Deadly Games

Chapter Two: The Meeting

Having been one himself, Kurama had been around countless number of demons of all different shapes and sizes. Literally. Panda demons, fish demons, demons as tall as skyscrapers or with hundreds of ears, others that could pass for angels—at least until they're trying to tear at a person's flesh. There was even a demon as small as a shrimp, who was convinced he was king of the universe, though the last was amusing more than anything else.

It was safe to say the one currently in front of Kurama did not impress. It was badly beaten up already, blood and some kind of yellow fluid flowing out of many wounds. That did not, however, stop it from racing forward, eyeing its new, fresh prey. Unfortunate for the demon, it had picked the wrong people for prey. They knew only too well how to deal with evil, demons and humans alike.

Kurama's original assessment changed when he identified what the unusual liquid was. "Watch out for the yellow blood. It's acidic," he warned.

At the same time, Hiei readied his sword just as Kuwabara materialized his own in his hands. Keiko moved back and Yukina went with her, ready to put up a barrier if she needed. Botan stood with her oar raised, holding it as one would a bat. It might not have been entirely useful on a demon more than twice her size, but it was a blunt instrument that she could hit things with. That was better than nothing.

Kurama watched as Yusuke took aim, ready to send a spirit blast at the creature. "No!" the kitsune yelled.

Too late. The blast was already moving and—lucky them—it was heading right toward one of the yellow spots.

"Get down!"

"Fool!" Hiei yelled.

Yukina threw up a barrier that protected those around her, while the guys used whatever they could to avoid the oncoming liquid, ducking behind some of the couches and chairs around them. Acid burst from its bubble with an audible explosion, sending it all over the room. The furniture and floor around them hissed audibly, though the juice slid harmlessly down the sides of the koorime's barrier.

When there was no longer acid flying all over the place like candy from a piñata gone horribly wrong, the fighters resurfaced. Hiei slashed at the demon, though careful of where he hit. The brute refused to go down even as he slashed, trying to swat Hiei away as a cat would do to a fly. Kuwabara seemed reluctant to go near the demon since the floor was iffy to step on. Pools of liquid were everywhere, especially near the demon where it would have been near impossible to walk. The demon was sitting in a bit puddle of its own bodily fluids which was just a big ew factor, as far as Botan was concerned.

Yusuke had the same problem Kuwabara had and he was not about to try his spirit gun again any time soon, that was for sure. That left Kurama to try something to help his demon friend in his assault. But what could he do? As his mind raced at the possibilities the situation permitted, a movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention.

From the hole the demon had made came a flash of red and silver. The object dropped gracefully to the ground, avoiding all the rubble. Kurama recognized him as a demon, which was apparent by the dog-ears at the top of his head, not to mention long claw-like nails.

A young woman slid down from his back, a small kitsune on her shoulder. She surveyed the room quickly before turning around as some kind of cat demon leapt into the room, two humans as riders on its back. Almost all of them sported a weapon of some sort, minus the smallest one and the cat demon, being a weapon in itself. Were they friends or foes? From a glance, he couldn't tell.

The dog-eared demon didn't look at all pleased. No, more like he was ready to spill blood and have a dandy time doing it. The other male had the apparel of a monk from centuries, complete with staff. In fact, they all were dressed with dated clothing with the exception of the one girl, who wore a typically school uniform. How had she gotten mixed up with the rest of the odd group? Or perhaps they were the people that could never leave the house after entering it…? Now there was a possibility worth considering, though at a different time.

The foreign-looking girl wore a skintight outfit with a large boomerang ready at her side that undoubtedly served as a weapon. She was pretty, her hair tied back in a long ponytail and her fighter's spirit was apparent. The more modern girl wore a green and white uniform, though carried a bow and arrows in a quiver attached to her back that her long black hair partially covered. Expressive brown eyes and a stubborn chin gave away most about her personality and probably would give her thoughts away most of the time. She was most definitely attractive and had some sort of power coming off her.

"Looks like we have company," said the monk.

The demon with silver hair and white dog-ears ignored him, drawing out a rusty sword that immediately changed to a huge, powerful blade. "We're not finished with you yet," the dog demon growled.

With one powerful leap, he was sailing toward the intruding demon.

Anyone with eyes could see where the demon had gone.

Well, okay, maybe not everyone with eyes because blind people have eyes, they just can't see and—even in her mind she cut herself off. Focus, Kagome. There are more important things happening.

The large gaping holes through the many walls were a dead giveaway to where the demon had gone, leading to the room it was currently residing in. And so Inuyasha and the others were lambs being led to slaughter as they followed the trail inside, though these lambs had a few tricks up their sleeves. …If lambs had sleeves, that is.

Kagome surveyed the room when they arrived, surprised to find several people already there. It was especially surprising since from the outside it did not look like anyone lived in the abandoned mansion. Then again, she had not had time to observe. She just hoped they were allies and not in league with the demon.

"Looks like we have company," Miroku said beside her at the same time Inuyasha's sword transformed. He charged forward with a snarl of, "we're not finished with you yet."

Kagome only sighed as she watched this. He would never learn.

She jumped back with a start as a black blur raced past her. When it paused for a moment, she managed to identify it as one of the strangers, but it took her seconds after she saw it to actually process what it was, he moved so fast. He attacked the demon over and over again with what she presumed was a sword, though it seemed like the wounds came from nowhere after a black flashed across the demon.

Another stranger, a red-haired one, put a hand under his long hair and pulled out… a rose? He flicked his wrist with grace and it immediately turned into a whip, thorns adorning the weapon. He cracked it with ease, hitting the purple skin of the demon, cutting it cleanly.

The large demon growled at the pain of the three weapons that attacked him, causing him to swat his arms about wildly in an attempt to get the attackers away. Another rather pitiful sight the demon exhibited. Yet for all it cowardice, with its acidic blood they could not defeat it easily.

They moved away until its flailing stopped, but by then Kagome had turned her attention away. On the other side of the room were three women, though they stayed out of the fighting. What were they…?

"Kagome!" she heard Sango call out.

Kagome whirled around to see the demon reaching a clawed hand out for her. Obviously it had grown somewhat intelligent if it had thought that getting a hold of one of them might make the others hesitant to attack. But why did she have to be the hostage all the time? Oh, right, because she was the closest one with least likely ability to protect herself. Damn, she had to remember to stay farther away; her bow would be more effective then.

Before the demon could complete the gesture or she could even take the time to retreat, Inuyasha was suddenly there, scooping her up into his arms. The demon's hand missed as he leapt back into the air, carrying Kagome away from the demon's reach. At the same time, the man lashed out with his whip, slicing the hand that had reached for her, but also just missing Inuyasha by a thread. It was unclear if he had aimed for Inuyasha and missed or if he was trying to help Kagome.

"Hey! Watch it!" Inuyasha shouted, then to Kagome, "can't you stay out of trouble for two seconds!"

"Well it's not like I'm trying to get attacked," was her immediate response.

He rolled his eyes and dropped her to the floor, leaving to fight the demon again. Hmph, for all her liking him, he could be so annoying sometimes… and arrogant… two-timing… and reckless and… what were his good qualities again? Well, he did protect her, as shown just moments before, and he could be sweet, but that of course only happened when no one else was around. Why had no one ever warned her how difficult males were to deal with?

Miroku offered her a hand, which she took. "Why hasn't he used the wind scar yet?" Kagome asked him as he helped her.

"I believe he's afraid that if he does, the demon might explode everywhere, showering us with some of that lovely acid," Miroku explained, watching the fight as he answered her question.

Kagome bit her lip, understanding Inuyasha's concern. It was when Miroku cautioned her back that she turned her attention to the puddle of acid in front of her. If she'd been in a cartoon, she knew one of those little light bulbs would flash over her head. Maybe if she… Would it work? Well, there was no harm in trying.

"Kagome, what are you…?" Shippo began, peering over her shoulder with a child's curiosity. He held on tight, however, making sure he didn't flip over into the deadly goo.

She took one of her purifying arrows and touched it to the yellow blood. It boiled and bubbled for a second as she watched anxiously. Then, the acid was a dark puddle on the floor, turning crimson. Kagome nodded to herself before standing up and stringing her bow.

"Heads up!" she called.

Inuyasha, seeing her bow and arrow, jumped out of her way. What he really didn't need was to get stuck with one of her arrows, especially when sometimes her aim was a bit… off. The strangers regarded her with curiosity and threw her a few odd glances. However, they did get out of her way, except for lightning fast one, who ignored her words.

Suit yourself, she thought as she fired her arrow.

A pink light swirled around it as the arrow flew through the air, surprising the strangers. It grazed the arm of the incredibly fast man, but managed to pass him and embed itself in the demon's chest. It growled and tried to pull it out, but it glowed a pink color still, and the demon could not touch it. It roared in pain while the yellow acid that had been pouring out turned red.

"Do it, Inuyasha!" Kagome called out.

Inuyasha nodded and leapt at the demon, sword raised. "Wind Scar!"

Streaks of power like lightning shot out of the sword, traveling in the direction of the demon. It just barely missed the small, quick man as well as another black-haired boy by inches, the two jumping out of the way. The blast then hit the demon and it roared as it disintegrated into nothingness. The jewel fell to the floor with a small clang, dripping in the demon's blood.

"Watch how you're using that thing, dog-ears!" the tall, black-haired boy yelled at Inuyasha.

He turned toward Inuyasha who still held his sword ready, while the man had his thumb and finger out in a gun-like gesture. Inuyasha, of course, did not understand this gesture, but did grasp the implied threat behind the motion. Inuyasha growled slightly, which probably didn't help his case where the man opposing him was concerned.

"I know humans, and you're not one," Yusuke told Inuyasha.

"Oh, you're a bright one," Inuyasha countered with a sneer. "And here I thought dog ears were common on humans."

The comment didn't please Yusuke, only serving to make him more irritated. The tip of his index finger began glowing a bluish color.

"Inuyasha…!" Kagome yelled.

She raised her bow as she made her way over to him, ready to hit the boy who threatened Inuyasha if she needed to. She was stopped however when a whip crack on the floor in front of her, making her jump back. It could have easily hit her, but the blow was more of a warning for her not to come any closer. She quickly switched her target from the boy across from Inuyasha to the boy that held the rose whip.

Miroku and Sango took their place beside their friends, showing their support with weapons held ready for a fight if need be. The two other male strangers did the same, though the one wearing black looked slightly indifferent more than anything else.

Sango stood with her hiraikotsu ready to attack, positioned across from the short man who had moved with such speed. He held his weapon, a normal looking katana, offensively rather than defensively. His intense ruby eyes stared coldly at her and the hard glare made up for his lack of height, proving a person didn't have to be tall to be intimating. He wore all black, minus a white bandana tied around his forehead. The man had a lean, though muscular body and had a weird vibe coming off him, which confirmed Sango's suspicions that he was a demon. Kirara, still in her large form, stood next to her, prepared to fight when the slayer did.

Miroku was next in line, standing across from a rather tall, orange-haired boy. He had black eyes, wore a blue school uniform, and looked around fourteen, just like the other two; the demon's age was unsure. He held a sword that did not look solid in his hand, but powerful all the same. Confusion was etched across his face seeing the way Miroku held his hand out, not knowing that if the monk took off his rosary beads, the chaos that would ensue.

Kagome, herself, was next with Shippo on her shoulder. She held an arrow ready in her bow so she could fire at any moment. She was facing off against the boy with the rose whip that had long, silky red hair and startling emerald green eyes. His arms had strong-looking muscles on them, probably from using his whip all the time, since using a whip correctly took quite a lot of strength. He was one of those men that would never be called handsome, because beautiful was the better term to use. But something did not feel right about him. He did not feel entirely human.

Inuyasha was last across from the last teenage boy. He had jet-black hair that was gelled back and dark brown eyes. He wore a green uniform, but Kagome could still tell he was muscular. He still held his hand out, his index finger pointed at Inuyasha.

Kagome's arms began hurting from holding the arrow back too long and she knew before long they would be trembling visibly with the strain. That meant she would either have to attack the boy across from her or put the weapon down and while the latter sounded better, she wasn't sure what she should do. It was then that her eyes met the emerald ones of the boy across from her. Just by looking at her, he seemed to understand her situation.

"I have no intention of hurting you," the man told Kagome.

That was enough for her. He seemed sincere and she didn't know how, but she knew he was not lying. She put her weapon down and replaced the arrow where it had been in the case on her back. The strangers all looked at their redheaded friend with a "what-the-hell" expression, which was quite comical on all their faces.

"Ditto," Kagome said with a slight smile. She even felt a little relieved that she would not have to fight him. He had too pretty a face to ruin in a fight anyway.

"Kagome, what the hell are you doing?" Inuyasha asked her, angrily.

Kagome ignored him and turned to Miroku. "Put your arm down."

"Do you think that's wise?" he asked her with one eyebrow raised. He did not look at her for his gaze was all for the boy in front of him.

"I think we're on the same side," she said. Miroku did not look convinced. Kagome thought quickly and said, "well, if you do use it, you'll be taking in those girls too and everything around them." Kagome pointed to the three girls who were still in the background, though they looked confused by her statement.

Miroku finally noticed them and put his arm down immediately after seeing the three attractive girls across the room. Kagome and Sango rolled their eyes, which the guys watched amused, but confused all the same. Even as she rolled her eyes, Sango did not move from her fighting stance.

"Sango…" Kagome began.

Sango sighed and relaxed her pose, holding her weapon in a more comfortable, unthreatening position, though she would still be able to use it at a fast speed. The demon sheathed his sword, though both still looked tense as they threw death glances at each other.

Now for the hard part. Kagome turned toward Inuyasha. "Don't even ask," he growled, feeling her gaze on her.

"Inuyasha," she said in a warning tone.

"No fucking way," he told her, "I don't trust them one bit. That one almost split me in half." Inuyasha nodded his head toward the one with the rose whip.

Kagome glanced at the boy in question and found he was staring at her. Their eyes locked and she felt something inside twist pleasantly, making her glance back at Inuyasha quickly.

She put a hand on his arm, lightly. "Inuyasha…" she said sweetly. He finally turned to look at her, suspicion clear on his face. Her own face looked entirely innocent and angelic. She continued just as sweetly, "…sit boy."

The rosary beads on Inuyasha's neck turned pink for a moment before they forced him into a heap on the floor with his face buried in the tiles. The four strangers looked shocked for a second before the black-haired and orange-haired teen broke out laughing. The other two smirked, silently.

"He should have just listened," Miroku murmured to Sango.

"What the hell was that for?" Inuyasha said once he removed his face from the floor. His voice was irritated, especially since the two were laughing.

Kagome gave him an incredulous look, which didn't satisfy him. He pulled her ankle, making her lose balance. She squeaked as she fell onto her rear on the cold floor.

"Hey!" she cried angrily.

Inuyasha began to get back up and Kagome waited. When he was halfway there, Kagome exclaimed, "SIT!"

The hanyou slammed into the floor with such force, she was sure there would be an Inuyasha shaped hole there for all eternity.

"I think I need one of those for Yusuke," Keiko murmured as Yukina and Botan giggled.

"Maybe we should introduce ourselves here, since it doesn't look like we are going to fight," Miroku said as Kagome got up from off the ground.

She brushed the dirt off her skirt and turned away from Inuyasha with a "humph", arms crossed and stubborn chin out defiantly. Kurama smiled further at Kagome's reaction. Inuyasha mumbled a few incoherent words and stayed on the ground, sitting Indian style with his arms crossed, his gaze off into the distance.

Yusuke, in a better mood after laughing at Inuyasha, decided to introduce everyone. "I'm Yusuke and this is Kuwabara…" Yusuke pointed to each person as he introduced them. "And this is Kurama." He pointed to the red-haired boy who still regarded her. She was beginning to get uncomfortable under his gaze, but she ignored it and looked at each person who was being introduced. "That's Hiei. And the girls back there, the tall, blue haired one is Botan and the shorter, blue haired girl is Yukina. The last one is Keiko."

So they were on a first name basis. That was fine with Kagome. Since Inuyasha was too annoyed at the moment to introduce them—though she doubted he would anyway—Kagome did the introductions.

"I'm Kagome, this is Miroku and Sango." Both nodded in acknowledgement at their names. "That's Kirara…" The seven strangers watched as the cat demon became a very petite one and jumped into Sango's arms, while the humans looked on, surprised. Shippo then slipped into Kagome's arms from where he had been on her shoulder.

"This little kitsune is Shippo. And him…" Kagome looked down at the sitting demon. "… he's Inuyasha."

"I don't mean to be rude, but what is he?" Keiko asked. The three girls had come closer to stand near the four guys they had come to the house with.

Inuyasha glared at Keiko and Kagome answered, "he's a dog demon. Can't you tell by the ears?"

She tugged playfully on one of the ears with one hand while the other arm still held Shippo. The ear twitched as she touched it causing Kagome to smile slightly. Inuyasha remained silent so the others were unsure if he was pleased or disgruntled by Kagome's actions.

"A hanyou," Hiei corrected her.

Inuyasha glared angrily at Hiei. Kagome had not mentioned that fact because she knew Inuyasha would not have wanted them to know, but the small demon had known already. Probably some weird demon-sensing thing, from what she could guess.

"And what are you?" Inuyasha growled at Hiei.

"He's a fire demon," Kuwabara told them, making Hiei glare.

"And you, Kagome? What power do you have?" Kurama asked, regarding her curiously.

That must have been why he had been staring at her for so long; he must have sensed her power and wanted to know what abilities she might have. At least that was what Kagome told herself.

"I'm a miko, a priestess. Well, actually I'm a reincarnation of one, but I have some powers too," Kagome explained. "And what are you… Kurama, your name is?"

He nodded. "It is. Why do you ask?" he questioned with a smile.

"You don't feel quite human, so what are you?" Kagome asked, tilting her head a bit to the side as she watched him.

She saw the approval in his eyes "Very observant of you. I was once a fox spirit, but now I'm in a human body. It's a long story," he said.

"Are we going to tell them all our secrets now?" Miroku asked, dryly.

"Well, let's start with why are you here?" Sango asked the strangers.

The four boys exchanged a look and Yusuke finally answered, "we're here to live in this house for a couple of weeks to check it out."

"What are you a real-estate agency?" Kagome asked. The rest of her friends looked at her with confusion which only made Yusuke's team watched them in their own confusion. How did they not know what a real-estate agency was?

"No, we're suppose to see if there are any gho—" Kuwabara started, but Yusuke put a hand over his loud-mouthed friend's mouth.

"Why are you here?" Hiei asked rudely, eyeing their strange clothing.

The five exchanged a look. Finally Miroku spoke, deciding to tell them the truth, not really caring if they believe of not. "All of us, except for Kagome that is, come from the past."

"From about five hundred years ago to be exact," Kagome added.

"We're here because we were hunting down that demon," Sango said, gesturing toward where the demon had been destroyed. All that was left was blood now.

"He had taken… something of ours," Inuyasha concluded.

"Oh! Right," Kagome exclaimed, just remembering something.

She walked over to a large puddle of the demon's blood, scrunching her nose as she reached a hand in. Her hand came out a moment later, pulling out their jewel shards that it had stolen. The shards were purified at her touch and she put them in a small container along with the other shards that the gang had collected.

"What is—" Yusuke began, but Kurama cut him off. They would ask later, when they got to know the strangers better. Then they would get more honest answers.

"This looks like it's going to be a long day of questioning. Why don't we sit down?" Kurama asked.

Inuyasha glanced at him. "Feh. We don't need to answer any of your questions and we don't need to know anything about you. Let's go," he told them.

Kagome glanced at the strangers with regret. She would have like to know more about them. Then she turned with the others to leave, but suddenly stopped. "Um… Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"What?" he snapped, irritated.

"The demon… it smashed through quite a few walls….. Where did all those holes go?" Kagome asked, hesitantly.

She pointed to where the large gape in the wall had been, but there was no gap, only a normal wall. Everyone in the room looked on in disbelief.

"What the…?" Inuyasha started.

It was as though the house had mended itself while they were all distracted by the fight. Now that they looked, neither were there any doors or windows in the room anymore. It was as if the house had changed on its own accord.

A rumbling ran through the run before a loud slam suddenly sounded behind the group, causing Kagome to jump. The sound rang through her ears, leaving her momentarily deaf and the demons among them looked especially bothered. When the miko finally turned around to look at what had caused the noise, she found a large stone partially imbedded into the newly cracked floor.

Keiko, being closest to it, took a frightened, unsteady step back when she saw it. Kagome, herself visibly paled as her gaze settled on it. On the stone, a message in dark red ink was written. Then at second glance, Kagome knew it was not ink; at least, not the kind she was familiar with. However, the streaks of crimson were not what alarmed her, for it was the words themselves that drew out her fear.

No one gets out alive.