A/N: What are you reading this for? Don't you want to know what happens next? But since you're here…Someone requested a 'hot' youkai? Heh, that was interesting. I will have to save that 'pervy youkai attempts to use Watanuki as sex-slave' idea for another story.

The two boys stepped into the passageway, pausing briefly to take stock of it. The corridor seemed to stretch on indefinitely, the end being swallowed by the never-ending darkness. Spirit Watanuki vanished from sight as they started moving cautiously. Doumeki couldn't stop a small sound from escaping as the apparition disappeared. Shishimaru looked over at him.

"What?"

"He disappeared." The blonde shrugged.

"He did his job; we're on the right path. What is the use in sticking around? It's the real one we're after"

Doumeki attention was caught by a sudden amplified glow from Shishimaru. The archer watched as a large amount of golden spirit energy gathered at the blond boy's back, surging and flashing briefly before fading away. What remained was a large katana, sheathed and strapped to his back, the tip reaching to his knees. A green dragon design adorned the huge scabbard, with a similar golden design etched into the hilt. Noticing Doumeki's look, Shishimaru shrugged.

"What? It's my Zanpakutou (soul slayer). It uses tons less chi than my bow and arrow. The range is really limited when you compare it to an arrow, of course, but I can fire chi through the tip for short distances and it is crazy effective in close combat. Youkai, whatever the level, always underestimate their opponents, and the first of the enemy we encounter will inevitably be the weakest. With a Zanpakutou, I will conserve on my chi until we get to the higher-ups."

He can form other weapons besides bow and arrows? You've got to be kidding. A Soul Slayer? Give me a break already…Just how far ahead of me is this guy?

"Light years…"

Doumeki's eyes narrowed. Had he spoken out loud? Shishimaru continued flippantly, watching him out the side of his eyes.

"No, you didn't speak out loud, nor did I read your thoughts. But I figured, if I were in your shoes, hearing everything you just heard; I'd be wondering: just how far ahead of me is this guy? The answer to that question, priest, is 'light years'. I'm light years ahead of you, and that gap isn't going to close anytime soon, if any at all."

Doumeki felt his teeth grinding. This bastard… All murderous thoughts the archer was having were broken into by Shishimaru speaking yet again.

"Listen up, until things start getting serious: stay back and let me handle things." A vein threatened to burst in Doumeki's head.

"Like hell…"

"I'm not saying that to piss you off. But this is reality and I am thinking of Kimihiro-chan. I've got a hell of a lot more expendable chi than you have. My stamina is better and I can conserve my energy in a fight."

For someone who wasn't trying to piss him off. This bastard was sure going about it the wrong way.

"…I will manage the small fries that come out first. It makes no sense you start fighting early and run out of energy before the serious dudes start attacking. Not only would that be a pain in the ass if I have to deal with the hard stuff alone; if I let you go and get killed needlessly- I won't be able to look Kimihiro-chan in the face."

Doumeki lost a little of his steam as the sound logic behind the boy's words became evident. That is, until Shishimaru started yammering again.

"Yeah, I want you to die in one of the main fights. Preferable in the boss battle. That way Kimihiro would know that we both did our best and your death was totally honourable and beyond my control."

As the blond boy spoke, Doumeki heard what sounded like shrieking bats approach. Within a few moments, six freakishly large vampire bats came into view. Their fangs were bared as they swooped down heading straight for the two boys. Without missing a beat, Shishimaru unsheathed his Zanpakutou and dispatched two in one swing. The remaining four fell back immediately, shrieking loudly at the yellow flash emitted as Shishimaru swung the huge sword. They circled around apparently appreciating the danger. Before they could retreat much further, two yellow orbs shot rapidly from the tip of the sword vaporizing three of the bats immediately and killing the fourth with splatter damage.

Shishimaru hadn't slackened or quickened his pace during the entire fight, walking steadily forward. Swinging the Zanpakutou unto his shoulder, he resumed nonchalantly.

"Yeah, Kimihiro-chan will be sad. There's no getting around it. I'll probably even have to go to your funeral, showing what a great guy I can be..."

More shrieking, almost deafening this time. Doumeki raised his bow to help incinerate the impossible number of monster bats that were emerging at bullet pace. It appeared like a dark cloud coming at them, one bat indistinguishable from the other until they began to bear down on them. Doumeki formed an arrow quickly and about to fire, Shishimaru just standing immobile as bats sped towards them. Dragging back on the bowstring, Doumeki was about to release.

A large bolt of chi released from the soul slayer, forming quickly into a small concentrated whirlwind. The twister swept in the bats, shredding them swiftly and mercilessly until the last shriek died out. After the last bat fell, decapitated by the high-speed slicing technique, Shishimaru turned to frown at Doumeki.

"Goddamn but your annoying. Didn't you hear anything I said earlier? When and if I need your help, I'll let you know. Geez"

Doumeki rolled his eyes as he dispelled his arrow and resumed walking down the dark passage.

Watanuki blinked wearily as he forced himself to lift his head. He hurt all over, his temples throbbing painfully as tried to make sense of the hazy surroundings. His head, feeling like it weighed a ton, lolled back- resting on the back of the large chair in which someone had placed him. He tried to move and realized he couldn't. Looking down he made of the outline of his hands, fastened to the arms of the throne-like seat with short crystal chains. Though he could not see his feet, but he knew instinctively that they were bond in a similar manner.

Raising his head again, he tried to may sense of the world about him. It was cold, the thin air making it difficult to breathe. A white haze hid everything, except the dozens of pairs of glowing eyes that floated about him, watching him keenly. He could hear sounds: animals, people or both perhaps, grunting and whispering about him. He couldn't believe how much he hurt. It was hard to focus as he squinted, trying to identify anything that would give him some bearing. His lungs felt as if they were burning as the cold air penetrated his being. The white mist shimmered dazzlingly before him, making the weird place seem even less real.

"Where am I?"

A guttural voice responded shortly after. A large shadow approaching out of the mist.

"Our humble lair, Watanuki-sama. I can't tell how pleased we are you have graced us with your presence. I am happy you are finally conscious."

The figure shot forward, suddenly materializing from the fog. Watanuki was in too much pain to react, too heavily drugged from the poison haze that hung about. His breaths came in sharp hiccups as he observed the being before him. A moment where there had been nothing, Watanuki's vision was suddenly filled with the face of a gigantic dog. The black eyes shone as the creature grinned hideously, exposing rows of long razor sharp teeth and fangs, the rancid breath washing over the boy. Only the face was of a dog, from the neck down appearing human but for a thick covering of fur that covered the exposed hands and feet, thick black robes clothing the creature. The being withdrew and stood before Watanuki, looking down at him. It was well over seven feet tall, and Watanuki was horrified to see that another face, identical to the one that spoke, protruded from the back of the first, facing the opposite direction.

A two-headed dog?

"How rude of me. We have yet to introduce ourselves to the honoured guest. We are Janubis, guardians of the shodai mon (first gate)."

"What do you want from me?"

The first head was about to answer when the second spoke up.

"These humans are persistent. It appears they have a bit of spirit power. Even now they still approach."

Humans? Spirit power? …Shizuka?!

"We will not tolerate interruptions. We shall release the hell hounds and crush them now."

The creature backed away and disappeared, swallowed by the mist. Watanuki strained against his restraints, feeling nothing budge as he struggled.

"Wait...WAIT!"

Both Shishimaru and Doumeki heard ferocious barking getting louder as they got closer to their goal. The air was getting thick about them, dark oppressive feelings weighing heavily as walked further. Shishimaru had even stopped merrily fantasizing about Doumeki's death long before as the two boys steeled themselves for the danger they knew was imminent.

As the barking and snarling grew, signifying the imminent appearance of youkai; Doumeki, on sudden inspiration, completely doused the spirit light emanating from him. When the humongous hounds appeared, Shishimaru stood out like a beacon, being the only one radiating spirit energy. The five hounds went for him alone instinctively drawn towards the light. Shishimaru had a split second to understand what Doumeki had done.

Doumeki, you bastard, I'm going to kick your ass back into last week.

The dogs were all chest high, even on all fours and massive- heavily muscled and apparently enraged. Their speed was incredible, far above anything the boys had encountered so far. Their eyes glowed red, their mouths foaming as they snapped at the shining boy, aiming purposefully for his throat.

Shishimaru leapt back, sidestepping continuously as he tried to keep out of the rabid dogs' range. Swinging his Zanpakutou, he managed to cut down the closet one.

One

The second beast simply used the fallen dog as a launch pad to fly a Shishimaru, two other dogs following closely behind. Ducking low, Shishimaru sped forward, thrusting the sword upwards, stabbing the dog fatally in the gut, and then swinging the sword forward as he fired a round of chi. It exploded into the third, the fourth dog whimpering at the sudden burst of heat and scampering sideways.

Two...Three

The fourth dog remained at a distance, growling and arching as it watched the sword. Shishimaru inched forward, trying to get the dog in range for a chi shot. Only it remained to be destroyed.

Wait…I killed three dogs. There were five, right. Where is the fifth?

"WYVERN, BEHIND!!"

Shishimaru spun wildly, blasting off chi randomly. They all missed and the dog was about to latch on to Shishimaru when it was vaporized by a spirit arrow. The fourth dog that had been stalling charged forward. Shishimaru turned in time to block the attack, but was knocked down by the hound. The demon dog stayed on top of Shishimaru, snapping viciously as it tried to reach and tear at any critical point. Shishimaru was managing to keep him off with his sword, but was unable to build enough momentum to push the hound off completely. Doumeki was leaning against the opposite wall, looking intensely amused.

"Hey bastard! Any day now!!"

In answer, a spirit arrow pierced the dog's temple, leaving a panting Shishimaru lying on the ground covered in hell-hound drool.

"My bad, I was just wondering how best to comfort Kimihiro after he learnt of your tragic death by doggie breath."

Shishimaru muttered dark threats as he stood up and tried to clean himself off. He dispelled his Zanpakutou and formed a chi bow.

Looks like they're finally getting serious.

Both boys looked down the end of the corridor. An opening with a pale white light could now be seen. Doumeki stiffened as the apparition of Watanuki reappeared, tugging hard at the red string which appeared once again about his pinkie. Shishimaru's eyes widened as he stepped forward.

"Kimihiro-chan?!"

"You can see him?" Shishimaru paused, realizing that the apparition was not the real boy.

Spirit Watanuki was frowning slightly at both of them, tugging harder.

"I think we better hurry."

"Yeah"

Both started running hard towards the glowing entrance. Doumeki stopped briefly when he was abreast of the summoned spirit. Turning to the vision, Doumeki regarded him for a moment. The spirit seemed to wait, understanding Doumeki's thoughts before he even spoke.

"When the time comes, I-I..." I just need one thing…

The spirit regarded him sadly for a moment, nodded and then vanished. Shishimaru skidded to a halt and yelled back at him.

"Why are you wasting time, idiot? I told you it's the real one we're after. Let's go already."

Doumeki didn't hesitate further, quickly catching up quickly to Shishimaru; the two boys ran the last few feet towards the pale light. Together they leaped; loudly crashing through the spirit barrier they knew instinctively would be there.

Yelling wildly, the two boys fell a sort distance and landed with a heavy thud, right at the clawed feet of the demigod Janubis.

A/N: Ah, but there is no justice in the world. The day I can get a guy or two to go through a fraction of what these two idiots are willing to go through, for me… (sigh) But who am I kidding. Thank goodness for the great wide world of fan fiction.
Let me just clear up one thing quickly. If any of you are fans of 'Bleach' or any similar anime and started going crazy the moment I wrote the word 'Zanpakutou', let me nip it in the bud…It's just a regular-ass Zanpakutou. No shikai, certainly no bankai, no crazy cool avatars…just a sword he uses to save energy. In any event, it's plain old spirit arrows from here on out. (That's all the spoilers you are getting).
Janubis is a conglomeration of two mythological figures: Janus-the two faced Roman god, and Anubis, the jackal-headed Egyptian god who leads the dead to judgement. Hence Janubis- the two-headed dog-faced demigod, heh.
I just realized that had I put it in the reverse direction...it would be the Anus: two-headed dog-faced demigod who was mercilessly teased in high school...not good, not good..