Chapter 7

The forest was darkening into twilight, as Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama arrived in the alleged vicinity of the Demon's stronghold. The trees were quiet of wind and the animals were no where to be seen or heard. It was complete silence aside from group approaching. Life seemed to be drained from the surrounding area. The trees and plants grew darker as if the air itself seemed to become potent with the invisible, poisoned aura.

'The air is stifling…' thought Kurama as he entered the area just behind the others.

"Come on, Kuwabara! Turn on your head and find this place already so I can finally get some action!" demanded Yusuke as he followed Kuwabara down a less then dependent path.

"I'm trying, ok!" groaned Kuwabara. "It's not as easy as it looks! This Demon must be masking his energy or something, cuz I can't get anything…" he finish tapping his head.

"What good was it to bring you in the first place then!" argued Yusuke. "Your hobbling slowed us down and now you can't even find the stupid Demon!"

"Hey! At least I am doing something other then being a stupid tag along who whines like a mule!" answered Kuwabara pointing at Yusuke. "Not like your puny Spiritual Awareness could find them without me anyways!"

"What was that!" yelled Yusuke as he balled up his fists ready to strike.

"That's enough you two…" said Kurama softly. "Arguing like that is not going to find our foe. We need to figure out another way of tracking them if we are going to succeed…" he finished as Yusuke and Kuwabara huffed and turned from each other. 'How else can we find someone who is hiding their power so completely?' he thought to himself.

"Let's hurry up and keep looking. This place is giving me the creeps…" said Kuwabara looking around at the darkening trees.

"What? Afraid of being in the woods at night?" taunted Yusuke.

"Hey! That's not what I mean!" defended Kuwabara.

"Right!" Yusuke teased.

"No. You are on to something Kuwabara" Kurama interrupted, confusing the others.

"What do you mean, Kurama?" asked Yusuke becoming serious again.

"It seems darker here then it should at this time. The air is not moving and there is not even an insect in sight. Something in this area is not supposed to be…" Kurama finished while looking around.

Yusuke looked around carefully agreeing with his companion. 'Damn… He's right. Something isn't right here…' he thought.

Kuwabara concentrated even harder then before to find the source of what was making him uneasy. Just then there was a power surge emanating just a few miles away. It was like it was fighting against a wall. Then, the wall broke, just for an instant. It revealed what was inside right before repairing itself. All was still again except for Kuwabara's mind. The power inside the wall was massive. 'It's like a void of energy… It feels like it never ends…' he thought to himself.

"What is it? Did you find something?" asked Yusuke looking at the suddenly distraught face of his rival.

"It's… It's… Massive" was all Kuwabara could get out of his mouth. His body was shaking and his mind was racing. 'How could I have missed that?' he thought erratically. "A wall…" he put together what he had felt.

"A wall?" asked Yusuke even more confused.

Kurama was looking intently at Kuwabara. He thought he had felt something a few miles away, but it disappeared before he could read what he was feeling. 'Kuwabara's senses must be getting stronger' Kurama thought to himself.

"Yeah…" answered Kuwabara, "There is a wall, an invisible one. Well, more like a bubble or a dome maybe…" he thought hard for a second before continuing. "Anyways, It's hiding something big. Bigger then anything we have ever seen before…" he finished looking grave.

"Really? Guess I am just going to have to test that!" said Yusuke punching his fist into his hand in excitement.

"No, Yusuke. If Kuwabara is even half right, we need to use caution. There is more to this then meets the eye," said Kurama as he lost himself in his thoughts.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Yusuke.

"What was the intelligence of the Demon we received from Koenma?" asked Kurama trying to cover his slight blunder that could possibly interest Yusuke into asking unnecessary questions.

"Umm… that he was an 'A' class demon who recruited that thief of ours to steal some artifact that would give him more power, or something like that…" answered Yusuke not really caring if he was right.

"From the description Kuwabara has given from what he sensed, we can safely say that this is more then an 'A' class demon. Only 'S' class and above can erect a wall of that sort that can hide their energy completely" Kurama finished hoping he got his point across.

"So it still stands that we need to find this Demon and kick his ass before he does anymore damage, am I right?" inquired Yusuke.

"Well, in layman's terms, I guess that is correct, but I still suggest caution. We have no idea what we are up against, since we now can't rely on the intelligence Koenma gave us" said Kurama.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… Caution… Right…" said Yusuke, brushing off Kurama's warnings. "Which direction did you sense the energy in, Kuwabara?" asked Yusuke eagerly.

"Umm…" Kuwabara thought hard. "That way…" he said pointing south.

"Alright guys! Let's go! Can't wait around all day and let him get away again!" said Yusuke as he jumped into a run towards the barrier.

"Yusuke, we must think this through before acting or we could all risk our lives needlessly!" yelled Kurama as he pursued he hot headed friend.

"Hey, guys! Wait up!" called Kuwabara as he ran, hobbling after his companions.


The first set of guards was easily disposed of. A swift run through was all that was needed and they never rose again. Their bodies lay slain; the smell of demon blood filled the air and stained the grass. But he was not here to destroy these weaklings, he had a mission. He entered a pair of splintered doors into a large hallway. 'I have to find her first…' was his only thought. Hiei had no idea why he needed to bring her to safety so badly, but the urge to do so was over powering.

'I will find out why she is so important, or I swear I will kill her myself… Not many are worth this much trouble…' was his thought while he took out another group of guards.

An alarm began to sound making him stop in his tracks. 'I better keep a lower profile. Things will be easier if I find her first and then rid this place of its goons and its master' he thought continuing to search for her energy with his mind. Hallways and doors flew by as he kept to the shadows; searching.

The cloud of energy began to shift suddenly. It became more concentrated as if it was being absorbed by some sort of force. The power of it was nearly immeasurable by his senses. 'This energy is nearing the limit of even the Demon Gods of the Makai. How is that possible? It's as if there is no end to it…' Hiei thought as he now became uneasy about his chances about taking it on.

The energy of this Demon was too potent for him to locate Kori's aura this close. He would have to use his third eye to find her, but if he did the energy signature he would give off would make him easier to find and he didn't want to be found yet. 'How can I find her without it?' he asked himself as he thought about the times he encountered her.

The hallway flying by melted away and her determined face came to his mind as she tried to fight him on equal ground the first time. Her eyes flashed with excitement and the will to defeat him. He almost smiled as he thought about how hard she tried fighting against a more powerful foe with no hope of winning. He knew now it was the fight that drew her and not the prize she held in her possession. But how were these memories going to help him find her? He thought harder, 'Her energy is different, but not unlike Demon energy… But also not unlike Spiritual energy…' The two energies were on different wave lengths so that they can be easily distinguished. 'How can I use that to my advantage?'

Then it hit him. He was going about it the wrong way. Her energy was like the other two but had something different about it. It was the existence of a different wave length all together; a different sort of energy. He didn't realize this till now because the presence of it was very subtle and hard to remember. It was this energy that led him to sense the deeper energy inside of her which over powered anything else his senses detected.

'How could I have forgotten that?' he scolded himself. He jumped up into an opening in the ceiling that was hidden by shadows and began to concentrate on locating the extra energy he remembered from his first encounter with the girl. Pushing out his senses, he scanned the vicinity nearest to him and found nothing. Frustrated he pushed out as far as he could and still there was nothing. He knew she was here but where? Sighing he relaxed and gave it one last try. Suddenly, it was there; small but there. It wasn't too far away either. Before he could think about his next move his muscles contracted and he was off with blinding speed.


It felt like hours that she laid there on the over sized bed with her knees to her chest and her arms raw from trying to free herself from her bindings. Kori had all but given up on her predicament. 'I still have time…' she thought as she continued to pull and wrench at her bindings. Her arms protested with pain and blood, but it was nothing like the fiery touch of her captor. She bore it with eagerness as she continued to try to get free. More of her strength was leaving her, being sucked out for some reason. Her struggling became weaker and weaker until she was unable to even lift her elbow in protest of her trapped arms. Her eyes were starting to shut slowly. Her weariness was beginning to over power her will. All her body wanted to do was to enter a deep and satisfying slumber, but her mind concentrated on her situation.

'Why can't I get out of this?' she thought bitterly to herself. 'Why am I so weak?' She demanded, but had no answer. She balled herself up as tightly as she could as she fought the sleep her body craved. 'There has to be a way out of this… I can't let him… have me…' she concluded in disgust. Her body shivered. It was getting harder to stay awake; she could no longer move her feet and legs; they were paralyzed with the stiffness of unconsciousness.

'I'm so… tired…' she thought as the candles began to die away. Darkness soon defiled her dungeon, save one candle just above her. She began drifting off to an unsettled slumber in her new abode as the shadows seeped into her mind. They became like dark water clinging to her psyche, submersing her into oblivion.

It felt like hours but minutes had only passed when a sound came into the room. It was the door gently closing shut. Quick footsteps passed the distance to the bed and a weight applied itself to the opposite side.

Her body was paralyzed from stiffness and her mind was swimming in exhaustion. 'This is it…' she thought, 'I can't fight anymore…' Just then warm hands embraced her, turning her body to face their owner. The last image she saw was a familiar pair of brilliant, crimson eyes.