Koenma sighed as he stared blankly after his team. The meeting had gone- well, terribly. Even Kurama, the level-headed and rational one, had been uncharacteristically irrate, though mild compared to the standards of most.

Koenma was used to Kuwabara and Yusuke yelling and objecting to what he told them to do; But Kurama? To see him even slightly perturbed sent a shiver through him. Don't get him started about Hiei's reaction. The usually silent, rebellious fire demon's burst of anger and threats shot fear straight through him, despite being an age-old power himself. Reluctantly though, they had finally agreed.

Between Yusuke and Kurama's protective nature over the human race, Kuwabara's inherent need to do the right thing, and Hiei's mere distaste for the soul-eating race, the gang accepted the mission to fight back the Delphyrs, a race that preys on human souls in order to survive, who were breeching the border between the Makai and the human world. Koenma had a suspision they were getting through from Mukuro's border, who ruled over the territory the Delphyrs resided in.

Though he did not speak of his suspision of the demon lord, he assumed that was a big reason why Hiei had reacted so harshly. Koenma was essentially asking him to break an oath he made to Mukuro and allow an attack on her territory.

Koenma shook his thoughts from his head and focused on the task at hand. The race of Delphyrs was vast. He wasn't sure just how his team was going to pull this one off. All Koenma knew was that they had to. For the sake of the human race, there was no other option.

Hiei's hair bristled in the wind as he walked, trailing behind the other three. He had no idea why he had agreed to help. To be honest, he had no idea why he did half the things he did anymore. He justified most of it as boredom, just as he did in this particular instance. Peace had fallen across the lands for sometime, and he was growing anxious for more than punching and swinging his sword at air and the rare low-level demon who tried to cross the border to the human realm. A battle would be welcome at this point, he thought to himself.

His mind wondered idly to Yukina, who, against his wishes, had instisted she go with them, along with Genkai. They were set up in the Makai in a small secret camp that Genkai had surrounded with protection and cloaking stones, ready to tend to the wounded if necessary.

As they neared the tear in the border, Hiei stiffened. Countless energy signatures of Delphyrs swarmed ahead of them. Were they really about to walk head-long into a massive on-slaught of demons? Wouldn't be the first time. Certainly not the worst situation I have been in.

Hiei drew his sword as the tear came into sight, and the rest of the group readied themselves for battle as well. Hiei dashed forward and to the far left, slashing through the first Delphyr who crossed his blade. He continued to cut through most of them with relative ease as the amount of Delphyrs he came in contact with at once began to increase drastically.

Now in the heart of the swarm and being attacked from every angle, Hiei fought to keep from being overwhelmed by the mass amount of Delphyrs that fought against him. Somewhere in his mind, he noted that the rest of the group was quickly being overrun. Growling in frustration that his hands were to some degree tied, as he couldn't use his most powerful attack for risk of tearing open the barrier further, he forced some of his energy into his blade, making it more effective in cutting through the swarm.

They continued for what seemed like hours, and with the Delphyrs swarm attack unrelenting, it had become clear what they needed to do. Reaching out to Yusuke telepathically, Hiei growled out words he loathed. We need to pull back.

A little put off by the contact, Yusuke seemed to nod slightly before shouting out the order to retreat. Indecision danced in the detective's eyes as he glanced at the human realm and then to the tear that led to the Makai. "It is too dangerous to fall back to the human realm. The Delphyrs will pursue us. We need to retreat into the Makai and meet at Genkai's camp," he shouted to the group before making a B-line for the tear.

Focused only on defense, each fighter made their way through the barrier and ran East where their camp was set up. They scattered as they hit the forest, the Delphyrs that followed becoming easy targets as they split up. Only after he was sure no more Delphyrs were following him, Hiei made his way to the camp, just as the rest of the team was doing.

As he neared the camp, his vision blurred slightly, no doubt from the injuries he had gained from the battle. He shook it off quickly, forcing himself to ignore the pain that tore through nearly every part of his body. From the looks of it, the rest of the team was in the same shape.

Yukina and Genkai wasted no time in tending to their wounds, Hiei only submitting in a silent glare after Yukina had insisted. There was no use trying to tell her no. She had the same stubbornness as he, but between her gentle nature and the soft spot he refused to admit he had for her, his resolve always weakened under her pleading.

He idly heard Genkai, Yusuke and Kurama talking. Not paying much attention to their conversation, Hiei only caught something about a possible ally that resided in the South. Kurama had known someone from his life in the Makai who could give aid and possibly the numbers they needed to fight back.

They would leave at once. Genkai and Yukina would travel with them, since staying in one place in the Makai was not wise. Yukina had made a comment about always wanting to see Aerisia and Hiei frowned. What could the anti-social race of Wolf-demons possibly do to aid them? They weren't the type to fight the battles of others, and unless it affected something within the walls of their kingdom, they rarely cared. Apparently the fox knew something he didn't and Hiei passively wondered if he would be mistaken for once.

Doubt it, he thought to himself. That would be entirely too satisfying.

A/N~ So this would be the start of my new project. :D You will get to meet the other main characters soon, don't worry! I am working on the second chapter right now, and I am excited for the meeting. I can't wait to see how it turns out. This chapter was mostly a setting so everyone would be up to speed on what's happening. Hopefully I will have the second chapter up in a few hours. Aerisia and the Wolf-demons are of my creation. Please don't slice and dice me too terribly for making up a new place.

Much love ~Jessa