Hi Hi! This is a longer chapter. That's why it took a little longer for me to upload.

Anyways, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.

And, of course, thank you everyone who reviews! And thank you everyone who's still reading this! It's a strange story, I'm sure, but... Thank you! :D

Alrighty then! I'll shut up so you can read Chapter 9! Enjoy!

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"Shura was born?"

My father nodded. "And he has you to thank for that."

"What do you mean? I didn't do anything..."

"That's not true. You protected him. If it wasn't for you, Shura would be dead right now."

Okay. He'd lost it. I didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about, and I wasn't sure if he did either. I had been unconscious for a week. How could I have done anything to protect my brother during that time?

My father interrupted my thoughts and explained. "Hiei's original purpose for coming here while I was gone was to kill Shura."

I blinked. "But how did he find out about Shura? I don't remember you showing them or telling them anything..." Then I remembered Hiei's Jagan eye. It allowed him to see and find just about anything. I wondered if Mukuro had come here with him with the intent to search for someone or something like Shura. That was a very good possibility.

I didn't want to think about it anymore. It was done and over with. If anyone tried to kill my brother, I would defend him with my life. End of story.

My father pulled me onto his lap and sat up, hugging me. I hugged his neck and closed my eyes, thinking of more positive subjects. I don't know how long we stayed like that, because after a while, I fell asleep.

I was alone. The castle was empty. No guards. My father and my brother weren't even there, yet I didn't panic. I felt as though I knew where everyone had gone to, and that they were not really too far away.

I roamed the empty halls, stopping at the door to my room. I wasn't quite sure if I should go in. It felt like something was pulling me to go in, but I wasn't sure if that something was bad or good. I went in anyway.

There was someone standing there in the middle of my room. Someone I knew. It was Hiei.

I walked closer to him, calm. I got the feeling that it was okay that he was there. He wasn't paying attention to me. Instead, he was staring at my closet door, his crimson eyes narrowed. After a moment, I realized that the something that had been drawing me to my room earlier was not Hiei. I didn't know exactly what it was, but it was coming from my closet. As I took a step toward my closet door, Hiei moved his arm to stop me.

"Don't."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Something bad."

I blinked and wondered if it was something that was bad for just him or just me. It was probably something just bad for him considering he didn't go near it and didn't want me to go near it. After all, he disliked me, and if it were a bad thing for me, I was sure that he'd enjoy nothing more than to see me deal with it. Chances were that he, being the jerk that he was well-known to be, would let it loose on me, and then leave me to fight it myself. Fight whatever it was.

Well, I'd get him before he got me. I moved his arm and grabbed the handle to the door of my closet and slid it open.

"Baka!" he grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him and drew his sword. Was he seriously going to protect me? No, this was a joke. Then again, I didn't get the feeling that it was a joke. Maybe I shouldn't have opened the door after all...

Suddenly, it became cold. Out from the closet emerged a shadow-like form. It was almost like fog, having no distinct shape, but it didn't spread out. I got a bad feeling from it and started to shake, unsure if it was more from the cold or from fear. Hiei took a step back, pushing me back as well.

I knew that there was no way that Hiei could fight this thing. It was intangible. How can one fight something that can't be touched?

My body hit a wall. This wasn't good. Hiei sliced at the fog-like creature with his sword, and, like I thought, hehad no luck. He kept trying, but it was useless. The fog was terrifying, and I didn't even know why. I started shaking more.

Hiei jumped toward it, attempting to push it back with his body. Instead he went straight through it, or at least seemed to. I couldn't see him anymore after that. It was as if he'd vanished, but why? Now I was alone in front of the creature. It came toward me slowly.

I screamed.

I was being shaken. I shrieked and thrashed my limbs, trying to get away from whoever had their hands on me. It was dark, obviously late at night. I couldn't see, and that made me panic even more.

"Rein! Stop! You're okay! It's okay!" A voice was shouting to me, but I was in too much of a panic to be even a little bit sensible. I pushed myself as hard as I could away from the arms that were trying to hold me, causing myself to fall over the edge of the bed I'd been laying on, and crash to the floor.

Suddenly, the room was filled with light. My father stood at the doorway facing me.

Slowly but surely, I calmed myself down. My father then walked in my direction, cautiously, with his arms open. I got up and ran into his embrace, clinging to his neck when he lifted me up.

"It's okay dearest. It was a dream and it's gone now." He kissed my cheek and rubbed my back. Then he walked over to his bed and attempted to get me to release his neck. I didn't budge, so he picked me up again and turned out the lights, laying himself on the bed. I was on top of him.

"It's okay." He repeated. "I'm right here. Don't fret."

I closed my eyes. "Father?"

"Yes?"

"Please don't leave me..."

"I never intended to." he was stroking my hair, which relaxed me and made me feel tired.

"Daddy?" I said drowsily.

"Yes?"

"Sorry for... Waking you..."

"Rein, if you ever have a problem or nightmare, feel free to wake me. I don't care if you simply stub your toe, I'll still comfort you," he kissed the top of my head. "Now, enough talk. Go to sleep. I'll be right here the entire time."

I didn't argue.

When I awoke, my father was still holding me. It was comforting to know that he really hadn't left me throughout the entire night, or at least what had been left of it. I yawned and stretched, rolling off of him. He rolled onto his side and pulled me close, kissing the back of my head, as I wasn't facing him.

"Did you sleep well?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"No more nightmares, I hope."

"Nope. Not a one."

He smiled. "I'm glad."

We lay there in silence for a spell. Then he rolled me over so I was facing him. I blinked, confused.

"Is something wrong, father?"

He sighed. "Rein..."

"Yes?"

"Today is going to be the last day that we're going to have to ourselves. By that, I mean it will be just you and me."

Huh? "What do you mean, father?"

"From tomorrow until the tournament, I'll be training Shura. He's going to be... Helping me, in a sense."

"Might I help too?"

He shook his head. "No, and I'll explain why: Shura is today what I was in my youth: Arrogant. He's extremely stubborn, and thinks he can take on the world, despite his lack of experience. That kind of attitude cost me my eyesight, but fortunately, not my very life."

"What does that have to do with Shura?" I asked. I didn't want to think about my father almost dying. It was depressing.

"Shura needs to learn the lessons of loss and defeat before he suffers what I've suffered, or worse."

Or worse...I didn't want to think about that either.

He continued. "So I'm using this tournament as a means of teaching him the things I had to learn the hard way. He'll be upset for a while when he loses, but it'll help him in the long run."

"You want him to lose? I thought you wanted him to help you?"

"The more demons he defeats, the less I'll have to fight. This will increase my chances of victory, maybe not by much, but every little bit counts. No doubt Raizen's heir and Mukuro will do the same thing."

"So wait, how do I not fit into the "helping my father" category?"

He sighed again and sat up, pulling me onto his lap, still facing him. "Rein, sweetheart... These demons, the ones that are going to be competing in the tournament, are going to be powerful. They wouldn't show mercy, nor would they hesitate to kill you."

"So, it's okay for Shura to die? Wouldn't they kill him?"

"That's different."

"How so?"

"Shura's a child, so they may not kill him out of pity. If he were to be killed, however, his death would probably be instantaneous. Yours, on the other hand, would not."

"What do you mean?"

He got up, setting me on the bed, closed the door to his room, and locked it. He turned toward me and got into a fighting stance. "Come at me, Rein."

I blinked, perplexed. "Father?"

"I'm going to prove a point. Come at me like you would another demon if you were in the tournament. I'll give you an idea of what they would do to you."

"Wha...?"

"I'm serious, and I apologize in advance for what I'm about to do. But believe me, what I do will be nothing compared to what they would do. Understand?"

I nodded and stood. "What about the furniture?"

"Furniture is replaceable. You, on the other hand, are not. Just think of the furniture as terrain obstacles. Rocks, trees, whatever you so choose. Now, attack me!"

I ran at him, drawing energy to my hands and attempted to hit him with physical attacks. He seemed to disappear. I turned, and there he was.

"Too slow." he grabbed one of my arms and threw me across the room. I hit the wall hard and crashed onto one of the nightstands. As I started to get up, my father kicked me into another wall.

"They won't give you a chance to get up!"

He demonstrated that point again, when I tried to stand. He punched me in the face, then my stomach. I started to cough; my nose was bleeding. I didn't even bother trying to get up again. He grabbed my hair and pulled me up.

"Do you honestly think they'd stop when you were down? Wrong." He threw me roughly to the ground, and I landed hard on my back. He got down on his hands and knees over me and pinned my wrists above my head, and used his legs to force my legs apart. I tried to break free, but it was no use.

"Rein, you know that I would never do this to you, but they would! And all of the Makai would have a front row seat! Would you like for everyone to watch you get raped?"

I shook my head, starting to cry.

"That's not all. Right now, it's simply you versus me, but in the actual tournament, there would be many more combatants against you. Do you know what that means?"

I gulped, the tears running down the sides of my face.

"That means they'd take turns with you! And there would be no one there to help you! I wouldn't be able to stop them, nor would Shura. You'd be on your own! Even if they didn't kill you, Rein, you'd still be scarred for life! Do you really think these events would help me in the tournament? Do you think that watching you get hurt like that, and knowing that there was nothing I could do to help you, would help me?"

I shook my head. "Stop... Please, Daddy... Stop..."

He let go of me and moved back. I sat up and crawled to him and clung to him and cried into his shoulder. He kissed my head and held me tight. It took me some time to calm down, and when I finally did, my father apologized.

"Can you ever forgive me?" he wore the saddest expression. I nodded.

"You did what you had to, father... I understand completely now, why I cannot fight..."

"Good... I just wish I hadn't explained it that way... I hate to see you cry..."

"It's okay. I'll be fine, I promise."

After that we were both silent for a few moments. Finally, my father picked me up and took me to a healer, who healed my scratches and bruises.

Neither of us answered the healer when he asked what had happened.

Afterward, my father carried me to the training room to meet my brother. He set me down and the first thing I did was hug Shura. He did look like my father, except that he had a different eye color than my father said he'd had before he became blind.

Also, my father had been right. Shura acted as though he could take on the world.

"Stop hugging me." He pushed me away. "I'm not a little kid!"

"Shura, this is Rein, your sister." my father said.

"I know father." he then pointed at me. "I'm gonna be stronger than you! Stronger than both of you! I'll defeat everyone in the tournament! You'll see!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Shura was so cute. He started to yell at me for laughing, and I stopped after a few moments.

"I will be stronger than you!" he announced again.

I smiled. "I'm sure you will be." That wasn't a lie.

We visited and talked for quite some time before my father decided I needed some rest. I hugged Shura one last time before my father and I left the room. He didn't try to push me away that time. As my father and I walked to his room, my father took my hand and pulled me close.

"Rein."

"Yes, father?"

"Scratch what I said earlier. Tomorrow will be the last day you and I will spend together until after the tournament."

I nodded. I wasn't going to argue with that.

His room had been put back together while we were gone. He lay on the bed and pulled me into his arms.

"I'm going to warn you now, Rein..."

"Hm?"

"After tomorrow, you'll probably be sore for a month."

"Why's that, father?"

He kissed my cheek and pulled the covers over us. "You'll see."

I closed my eyes and snuggled closer to him. Tomorrow would be a good day. I was sure of it.

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Well, there's chapter 9 for you! Chapter 10 is going to be... Uploaded soon! :D

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review! Remember, reviews make my day(s)! :)

Until next time, see ya!