.

“That doesn’t surprise me, but these different types of medicines do. Some of these drugs are not used for medical purposes, so why are they here?” Makoto spoke softly as she looked through the vials of drugs inside one of the open crates.

“Do you think they are selling them or something?” Kuwabara asked as he walked over to Makoto’s side to look at the bottles that she was observing.

Makoto shook her head in response. “No. I highly doubt it. There are too few of these drugs to do so. They are using these drugs, but the only few uses that I could think of for them are not good.”

“Like what?”

“These are used to sedate people and cause delirium and hallucinations. Drugs like those can only be used for one thing… Torture. If my assumptions are correct, then Kimika and Horuna are in grave danger.” Makoto answered as she closed up the crate and continued deeper into the tent.

“You think that they are torturing them?” Kuwabara followed closely behind Makoto as she moved through the tent to an exit on the far end of the tent.

“Possibly. But hopefully, I am wrong.” She stopped when she came to the exit. She prepared herself as she opened it and walked through. To her surprise, the exit wasn’t an exit at all. It was actually an entrance to another tent.

It was much bigger than the previous one. It was also much darker because of the lack of windows. From what she could see, it was almost completely empty.

She couldn’t understand the purpose of the room. There was nothing pointing to its purpose from what she could tell. There were no crates or equipment. It was just a vacant room.

“Something doesn’t feel right.” Makoto whispered under her breath as she observed closely the sides of the tent. She slid her hand along the wall looking for a light switch.

“What do you mean? I don’t feel anything strange.” Kuwabara asked as he watched Makoto in confusion.

“You must be very new to your spiritual awareness.” Makoto shot a look of disappointment at him before returning her gaze to the wall. “It is very faint, but there is something lurking nearby. I can’t lock on to its complete frequency.”

“Something lurking?” Kuwabara questioned.

“Impressive… I can’t believe that you were able to detect our presence. Our techniques should make that impossible.” The gentle voice of a woman sounded from the opposite side of the tent.

They quickly turned around in surprise at the sound of her voice. The darkness made it difficult to see her, but they could see her dark silhouette. She wasn’t alone for there was another silhouette, tall in size, standing next to her petite one.

“You two must be the ones who kidnapped our friends. Tell us where they are and I promise that I’ll spare your lives.” Makoto demanded as she began to power up for an attack.

“Aren’t you a feisty one?” The sound of a deep male voice came from the second silhouette. “Maybe we should have captured you too.”

“You wouldn’t even had the chance. I’m not as easy to overcome as little girls, you deranged bastard.” Makoto snapped as a bright ball of lightning formed above the palm of her hand.

“Oooo sassy name calling… uncalled for, but I like it. As much as I hate to say it, we are not responsible for capturing your friends. Knowing how valuable they both are, we wished that we were responsible. We also have no idea where they are being kept.” The man said with a hint of dark amusement.

“How come I don’t believe you?” Kuwabara said as he formed his sword.

“It is wise not to trust us. We are strangers to you. You would be a fool if you did.” The woman started as she moved slowly toward them. “Whether we know or not, we cannot allow you to trespass any farther!”

With her last words, the woman jumped towards Makoto and began attacking her. Her partner withdrew a sword and began to attack Kuwabara.

Their skills and speed were very intriguing. For the first time in a while, Rika had found herself feeling challenged. Her increasing excitement and intrigue caused her blood to race and her bloodlust to grow.

It was slowly beginning to take over her masking her true reasons for why she was fighting. She wanted to fight for the thrill. She wanted to fight for the kill. To her new dark desires, there was nothing more that she wanted at the moment.

 

Hiei and the masked fighter checked the north side of the camp. All that stood there was a very long and large tent. They stayed cautious and on their guard as they approached.

They entered swiftly into the shadows of the seemingly vacant tent. Inside they ran their fingers along the walls searching for a switch or something to turn on the lamps above them. After a few moments, the masked fighter came across a small switch that she flicked up.

The lights came on immediately dispelling the darkness. To their surprise, they were surrounded by rows of huge crates. It was clear to them that the tent seemed to only be used for storage.

“There is nothing of use here that might give us a clue to where they were taken.” Hiei said as he quickly scanned the room.

“You shouldn’t jump to conclusions before you have closely observed this room and its contents.” The masked fighter said as he examined some of the crates that were partially opened.

He lifted the lid opening it completely. He tossed it aside as he investigated the contents.

There were iron shackles and leather restraints inside. There were carvings engraved on them with strange symbols. He picked one up to take a closer look at the inscriptions.

His eyes grew wide when he recognized the symbols that were engraved on the leather. Fear over took him causing him to quiver.

“It can’t be. How?...” The masked fighter whispered as he stared at the cuffs in terror.

Hiei turned around when he heard the masked fighter’s words. “What’s wrong?”

“These inscriptions on these restraints are ancient symbols that are only known by a select few. They are used to seal away spirit energy regardless of the strength.” The masked fighter explained as he looked closer at the symbols engraved on the leather.

“If they are only known by a few, then how did they come to possess them?”

“I don’t know. But if they are using these restraints on the girls, then it is understandable why they haven’t attempted an escape on their own. There is also something else that concerns me.” The masked fighter said as he looked around the tent.

“What is it?” Hiei asked as he looked at the chains that remained inside the crate.

“Even though this space is rather large, it is still smaller than the outside of the tent. That means there must be another room connected to this one. If there is a hidden room, then that could be where they are holding the girls.”

“If that’s true, then there has to be a door around here somewhere. Come on. Let’s find it.”

At his words, they began searching the walls on the far end of the tent for some sign of a door. The masked fighter slid his hands along the walls searching for some sort of handle or knob. It took a few minutes of fruitless searching before he came upon a small handle.

He pulled on it, but it wouldn’t open. “There is a door here, but it is locked.” The masked fighter said looking over towards Hiei.

“That’s not a big problem. We can bust down the door.” Hiei walked over to his side to help him force the door open.

“We can do that, but these crates are blocking it. Help me push them out of the way.”

Hiei nodded in response as he walked over to the crates. When the masked fighter was sure that Hiei was ready, he leaned against the crates and began to push. The contents weighed down the crates much, but with a strong effort they were able to move it.

The masked fighter stood taking a few deep breaths before preparing to attack the door. As he was powering up to attack, a strong wind brushed past his body causing him to almost lose his balance. He closed his eyes as the strength of it began to build while it spiraled around him. It didn’t take long before the winds finally dispersed and he could open his eyes.

When he opened them, he looked around him to see if he could find the cause of the powerful wind, but there was nothing. He looked over at Hiei, who was standing beside him, and said.

“What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure that it wasn’t a normal gust of wind.” Hiei answered looking around carefully at their surroundings.

There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Everything seemed to be just as it was before. Nothing, but hundreds of crates and boxes surrounding them. Even the shadows in the far corners of the tent seemed to be free of anyone or anything. He couldn’t sense anything out of the ordinary.

It was only when he returned his gaze back to the masked fighter did he realize that he was wrong. His hands were bound by the spirit blocking cuffs.

“When did that happen to you?” Hiei asked wide-eyed in shock.

The masked fighter looked down at his hands and fear began to take over his total being. He didn’t even sense their movements. How were they able to mask their energy and presence so well?

“I don’t know. I didn’t even feel when they were put on me. Regardless, it is obvious that we are not alone.” He answered softly as he tried to hide his fear in case their enemies were nearby.

Within seconds after her response, an echo of hands slowly clapping sounded through the tent. It was hard for them to pin point the source. It took a few moments before they were able to see a dark silhouette on one of the crates on the far end of the tent.

“Bravo. You have finally realized my presence, but that won’t be of much help to you now.” A soft male voice said rapidly from the dark silhouette.

“How are you masking your powers? And how were you able to do this to me?” The masked fighter demanded.

“Speed is my mastery. I’m the fastest of the Tsuki soldiers. I’m afraid that I cannot tell you how we are able to do that. Masking our energy is a secret talent that our organization possesses. It is an ability that comes in handy when eliminating our targets.” The dark silhouette answered as he slowly stepped into the light.

“It gives us an upper hand, one that we use to full advantage.”

With those words, he disappeared once more. They looked around frantically as they tried to pin point where he was, but they couldn’t. They couldn’t feel the slightest hint of his energy. He had completely disappeared from the radar.

“Where is he?” Hiei asked gritting his teeth as he withdrew his sword.

“He is obviously still here, but until I’m free I won’t be able to sense even the smallest bit of his energy. If you break the chains of the cuffs, it should disable them.” The masked fighter said as he looked around cautiously.

Hiei raised his sword to strike his chains, but as he was bringing down the sword, he was stopped. His sword clashed with another that was in possession of the man from before. His dark eyes grinning in dark amusement along with his thin lips.

“Did you truly believe that we would let you free your friend here? Tsk… Tsk”

“We? I don’t care what you and your imaginary friends think you won’t let me do. I do whatever I want. I don’t need your permission.” Hiei snapped as he wrestled with his opponent.

“Trust me. My friend is nowhere near being imaginary.” The man snickered as he pushed his sword harder against Hiei’s.

“It is no surprise that you weren’t able to sense my presence as well even when I’ve been right by your side.”

A woman’s voice sounded from the shadows by the masked fighter. Within seconds, a petite woman appeared. Her features hidden by her dark green military outfit.

She sprung at the masked fighter attacking with rapid physical attacks. It took all of the masked fighter’s strength to dodge her attacks. He seemed to dodge then with ease, but as her speed increased his slowly decreased.

Without the use of his spirit energy, he wouldn’t be able to dodge her for much longer. He had to find a way to break free before they both ended up dead.

 

The westside of the camp was filled with jeeps and military grade vehicles. There was only one tent in the whole area. They cautiously walked over to it staying on their guard as they drew near. When they were sure that they weren’t being followed, they entered the tent.

The tent was darkened with shadows. There were few streams of light coming through the tent windows that allowed them to see the contents of their surroundings. It seemed to be almost completely empty with exception of the few crates stacked in the corners.

  “Watch my back while I investigate those crates over there. I have a feeling that we might not be alone. And if I can find out the contents of those crates, then I might figure out where we are in their camp.” Kurama said before proceeding over to the crates on the far side of the tent.

“Even if you are able to figure out where we are, how will that help us find the girls?” Yusuke asked softly as he closely watched their surroundings.

“This place is similar to a military base. Knowing that, I know that wherever the girls are will most likely be somewhere where they can’t be found right away. They are probably somewhere with little to no sunlight or windows so they can’t recognize where they are or scream for help. It will also be a place that has thick walls; so if they do scream, they won’t be heard.” Kurama answered softly as he rummaged through one of the open crates.

Yusuke looked at Kurama wide-eyed in surprise. As close as he was to Kimika, how could he act so calmly after all that had happened?

“You know that you don’t have to act like that, Kurama.” Yusuke said softly as he watched his friend.

“Like what?” Kurama looked back with a raised eyebrow in confusion.

“Like all of this doesn’t bother you. If you are worried, it is okay to show it. She is your sister.”

Kurama stopped what he was doing at Yusuke’s words. “I am worried, but acting on my worry won’t help my sister.”

“So the water apparition is your sister? Aren’t we lucky?” They heard the sound of a woman’s voice coming from the opposite side of the tent.

“Yeah. If we capture him too, then we’ll get double what we would get for just his sister.”

At the sound of the other voice coming from the broad shadow towering over the woman’s, Yusuke’s blood began to boil in rage. Those voices… He knew them. He could never forget them.

“You are the bastards who attacked me earlier. You are going to pay for that.”

“If another kicking is what you want, then we are willing to oblige.” His partner said with a slight smirk.

“I was just caught off guard. You won’t beat me again.” Yusuke snapped slyly as he prepared himself to fight.

“The last beating that I gave you must have knocked you senseless because now you are yearning for another. I guess I’ll just have to give you what you want, kid.” The larger soldier laughed in a booming voice of dark amusement.

“You’re a cocky bastard. Why don’t you let your fists do the talking?” Yusuke coaxed as he cracked his knuckles.

“You are done, kid.” The larger soldier snarled as he jumped at Yusuke and began his brutal assault.

His partner jumped in front of Kurama and looked him over with a small dark smirk.

“While you take care of him, I’ll deal with his friend.”

At her words, Kurama readied himself. She came at him within seconds swiftly attacking him with fast kicks. Her assault was fast and strong, but Kurama was able to easily avoid them.

As his desire to rescue his sister began to burn, his speed began to increase. He didn’t know where they were hiding her, but he wasn’t going to stop until he found her. He would find his sister even if he had to tear down the whole camp.

 

Kuwabara’s opponent was very strong and skilled with his sword. He parried each of his attacks, preventing him from getting an opportunity to strike him. With each of his opponent’s attacks, he could tell that he was growing stronger and becoming faster. Kuwabara was unsure how much longer he would be able to last if his opponent continued to grow in strength and speed as he was.

 

The Tsuki soldier’s were very skilled indeed. It had been a while since an apparition had given Rika such a challenge. Her speed and skill was very impressive. Rika almost felt guilty with the action she was going to take.

Within moments of her opponent’s assault, Rika easily dodged her attack and teleported out of her sight.

“What?! How could you…?! What are you?!”The woman exclaimed in surprise at how easily Rika avoided her attacks and her disappearance.

“Fear… Aaaaa… It is a beautiful emotion. Just sensing your fear makes my blood rise.” Rika whispered softly in her opponent’s ear as she wrapped her hands around her neck.

The sudden touch of Rika’s hands against her neck made her opponent become paralyzed in fear. She had never felt a power as strong as hers before. How could an apparition as strong as her be here?

Rika took a deep breath before a dark smirk crossed her face. “Your fear is such an intoxicating arousal. You assumed that because the others were apparitions that I must be one as well. Your assumption will be your downfall.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?” Her opponent asked in fear.

“It is one of my abilities. I’m Rika Makoto, the elemental cat goddess.” She could feel her opponent’s fear peak at her announcement of her identity. “Now, I will give you one last chance. Tell me where you are keeping the girls.”

“I don’t care who you are. I won’t talk. I pledged my allegiance to the Tsuki soldiers. I will not betray it.”

“I respect your loyalty, but you have lost your usefulness.”

With those words, Rika pressed her hand against her body for a second before removing it. Within seconds of Rika moving away from her side, the fighter was engulfed by flames.

Her cries lasted for a few seconds before the flames consumed her body. Makoto teleported away from the flames and moved over to where Kuwabara was fighting the other soldier.

“We don’t have time for this.” Rika snarled while she raised her hand and shot a lightning bolt at the other soldier when she saw that he was over powering Kuwabara.

The bolt struck him directly. The surge paralyzed his entire body. Rika teleported next to the soldier and wrapped her arm tightly around his throat.

“Will you be as stubborn as your partner? Or will you tell us what we want to know?” Rika questioned as she pressed a blade made of ice against the side of his neck.

“You are more ruthless than I believed. Your friends are being held in a secret bunker in one of the north tents of the camp. But even if you reach the door where they are being held, you won’t be able to reach them without the keys to open it.” He answered heavily as her blade pressed on his skin.

The sharp blade caused him to bleed slightly. He winced at the slight pain and the pressure of her hold.

“My comrades possess the two keys that you’ll need. Now that you know all that I know, please spare my life.” He answered pleading softly.

“He told us all that we needed to know, Makoto. We should spare him.” Kuwabara agreed while he moved to her side.

Makoto looked back at him in slight annoyance. “You are too naive. If I let him live, he will warn the others. We can’t let that happen.”

“Is that the real reason that you want to kill him? Or is it that you can’t help yourself?” Kuwabara pressed as he looked down at Rika with an eyebrow raised.

“What the heck are you trying to say?!” Rika snapped while angrily pushing away the soldier. She turned toward Kuwabara peering at him in anger.

“It seems like your solution for everything is death. There are other solutions than that.”

“I can’t tell if you are just too compassionate or just a fool. Given a chance these warriors wouldn’t hesitate to claim your life, but you still wish to spare one of theirs. Tell me why?” Rika demanded softly as she scanned Kuwabara’s face for a sign of his reasons.

“There is only one reason… For honor. I understand that they wouldn’t hesitate to kill us; but if we take their lives, then we will be no better than them. I won’t allow myself to sink to their level and you shouldn’t either.”

         Makoto couldn’t tell if it was the strength of his words or the determination in his eyes that calmed her demeanor. She closed her eyes as she turned away from him and headed towards the exit.

         “Honor, huh? Well… Enough said. I will spare him for your foolish honor. Besides, the last thing that I want to be compared to is some lowly demon.” She smirked slightly as she passed Kuwabara.

         He looked at her with eyes wide in surprise. Why was she being so compliant to what he said? It was less than a day ago that she wanted their heads on a silver platter for what Yusuke did to Suzaku. What changed her?

         Kuwabara followed behind her lost in her own thoughts. She was changing rapidly, but what could have caused such a change? Was Kimika’s friendship the cause of her change? Or was there something else causing it?

         Kuwabara remained fixed on her as they drew closer to the exit. He was so preoccupied that he didn’t notice the Tsuki soldier sneaking up behind him.

         “I will not be looked down by a mere human.” He growled softly to himself as he raised his sword to strike down Kuwabara. “Die!”

         He swung down his sword at great speed, but he stopped short right at Kuwabara’s head. Kuwabara turned around immediately at the sound of his voice. He looked on in fear when he came face to face to his blade. However his fear soon faded, when he realized that he wasn’t going to strike him.

         He looked for the cause of his delay, but he could only see his blade.

         “See. I told you. Given a chance, he would attempt to take your life.” Makoto said from behind the soldier.

         “What did you do to him?” Kuwabara asked when he noticed that the soldier wasn’t moving.

         “Don’t worry. I didn’t kill him. I froze him from the inside. Soon he will be entrapped in ice. Once we free the girls, I’ll have Koenma pick him up. Now, Come on. We have to tell the others what we learned.”

         Makoto grabbed Kuwabara’s arm as she guided him out of the tent. He looked at her as they ran toward the opposite side of the camp. It was obvious that she did change.

         He couldn’t tell if it was her desire to save her friend that drove her to save his life or a genuine reflex to protect him. He didn’t know which, but he knew that he wanted to know more about the goddess Makoto. She was nothing like the frightening demon killer before. There was more to her; and for some reason, he wanted to find out what it was.