An Empty Shell

Chapter 8: Connections

The gang was still at Kurama's place to plan their actions about the imminent danger.

"There's one other thing that you need to know." Botan was reluctant but took the courage to speak up.
"What is it Botan?" Asked Kurama right away.
"It's  about the demon fox that possessed Hayami years ago.." Botan interluded.
Everyone was facing her, anxiously waiting for her to proceed.
"There's a possibility that she is Tamamo no Mae." Botan's voice croaked when she mentioned her name.
"Tamome-who?" asked Yusuke with a confused face.
"Can you please enlighten us more about her?" Kurama and everyone else were very anxious to know.
"Tamamo no Mae is one of the ancient yokais who thrived in the human world along with the other three namely Shuten Doji oni, and Emperor Sotoku tengu." Koenma butt in for terrified Botan.
"I think I might've heard about them. Isn't they were called The Three Most Evil Yokai of Japan in the Japanese Folklore?" Kurama recalling their Japanese Literature.
"What?! I thought they were just urban legends. Are you saying that they were real?!" Countered Kuwabara in horror.
"Yes, they are very much real." Koenma concluded with no trace of doubt on his face.
"From what I've learned, they once lived as humans during ancient Japan. Because they incurred so much suffering in a world of turmoil their souls were corrupted with evil. They were able to learn and perform curse and evil rituals by virtue of revenge to cause others adversities and deaths until the very last generation of their enemies." Kurama elaborated the details of the story,
"So are you saying that they were human souls that became evil just like Toguro?" Yusuke was trying to digest Kurama's intricate.
"No. Toguro sold his soul to achieve immortality and absolute strength just like a yokai. But these three didn't, they were molded by the people around them. Although the other two were already purified and were sent to the Spirit World,  Tamamo no Mae's soul escaped and lingered in the human world." Koenma riposted.
"So that's why Kurama never knew of her existence in the demon world." Kuwabara inserted.
"So who or what exactly are we dealing with?" Hiei pronounced crossing his arms with hint of impatience.
"We are dealing with the kitsune inside of Hayami. From what I've found out during my investigation, she was a master of illusion and deception. She might not be as strong as you may think but once you fell into her trap, there's no means of escaping. And from there she will rip your body and eat your soul." Pointed out Koenma further who now looked sweaty on the face.
Everyone was quiet in shock. They can hardly come about with a plan to deal with such predicament.
"For now, it seems that Hayami's condition is still under control. I will leave it to Kurama to deal with her since he is the only one who has the ability to perceive her presence. Keep your communicators available at all times. If Kurama sensed even the slightest change on Hayami, you need to be in his location ASAP to take charge of her." Koenma directed everybody.
"Kurama, what are your thoughts about this?" Botan noticed Kurama's silence. Usually he's always the one to lead with a plan.
"I am not actually sure. There are still gaps that needs to be filled in?" Kurama was still contemplating.
"If we are only relying on the spell that was cast upon me, how long do you think this will last until we find Tamamo no Mae? How are we going to cast her out of Hayami and get rid of her for good? How are we going to ensure Hayami's safety?" Kurama scrutinized these possible circumstances. The rest of them don't have any clue on how to answer Kurama's questions.
"What if we summon lady Fushimi and asked her more about the spell?" Botan pointed out on Kurama.
"Yeah that could be helpful." Remarked Yusuke.
"I don't think she would." Hiei stole that seemed to be the last option they have. Then looked at Kurama.
"Why not?" Questioned Yusuke with a disagreeing tone.
"Because she should've given Kurama a good grounding of that spell when she had that chance." Hiei expounded that stroke them to realize.
Kurama's imperturbable silence made everyone think he was on his meditative state.
"Alright Kurama, we need to get going. We will probe more about Hayami's condition and will keep you up to date as soon as we can." Reassured Koenma. Kurama just nodded slightly. Botan then followed suit with a worried face on Kurama.
"So Kurama, I know that you are doing your best to discern this situation and we'll leave you to it for now so you could better come up with a resolution." Yusuke patted Kurama on his shoulder to bid for now.
"Go to her if you feel you need to, maybe she can provide a little bit of information to help us figure this out." Kuwabara's advise to Kurama before he jumped in the portal. Hiei then disappeared too without saying a word.
Maybe Kuwabara was right, I need to talk to her further about this. After everyone already left, Shuichi went to his room. He took his communicator and channeled himself to Hayami. He closed his eyes to concentrate and located Hayami's reiki.