"We, the Meikai, are after souls with strong feelings to rebuild our
kingdom. Apparently, all humans have strong feelings, even a baboon like
you." Kuwabara clenched his fist tighter. He felt so useless. He couldn't
even save Hinageshi. He lowered his head in defeat.

        "She had a very lovely strong feeling," Maja continued. "She wanted
to be a better spirit guide, was that it?" He placed Hinageshi's soul in one
of the bracelets he wore.

        "She WILL be a better spirit guide!! KONO YAROOO~!!!" Kuwabara made
desperate attempts to hit Maja with the rei ken, but he was blinded by anger
and grief. Maja laughed, then disappeared, taking Hinageshi's soul with him.

                               *    *    *

        "I'm Maja, I'm from Meikai, and I want your soul, so hand it over,
and don't be picky about it!"
 
        "Say what?!" Sailorjupiter replied. "I don't understand what you
mean, but I'm not going to be fooled by an arrogant weirdo like you!!"

        Maja laughed. "I forgot to mention... my fighting technique happens
to be a reflecting ability, so like a mirror, I can reflect back all your
attacks with the same power level, even your fighting abilites."

        Jupiter gave a loud battle cry, and tried to hit him with her fists
and elbow, but all he did was block and dodge. Her knowledge of karate
shouldn't go to waste! She lifted her leg for a roundhouse; perfect, he was
in range! She had him now! One, two, three, she swung for the kick, then a
bolt of white pain shot through her leg like a poisonous arrow. She gasped.
No, not again! Maja seized the opportunity, and swung his leg at her,
kicking her in the chest! Jupiter screamed. The blow was strong, and Maja
had kicked her off the bridge, and into the frozen lake. She crashed into
the ice, and into the freezing water.

************************************************************************

Chapter 11
                             "Shattered"

========================================================================

        The kitchen was a mess! Shizuru sighed, and walked out of the
kitchen, holding a newly-lit cigarette. Yukina was trying. Give her a
chance. Shizuru peeked into the kitchen again. Yukina was merrily stirring
some strange concotion into the mixing bowl she held.

        "Uh, Yukina-chan," Shizuru swallowed. "What are you baking?"

        Yukina smiled at Shizuru. "Baking something extra special."

        "Mmm, that's nice," Shizuru replied. "Do you know what it is?"

        The smile was still pasted on Yukina's face. "No."

        Shizuru gave an exasperated sigh, and walked out of the kitchen for
the second time. Let Yukina be. She looked so happy. Shizuru smiled, and
shook her head. `Kazuma, you are one lucky guy to have her.` Shizuru
thought, and took a puff on her cigarette.

========================================================================

        A strong feeling. Good. Very good indeed. A mysterious being
chuckled, his pendant glimmering in the sunlight. Maja was doing a perfect
job with the humans. If they steal all the souls on Ningenkai, then Meikai's
kingdom shall be restored, especially the souls of Koenma's followers,
Urameshi Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara Kazuma. Nobody can help them
now, not even Enma Daioh and Hades. He was now ruler of Meikai, and noone
would dare stop him.

        The being took steady steps towards the two-storey house, as the air
filled with his booming laughter.

========================================================================

        Everything went still all of a sudden, except the beating of her
heart. Yukina dropped the bowl and ladel she held in her arms. They fell to
the floor with a loud crash. Shizuru came rushing to the kitchen.

        "Yukina-chan, what's wrong?" Shizuru asked.

        Yukina stared blankly into space. She felt evil nearing. She looked
at the water jug near the sink. The water shook, ripples growing stronger on
the surface. Meikai... Meikai! 

        "Yukina-chan! Snap out of it!" Shizuru held her shoulders, and shook
her. Yukina looked up at her, her eyes wide and full of fear. Shizuru felt
it too. She sensed what Yukina was sensing. 

        Shizuru turned abruptly, and sensed something coming their way. She
pushed Yukina out of the way. "Yukina-chan, look out!!" They both hit the
gooey floor. When they looked up, they saw the sink and the water jug
smashed into tiny bits of fragments and glass. They heard someone nearing.
Footsteps. There stood a being with a long cloaked cape. He had an eye on
his forehead. He towered over them, making them quiver with fright. 

        Yukina found her voice. "Y-you--!"

        "Hoh... we meet again, little girl," He lifted her of her feet with
the power of his evil eye. His left eye glowed a fiery red. Yukina's mouth
formed a silent scream.

        "You!" Shizuru burst out, as she got up. "Let her go!" She picked up
a chair, and charged for the menacing being. She knocked the chair over his
back. The chair shattered into bits and pieces of splintered wood. The being
turned to Shizuru, and eyed her cruelly. 

        "I don't have time for this," He said, and pushed Shizuru aside with
such force that she screamed, and went flying towards the living room,
unconscious. "Your strong feeling is nothing compared to this little
girl's." He turned his attention back to Yukina. "Now, give me your soul."

        This time, Yukina screamed. The power of his third eye was extremely
powerful, and was crushing her body. Yukina summoned a bit of her ice energy
to build a force field around her, but she knew it wouldn't hold for long. 

        Laughter escaped the being's lips. "Don't be foolish, little girl.
Stop struggling, and give me your soul. It will cost you less pain that way."

        "It will cost her NOTHING!!!" Came a voice behind him. "RAIGO!! Let
her go!!!" Raigo turned. That voice... His eyes met with fire. Blazing eyes.
Hiei! The fire demon threw his black cloak over his shoulders. "I don't know
how you survived, but now... you're not going to live to tell about it!!!"
He took off the band on his head, and revealed his Jagan. "Kisama!!!" His
third eye glowed furiously. "You're going to pay!!!" He took out his katana,
the sharp edge shining a deadly gleam.

        "Hiei, Hiei," Raigo said. "It would be wise not to interfere. I--"

        "URUSEEEEEE!!!" Hiei leaped for Raigo, his katana ready to draw
blood. He aimed for Raigo's arm. The arm that held Yukina. The blade went
down hard on the arm, but had no effect on Raigo. Raigo still held Yukina in
place. Hiei chose a different tactic. He charged for Raigo's shoulder. Raigo
grabbed the sword's blade. To Hiei's astonishment, the blade broke in
Raigo's grasp. Raigo laughed.

        "I feed on the energy of strong feelings, Hiei," Raigo said. "I am
much stronger now. You can't defeat me!" And he grabbed Hiei's arm, and
tossed him aside. Hiei uttered a cry, and crashed onto the kitchen table,
breaking it in half. Raigo looked smugly at the feisty Koorime. "You see,
Hiei, my body was destroyed by your Black Dragon, however, I fed on evil
strong feelings of humans, and regained my body once again."

        Yukina couldn't keep the force field of ice much longer. She opened
her eyes, and saw the boy she met up with in the alley. `No, don't come any
closer. He'll steal your soul!` Her hands were growing weaker, her head was
spinning. Battling Raigo's evil eye was torture. Mustn't give up... Her last
ounce of strength... No... Weak...So weak... Her defenses broke. The pain
returned. Yukina gave a pained scream; a scream that made Hiei's heart shatter. 

        "Let her GO!!!" Hiei said again. The bandages on his right arm
disintigrated into nothingness. His arm shook from the immense power he was
summoning: the Black Dragon.

        "Hiei," Makuro's voice rung in his head. "Let us join souls now.
There's not much time!" Hiei's shook his head to drown out Makuro's voice.

        "I don't need your help!!!" Hiei shouted to Makuro. He concentrated
all his power into his arm. It shook violently as a small flame of dark fire
emerged in his palm. "Don't underestimate me!!!" He shouted to Raigo. "JAOU--"

        Yukina gave another scream; the longest ordeal Hiei had ever had. It
was the last cry Yukina uttered before her head fell limply on her bosom.
The kitchen boomed with Raigo's laughter. "Your soul is mine!" He examined
Yukina's soul, then put it in the pendant he wore around his neck. Yukina's
lifeless body fell to the floor, along with a pearl-like jewel that fell
from her eye. Hiei stopped all movement. It was like his heart stopped as
well. Yukina... NO!!!

========================================================================

        Usagi ran to Mamoru. "Mamo-chan!"

        "Baka! Look at his eyes!" Sailorstarhealer yelled to Usagi.

        Usagi stopped. "His eyes?" Usagi turned a second too late. Mamoru
closed his hands around her neck, and squeezed. "Mamo-chan... don't...
please..." Usagi choked back a sob. 

        "Usagi-chan!!!" Sailorstarmaker and Sailorstarhealer cried in unison.

        "STAR GENTLE UTERUS!!!" Starmaker's powerful blast hit Mamoru.
Mamoru's body crumpled to the ground, his eyes staring off into the vast
unknown.

        "Yame te!!!" Usagi shrieked, and ran to Mamoru, wrapping her arms
protectively around his neck. "Hidoi yo!! How can you be so cruel??"

        "Usagi-chan," Came a voice coming their way. Usagi, Starmaker, and
Starhealer turned, and saw Sailorstarfighter, along with Sailorneptune,
coming their way. "That was the only way to save Mamoru's body.
Unfortunately," Neptune lowered her head, and turned her face away. "His
soul has been stolen by some strange and evil force."

        "You've got that right!"

        The five turned their heads to the direction of the voice. Up on the
roof of a building stood an ugly demonic-looking being. It sneered down at
them with sharp, fang-like teeth. On its gargoyle ears were several
bell-like earrings. They tinkled with every shake of its head.

        "Who are you??" The five demanded.

        The ugly-looking being continued to sneer down at them. "I am Goho,
a new follower of the Meikai."

        "The Meikai?"  

        "The Meikai," Neptune stated. "Is the underworld. Sailorpluto told
me about it." She raised her arms in the air. "Stealing people's souls is
wrong! DEEP SUBMERGE!!!"

        Goho jumped to avoid the tidal wave attack, and landed on the ground
before them. He lifted his clawed hand, and swung at Neptune! Neptune
managed to move out of the way. Usagi ran for cover behind the bushes. It
was time for Sailormoon!

        "Let me tell you about my power..." Goho told them, eyeing them with
an amused expression, his tongue sliding over his gruesome lips. 

        "We're not interested!" Starhealer shot back.

        "Oh, I'm sure you will be," Goho replied, stepping closer. "I'm sure
you will be, because... my power has something to do with your fears."

        "Our fears??" Starfighter echoed. The four took a step back.

        "You see?" Goho mocked. "You're already cowering from fright."

        "We don't need a loud-mouth like you around here," Starhealer
snapped. She ran towards Goho, her arms outstretched. "STAR SENSITIVE
INFERNO!!!" Suddenly, the park, the buildings, the street... everything...
disappeared before her eyes. What surrounded her was a hazy cloud of mist.
Even Starfighter, Starmaker, and Neptune had vanished. Where was she? She
took several slow steps forward, her eyes searching the place. How weird.
She heard a voice calling her name. Her real name.

        "Yaten!"

        A young girl appeared. She carried a small notebook, her eyes
sparkled with delight, and her face was flushed. She wore a camera around
her neck. She walked towards Starhealer. Starhealer? Starhealer looked down
at her clothes. Everyday clothes! `I-I'm Yaten again! How--?` Yaten thought.
`I'm male again!`

        The girl stopped in front of Yaten, and looked up at him. "Yaten..."

        "What do you want? I'm kinda busy right now, and I don't sign
autographs until I'm free," He snapped at her, and turned his face away from
her in disgust.

        The girl smiled. "I don't need autographs from homosexuals." Yaten
looked stunned. She continued, "I just wanted to tell you that your musical
arrangement sucks!" She turned around, and was ready to walk away, but she
stopped. "Oh, by the way, don't ever bother to touch a camera. I've got it
covered. I won first place at the photography contest, and you didn't even
make it to the runners-up." With that, she gave Yaten a sweet smile, and left. 

        "No... That can't be..." An anguished Yaten said, as he fell to his
knees. "No..." A sharp pain stabbed his heart. He put his hand to his pained
chest, and felt a warm substance. His blood. Yaten stared at his smeared
hand in shock. Goho had stabbed him. Yaten's eyes rolled up into his head,
and his body fell to the ground. 

========================================================================

        How strange. Everything had vanished, including Starhealer,
Starfighter, and Neptune. It was best to take caution. Starmaker walked
through the misty path leading to nowhere. She stopped, as she saw a tall
building a few feet away from her. Her school! She took extra steps forward.
Leaning on the school gate was Mizuno Ami!

        "A, Taiki-kun," Ami said. "At last you're here!" She put down the
book she was reading. Starmaker wondered why she had called her by her real
name. She looked down at her clothes. A school uniform! She was now plain
male Taiki. 

        "Come on, we'd better be going, or we'll be late for our exam!" Ami
insisted, taking a confused Taiki by the hand, and leading him into one of
the classrooms.
        
        Taiki glanced at the test questionaire that was laid on the table.
Such simple equations! He didn't even have to review a single thing. This
lesson was entirely familiar to him. A smile formed on his lips. This was,
shall we say, a piece of cake! Very soon, the test had begun.

        After several scribbling sounds from the pen, Taiki finally finished
his exam, proud to have been able to answer every single question. He smiled
triumphantly at Ami, who had just finished submitting her paper.

        A few minutes later, it was time for the test results. Taiki sat up
straight, a confident expression playing on his face. Ami eyed him like a
critic would. The papers were distributed. Ami got her exam paper before
Taiki did, and seemed very happy to receive such a score. Taiki looked over
her shoulder to glance at her paper. It was a 98. Taiki sat back. He could
do much better. He'd probably get a 99 or even a hundred. He waited for his
paper. After awhile, his exam paper arrived on his desk. 

        He turned tha paper over, a conceited smile still glued to his face.
His score was... Taiki gasped. No! It wasn't possible! He had received an F
for 11 points! Only 11?? But...

        This time it was Ami's turn to glance at his paper. She laughed.
"What a low grade, Taiki-kun! Too bad. You know, even Usagi-chan could get a
much higher score!"  She tsk-tsk'ed, and walked out of the room. 

        Taiki was stunned. He couldn't believe this was really happening.
This was a lie! Nothing was real here! He was going to fight to prove it! He
stood up, knocking his chair over. He never made it outside the so-called
classroom. His limp body lay sprawled on the floor as blood flowed from the
wound on his left chest. In the background, Goho laughed cruelly.

========================================================================
************************************************************************
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                                                                      |
Hi everyone! Genki? *yawn* My, my, it's getting late here,            |
and I'd better hit the sack. Sorry if this chapter                    |
was so morbid. Anyway, goodnight, u guys! Stay tuned, ne? Ciao! ^_^   |
|
                                                                      |
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=      
        

____________________________________________________________ 
http://www.skyinet.net/users/kcmisa/UForest.htm              |
http://members.theglobe.com/tourmaline/tourmaline2.html      |
ICQ #: 703221                                                |
____________________________________________________________/ 
"A good giggle a day, keeps the worries away."

-- that's Cheval-chan for yah! ^_^