Disclaimer: See Chapter One.
Added: The following disclaimers listed below apply to this and all future chapters.
I do not own nor make a profit by mentioning any Pokemon. That includes merchandise, manga/anime, pokemon, video games, ect. It belongs to Nintendo, Creatures, Game Freak, Satoshi Tajri, Ken Sugimori, and anyone else I missed.
Warnings: See Chapter One.
Chapter 4: Trust Issues
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Two Hours Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yusuke needed a quick change of clothes, as he was wearing some good pants and a nice button down shirt. Joann hadn't really notice until the raven haired teen pointed it out. She wondered why he even dressed so fancy. Although, he looked good.
Kuwabara decided to change as well, having been wearing nice jeans and his Megalica t-shirt.
Both boys decided to change into their school uniforms. It seemed they weren't too concerned if they got ruined.
Joann decided to wear some black slacks and a black tank top. It was comfy and one of the outfits she used when training. She tied her hair, which grew a bit past her shoulders, into a high ponytail. She also wore a baseball bat bag, which comfortably went on her back. She stuck one of Kuwabara's baseball bats in it. She left the top part unzipped so she could easily take it out.
She wasn't going to be stupid and go in there unarmed. Especially since she didn't have a cool power like Yusuke's Spirit Gun or Kuwabara's Spirit Sword. Kuwabara had gave her trouble, as the bat she had taken was his 'favorite'. But she convinced him that it only made it better to bash in some demon skulls.
So after a long two hours they finally arrived at the edge of Demon City.
"So that's their hideout." Yusuke said as he looked towards the castle.
The three began to walk towards it.
"You sure you guy wanna come? You may not get away with just a few broken bones this time Kuwabara." Yusuke said, giving a quick glance towards Kuwabara; his chocolate brown eyes filled with concern.
Kuwabara didn't seem to notice them.
"I'm not leaving it all up to you to save our town." Kuwabara snorted.
He still couldn't believe Yusuke had to 'think' about taking on this mission. He was practically whining about going and saving their town.
Yusuke couldn't help but roll his eyes but smiled all the same. He should have known better. Kuwabara was an honorable kinda guy and would put his life on the line if it meant protecting an innocent person. Yusuke couldn't help but feel some respect towards the guy.
He glanced over to Joann. She was an enigma. She had no stakes in coming. She didn't even have a reiki power like he and Kuwabara. She would just get in the way. However, the girl had insisted on coming with the two. Kuwabara had caved in and Yusuke gave up.
Joann walked with them in silence. She really didn't have a reason to be there. Well, other than it being her dream to fight alongside her favorite characters, from her favorite anime. But now that she was heading into a real battle, she was getting nervous. The fact she was wearing a baseball bat bag in an anime that didn't have anything to do with the sport, well it seemed a bit silly.
She shook her head. She needed to think positively. She wasn't weak. She at least knew how to fight! She had been training for a couple of weeks already. Sure, it wasn't a lot of time but even Kuwabara said she was getting better. And he wasn't the type of guy to sugar coat things. She would have to suck it in and go with the punches. Literally and figuratively speaking.
Laughing was heard, coming all around the three. They stopped dead in their tracks, getting into a fighting position. Joann instantly took out the baseball bat and held it in front of her, like a sword. Yusuke and Kuwabara looked around with their fists clenched, ready for a fight.
A bunch of small imp looking demons, dressed in cloaks, came out of nowhere and surrounded the three.
"Fragrant." growled one imp.
"Humans. Fragrant humans!" laughed another.
Joann tightened her hold on the bat and focused on two imps in front of her. Kuwabara and Yusuke backed up until they were back to back with Joann.
"A feast! A feast! Let's eat!" laughed another imp.
One of the imps jumped at Joann. She froze for a minute while the imp was in mid air.
"Scum balls!" Growled Yusuke as he had his own imps to deal with.
He charged forward, bringing his fist back and slamming it into each imp's face.
The shout seemed to snap Joann back to reality. Right in the nick of time too, as the imp was right in front of her. She swung the bat up, hitting the imp in it's gut. Another one jumped at her, making her jump away. However another imp came up behind her and tackled her.
Kuwabara had been able to keep a couple at bay, but was starting to get piled up on by more imps.
"They keep coming!" Kuwabara growled, whacking another away.
However two more took it's place. Yusuke growled as he was starting to have his own trouble.
"They're like ants! Too many of 'em!" Yusuke shouted, punching another in the face.
Joann growled before pushing away from a few imps that had attacked her. She began to swing her bat around, backing up until her back hit a big rock. She gulped as three came straight at her. She closed her eyes taking in a couple of breathes. She needed to calm down. She had to remember her karate lessons. She needed to remember her training with Kuwabara. She needed to stop acting like a little girl and become a badass!
Joann growled before opening her eyes and swinging the bat in front of her. It hit two of them, sending them backwards into a couple more that were coming. However, three more had taken their place.
"They'll overwhelm us!" Kuwabara shouted, as a couple imps had grabbed onto his arm.
Yusuke was shaking off a couple himself. While Joann was trying to knock one off her leg with her bat.
"Hey! If you're having trouble with these low life's, how do you expect to tackle the castle?" came a voice from one of the cloaked imps.
The three looked towards the voice but found all of the imps on the ground. Including the ones who had been ganging up on the trio. Joann looked around and let out a sigh of relief. Yusuke looked around with blinking eyes, while Kuwabara looked around with wide eyes.
"The three of you alone wouldn't get very far anyway." said another cloaked imp, though this one was taller than the first who spoke.
The three stood there and watched as the two removed the cloaks. Yusuke's eyes shined with delight as he recognized the two guys.
"Where'd you come from!" Yusuke asked, dumbfounded.
Kuwabara looked between Yusuke and the two new people.
"What the heck...?" he said a bit confused.
Joann pushed away from the rock and stood next to Yusuke. She noticed the glance from Hiei. It was here she remembered the 'message' she was suppose to tell Yusuke. At remembering she grimaced and sweat dropped.
'Oops...' she thought.
Kurama had noticed the glance by Hiei and the look from the girl. He made a mental note to ask the fire demon about it later.
"Kurama and...Hiei!" Yusuke shouted, walking up to the two.
He never thought he would be so happy to see the little fire demon. The fact the last time he had seen the little devil was when he had threatened Keiko's life. Sure, he almost succeeded. But the fact he was here, with Kurama, well Yusuke figured he was on the good side now. And he was willing to take any help the Underworld sent his way.
"What are you two doing here?" he asked, standing in front of the two.
Kuwabara and Joann were right behind him. Kuwabara giving a look at both guys, eyeing them up. He wasn't sure how he felt about either of them. The short one had a weird vibe to him, while the red headed guy had two different auras. Kuwabara didn't know what that meant but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know or not.
"Heh, community service in lieu of jail time, you might say." Kurama said with a smile.
"We might even get pardons if we help you three out." He added, glancing at Kuwabara and then at Joann.
Koenma hadn't mentioned Yusuke having teammates. Although, the Prince of the Underworld wasn't the type to share too much information, if he could help it. Especially to former criminals to the Underworld.
Yusuke laughed before a wide grin crossed his lips.
"Good ol' Koenma, unpredictable as ever!" grinned Yusuke.
Yusuke turned to looked towards Kuwabara and Joann.
"Kuwabara, Joann, allow me to introduce Hiei and Kurama..." Yusuke said, pointing to each of them.
"Yo." Kuwabara said with a nod.
"Hi." Kurama said with a warm smile and a nod back.
"Sup." Joann said with a two finger salute, as she put her bat back in the bag.
Hiei snorted, making the three look at him.
"You got Kurama's angle, but here's mine. I'm out to snatch the treasure and weapons of the Four Saint Beasts beat me to. So don't expect any help from me, got it?" Hiei snorted.
Joann raised an eyebrow. She didn't think of Hiei as a kleptomaniac. But then again, it seemed like she didn't know anything by all the information she had learned so far.
Kuwabara raised an eyebrow at Hiei. He wasn't sure he could trust the guy. He didn't have a trustworthy looking face, in Kuwabara's opinion.
"What's with the shrimp? He is coppin' a pretty high and mighty attitude?" Kuwabara said, pointing at Hiei while looking at Yusuke.
Hiei narrowed his eyes at the carrot top.
"Does a death wish cause you to speak that way to me?" Hiei asked.
Kuwabara didn't like to be threatened. He didn't appreciate it.
"You don't like it, runt? Tough toenails!" Kuwabara growled, getting into Hiei's face.
Hiei just stood there, looking bored. He knew Kuwabara's type. They talked big but when push came to shove, he'd be the first one to back down at the first sight of trouble. Or that's what Hiei believed from previous experience.
Joann sweat dropped.
"Stop it Hiei. We can squabble after this is finished." Kurama said with a sigh.
He didn't want this to take too long. His mother thought he was out with a couple of friends from school. Technically, if he considered Yusuke a friend, it was true. However, he didn't have much time before he would cause his mother to worry. And she had only gotten out of the hospital. He didn't want to put any stress on her.
Hiei snorted before glancing over to Yusuke. Yusuke blinked at the fire demon. He didn't know why he was getting that look.
"Yusuke I have a score to settle with you." Hiei said, standing in front of Yusuke.
Yusuke looked down at Hiei. Kuwabara hovered over the two boys.
"Don't forget me, short stuff." Kuwabara growled.
Hiei seemed to ignore the carrot top.
Joann sighed before shaking her head. She wished the two would actually get along. Sure, she knew they would sort of gain some respect for each other. It didn't mean it wasn't hard to watch.
"And to add on to the message I left with that girl, watch your back." Hiei said with a growl.
"Yeah, whatever. Frankly I'll take any allies I can get..." Yusuke said before his words sunk in.
"Huh? What message?" Yusuke asked, blinking.
He was confused. He never got a message. Hiei looked confused himself before looking over at Joann.
Everyone was now looking at her. She sweat dropped.
"Ahhh."
"What does he mean? Do you know this shrimp?" Kuwabara asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ah...welllll..." Joann started, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
Kurama seemed to sense the mood and decided to speed up the mission.
"Why don't we discuss this after we get that whistle, hm?" he said with a warm smile.
Joann nodded quickly.
Kuwabara furrowed his eyebrows at Joann.
Yusuke looked between Hiei and Joann and was even more confused. He was curious as to what that message was and when the two had even met. But Kurama was right. They could talk about it after their mission.
"Alright." Yusuke said before turning towards the castle, "Let's go."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Inside the Castle~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It appears the Underworld has refused our demands and resorted to force." came a voice from within the dark corridor.
"It's been awhile since we've had visitors."
A giant creature that looked like a Geodude from Pokemon stood where there was more light.
"Hmph." came from a huge tiger looking creature.
He was a bit bigger than the rock creature and was leaning against a wall; paws folded across his furry chest.
"They hardly seem worth bothering about..."
"What should we do, master Suzaku?" asked another demon.
His skin was blue, but other than that; he appeared human. He turned towards a dark area of the room. In the direction of where the first voice had come from.
A sinister sounding laugh echoed around the room.
"Byakko is right! This hodgepodge band like that isn't worth the bother. They cannot hope to breach our walls. They'll just die at the gate of betrayal." Suzaku said before he and the rest began to laugh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At the Entrance~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That's some entrance!" Yusuke said with a whistle.
The opening was a long dark brick hallway. The opening looked like a skull with it's mouth open wide. There were three big rocks on each side of the opening, looking like boney fingers. They even had a smaller rock in front of each of them, making it look like claws. There were teeth like rocks sticking out from the top of the doorway. It seriously looked like a skeleton monster ready to swallow up the group.
"A long, dark tunnel. Brr..." Kuwabara said, shivering at just the look to the entrance.
"You can say that again..." Joann said looking at it from behind the carrot top.
Kuwabara glanced back at her.
"Are you scared?" he asked with a snicker.
Joann looked up at him before huffing.
"Me? Scared? Naw!" she said, waving her hand in dismissal.
"So that's you just shaking with anticipation?" Yusuke asked, raising an eyebrow.
Joann blinked at him before realizing she really was shaking. She let out a breath before slapping both sides of her face. This had made Kuwabara and Yusuke jump. Kurama just raised an eyebrow at this, while Hiei couldn't help but smirk. He found this girl confusing but he was enjoying her antics.
Kurama gave the girl another look. He couldn't put his finger on this girl. She seemed like not the fighting type. In fact, he was wondering why she was even with the group. The only thing that would make sense would be she was sent by Koenma. A girl like her wouldn't have come at her own free will, or so Kurama believed.
"Okay, so I'm a little scared. But it's not like you aren't." Joann said glaring up at Kuwabara.
Kuwabara huffed before standing up straight.
"As if! I'm a man after all!" Kuwabara said, puffing out his chest and laughing.
Joann and Yusuke sweat dropped. Hiei rolled his eyes and Kurama couldn't help but shake his head. They were certainly an unlikely bunch, that was for sure.
"So let's go." Yusuke said before heading into the dark hallway.
Joann lagged behind, walking close to Kuwabara. It was strange but she felt her spirit awareness spike the moment the group stepped in. She glanced up at Kuwabara. She was just barely able to see his face, despite it being so dark. If she was feeling creeped out, he had to be even worse with his stronger sixth sense. He was doing a good job hiding it.
They began to see some light up ahead, causing the group to let out a sigh of relief. It seemed they all weren't enjoying their little stroll through the darkness. As they were coming up to the exit, Joann felt something that felt like blood lust.
The emotion filled her so much that she jumped and bumped into Kuwabara, who was walking in front of her. Kuwabara jumped and gave a yelp in both surprise and fear. He had been on extra high alert since they entered this creepy tunnel. So the fact Joann had jumped while he was so tense, well he couldn't help the yelp or jump. He growled before turning towards the girl. He thought she was doing it to scare him.
However he noticed she was just on edge as he was feeling. He furrowed his eyebrows. He could tell she seemed to be sensing something. He could feel something too but he wasn't sure what it was but he knew it wasn't good.
"What's up?"
The two looked towards Yusuke, who had stopped and looked at them. All three of the guys were looking at the two, making Joann and Kuwabara sweat drop.
"Nothing..." Joann said with an awkward laugh.
Yusuke wasn't convinced.
"Yeah, sure." he mumbled before giving the two one last look.
The group began to walk towards the exit again.
Joann was even more on edge as they came closer towards the exit. This seemed familiar, although it should have since she had seen this episode. But what happened...
Her eyes widened as she remembered.
"Run!" she shouted before rushing past the group at her full speed, which wasn't too fast.
The four boys blinked at her not understanding why she was running.
"Oii! Joann!" Yusuke shouted before cursing under his breath and running after her.
The rest followed right behind the detective. As they got closer, an eyeball with wings and tentacles appeared in front of the exit opening. Joann growled as she continued to run, picking up her speed.
The group had faltered at seeing the creature but only for a moment before running quicker.
"Heh. Run if you like but no one can escape the gate of betrayal!" the eyeball creature said.
Joann felt her chest began to burn as she was almost out of the tunnel.
"Hurry!" she shouted as she was about to make in.
The eyeball flew over to one of the walls behind him. A small portion of the wall opened up to reveal a lever. Just as he pulled it down, the tunnel shook. The movement of the ground and her fast running caused her to stumble and roll out of the tunnel. The other guys weren't so lucky as it caused them to stop running.
"The ceiling's dropping!" Yusuke shouted, looking up.
Joann sat up and turned just in time to see the ceiling falling towards the guys. She stumbled to her feet and ran back into the tunnel.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Shouted Kuwabara with wide eyes.
Joann didn't seem to be thinking as she skidded to a halt right next to the group, just as the ceiling came down on them. She threw her hands up and stood there, shocked at herself.
'Shit...what the hell was I thinking?! I could have pulled the lever! I'm so stupid!' she thought, mentally kicking herself.
Kurama stared at the girl. She was unpredictable that was for sure.
"Like he said, what the hell are you doing?!" Yusuke growled looking at the girl.
She stood there, holding up her portion of the ceiling, giving them a sideways grin.
"Sorry...I wasn't thinking..." she laughed nervously.
"That's obvious!" growled Kuwabara before grunting at the weight of the ceiling.
"Oh ho! How sweet! That girl wanted to help you all. But in reality she doomed you all! She could have easily saved you all, just by switching this switch right here." the eyeball said, looking at the lever he had pulled.
Joann grimaced. She knew that. She had a chance to save them all and blew it! But her instinct was to help! But what would have helped everyone would have been to pull that damn lever!
"But now you are all stuck there! That gate is keenly sensitive, quite smart, and very wicked. It analyzes the strength of each person and applies the exact amount of pressure that he or she can tolerate. If even one of you relaxes in the slightest-splat!" laughed the eyeball.
"Blast you..." growled Yusuke before grunting at the feeling of the ceiling shifting.
"But that stupid girl sealed your fate! The only way, now would be one of two ways. One of you try and save yourself while the others get flattened. Or if none of you escape than you all die. As you can see, only craven traitors may enter this castle. My money is on the girl being the first to collapse, under the pressure." the eyeball said with a wicked grin.
Everyone growled under the pressure and at his words.
"We-.." Joann growled between clenched teeth.
Everyone turned to look at her.
"We will get out of here, I promise you that! And none of us will betray the others." she growled.
Hiei couldn't help but look at the girl. She had faith in all of them. But he was more shocked that after he attacked her, she trusted him enough to not betray her or the rest of the group.
Kurama also looked a bit shocked. This girl only met the redhead ten minutes ago and she already trusted him. She was either overly optimistic, naive, or both.
The eyeball laughed, causing everyone to turn back to the eyeball.
"Oh ho! Seems like you have some hope. I assure you there isn't." the eyeball said with another laugh.
Joann grunted. She could feel the ceiling adjusting to her strength. But she couldn't slack even for a second. She would find a way to hold up her end. Even though she felt it was going to be hard.
'Why didn't I work on my arm muscles more.' she thought.
Yusuke seemed to be deep in thought as he looked at Joann. It looked as if she wouldn't hold out for too long. He had to think of something and quick. Her words of trusting everyone seemed to click. He turned to Hiei.
"H-Hiei! You're a lot faster than the rest of us! Run out and try to raise that lever by the eye guy!"
Hiei gave Yusuke a look as if the detective had lost his mind.
"Are you outta yer mind, Urameshi! You go! You don't wanna trust that little creep!" Kuwabara growled out.
He wouldn't even let the guy take care of his kitten let alone their own lives!
"So Mr. Flat face is not a complete idiot after all." Hiei said with a snort.
Kuwabara was stunned for a moment before the insult full sank in.
"Mr. Flat face...are you talkin' bout me!" growled the carrot top.
Hiei ignored Kuwabara and looked back towards Yusuke.
"Do you really want to trust me?"
"I can support your share of the weight for a second or two if I give it all I've got. And I'm not the only one." Yusuke said nodding towards Joann.
Hiei glanced at her. She noticed and gave him a weak smile. She already had some sweat on her forehead.
"Go Hiei!" Yusuke said with a smile.
Hiei looked at the detective for a moment before Yusuke turned determined. His entire body began to glow a soft blue as he was able to take some of the pressure off the rest of the group. Joann's eyes widened at how powerful Yusuke's aura was, especially able to hold up so much weight.
Hiei continued to stare at the detective, also feeling the ceiling becoming a bit lighter.
"Just don't take too long, kay?" Yusuke said.
There were a few beads of sweat on his forehead.
Hiei looked at the detective a bit shocked. The ceiling moved another inch, causing the group to grunt. However, Yusuke used a bit more of his power to push it back, but only an inch.
"H-Hiei..." Joann grunted out.
Hiei turned to the girl.
"I-I'm sorry..." she began to say before the weight caused her to grunt.
Hiei didn't know why she was apologizing for.
Joann didn't know what she was apologizing for either. Actually, she wanted to apologize to all of them for coming back and getting stuck with them. She could have prevented this whole debacle if she just ran to the lever and not back into the hallway. Her mom told her that she needed to learn to stop and think instead of instantly acting or speaking. She wished she had listened to her mom.
"Don't apologize to that shrimp!" Kuwabara growled out. "And what are you apologizing for?!"
Hiei just looked at the girl. She was an odd one, even for a human woman. He huffed before vanishing. Yusuke smiled before grunting at the noticeable loss of one of them. He powered up more, now holding his own and Hiei's weight.
Joann felt a bit of relief as Yusuke had taken more of the load. It was still heavy but it wasn't to the point she felt like collapsing.
Hiei had reached the lever within a blink of an eye. He stood there, his hand hovering over the lever. He turned back, looking at Yusuke. The detective looked like a burning blue light bulb. His eyes were squinted and he had sweat dripping down his face. He looked at Yusuke for a moment longer before looking at the rest of the group. Kurama looked as calm as he usually did, although he had some sweat showing on his face. Kuwabara looked frustrated and had as much sweat on his face as Yusuke.
Joann gave the fire demon a nod, sweat coming down her face. Hiei turned back to the lever, his hand still hovering over it.
"What're you waitin' for? Raise the lever!" Kuwabara growled at the fire demon.
"Think it over Lord Hiei. Leave them to their fate, and I will escort you to Master Suzaku. A criminal of your caliber will be given a hearty welcome by the Four Saint Beasts." the eyeball said, leaning towards Hiei.
Hiei's hand still hovered above the lever.
"Yo shorty! You're gonna betray Urameshi's trust just like that?! Even Joann trusted you!" Kuwabara growled out.
Hiei looked over at the detective. Yusuke didn't seem too worried. However, the detective's aura seemed to flux just a bit. It seemed like he could only hold on for a little while longer. He turned to Joann. Her arms were shaking and she looked as if she was getting tired. However she gave him a knowing smile. It seemed she still believed in him.
Hiei didn't know what to think about this girl, let alone the detective. The two trusted him so easily. Even though he had gone after both of them not too long ago. He closed his eyes with a snort. Everyone looked at him, ready to see what he had decided.
After a moment, Hiei opened his eyes.
"What a bunch of morons." he snorted.
"You have no idea!" Hiei said turning towards the eyeball.
Without warning, Hiei swiped his katana at the flying creature. It screamed in agony as it's eye was slashed straight down the middle. The cut wasn't fatal, but it was obvious that the creature wouldn't be able to see correctly for the rest of its life; however long that would be.
Hiei turned back to the lever and pulled it. The ceiling stopped it's crushing.
"It stopped!' shouted a surprised yet relieved Yusuke.
Hiei turned back to the injured flying eyeball.
"Tell your master's, I'll spare their lives if they'll submit to my will! They get one chance to beg for their lives! That's it!" Hiei said, his eyes cold and serious.
The little eyeball flew off, scared.
The ceiling jerked before going back to it's original position. Joann let out a relieved sigh before falling on her knees. She stared down while breathing heavily.
"That was a work out..." she mumbled to herself.
Kuwabara stumbled a bit at the sudden loss of weight. He let out a relieved breath before turning to a panting Yusuke.
"You okay, Urameshi?"
Yusuke shook out his shoulders before standing at his full height. He moved his arms around and stretched them out a bit.
"Whoo! I'll let ya know in a second!" he said, cracking his neck and moving the rest of his body.
Kuwabara nodded before turning towards Joann. He went over to her and knelt down.
"How 'bout you?"
Joann looked up and yelped at how close Kuwabara was to her. She wasn't expecting him to be so close and fell back on her butt.
"Woah! You okay?!" Kuwabara said with wide eyes.
Joann couldn't help but let out an embarrassed laugh.
"Yeah, just caught off guard is all." she said before trying to get onto her feet.
Kuwabara stood up and took her hand. She blinked at it before being pulled up off the floor. Kuwabara had accidently pulled her into a hug. She looked up at him with blinking eyes, mirroring Kuwabara's blinking eyes.
The two began to blush before jumping apart. Joann cleared her throat as she tried to shake the blush away. That had been the closest the two had been since she been in this world. Except when he carried her home. Or the time he tucked her into bed after that long study session. Although she didn't know about that time.
She didn't know why she blushed or acted the way she had. Although, deep down she knew she liked Kuwabara. She had always liked him. He was her favorite character after all! He was actually her first crush...well anime crush. It seemed that it hadn't changed, despite the fact she had been perfectly fine being around him.
Kuwabara didn't understand why he blushed or why he felt his heart skip a beat. He did feel that way the other two times he held her. Well, maybe the first time he held her but she was breathing on his neck! He thought of her as a friend but his gut kept telling him something different. He felt so comfortable around her. Maybe he had gotten too comfortable with her. Maybe he only saw her as one of the guys. Maybe he pushed her away and treated her like one of the guys to prevent his heart from getting broken...
"Okay! If you love birds are done..." Yusuke said with a smirk and a wiggle of his eyebrows.
Both Kuwabara and Joann glared at him, stopping him from finishing up his sentence. He gulped and hid behind Kurama.
Kurama couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
"Hn."
Yusuke blinked before looking towards Hiei.
The fire demon didn't look amused and a bit annoyed. Yusuke grinned before walking up to him. Hiei stared at the raven haired teen, not sure what he was going to do.
Yusuke put his arm around Hiei.
"Good work by the way! You sure made us sweat with that imperious act of yours! You're one supremely twisted guy, m'man." Yusuke said with a laugh.
Hiei grunted before pushing the detective away. Yusuke blinked at him.
"I didn't do it for your sake! This will go faster with back up." Hiei growled before walking towards the exit to the room.
Yusuke watched the demon as he walked away, feeling a bit confused. Kurama chuckled before putting his hand on his shoulder.
"That's his way of saying 'you're welcome'." Kurama said with a warm smile.
Yusuke looked at the redhead before watching the fire demon. Hiei paused and looked back towards Joann and Kuwabara.
"No matter how useless they may be..." Hiei said, looking right at Joann before leaving the room.
Joann saw the look and frowned. Hiei did have a point. She had already screwed up by running back into danger, after falling out of it.
Kuwabara growled, his hands clenched at his sides.
"That dirty..." he growled before looking at Joann.
He knew how hard she worked. He didn't understand why she felt like she had to train. She wasn't much of the fighter type. Sure, she had gotten into a couple scarps and won. But that was a while ago and they weren't anything but the normal thug. This was the major leagues, the big time, the finals! He had fought a demon and she hadn't!
Joann sighed before pulling forcing a smile.
"Well, let's get moving." she said before following after Hiei.
The other three boys looked at each other before following behind her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back In Suyaku's Lair~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The eyeball creature fluttered into the room. He explained what happened and what Hiei had told him.
"They've cleared the gate of betrayal!" shouted a shock Sekiya.
"Hiei wants me to beg for my life!" ground an outraged Byakko.
"I, Genbu, will make them all beg for theirs. Not that I'll listen. Five fresh corpses, coming up!" said Genbu as he melted away into the stone floor below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back With the Group~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I see why this place is called Labyrinth Castle." Kuwabara said as he looked around.
"Find some stairs, that'll take us up." Yusuke said, also looking around.
"Big bosses like to hang out on top floors." he added.
"Like in a video game." Joann said with a laugh.
Yusuke grinned at her and nodded.
"As Botan would say, Bingo!"
It was at this moment, Botan's voice came from Yusuke's pant pocket.
"Yusuke, this is Botan! All's quiet here in the human world, so far."
He jumped with wide eyes.
"Speaking of death..." Joann said with a snicker.
Yusuke made a 'shush' motion to the girl before pulling the communicator out of his pocket. He opened up the small compact looking device.
"Check." Yusuke said with a nod.
"At this point I've managed to nail fifteen roundworm monsters." she said.
"Fifteen out of thousands...drop in the bucket. We gotta hurry and snatch that whistle." Yusuke said, his face turning serious.
"Listen, these parasites only seek out and subdue sinister souls...and there don't appear to be many like that around. Maybe there's more hope for humanity than I thought." Botan said, her eyes catching something.
She saw one of the bugs crawling on the ground.
"Ah!" she shouted before squishing it with her boots.
"Got another one!" she said with a grin.
Her face quickly went back to being serious.
"But this may just be the calm before the storm. So I agree-hurry!" she said.
Yusuke nodded.
"Right." he signed off and put the communicator back in his pocket.
"Okay, the city's safe for now. Let's move." Yusuke said before walking a bit faster.
The five walked in a bit of silence before Yusuke looked at Kurama, who was walking to the detective's right. Hiei had lagged behind, and Kuwabara was to the left of Yusuke, with Joann following right behind the carrot top.
"What do you know about those Four Saint Beasts, Kurama? I mean, I have no idea what we're about to face." Yusuke asked.
"Well, as you may have gathered from the supreme measures the Underworld took to restrict them, they're very dangerous. And they don't look at all human, so brace yourself for that." Kurama said just as they came up to a huge door.
"Such high praise. I blush."
The group stopped at the voice. It sounded like it came from behind huge doors that were in front of them. Without hesitation, Yusuke pushed open the doors. The doors squeaked as they fully open. The group walked through the doors before stopping short.
"This is one of them!" Yusuke said a bit in awe.
There in the middle of the room was a giant, non human, looking rock creature. It had a tail that reminded Joann of Geodude. Two white fangs stuck out from behind it's rocky mouth. The beast was hunched over, his arms hanging as if too heavy to lift them. He had spiked rocks on top of his head like a buzz cut. His back was shaped like a turtle's shell. This was one of the Four Saint Beasts; Genbu the Rock Demon.
Joann didn't remember this episode. It was one of few episodes she missed from the first season. She gulped as she looked at the beast.
"Heh...indeed it is. Welcome, I Genbu, will take good care of you."
(End of Chapter 4)