At Least We Have Forever 27 - The Day Of Succession

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho and its characters. I do own the plot, Riya and other OC's of this story, though.

Warning: The characters might not be in their usual selves. In other words, possible OOC.

AT LEAST WE HAVE FOREVER—Chapter 27: The Day Of Succession

Two days later, Riya decided to go to the mall downtown to buy some clothes, shoes, and dresses that she would need for her birthday celebration three weeks from now. Her family decided to celebrate her birthday at the functio hall of one of the hotels of that city that the Miyuzaki family owned. So far, the only peoplewho knew her birthday besides her family was Yumi, Yusuke, and Keiko. She haven't told it yet to Kurama since she had forgotten about it in a way.

Maybe she would when the trouble was over. As for now, she just needed to prepare for that big day. She had no problem when it comes to guests who would attend the party since her family assured her that her guests would only consists of her close friends, including those that she would invite.

And since it would be her seventeenth birthday, she was quite sure it would be a one memorable event for her.

She was about to go inside the department store to buy a brand new laptop as a gift for herself when she spotted Botan and Keiko approaching her. She smiled at them and waved 'hi'.

"Looks like you're doing your own shopping, Riya-chan," Keiko commented upon seeing Riya carrying some shopping bags.

Riya just smiled and nodded. "I just need to prepare since I'll be having another fashion stress three weeks from now."

"Three weeks from now?" Botan asked. "Is there any occasion that will happen three weeks from now?"

Keiko just winked at Riya before grinning. Botan eyed the latter strangely.

"It'll be a secret for now. And besides, you'll know that soon enough," Riya said as she winked at Botan before entering the department store.

Botan and Keiko soon decided to follow her. The three of them enjoyed shopping even though Riya was only planning to buy a laptop. Thanks to the sales clerk's suggestion and Keiko's knowledge about the updates of brand-new laptops, Riya managed to buy one she needed.

They were about to take a cab to go home when Botan's compact communicator vibrated and it made them go somewhere hidden. The only place fitting that description for now was the alley near the department store. When Botan opened the communicator, they saw Koenma in his office now looking at the three of them.

"Botan, where are you?" Koenma asked.

Botan eyed Keiko and Riya before speaking. "I'm with Keiko-chan and Riya-chan right now."

"Did something happen, Koenma?" Riya inquired. Koenma nodded as an answer. "Where's Kurama and the others? Are they safe?"

"I can't say anything about them being safe, Riya, because they're dealing with a group of demon shinobi right now," Koenma said. "I called just to make sure the three of you are alright. Yukari informed me a while back through long distance telepathy that she had read the enemies' minds about their plan to steal the Legendary Weapons and your capture."

"They must have an idea already about me being the Crystal Spear's wielder," Riya said matter-of-factly. After that, she gave a reassuring smile to Koenma. "Don't worry. I'll make sure they wouldn't capture me. Botan-chan and Keiko-chan will be safe with me. I promise."

Koenma nodded. "As for Botan, I need you to return to the Spirit World for a while. There's something I need you to bring to Yusuke."

"Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can." Botan closed the communicator as soon as she said that. After that, Botan materialized her ore and headed upwards to go to the Spirit World as per Koenma's orders.

But that few moments of letting their guards down made their enemies corner them. There were ten demon shinobis in that group surrounding them and it was obvious that they didn't have any way to escape except to fly. But that, too, would cost Riya her strength and her powers.

As for Keiko, she was beginning to feel scared but tried to remain firm so she won't worry Riya. Even after the demon shinobi unsheathed (while some summoned) their weapons—most of them were sword wielders, she just stayed behind Riya as the Wielder's Mistress prepared herself for the enemies' attacks.

"Why don't you use your Crystal Spear, princess? I'm sure that would help you fight us with ease," one of the demon shinobi said mockingly but Riya just faced them emotionlessly, though those words were enough for her to be annoyed with the demon shinobi.

Riya could sense the level of energy of their enemies. Though she could say that she had the advantage since her powers were of a stronger level than they were, the energy required in using one of her spells would be too much. Keiko was getting worried not just for herself but for Riya, as well. And as both of them tried to think of an alternative way to escape, Keiko heard a voice that caught her off-guard.

Keiko-sama, please allow me to help you… a child-like voice of a girl said telepathically. Keiko frowned upon hearing that.

Who are you? And why are you addressing me as Keiko-sama? Keiko asked but never let the enemies know what was happening.

She heard the faint laughter of the mysterious voice. Allow me to help you utilize the powers that you have and I'll reveal myself to you. But you have to decide now before it would become too late.

Though Keiko wanted to doubt that voice, somewhere in her heart she could feel that the mysterious girl was telling the truth and that she wasn't someone dangerous. And it allowed her to make a decision to save herself and Riya.

Alright… I'll have it your way. Just promise me you'll tell the truth about who you are after this, Keiko responded seriously.

As you wish, my Lady. And then a yellow magic circle appeared beneath Keiko that surprised almost all of them. Keiko faced Riya who was, without a doubt, surprised but managed to recover as the latter seemed to have an idea of what was going on.

"I have no idea what was happening right now, Riya-chan. But I trust the voice that I heard in my mind a while back," Keiko said.

Riya smiled to assure Keiko that it was alright. "I have to say that I trust that voice, as well." It looks like she finally woke up from her long and deep slumber…

And with that, the magic circle glowed brighter followed by gusts of wind surrounding the two girls. The enemies became surprised with that but then they decided to take their chance and charged at the two girls with their weapons. Much to their surprise, Keiko emitted a bright yellow aura that compressed and accelerated the air surrounding them. It was later followed by Keiko creating several blades of wind and threw them immediately at their enemies' direction, continually slicing their bodies to several pieces before the blades came into contact with the barrier Riya had cast earlier.

The wind surrounding Keiko slowly dissipated just as the magic circle slowly stopped glowing and eventually disappeared. What Keiko suddenly realized was that the attack she threw earlier was enough to sap much of her energy and if it wasn't for Riya, she would have collapsed to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Riya asked. Keiko replied with a nod before standing up after regaining some of her strength.

"What the heck happened?" Keiko couldn't help asking as she faced Riya in confusion.

Riya just smiled at her. "I guess Kazemi-chan might be able to explain that to you since she had finally awakened from her slumber."

"Kazemi-chan? You mean the owner of the child-like voice who talked to me telepathically just a while back?"

But before Riya could say something, a bright yellow orb appeared in front of Keiko. It expanded to the size of a basketball before "shattering"; thus revealing a beautiful golden-haired girl draped in long flowing light green kimono with a height of about ten inches.

Keiko could only stare at it in surprise. Riya just smiled at the sight and gave a small bow to the small being when it bowed to her.

"You're the one who talked to me earlier?" Keiko asked after recovering from surprise.

The small girl nodded. "My name is Kazemi, Keiko-sama."

"But why do you keep addressing me as Keiko-sama?"

"That's because it's a sign of respect to my master," Kazemi casually but politely answered that made Keiko confused.

It made her face Riya. "I don't understand."

Riya sighed before approaching Keiko. "I expected this to happen so I'll explain it to you. The small girl in front of you right now is a Crystal Spirit of the Dragon Gem called 'Wind of the Golden Dragon Gem' and surprisingly, you have that gem inside of you, Keiko-chan. That's the reason Kazemi-chan acknowledged you as her master."

"Crystal Spirit?"

"It's an ethereal form of the forces of the powers that the Dragon Gems possessed. More or less, they're the guardians of the Dragon Gems that they represent."

"But what does that have something to do with me? And how will it affect me in any way?" Keiko asked, though still confused but managed to understand some of it.

Kazemi sighed before she flew towards her master and showed a smile.

"For you, Keiko-sama, to possess the Wind of the Golden Dragon Gem only meant that Mistress Riya's search is finally over," Kazemi answered in a child-like tone she was accustomed of. She saw confusion on Keiko's face and she expected it, so she tried explaining it carefully and clearly. "The Arrow of Wind had chosen Mistress Riya to be its wielder, right?"

Keiko nodded. And then Kazemi continued.

"But because she wasn't born with the Wind of the Golden Dragon Gem, she coudn't fully use the weapon's powers even though she can still use it in its main form. A wielder can only use the full power of his Legendary Weapon and achieve its ultimate form if the Wielder's Crystal and the Dragon Gem were both inside of his body on the day he was born. The other wielders have that kind of situation. But in Mistress Riya's case, it's not since she was born with the Elements of the Silver Dragon Gem and the Topaz Heart, each of which holds different type and amount of powers thus making her unable to use the Arrow of Wind to its fullest potential."

Keiko fell silent after that. As for Riya and Kazemi, they became quite worried for her and they didn't know what to do until the girl spoke.

"So the search that you're talking about was for Riya-chan to give the Arrow of Wind to the person who has the Wind of the Golden Dragon Gem?" Keiko asked as she finally realized what was going on. Both Riya and Kazemi nodded.

Kazemi smiled sadly before speaking. "Keiko-sama, I know that you wanted to keep living the way you remembered it and I do, too. But please forgive me for ruining it because of our selfishness. If it wasn't for the prophecy, everything you knew would have remained the way as it is."

"Prophecy? You mean about the battle between the wielders and Erithea's demon shinobis?"

Kazemi nodded before materializing a silver book and opened it.

"What's that?"

"It's my memory book. Well, besides taking notes about important events and battles of the history, it's also a storage medium of the spells that you can also use. This is where I place the phrases mentioned in the prophecy about the ongoing battle," Kazemi said and then she began reading it. "When the two blue moons from different times align, the seven colors of the rainbow will brightly shine. The monsters of life will gather to obliterate the heart of light and will make the world veiled in a never-ending night. Endless battles will ensue conflicts and a sacrifice as the silver curse will take a rose's life as a price..."

At that point, Keiko stiffened and Riya flinched.

Kazemi soon froze when her sight landed to the next lines of the prophecy. When the gentle wind turned black with hate and madness, the white rose will soon die at the hands of darkness. A death will trigger to open the path of the dark powers and will eventually cover the world in a shadow for endless hours. That was the first time she encountered that part of the prophecy. And she knew the meaning of the term 'white rose' that appeared in that part of the passage.

That term was referring to Riya since the family emblem of the Miyuzaki family was the white rose. For now, the only person who could prevent that death was Kurama if he could definitely defy the prophecy despite their fate that had been already set. Kazemi decided to skip that part and read on.

"An ancient weapon of the three realms will be awakened in order to banish the darkness in the end. The land where the crystal that conceals the unavoidable destiny will crumble down once the rose defies the laws of fate and eternity. Two hearts will be consumed by the power of an eternal promise of love and will become the guiding light to the pathof a destined future to have..."

After that, Kazemi sighed and closed the book. She then looked at Keiko. "I guess it's a little confusing."

Keiko shook her head and faced Kazemi.

"I was just thinking... if I should accept the Arrow of Wind or not. Sooner or later, Yusuke will know about this even though he doesn't want me to be involved in this battle." Keiko then heaved a sigh before continuing. "But I want to help you guys in any way I can. And even if it means making me one of the wielders, then so be it. I don't care if Yusuke will be angry. At least, I could help you." She faced Kazemi after that. "You will help me do my responsibility as the Arrow of Wind's new wielder, right?"

Kazemi's face lightened up and nodded happily. Keiko smiled at that before she faced Riya.

"Are you sure about this, Keiko-chan?" Riya asked in a worried tone. The said girl nodded as she held out her hand.

"It's time. But don't mention this yet to Yusuke, alright?"

Riya just smiled as she took Keiko's hand. The moment their hands touched, a bright yellow glow emitted from there before a large yellow magic circle appeared beneath the two of them. Soon after, wings sprouted from Keiko's back as winds started to surround them both. Keiko was starting to become scared but Riya's smile made her not to. Both of them closed their eyes as Riya began to utter an incantation.

"O deep magic that hides the forces of the four elements, show your powers to me. Upon my command, open the path to release the deity's hidden powers." Suddenly, rush of wind surrounded them even more as a golden orb came out of Riya's chest. "In the name of your former master, I'm asking you to form a new contract and accept Yukimura Keiko as your new wielder. Arrow of Wind, seal release!" After that, the orb began taking some forms.

One evident form was the longbow and arrow. The other was the Wielder's Crystal of the Wind, the Topaz Heart. Soon after, the forms revealed by the orb returned to take the form of an orb once more before it slowly entered Keiko's body. A few seconds more, the wind, the magic circle and the glow vanished.

Kazemi flew towards Keiko excitedly and hugged her. "I'm glad you're my formal master now, Keiko-sama."

Keiko just chuckled at that before gently pushing Kazemi. "From now on, we'll work together as partners. Okay?"

The small being nodded.

"Anyway, we need to get out of here. I guess the others will be needing our help."

With that, Keiko and Kazemi agreed before Kazemi disappeared and Riya released the barrier.

Please be safe, everyone...

-x-x-

As for the team and the wielders, their face-off with the demon shinobis happened at the rooftop of the mall that Riya went to a while back. And in order for the effects of the battle not to affect the public, especially unrelated humans, Ayako created a pocket dimension using the Staff of Shimmer's powers.

"Even if you created a dimension to face us, your mistress will still die if she wouldn't give us the Crystal Spear and your weapons," one of the demon shinobi said before laughing evilly and materializing a large mirror.

"What's that suppose to do, bounce off our attacks?" Yusuke asked sarcastically.

But then they were surprised when the mirror showed a vision of Riya and Keiko surrounded by demon shinobis and the enemies were about to attack the two girls. Though before they could see what was about to happen, Yukari's flute began to glow.

"Flute Whip!" Yukari shouted as she struck the mirror several times with the stream of energy coming out from the tip of the Flute of Melody.

The mirror then shattered, signaling the others to throw their attacks to the enemies. The battle was hard, since they were already dealing with demon shinobis that nearly rivaled their powers.

Riya, please be alright... Kurama silently pleaded as he battled three demon shinobis. Though his enemies were hard to deal with at first, he managed to destroy them.

"Kurama, you have to get out of here and help Riya! We'll take care of the rest!" Yumi shouted before jumping up to the air and stuck out her hand. "Flare of Dragon Tears!" she screamed as several small balls of fire in shape of teardrops came out of her hand and threw it to her targets.

Though feeling a little hesitant, Kurama followed what Yumi said and ran towards a certain direction. As he did this, he heard the other wielders' attacks and screams of pain from the demon shinobis who received those attacks.

"Moon Spear Assault!" Ayako screamed as she tossed her already raised staff forward, commanding several light spears to be shot from above and made contact with several demon shinobis, killing the enemies in the process.

"Whirlwind Scythe Slash!" Soujiro shouted after enhancing the power of the scythe's blade using the derived ki from the "deep waters" as he attacked several demon shinobis surrounding them all at once, slicing their weapons to pieces and killing them due to the immediate effect of the poison from the blade of the scythe.

Yukari prevented the other demon shinobis from following Kurama as she began activating her ki before channeling it to her weapon.

"Flute Whip Reform, Sonic Sword!" Yukari shouted as her flute took another form. This time, it was a long broad sword. As she saw the enemies approaching, she took a fighting stance before unleashing her attack that she would release at long range. "Harmonic Spiral Slash!" she screamed as she swung her sword in front of her, thus enabling her to unleash powerful sharp, spiral beams from the sword's blade and threw it at her targets.

As for Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Ren (Noboru) and Sei (Akane), they have dealt with the other demon shinobis using their weapons and powers. When it comes to speed, Sei was obviously a match to Hiei's as she dealt with the enemies using her speed and her large throw star and shuriken created using her ki. Ren took care of the demon shinobis using his knowledge in many types of martial arts and his twin swords.

All of them were tired as they finally dealt with the last one but to Yumi's surprise, Kurama still haven't managed to get out of the dimension even though Ayako had purposely loosen it for him.

"Kurama, are you alright?" Yusuke asked.

That was when they saw Kurama panting slightly with his body full of gashes and cuts as his Rose Whip were soaking with blood. With worries for the said fox demon, they all approached him.

"How did you get those wounds?" Hiei asked nonchalantly despite his worries.

"One of the demon shinobis created another pocket dimension here. I managed to deal with the caster of that dimension but not after I got injured over and over when I fought him. But he left a part of a certain prophecy just before he died."

That caused curiosity and confusion to arise to the others. "A part of a certain prophecy?"

"I think I can help you with that!" Botan shouted. Though the said grim reaper was outside the pocket dimension, they still managed to hear her.

"Is Botan-chan's voice really that loud?" Yukari asked while chuckling.

"I'm not sure if that's the effect of the pocket dimension or not. But I guess we need to get out of here," Ayako suggested. "It's a good thing no one was on this rooftop."

Shortly after, Ayako released the dimensional barrier that she cast to create a pocker dimension. And as they had expected, Botan was just outside the barrier and then she flew towards them while holding a big hardbound book.

"What's that book you're holding, Botan?" Yusuke asked as soon as Botan landed and placed the book on the floor.

"It's the Book of Ancients that Koenma-sama wanted you to see since the full prophecy about this whole battle was written here," Botan said as she flipped the pages as fast as she could to the part where the prophecy was written. And when she finally found the page in question, she faced the injured Kurama. "But before I read the full passage, what was the part of the prophecy that the demon shinobi said to you, Kurama?"

Kurama looked away for a while as he pondered, thinking about what Botan had asked. After a few seconds, he faced her and answered. "If I remember it right, it goes this way: 'When the gentle wind turned black with hate and madness, the white rose will soon die at the hands of darkness. A death will trigger to open the path of the dark powers and will eventually cover the world in a shadow for endless hours.' That's what he said to me."

Yumi was shocked to hear that. "It can't be... She can't die just like that..."

"What are you talking about, Yumi?" Hiei demanded.

"The white rose will soon die at the hands of darkness..." Yumi murmured. "It means Riya will not die because of the curse of her powers, but because she will be killed by the demon shinobis and her essence will be used to release the ancient dark powers sealed 500,000 years ago with the use of the powers of the eight Dragon Gems. Something will happen that will make her unable to control her powers anymore and will soon drive her mad. Maybe a tragedy that is so unacceptable she became consumed with hatred and vengeance. They're going to use that opportunity to take her and use her as a pawn to revive what isn't supposed to be revived."

Extreme shock was evident in everyone's faces. Obviously, they didn't like the definition of that part of the prophecy at all. But the one who was most likely affected by that revelation was Kurama, though he tried not to show it.

"Botan-chan, can you read the full passage of the prophecy to us?" Yukari requested.

"Sure. But you have to listen carefully since it's really long," Botan said and began reading the prophecy from the book. When she was finished, everyone couldn't say a word about it.

"That was... really long..." Kuwabara commented after a few seconds, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. Long enough for us to understand that we're about to lose Riya because of this. Damn it!" Yusuke said as he clenched his fist tightly.

Ayako sighed to calm her nerves. "But reading between the lines, it's not just Riya-chan who was referred to as 'the rose'. And that means it's not just talking about Riya-chan's death alone."

When the team analyzed the words that Ayako spoke, their eyes widened at the realization of the meaning of the term 'the rose'.

"You got to be kidding me..." Yukari murmured in disbelief. "It can't be him..."

"No way... Kurama can't... just die like that..." Yusuke said, most likely to himself.

"The passage most likely talked about the ongoing battle, the upcoming fated battle with Erithea and an ensured victory... at the cost of either Riya or Kurama's life..." Yumi scoffed after saying that. "I can't believe that's the way the ancients think."

Soujiro frowned as he looked at Yumi. "What do you mean by that, Captain?"

"Their way of thinking was to sacrifice something in return for peace or protection," Yumi replied.

"So now what are we going to do?" Yusuke inquired.

"Honestly, I don't know," Yumi answered frankly. "After all of these were revealed, my thoughts are all mixed up and I can't think of what else to do."

Ayako sighed before looking at Soujiro. "Secondary Leader, what do you think?"

"For now, we'll stick with out original plan. That's the concrete plan that we have for now," Soujiro said.

"Let's just hope we all don't end up dead before the final battle begins," Hiei said sarcastically before leaving.

Kuwabara growled at that. "As much as I hate to admit it, Hiei's right. And I'll have to agree on that one."

-x-x-

I know it's a little bit of a turnout to see Keiko now a part of the wielders. But seriously, I can't afford to add another OC at this point other than those that I've added already. Besides, I also want Keiko to be somebody that will support and help the team in some other way other than being with them and yet it made her worry for them and that's it. I want her to be a supporter in a way that she won't just stay in one corner and just watch Yusuke fight. I want her to have a big participation on this one, too.

And so this idea of making her a part of the wielders came about.

Can you please tell me what you think about this story and this chapter? I need inspiration to write, that's why I want to know it through your reviews. Please? :)