Changing Death

Had some struggle keeping Keiko and Shizuru consistent, and I'm not sure why. They're both a lot harder to write than they have any reason to be.

14: First and Final

(In Vain - Mad at Gravity)

-July, 1993-

"No," said Kurama.

Koenma looked as though he might have an apoplectic fit. "What?" he squeaked, crunching a fistful of paper in one tiny hand.

"No," Kurama repeated, calm and unmoved before the display of shock. "I will not. The length of time I would be gone would seriously threaten the stability of my life in the human world, and it would be difficult at minimum to find a plausible excuse that would not make my mother worry. You have other spies. I suggest you use them." He turned neatly on one heel and began to walk out.

He was able to parse out an array of fascinating noises, some of which he wasn't sure a humanoid throat ought to be able to produce, as his first few even steps cast soft, clapping echoes against the smooth walls. He knew the prince wasn't done begging yet, and he expected there to be words after the noises in question; he did not, however, expect them to be a threat.

"Don't you walk out on me! Stay put or I'll have you arrested!"

Those particular words were enough to give Kurama significant pause―almost furious, laced with panic, and very uncharacteristically aggressive―and he did indeed halt, turning just far enough that he could give the illusion of facing his boss without actually doing so.

He replied, somewhat archly, "And what purpose would that serve? I am already under parole, and arresting me would only deprive you of my presence on this mission anyway. The terms of my release state that you will not imprison me unless I break Reikai law, and I find ignoring your whims to be somewhat less than that." The reprimand rolled out deceptively smooth and mild, backed by enough warning that only a true imbecile would not have picked up on it.

Koenma was not an imbecile, as immature as he often acted, and his expression said so, shuttling between abruptly abating anger and realization of his mistake. He pushed ahead anyway, doggedly, changing his tack now that Kurama was no longer departing. "Yes, well, perhaps that was a bit extreme." He cleared his throat as if it would somehow cover his loss of momentum.

"Yes," agreed Kurama genially. "Perhaps."

"But I'm serious when I say that I need you on this mission," Koenma insisted, matching his demeanor to his claim. "My usual spies don't have your finesse or your experience, and I've already lost one. I won't deny it's dangerous, but I wouldn't ask you if it weren't important."

"Espionage is not my area of expertise, you know."

"I know, but you hid yourself so well from me after you became Shuuichi Minamino, even while you were reacquiring your plant control, that I know you're up to it."

Kurama smiled without humor. "It was no great task to hide from you when you weren't looking for me. You believed I was dead, and had no reason to suspect I was living as a human instead." He was growing bored with this conversation rather rapidly, and decided to give Koenma another few sallies before he left, with or without consent (although getting to the fixed portal would be irritating indeed, as it was hours away even at a dead run). Accepting this mission was not required by his parole―while Koenma could command him to risk his life in order to help Yuusuke, this was clearly not a Reikai Tantei assignment, and he would not be bullied or cajoled into something so clearly detrimental to his interests.

"There's a mandatory search sent out on all missing souls," Koenma responded.

"It's clearly not very effective."

"That's not the point!" A high note cracked through that last word, making Koenma sound almost hysterical, which wasn't far off the mark; though he was controlling it better than when he'd threatened to arrest Kurama, it was plainly visible beneath the surface. "The point is that I need you to do this, and I'm willing to agree to whatever compromise you want!"

Now that was interesting. Kurama completed his turn to face Koenma directly.

"Fifteen years' shortening of parole for both Hiei and myself."

He saw Koenma's face lose some color, and knew exactly why. That would shrink the parole's extension down to a scant few years more, and after that point, the Reikai would lose Hiei as a defender for certain. The fire demon would immediately relocate back to the Makai and would probably not deign to show his face in the Ningenkai more often than twice or three times yearly, and then only to visit Yukina. As for Kurama, while he would continue to aid Yuusuke out of loyalty, and for the debt he still owed, Koenma would no longer have any leverage over him whatsoever. Short of flagrantly breaking Reikai law, he would be free to do as he wished. He could even go back to thieving if it took his fancy, provided he stayed out of the palace vaults.

There was an interval of silence, and then Koenma said, "Done."

And just like that, what had been intended as a preliminary offer for negotiation had been accepted, and his commitment secured. Only centuries of practice kept bald surprise from his face. Perhaps he should have asked for reduction to time served. He had to accept the mission now―this was too good an offer to disregard.

"Then allow me two days to make arrangements at home, and I will go."

The room's tension dropped; Kurama could swear he heard an audible thunk. Reikai's prince, however, said nothing further to him, and only nodded his agreement. Kurama nodded back. It was settled.

He would have plenty of time to wonder later on why Koenma had been so pliant, and why this mission was so vital. The explication would no doubt be entertaining.

-o- -o- -o- -o-

Yuusuke perched on the oar behind Botan, sandwiched between his companions with Kuwabara breathing rankly down his neck, and keeping a keen lookout with sight and ki to see if he could spot any sign of Kurama. Although, if Botan hadn't detected him with the compass yet, it was probably useless; with a radius of twenty miles, the equipment had a much better range than his senses. They had begun at the edge of the forest, near the ruins of the ice village, and made several sweeping passes westward, looping around to cover as much ground as possible. Now they were just reaching the Plains of Waste, as Botan had named them―after four hours of searching.

That was four hours of Kuwabara complaining, Botan muttering under her breath, and the oar handle digging into a very delicate area of Yuusuke's anatomy. He was reaching the point where he seriously considered just giving the other boy a shove and seeing if he managed to land on his head. Given that the compass had a better range than Kuwabara, too, it wasn't like it would matter.

Fortunately for Kuwabara (although unfortunately for Yuusuke's indulgence of pissiness), they finally had a break.

"I've got a reading!" Botan's voice was excited and apprehensive at once, peering at the small wristwatch-sized screen. "He's pretty close!"

"I thought you said that thing works at twenty miles!" Not that I'm complaining―

"It does, but it did this last time, too; he must be masking his ki. He's only a mile from here at the furthest." But then she peered closer yet, and her brow furrowed. "I'm also getting some interference from that area. It looks like there are some really strong demons there, and they're close enough to him to be disrupting the signal."

"Fuck!"

Kuwabara was startled so badly, leaned over to try and see the compass, that he nearly lost his grip on the oar and gave Yuusuke the opportunity to try his experiment after all. "Hey, Urameshi!"

"He's been found, dammit!" I knew it. Fuck, fuck, fuck. We're already too late to get him back to the Ningenkai―now we're gonna have to rescue his ass from them without getting ourselves killed.

"How do you know he isn't hiding with some friends?" Kuwabara, as usual, played devil's advocate to Yuusuke out of pure spite (although he was usually right anyway, his spirit awareness giving him an unfair advantage). "Maybe he's fine, ever think of that?"

But Botan was shaking her head, eyes frightened, indicating that as often as Kuwabara turned out to be correct, now was not one of those times. "I knew he was close to where Gendou and Donari live, but I didn't think he'd come all the way here. We're almost right above their house. It must be them―no other demons would dare." She watched the twitching needle of the compass with a fixed gaze.

"Well we'll just have to kick their asses and rescue him!" proclaimed Kuwabara, brushing off the humiliation of being so quickly proven wrong with typical brash determination. "We'll have him home before midnight, for sure!"

The ferry-girl shot him a glance, finally looking at something other than the compass for the first time on this entire jaunt. "I don't think now's the time to be overconfident!" she snapped. "We're almost there, and they're a lot stronger than you think they are! You should get Kurama out of there as quickly as possible, and avoid fighting them any more than you have to!"

We can't fly over them, Yuusuke suddenly thought, his training kicking in. We'll need to be on the ground before they see us, or they could shoot us out of the air. He cut off Kuwabara's reply with a curt command: "Set us down, Botan!"

"Right!" He received the same glare she'd given his friend, but no argument, and she complied immediately.

Once on the ground, Yuusuke wasted no time, pelting as quickly as his legs would move him in the direction of the compass reading.

This sucks, this sucks, this sucks―I hope he's not hurt already… Botan's advice completely notwithstanding, there was no way they were getting Kurama out of this one without a knock-down, drag-out fight, not if the enemy was strong enough to have set every demon for miles running scared. Besides that, it would be stupid not to take them out while they had the opportunity; they'd just come after Kurama again, and why the hell hadn't he stayed in the human world? Why even get near the monsters who were hunting for him? Hiding places or not, this was about the most nonsensical strategic move Yuusuke had seen Kurama make since the Tournament―which, in retrospect, was not at all a good sign.

Things can't possibly be that bad again. They're never going to be that bad again. I'll burn down the Makai before I let everything go to hell like it did then. But if Kurama's acting like this when we haven't even started fighting yet―

He was nearing a tall hill, and his own internal ki meter spiked; he realized with a painful jerk of his stomach that Kurama wasn't masking his ki. It was depleted. He could feel it fluctuate―

The aroma of battle, stung through with smoke, reached Yuusuke's nostrils as he crested the hill, and he beheld the scene he had feared he would, not a hundred yards away. Kurama was already battered, bleeding and stumbling, wielding his rose whip in desperate, jerky movements utterly unlike his usually fluid grace, and it was clear that he would last little longer against the pair of apparitions before him.

And they―they were so small that Yuusuke had to blink as he ran to make certain that they were really the menace his friend faced. Oh, one was decently sized for a demon, he supposed, but the woman was diminutive as Yukina, and nearly as pretty. Somehow, he had envisioned them both as enormous hulking monsters like Toguro.

Stupid, he berated himself as he dashed ever closer. Kurama's powerful as hell, and he doesn't look like it. Since when has anyone really powerful been like that except for Toguro?

Such thoughts were wiped from his mind as a slashing blow knocked the kitsune to his knees, sending blood splashing in a playful arc through the air. "Kurama!" Yuusuke shouted, putting on another burst of speed and readying his reiki for an attack. His feet flew over the hard-baked sand.

All three heads jerked up and swiveled to face him as his voice echoed across the expanse between them. He saw Kurama take advantage of the distraction to spring back out of reach, pull a seed from his hair, and shout hoarsely in response, "Yuusuke! You must leave immediately! This is not your fight!"

Kuwabara was behind him, as was Botan; he heard them gasp in exertion or dismay. He almost grinned at the rank surprise with which the trio was greeted―the attacking demons did nothing for one moment but stare blankly. It was the perfect time to ignore Kurama.

"Screw that!" Yuusuke hollered, and threw back his head. "Reigan!"

-o- -o- -o- -o-

Kurama had only a split second to throw up a ki shield around himself and his last remaining plant before the blue-white energy detonated over everything, showering debris and rocking the ground like an earthquake. It battered his hasty construction and left him gasping for air, the seed knocked from his hand and lost in the dirt. His power was low, and he could not afford this expenditure―this fern was his last viable diversionary plant, which he could not replace if it were to be destroyed. He felt his anger rising, and lost his temper for one moment.

"Damn it, Yuusuke!" he yelled into the keening wind of the back-blast. "I told you to leave!"

The detective didn't seem to hear him at all, no wonder why with the ringing explosion. He was still racing over the plain, skidding down the last of the small hills with one of those big, silly grins plastered on his face below much more serious eyes. To Kurama's dismay, he was not alone―Kuwabara was there, and Botan (of all people) was right on their heels. The ferry-girl seemed to be spiraling up to a safe distance in the air, and the two boys began to automatically split up and head for one opponent each. Yuusuke was making a straight line for Donari, a light ki shield pulsating around him.

The demoness was recovering, and she was making ready a lance of energy to meet this new threat. Kurama's pulse sputtered; Yuusuke was going to die and he didn't even know it. Kurama couldn't intervene in time to warn him away―he saw it as thought it had already happened: the white-hot attack arcing towards his friend, the cocky smile slowly changing to disbelief as his shielding disintegrated, the impact that would throw him backwards to lie still on the hard ground―

He abandoned caution and flung as much power into a raw assault as he could muster, draining his reserves in an attempt to turn the attack away.

A shocked Donari was engulfed in green brilliance, and Gendou was flung back out of range altogether. That was all Kurama could see―his vision blotched to white and he felt himself hit the ground, dazed and lightheaded from expending so much energy while wounded. He heard Yuusuke call his name, and slowly struggled back upright, his sight slow to clear and his wounds bleeding freely.

Once he was on his feet, however, his conditioning took over and he regained his equilibrium. It seemed, as he surveyed his handiwork, that he had been successful; Gendou was nowhere in sight, Donari was still invisible in the center of a dust cloud, and Yuusuke was suddenly at his side, gripping his arm.

"Are you all right?" he asked, eyes on the dust.

"I will be, but I expended the last of my youki in that attack. Why didn't you leave when I told you to?"

"Nice to see you again, too."

"Because we're supposed to help out our friends, that's why!" This from Kuwabara, who had made his way over to them. He was glowering fiercely.

Kurama shook his head. "You're only putting yourselves in unnecessary danger. These two are after me, not you, but they will not hesitate to kill you if you get in their way."

"So what? We can take 'em!" Kuwabara shot back cockily. "It'll be―"

"Watch out!"

Kurama gave each of his companions a shove to either side and then leaped straight up into the air, narrowly avoiding a blast of jagged power. Gendou must have swung around behind us! And in front of them, as he came down, he saw that the dust had settled, and a smudged Donari was advancing in outrage at the intrusion, both clawed hands crackling with violet ki.

"Get behind me!" he commanded, and made a dash for his plant. Putting it between himself and Donari, and keeping half an eye on the place where he could now make out Gendou (whose yellow hide had blended too well with the landscape), he grabbed a stone and pitched it hard at the base.

The dark, velvet-leafed fern released a shower of spores into the air to cover Kurama with glitter. He choked down the inevitable sneeze and cleared his eyes, glad he was not susceptible to the effects; he had used this plant far too many times before. A quick whirlwind of petals would be enough to carry the spores to his immediate enemy. After accomplishing that, he swung around and sent some at Gendou, thought he doubted it would be very potent after spanning the distance between them.

His teammates were not behind him, but slightly to either side, just barely out of range of the plant's insidious dust. As he kicked off into a sprint once more, he yelled, "Don't block, dodge! They've got something augmenting their power―they're stronger than you are!" He directed that last at Kuwabara mainly, and was less than happy that the boy didn't look wholly convinced. "You have seen part of it before," he continued. "The artifact we stole from the koorime―do you recall how it appeared broken in half?"

Though the statement's target continued to frown in puzzlement, even as they ran Kurama saw Yuusuke's eyes widen in comprehension. "That's what that thing was? The same thing that made these guys powerful?" They broke away then, and came back about, watching for another onslaught.

Aware that Yuusuke was watching him as well, Kurama nodded a confirmation.

Yuusuke didn't waste time asking him how he knew. He looked up, saw that both demons were advancing once more, and fired off a reiki bolt at Donari. On the other side, Kuwabara readied his Reiken and took slow steps towards Gendou.

And they stick to their designated opponents, yet, was the errant, silly thought that crossed Kurama's mind. I had better help Kuwabara; he will need it since he has to get in close. Accordingly, he sidled closer to his teammate and brought out the rose whip again. "Stay on his left side," he instructed quietly. "He will be slower to hit you there. Also, remember: block physical attacks if you must, but stay out of the way of energy blasts. They will be weak at first, but he will quickly realize you are no ordinary human, and they will become much stronger."

"I got it," Kuwabara said with eyes narrowed to slits. "Does he have any weak spots?"

"Not of which I'm aware, but I'll be keeping my eyes open. You should do the same―watch for any sign of the ki amplifier he carries. It has to be in contact with his skin somewhere; separate him from it if you can."

"Right. Here I come, you big monster guy! Get ready to feel my sword!"

And here they are, just as I had hoped to avoid. Inari, why do you do these things to me?

-o- -o- -o- -o-

While Kuwabara charged, Yuusuke hung back a bit, eyeing his adversary. She had stopped moving and was staring at him, almost thoughtfully, ignoring the shots he fired at her and showing no concern for her partner whatsoever. She almost looked like she was puzzling something out, and not liking the conclusion. How come a low-level demon is so smart? I thought the weak ones were usually dumb, too. And what the hell is she thinking about? Not me, that's for sure. Gotta fix that.

He considered. He was clearly an afterthought at this point; she was after Kurama as he had said, and the kitsune was already pretty banged up. This entire situation was already pissing Yuusuke off. Royally. He was going to chew Kurama out when they were done here, and watch his back in the meantime.

Right. Time for something stupid and impressive. He took his stance, centered himself, and geared up for a little-used technique, just at the moment that the demoness began approaching once more.

-o- -o- -o- -o-

It was an odd end for such an exhausting day. The last of several unique cases had just left Koenma's office with Ayame following her, two silent shadows in their soft kimono. His endless paperwork was nearly completed already, and his hands were reluctant to stop moving in the pattern of stamping and signing. He had switched between his toddler and teenaged forms more times than he cared to count, keeping his dignity and authority for meetings with the koorime souls while saving as much energy as possible once they left. There had been almost a full thousand women in the village; so, though most were easy enough to sort, there had been about fifty special cases or so, largely those who had turned traitor at the first sign of danger and even a few who had committed murder thinking they could save themselves.

So much for the peaceful female nature. Koenma rubbed at the mounting pressure behind his forehead and reflected on the bloody reflex disasters seemed to spark even in supposedly peaceful people. He had seen it before, several times in both mortal worlds, and it never ceased to make him shudder at its ability to revert rational beings. Even this mostly unanticipated visitation, though it put a surreal twist into the horrendous monotony of processing death, only reminded him of the same subject―he was confronted by one of those special demons who both caused and averted messes such as this.

And very few demons were also ice masters. Hence, the oddity. It was almost like déjà vu.

He eyed Touya through the gaps between his fingers. He had had no time at all to review the Shinobi files he had demanded from Jorge; instead, an arbitrary decision to summon Jin had been his last order before the flood of souls hit his poorly-prepared staff like a tsunami. Now, as it tapered off, it was the ice master who had answered the order. He was curious as to why, but too tired to ask.

"Thank you for coming," he said wearily. "I realize you didn't have much notice, and as busy as you Shinobi can be, I didn't expect you to be available for weeks."

There was a short interim of silence. "Jin was furious. He told me to tell you never to summon him like that again."

"I wondered why you came instead. I'll remember that; extend my apologies when you get the chance. Did your escort tell you anything about why you're here? I know Jorge didn't." Touya was sizing him up. He could tell from the demon's choice of introductory topics. He had forgotten that none of the Shinobi had seen him up close before, and thanked his kami ancestors that he had not switched back to baby form. Business tended to go much better when he wasn't being laughed at.

A shake of his head was Touya's answer. Koenma had thought as much. "Good," he continued. "I'd rather tell all of it myself so you won't get any confusing babble intermixed. I have a favor to ask."

An unnerving facet of Shinobi training kept Touya entirely immobile, except for the eyebrow that lifted just a fraction. "A favor."

"A very big and dangerous one. I need you to use an object for me―a weapon. This." He pulled the half-Orb from under his desk and held it out, then took a deep breath and launched into the abbreviated version he had practiced. "Before you ask, you would have to fight some strong demons who have the other half of this same weapon, you'd be doing it in order to get the weapon back from them, and no, I can't do it myself, and neither can my team. We're very short on time, because these demons are already killing in large numbers―you saw the mass of souls that just went through here. If they aren't stopped, they'll conquer Makai, Ningenkai, and eventually even Reikai, which would not be to anyone's advantage. They might even be able to get Meikai back open if they're clever about it, and trust me, no one wants that." He paused, considering. "Yeah, that about sums it up. Will you do it?"

It took surprisingly little time for absorption to occur. "Possibly. Why can't you use it?"

"I made it. It takes power from me in a peculiar way, and I'd probably make it explode if I tried."

"And why not your team?"

"It's not designed for humans. They die," he replied shortly.

"Not all of them are human."

"Kurama counts."

"And the fire demon?"

"He's dead."

This time both eyebrows jumped. "They really must be strong demons."

Koenma deliberately chose not to correct the obvious assumption, since it would probably work for him in this case; also, he did not want to go too deeply into that matter. It had already caused too much damage. He knew Yuusuke would tell Touya everything once the two met for the mission, but he wanted Touya committed before he got the idea that his prospective employer was a traitor.

Even if he was.

He had come to the hard conclusion that Yuusuke was right. Lies were betrayals, and he had not seen it. Lying was a necessary, even vital part of his job; that he had never been good at it was a statement about his other competencies as a ruler. He had assessed the situation and determined that lying was the best way to accomplish his goals―but he had assessed it wrongly, and broken the one rule he should have counted as most important: never to lie to those who followed him.

"You realize I owe you no favors," Touya was saying, gazing steadily over folded arms at the beleaguered prince of Reikai. "Should I choose to do this, you will, therefore, owe me one instead. What do you offer?"

The prince in question adopted a distinctly pained look. "I don't know what you want. And I'm afraid to ask."

Touya raised an eyebrow. "Don't you?"

"I have a short memory span." He rubbed at his temples. "Fine, I do. But you are aware that it's not mine to give. I'm not in the habit of annexing property, unused or not."

"I will accept any land. It need not be the island."

"Unless you want some land in the Reikai, and keep in mind you probably won't like what's available, I can't do that." He made a grand, sweeping gesture that vaguely encompassed his entire surroundings. "I own this office, and I pretend to own every soul that passes through it, but I'm just a desk job. My father is the one who's really in charge here, and he doesn't come home very often. I can promise you to ask him, but I wouldn't hold your breath―it might be a decade or two before I can get back to you."

Touya frowned. "Then we have no bargain." He looked unpleasantly like he was about to turn and leave.

Koenma sighed heavily. "Isn't there anything else you people want? I'm assuming you're after land for your entire Shinobi sect. Is that correct, Touya?"

"Yes, it is, and no, there isn't. All of our other desires are things we can easily obtain ourselves."

It was Koenma's turn to raise a skeptical brow. It wasn't like Touya to tell such an obvious falsehood, but he considered it unlikely at best that the Shinobi were in need of nothing they could not acquire. "I don't buy that," he said frankly. "You must want something. Everyone does these days. I can't give you land, but I can do a lot of other favors for you that I bet no one else can. So what'll it be?"

The apparition was unmoved. "I thought you were only a desk job."

"Even bureaucrats have influence. You know, I don't particularly understand why you require a reward in any case, unless I haven't made the situation sufficiently clear. You can hardly find land anywhere if the demons I told you about have conquered it all." He let a pause settle in. "No self-preservation in the Shinobi code?"

"Don't be insulting." But Touya was smiling faintly at his last sally. "But you do make a good point. What sort of favors do you do?"

Koenma steepled his hands and took a moment to think. His father would kill him for this, but― "I know it's not as good as land, but I can grant your sect free access to the human world, just as my team has free access to yours. You would have to guarantee that they'll behave themselves, though, and it comes with the standard revocation clause if they don't. I can't have anarchy in the human-world streets." Let that be good enough so I can be done with this whole mess.

As it happened, it was not. Touya considered, shrugged, and said, "And?"

"Now I know you've met Kurama. He's already taught you the fine art of being difficult. What about that offer wasn't good enough?"

"We are demons," was the patient reply. "Not all of us can pass for human. And what would we do in the human world at large? It's not ours. Populated places would be hazardous, and isolated places hold nothing for us if they are not our own. We would, at best, enjoy the novelty of it."

You could sightsee, Koenma didn't say, catching it before it escaped. Touya did have a point. There wasn't a lot of leeway for demons in the human world, even if they were allowed to be there; even Hiei had had to sleep in trees and steal for his food (or kill rabbits in the park), mostly because he was the only Tantei who hadn't had a place to stay. Without owning land of their own, the Shinobi would be in a similar situation, unless they managed to find some place for rent whose landlord didn't ask too many questions―

―and Koenma hit upon the perfect bargaining chip, startling his features into a smile with its abruptness.

"You have money, don't you? And you can get gold for it?"

"Of course we do. Shinobi are all well-paid for our services. What's your point?"

"It's simple. While I can't give you land, in the human world, it's available to anyone with enough money. You can buy all the land you want if you're inconspicuous about it."

Touya's eyes widened. "You mean humans will give up their land for money alone? Are they so frivolous? How do they survive?"

"Most humans aren't rooted like demons are, and land isn't the same symbol of power that it used to be. They live where it suits them, for as long as it suits them. An attachment to a particular bit of land is considered quaint and antiquated at best, and eccentric at worst, in all countries except a few. If you offer enough, you shouldn't have a problem finding a place like the island, or somewhere inland, if you prefer." Koenma shrugged, feigning nonchalance, as though this were suddenly not that big a deal. "This is actually the best way to go about it, if you look at it straight; you'd have needed my permission to stay on Kubikukuri anyway, since it's in the Ningenkai, even if you had won the Tournament. Consider that permission granted."

There was another significant pause as Touya worked out the implications of this new information, and Koenma grew more hopeful with each second. This should work―thank Daddy I'll be getting this over with. I'm that much closer to recovering the Orb and destroying it for good. And no one will have to know anything more.

Touya came out of his momentary reverie, looked Koenma in the eyes, and said, "This is a bargain of which my sect would approve. However, there is one further condition: you will furnish half the gold for our land."

The prince squeaked indignantly. "Half?"

"Half."

It took a moment for Koenma to clear his lips of spluttering. After he recovered, he glared. "I thought you were 'well-paid' for your services! Gotten greedy all of a sudden?"

And Touya smiled confidently at him, with just a hint of a smirk. "Do you want me to save the worlds or not?"

With some final grumbling, Koenma acquiesced. "Have it your way."

The message went out with Ayame for Botan to return to Reikai. There was a lot to iron out.

-o- -o- -o- -o-

"Shizuru? Are you home?" Despite its rudeness, Keiko anxiously knocked again without waiting for a response, shoving a strand of her disheveled hair behind one ear and clutching her tiny blue burden to her chest. Puu was trying frantically to escape, yanking against her hold, and the only reason she hadn't pounded on the door was that she didn't want to risk jarring him free. "Shizuru!" she called a second time.

Just as, in her near-panic, she was ready to look for Kuwabara's older sister somewhere else, the door slid open with a bang and Shizuru was staring at her, just as rumpled as she―already in her bedclothes, in fact. She looked entirely startled, which was rare for her.

"Keiko, you're here! I was just about to call you!" She did a double-take. "Puu?"

"Can I come in?" Keiko blurted. "He'll get away!"

"Sure, sure!" The two of them hurried to close the door behind her as she toed her shoes off hastily. Puu gave a piercing wail and jerked even harder against her arm, which was probably bruised by now. He looked much as he had during Yuusuke's test at the Dark Tournament, with little sweat beads on his fur and eyes larger by half than they normally were. Shizuru grabbed his enormous ears to immobilize him further, and gave Keiko a look that demanded an explanation, and which was completely unnecessary.

"Puu just showed up at my house, and he's really upset!" Keiko's appearance wasn't much different from Puu's, actually: she, too, was sweating (presumably from anxiety or exertion), and her gaze was just a little bit wild. "I don't even know where he's been staying since Yuusuke said Yukina's been gone for a while… I think something is wrong with Yuusuke! You have to help me find him!" Her eyes were almost cherry-red, with bright fear overriding the brown, and she released the now-futilely-struggling spirit beast to Shizuru's hold. "He could be in trouble!"

That was an understatement. "I know," said Shizuru, looking greatly perturbed. "I was just dreaming, and something is about to happen. I don't know what, but it's going to be very bad." Her own eyes almost seemed like they were reflecting unpleasant images from her nightmare, and she glanced around her as though looking for something nearby. The house was, of course, very empty―and that suddenly seemed ominous.

"What?" Keiko cried, as though she hadn't believed her own warning; her head snapped up and her eyes began to fill with terrified tears. She plucked insistently at her friend's sleeve, trying to draw her towards the door again. "Then we have to go now! Yuusuke needs us!"

But Shizuru didn't budge, and looked down at Puu, who glared up at her with beady little eyes and squawked angrily at his captivity―and she found herself saying, "Not Yuusuke. Someone else. But Yuusuke's really afraid, and that's why Puu's afraid, too." Then she shook her head. "But―let me get clothes, Keiko, and we'll follow Puu. He'll know where Yuusuke is; he always does."

-o- -o- -o- -o-

Watching Kuwabara run forward, Kurama had the presence of mind to wonder what help he could offer at all, though he was bound to try. He had only just enough ki left to form the rose whip, and the effort coupled with his injuries was affecting even his sense of balance. He would, at best, be able to serve as a distraction or a decoy, which would probably result in his death or incapacitation in a very short amount of time.

He did have that plant, but the spores hadn't had any visible effect on the two demons, and so it was next to useless. He supposed he could try to blind them in a cloud of the dust, but little more. It's a good thing the Tantei arrived when they did, he thought, unbidden, or I might already be dead.

Shut up, he told his traitorous mind in response. Now they will only be killed along with me. I have yet to discover any besides minor weaknesses in my enemies, and I am a liability now, hurt as I am, that will distract them.

Then again, Hiei has gone and is probably captured―now, should a weakness be found, the others will have knowledge of it.

Which will not help them if they are dead from lack of attentiveness due to concern for me. I must not let them know how badly off I really am―or I must do whatever I can immediately, and remove myself from their consideration.

I really don't know if I want to die.

Too bad. I knew this would happen, and I went ahead with this plan anyway.

Inari knows why.

I thought I said to shut up.

Kuwabara's sword slammed to a halt upon contact with Gendou's hide, throwing out a fair shower of sparks. It also made an odd screeching sound, reminiscent of nails on a blackboard, that penetrated Kurama's ears like a hot knife. He hissed, and laid them down flat, both to convey his extreme displeasure and to partially block out the noise. "Gah, what is that?" he heard faintly from above. He had forgotten Botan was even there. What was she doing, other than flying around and probably dodging stray shots?

Finding me, his mind supplied promptly. Well, that made sense of a sort. The others had located him rather quickly to have had no outside help. In her place, however, he would have stayed out of sight altogether―unless she was acting as a backup escape route, which also made sense―

"Reikodan!"

Even over the continual scree of Kuwabara's sword-lock with Gendou, Kurama clearly made out Yuusuke's ringing shout, and was able to look over just as the spirit detective's punch connected solidly with Donari's lovely face, driving her back several paces and flashing a brilliant white that threw spots into his vision. There was a delayed explosion, veiling them both in dust.

"All right!" he heard Kuwabara crow from in front of him. "Go Urameshi!"

I ought to be doing something by now. Blinking the dazzle from his eyes and recalling his own responsibility, Kurama made a sudden dash for Gendou, veering to the left and circling behind. He lashed out his whip, almost certain it would actually connect with its target. It did, but instead of slicing open the demon's back, it had as little effect as Kuwabara's Reiken, and he held contact for no more than a moment before dropping down on all fours and scampering ungracefully out of attack range.

His mind caught up. If Yuusuke is trying to draw her attention and her fire, the reikodan may well do; if he's trying to defeat her, I have not adequately expressed the extent of her power. I only hope it is the former. And I―I do not know if my distraction was effective, but I would venture to say it was not. I must take more drastic measures than I had hoped to focus Gendou upon me.

Well, there was more than one way to go about doing that. He quickly discarded them one by one. Too risky; too obvious; too stupid; well, that last one might actually work. Here goes.

"Well, Master Gendou, how will you punish your youko slave?"

And here was hoping it didn't get him immediately ki-blasted into the back end of Meikai.

A moment only, and the awful sound ceased as Gendou threw his formidable weight at the Reiken, sending his opponent sprawling. He paid the human no further notice, and turned his back so he could face the source of the taunt. He snarled. "Curious, traitor?"

"Amused," Kurama replied with a hint of disdain. "I admit I've been holding back, but do you truly think you can defeat me? Do you not know who I am?"

"Who you are?" Gendou sneered. Kurama caught a peek of Kuwabara righting himself over the monster's shoulder. "A pathetic excuse for a spy? I killed the last of your kind easily enough."

"Hah. You really don't know." He put on a predatory smile, and stood straight as a rod, as if his wounds did not pain him at all. "I am the silver youko. I am the legendary bandit, who escaped death to return twice as strong. I am Youko Kurama."

He struck a slightly over-the-top pose just to make sure he was getting through to his dull-witted enemy. Kuwabara's face was a picture.

That should do it.

Gendou did not seem to find it absurd, however―and neither, apparently, did Yuusuke, whose ki flared with unmistakable alarm. Kurama risked a glance over; he had squared off with Donari, who was yet dirtier but seemed otherwise unharmed by the full impact of an extremely destructive technique as delivered by the strongest Reikai detective in centuries. And she, also, was watching Kurama.

An entire internal monologue of curses passed through Kurama's mind. I went too far―I overestimated the effect that the reikodan would have on her attention. Now I'll have them both on me in the next instant. I'd better get back to my plant; it may be my only recourse to avoid them both at once.

He leaped, and was next to it―directly between the two demons. Fortunately (or not, as it were) that movement was in keeping with his melodramatic posture and attitude of challenge.

"The silver bandit?" The tone of Donari's voice was rich and amused. "I knew you were a special sort of slave. I'm honored that you submitted your―services―to me so willingly." Her tone deliberately implied that his "services" had included much more than they actually had.

"Kurama, what are you doing?" Yuusuke yelled with indignation. "I'm in the middle of kicking her ass, so stop distracting her!"

This will not go well. Kurama's thought process spiraled out of his control. They had both focused on him, and there was almost nowhere he could dodge; though near his plant, this position was otherwise untenable. If both of them fired salvos at once, he would be caught by at least one for certain, and he didn't have the energy to recover from that. This was one of his more reckless bluffs, especially with no backup ready. Even if they could reach him themselves, Yuusuke and Kuwabara had already proven to be less than effective in this fight.

But he had a plan.

I've got their attention―so now I must draw them in close, and widen my avenues for escape.

"Do shut up, human," he told Yuusuke with a warning in his voice that he hoped both sides would interpret as he intended. "I need no help from you, as I told you. I would challenge Master Gendou, here, and see if he would meet me at close range―unless you are a coward, as I suspect?" he directed at Gendou. His smile was feral even as his heart sped in his chest.

In response, the monster bellowed and charged, churning the sand in his wake with great stomping strides.

Before Gendou closed the gap entirely, Kurama dared to drop his defense for an instant and give the plant a swift kick to set loose more dust. It had matured more fully; this time there was an enormous, obscuring mist, and Kurama could not again avoid sneezing. It blanketed his enemy, producing smothered choking sounds, and he seized his chance to slip away out of reach, and reposition himself behind Gendou. He took a moment to hastily calculate Yuusuke's position, and aimed a gust of petals and spore at Donari, hoping he wouldn't tag his friend by accident.

A string of violent sneezes made him silently curse once more. Though the dust settled quickly, Yuusuke continued to sneeze for almost another full minute, coughing, gasping and eking out half-formed expletives between nasal expulsions. Donari, on the other hand, seemed quite unaffected.

She raised a disdainful eyebrow, sneered at Gendou, and proclaimed, "I tire of you, youko. I will kill your human cohorts, and then deal with you―you may be certain you will not enjoy your fate." And she thrust a hand, fingers splayed, towards a spot several yards behind Gendou.

Botan gasped high above them. "Kuwabara!"

Kurama was already leaping before he had time to think about it―but he wouldn't reach the boy nearly in time. He knew Kuwabara was going to die instantly, destroyed by a blast of energy a top-rank demon would have a hard time withstanding. The demoness could have killed him just as easily, he also knew… and his mind made a connection without being asked, as he realized She never meant to kill me―

He landed hard, automatically rolling to a crouch and hunkering down defensively. He whipped his head around.

Kuwabara was still standing there, looking terrified; Yuusuke and Gendou were still sneezing; and Donari was still motionless with one claw outstretched, appearing utterly baffled.

In a decision based on an instant's assessment, Kurama had hold of Yuusuke's wrist and was yanking him along in a mad dash away from the battlefield, shouting, "Kuwabara, Botan, follow me! We can hide!"

Botan protested, "But I'm not―"

"You're not safe in the air! There's more cover on the ground!" He dug his claws into Yuusuke's flesh to anchor them so that he would be sure to keep his hold (Yuusuke was lighter than he looked). He hadn't even looked back to see where Botan had answered him from―his eyes were fixed on the small hills and the shelter-like depressions he knew to be behind each of them, and his back itched interminably, anticipating a strike. She won't be stalled for long―but what stopped her? It was nothing any of us did. Even if she doesn't mean to kill me, I wouldn't have gotten there in time to be hit―

"No way!"

Kurama skidded to a stop, dumping Yuusuke on his rear as he slid into an incredulous about-face. Kuwabara had his sword out again, and it was raised in challenge. "I'm not gonna run away!" he was declaring. "I haven't even gotten started yet!"

"Kuwabara, no! You'll have a much better chance if we retreat for now! This isn't very wise!"

But his words were futile. The brash boy was already running at Gendou as the demon recovered, swinging his sword around for a sweeping cut. Kurama flinched, anticipating a screech like the one before―

And screech it did, but at a lower pitch, like a buzz saw, and accompanied by an impressive roar of pain. The Reiken had left a shallow slice, leaking ichor-like blood, all the way across the demon's chest from shoulder to opposite hip.

"Oh, yeah!" grinned Kuwabara triumphantly. "Not so tough after all!"

What in Inari's name…

But before the thought could even be completed, three things happened.

Yuusuke got up, swearing and swiping at his eyes but no longer sneezing; Donari growled and raised her hand to attack again; and Gendou looked down at the slash in his torso, glanced back up at Donari―and fled with all speed, leaving a dust trail as high as he was tall, into the west.

Everyone stood in mute, open-mouthed shock, for the same moment. The same long, long moment.

The return of his senses snapped Kurama into action. "Come on, you three! We don't have time to waste! Yuusuke, can you see well enough?"

"Oh, yeah, I think so," Yuusuke replied, still watching after the rapidly escaping demon. "The colors are a little funny, and my ears are ringing some. What'd I miss?"

There was an explosion near them. They yelped and took off, with the other two at their backs, running headlong for the hills and sliding around in the sand in their haste. Much belatedly, it seemed, Donari had recovered from her own startlement, and had fired a rather badly-aimed strike at her stationary opponents. But that was so sloppy, to miss an easy shot like that―and why had she failed to kill Kuwabara? What had made the Reiken so abruptly effective?

A number of things suddenly weren't adding up. Unless, of course―

The plant?

-o- -o- -o- -o-

Sawamura, Kirishima, and Okubo loitered together on the roof of the school, watching clouds drift without aim or pattern, and complained about Kuwabara, and his decision to up and disappear again just after he'd gotten back. Again, Urameshi was gone too.

It really was starting to seem like a shoujo manga. They shuddered to think what Yukimura's response to that would be… and then they thought about it a little too hard.

They couldn't get to the zoning, mind-scrubbing bliss of the video arcade fast enough.

-o- -o- -o- -o-

The room was on fire.

It burned red and orange and blue, with devastating heat and no smoke at all, and served to back-light a small figure who stood in the inferno's center. There was a trembling collection of frightened creatures huddled as far from that figure as the walls permitted, watching it through the lattice of bars; it stood ready to spring regardless of its confinement, all its features shadowed except for three blazing eyes, and it snarled at them with all the ferocity of a wild thing.

"I can and will kill every one of you!" it roared. "I will burn your flesh until it shrivels and blackens on your bones! I will tear you apart and leave you to fall to ashes!"

The creatures whimpered and cowered, pushing to be at the back of the group. None of them dared look directly at it.

"I want him to come down here! Do it now!"

And the flames surged to fill the corridor, and only those lucky enough to see them coming were spared.

-Seriously. If the Shinobi had known they could just BUY land in the Ningenkai, would they REALLY have tried to get it via the Dark Tournament?

-Why Kurama talks to himself all of a sudden, I don't know. His two separate logic processes are apparently having a spat.