Secret Out

They came back a few hours later. This time Kurama was able to recognize there was a dragon-demon another fire demon in the group, as well as two ogres. Kurama glanced sidelong at Hiei. This couldn't be all of their captors, otherwise Kurama would have woken up in a battlefield with Hiei bragging. The mere thought made him smirk.

The dragon-demon stopped at their cage and pushed the door open. Hiei tensed. The dragon smiled. "I am Ryu. These are Kali, Ronin, and Doyle. Remember our names – you'll be using them to beg later." Ryu spoke pleasantly enough during his introduction, but his eyes glittered with malice.

Hiei spat on the ground. "Riff-raff."

Kali backhanded him with enough force to drive him to his knees. He heard Kurama's gasp but chose to ignore him as he stood back up. No need to make life easier for Ryu, after all. Kurama took a step towards him with the intent to help, only to find himself stopped by Kali's sword at his throat. He froze. Hiei glared at Ryu.

"You obviously don't know who we are." he bit out. Ryu grinned as he twirled his axe.

"Nor do I care." Ryu sneered. "Arrogant apparition."

Kurama couldn't help but chuckle. "That he is." He ignored the venom in Hiei's glare and focused on the little demon. Telepathy had never been his strong point, but Hiei's Jagan eye made it possible for him to read Kurama's mind. Hiei caught his gaze and gave his head a tiny shake. Kurama frowned, but understood. One of their captors was a telepath as well.

Well, that sucked.

Ryu made a 'follow me' motion with his hand and led the small group out of the room. Hiei noticed that their cell was at the end of a large hallway. They walked in two lines, Ryu and Doyle taking the lead, Kurama and Hiei in the middle, and Ronin and Kali bringing up the rear. Hiei also noticed with no small amount of apprehension that Kali still had her blade at Kurama's throat, and the fox demon was being very cautious of her weapon.

Hiei wished he could ask Kurama what was so wrong – never had he seen the fox demon be that careful about something other than a safe – but that cursed Ronin was listening in. His Jagan eye protected him, but he couldn't extend the same protection to Kurama. Actually, the mere fact that Kurama was under guard and Hiei was not was worrying. Either they thought Hiei was the weaker of the two (which he liked to prove to Kurama on occasion just how wrong that was) or they had figured out something not even Yusuke and Kuwabara knew.

If that was the case, Hiei actually feared what would happen next.

They made it to the end of the hall in silence. Kurama and Hiei exchanged confused, worried looks. They had just entered an arena of sorts. It was clearly a dungeon, but just as clearly entertainment for the local demons – no less than fifty of them lined the walls to see the latest attraction. Ronin shoved Hiei into the center of the room while Kali directed Kurama to the side. Kurama shivered slightly, the damp cold starting to get to him. Hiei had simply cranked his own internal heat up a notch to stay comfortable. Now he was about to let out all that heat as flames. See exactly how cocky Ryu was when he realized his 'prisoner' just set him on fire.

His line of thought was distracted when Ronin tossed him his sword. Automatically, Hiei reached up and grabbed it from the air. He cast Ryu a look. "You want me to fight you?" he demanded. "Now that's new. Never heard of a torturer that wanted his victims to fight back."

Ryu snickered. "Oh, but this is so much more interesting." he said with a happy smile. "You see, you're going to fight me. But every time you land a blow on me, Kali dear will cut your friend." His smile widened. "Oh, and that blade of hers is coated with poison, specially made just for you two. The redhead will be her first victim. Isn't that wonderful?"

Hiei's gaze snapped over to Kurama. One look at his tense posture was more than enough confirmation. Must be some sort of plant poison, otherwise he wouldn't have known about it either. Kurama's eyes were narrowed, the message in them clear –

Kill him.

Kali smiled sweetly. "Why don't I just go ahead and cut his head off?" she asked. "Poison distorts the features too much. I won't be able to keep his head otherwise."

Ryu shook his head. "I want to play our games first. Then you may take his head." Kali pouted.

"She must be your little sister." Hiei commented dryly, struggling to think of a way around this. He didn't doubt that he could kill Ryu. The dragon was just too cocky for his own good. The real question was, could he kill Ryu and Kali before the sadistic witch had the chance to cut Kurama? Hiei also didn't doubt just how deadly that poison was. Kurama wouldn't hold still for nothing less than a complete threat on his life. He wouldn't be staring at Hiei like that if he thought there was some way they both could get out of this alive, and Kurama knew just how fast Hiei could be when pushed.

Which meant there was something about Ryu that he was missing. Something that Kurama's talent with plants would give him an edge in detecting –

Oh. Crap.

Hiei fell into a defensive stance. "Then come at me." he challenged. "Let's see if you can fight as well as you can talk." He kept his eyes focused on that axe. Tricky of Ryu not to tell him both blades were poisoned, but that just made Hiei's job a little bit more interesting.

Ryu vanished.

Hiei froze. What?! Before he could get much more than the thought out, Ryu's axe cut down across his shoulder. It would have cleaved another demon in half, but by then Hiei was already gone and halfway across the chamber.

Kurama watched the match, tense and for the first time in a very long time, a little afraid. Kurama recognized Hiei's attack pattern – the fire apparition wasn't so much trying to avoid Ryu as he was trying to get to Kurama without tipping off Kali. The female fire demon's eyes were narrowed as she watched the match, and Kurama knew she was keeping track of every movement. If she thought for a second that Hiei was coming her way, she would kill Kurama. Hiei must have known this as well. There was no other explanation for his caution when he knew he was fully capable of taking out Kali under any other circumstances.

Once again, Kurama was reminded of their secret, and just why it was a secret. His fists clenched as he growled low in his throat. He hated being weak.

Ryu's louder growl caught his attention. "Enough of this! Kali!"

With a smirk, Kali flicked her wrist. Kurama grunted as the edge of her blade cut down his arm.

Hiei froze at the sound, hesitating just long enough for the tip of Ryu's axe to lay his back open. In a flash he was gone to only appear at Kurama's side, sword raised as he slashed at Kali. The taller fire apparition hissed in anger as she jumped back, narrowly avoiding Hiei's blade. Hiei was breathing hard, his body starting to tremble as the poison took effect. He still had the energy to snarl something foul at Ryu. Kurama almost chuckled. He slid back a pace, allowing Hiei to rest against him even as he clutched his arm, feeling the poison burn through his veins.

Of course it would affect Hiei faster than it would Kurama. Hiei's body ran at a completely different speed, his heart and respiration rates accelerated beyond the norm. It just meant the poison would kill him faster than it would Kurama. Ryu was using them against each other, knowing Hiei would hesitate if he knew Kurama was hurt, just long enough.

Ronin walked over, picking Hiei up and throwing him over his shoulder. Kurama snarled, falling into a fighting stance as Ronin started to walk away. "Where are you taking him?!" he demanded, his voice harsh and unforgiving. If Ryu had been expecting despair or even submission, he didn't show his surprise at Kurama's venom. He chuckled.

"Oh, don't worry – your friend is being patched up." Ronin left the room, leaving Kurama to calculate the odds. Ryu smirked. "He'll die without it, as will you. But Doyle will be administering to you." With that the other ogre walked forward, clamping a strong hand on Kurama's shoulder. Kurama promptly shook it off. He could faintly hear Hiei threatening to burn Ronin if he didn't put him down, and he had to bite back a smile. Of course Hiei wouldn't go down without a fight, poison or not.

"I'll walk." he said darkly.

Ryu smiled. "I thought so."

Kurama didn't like that smile, but he followed Doyle anyway. If this was the worst Ryu could throw at them, they'd be lucky. Somehow, though, he had the feeling the worst was yet to come.

/----/

An: Okay, since this chapter was all Hiei and Kurama, the next will be all/mostly Yusuke's gang. Let me know what you think! I know they're out of character, but hey, I figure they have a right to be.