Alice Alive

By, KKYOKO

Chapter Fourteen: Scheiße

After moving further into the castle, Yusuke called us to a halt, and we rested by a large hole in the wall - which was actually supposed to be some sort of window. The wind that blew in was warm, not offering much relief from the heat from running. I took my jacket off and tied it around my waist; straightening my white blouse out. It was one of my favorites, and I knew without a doubt something bad was going to happen to it.

Yusuke turned to Kurama, eyeing his tired, wounded appearance. There was a bruise showing up on his cheek where one of the rocks had hit him. Yusuke frowned. "Kurama. How terrible is that wound?"

Kurama looked down at his hand, judging the amount of blood. "Fine, as long as I can walk."

"He'll survive, but he's in no shape to fight. That means we only have three fighters left, and one of them is worthless," Hiei said flatly.

Kuwabara opened his mouth to protest, but I cut him off. "Don't I count, Hiei?" I gave him a kicked puppy look. Why didn't he include me?

His mouth was hard again as he looked away. His face was unreadable. For once he had nothing to say.

I frowned and glanced at Kurama for reassurance, but his expression was just as unreadable. Yusuke looked doubtful, and Kuwabara looked uncertain. I felt my blood-pressure rise with a wave of anger. "Well?" I demanded, sweeping my gaze at all of them. "Spit it out."

Yusuke sighed. "Look, since the numbers don't match up, let's just save you for back-up, okay?"

Hiei finally turned to me and scowled. "Kurama has already told you that you would be worthless in a physical altercation. You're small and weak and soft. You aren't even a decent fighter by human standards."

I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks and my head throb with rage. "You haven't even seen me fight, Hiei."

"That's irrelevant. You're not a fighter, Alice."

I saw red, but before I could lunge at him, a hand went around the back of my head and I found myself looking into Kurama's forest green eyes. Somewhere in the back of my mind I noted that Hiei just called me by my name for the very first time. My mind went blank though at Kurama's expression. His brow was furrowed and his mouth was open, as if he were waiting for the right words to come out. "It's not that you're weak - it's just not your nature. You aren't one to harm another being."

I scoffed at him, tearing out of his grasp. He didn't know me at all, did he? I turned to Kuwabara who immediately looked wary. "I'm fighting this next guy with you. Don't argue."

I'm not sure exactly what was in my expression that made him shut his mouth and nod, but it worked in my favor. He hitched on a half-smile and showed me his hands. "Look what I can do." His hands came together like he was holding something, and a bright sunshine energy surrounded his hands. Suddenly, it shot up and became a yellow, crackling sword. Kuwabara grinned and looked at Yusuke who seemed surprised. "What d'you think I was doing for the last six months while you were training with Genkai? Letting you get better than me? Not a chance." He laughed, smug. "It's just my pure energy, and I bet my spirit sword can kick the crap out of your spirit gun."

Yusuke looked annoyed and flipped him off. "That depends on what finger I'm using."

"Well, as it turns out, he's only partially worthless," Hiei said dryly.

Kuwabara pointed his sword at Hiei. "Wanna die?"

Hiei smirked. "I dare you."

As Kuwabara made a move toward him, Yusuke intercepted. "Hey!"

Kuwabara stepped back, annoyed that his fight with Hiei was ruined. "Yeah, yeah, let him live," he mumbled. "I'm pretty sure he'll be saying sorry after he sees what else I can do." With that, the sunshine sword in Kuwabara's hand grew so tall it punctured the ceiling. I had to step out of the way so that I wouldn't get hit with the crumbling stone.

"Wow," Yusuke said dryly. "It even comes with a spear attachment."

Kuwabara laughed. "I can make it any size I want it to be!"

My eyes met Yusuke's, and I could see that, like me, he was just barely restraining himself from making a sexual remark. We grinned at each other.

As Kuwabara powered the sword down and retracted his energy back within himself, he started explaining how he wasn't going to freak out anymore, and then his eyes sort of rolled back into his head and he hit the floor with a thunk.

"Ah! Kuwabara!" I crouched beside him as Yusuke leaned over me.

Kuwabara was still conscious, but a little pale. "Uh, sorry guys. The sword makes me a little dizzy sometimes," he mumbled.

"You're not making us look good," Yusuke growled. As he straightened up, his communicator went off and he took it out and flipped it open.

I heard Botan's voice again. "Yusuke, you've got to hurry! Ah!"

"What's the matter, Botan?" Yusuke asked, worried.

"Listen, Yusuke, I think the Saint Beasts have launched another wave of insects. I found a whole batch by an elementary school."

"They're taking over kids now?"

"That's right."

"I thought you said these insects only like to take over the minds of depressed people."

"Well that's because depressed people are more easily influenced. And it's the same with children, but if the bugs get into them I'm afraid - uh -" Botan suddenly gave a shout of alarm.

Yusuke frowned. "Okay, you're afraid, I get it - now finish your sentence."

"Sorry, Yusuke, but I'm being chased now!"

"You're being chased? By who?" he demanded.

"By another guy possessed by the Makai insects, and this one looks especially unfriendly!"

Yusuke looked worried. "Just keep running!"

"I've knocked out all the other victims by sneaking up on them -" I heard her shriek as the sound of broken wood came from the communicator's tiny speakers.

"Well, can't you call for help or something?" Yusuke snapped, angry because he couldn't do anything to help her.

"Or run away?" Kuwabara offered, worried. He was standing up now, watching Botan on the tiny screen behind Yusuke.

Kurama frowned at the communicator over Yusuke's shoulder, and glanced up at me. His forest green eyes carried a shadow of worry - like he was just picturing what could happen to me if I fought a Beast.

There was a loud 'thwack' as Botan's metal bat made contact with someone's skull - and then there was silence.

"Botan! Botan!" Yusuke yelled. He blinked at the screen and his worried expression softened. "Oh, wow. You got him."

Her voice was flustered. "Well I'm not making a career out of this! You go and destroy that whistle before I have to fight the entire city!"

"Right," Yusuke said.

Suddenly there was a loud, bone-chilling growl that echoed throughout the corridor. The walls shook with the force of it, and bits and pieces of the ceiling fell. I felt the blood drain from my face. In all of my past experience with possession, whenever you hear a growling and there's a demon involved, you're in some serious shit. My heart skipped a beat out of fear, but I shook myself out of it. I couldn't let myself be afraid. Anyway, this world was different from mine. The rules of demons were different here, and I had to remember that.

Kuwabara looked determined. "I don't know what kind of monster that is, but I gotta hunch it's our next enemy."

"Yusuke!"

"Sorry, I'll have to call you later," he said, hanging up on Botan.

There was another roar, more sinister than the last. This roar carried demonic energy with it, and Kurama must have recognized the signature because his eyes went wide with surprise and unease. "That," he said, "is Byakko. And he doesn't sound very pleased."

Yusuke's jaw clenched. "Let's go!"

We took off, and as we did the ceiling crumbled behind us, as the growling continued. I shrieked in surprise the same time Kuwabara shouted, "This is dangerous!" But we made it to the end of the corridor in one piece, and I tried not to have a heart attack. We flew up the spiral staircase, but in single file, because it was so narrow. Then a white bright light suddenly assaulted my vision and we found ourselves standing on a platform across from Byakko. I blinked until my vision adjusted.

Byakko was tall, for starters. He was definitely the size of a house, and underneath the grey and blue tiger skin were rippling bulky muscles. His eyes were yellow lanterns, cat-like, and fierce. A low growl emitted from his saber-toothed mouth, and his hands, with claws as long as my arm, curled into fists.

"Tiger," Hiei said lowly, a look of challenge on his face.

"Intruders will pay for coming this far into my territory," Byakko said in a snarly voice. Then he flung his arms apart and growled, reminding me of King Kong for a second.

"He's huge!" Kuwabara said, eyes wide.

I glanced at Kurama while Yusuke made some smartass remark. His expression was calculating, and he glanced at me, worried. "Alice, I don't think this is one of your best ideas."

I scowled at him.

"I'll go," Hiei said, red eyes glittering with anticipation.

"Back off!" Kuwabara shouted.

"No," I snapped at Hiei, sharing a defiant look with Kuwabara, before turning it back on the fire demon. "We're next."

With that, Kuwabara and I turned to face Byakko, making our way toward him. I glanced at Kuwabara, who seemed a little fearful, so I gave him a light punch in the arm. "Don't worry," I said when he looked down at me. "We can beat him."

Byakko growled. "Don't think you're dominate because you tore apart Genbu. He was weak. He only talked to the demons in the city through the castle wall. That is why we didn't kill him ourselves." His eyes got angrier. "But I am a real beast. I have been caged in this place for too long. Without prey, without bones, without blood! Until now… Humans! I will rip you apart and eat you myself!"

"Gee, how nice," Yusuke said.

I cocked my head to the side. "No one's ever threatened to eat me before."

"It won't be the last time," I heard Kurama mutter.

Byakko suddenly gave a mighty roar that made the platform tremble under the vibrations. It became stronger, like an earthquake, and I found myself losing my footing as the bricks underneath me crumbled. Kuwabara caught my wrist and yanked me to a safer spot. Soon there was nothing but a narrow bridge of awkward crumbling stones to lead us to Byakko. I grimaced, looking down and seeing nothing but cloudy blue air.

"Apparently this guy likes breaking things with the sound of his own voice," Yusuke said, looking annoyed.

"It's a long trip to the ground. I send you all over with my roar if you don't come and fight me, of course your weak bodies will be broken anyway," Byakko snarled.

That angered Kuwabara. "Monster! He thinks he's so tough!"

Yusuke grabbed his shoulder as Kuwabara made to go ahead. "Kuwabara -"

"Step. Off," Kuwabara snapped, pushing Yusuke to the side.

"Damn it," Yusuke muttered. He frowned at me.

"You two really think you can beat him?" Hiei asked doubtfully.

"Of course!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "In fact, I'm not scared at all! Are you scared, Alice?"

I glanced at his trembling knees. "Not really." I glanced back at the tiger demon, eyeing his hands. "His energy isn't that much stronger than Genbu's. There's only one powerhouse in this whole castle, and that's probably the boss's."

They all looked at me.

"You can sense him?" Kurama asked, surprised. "Even with all of the demonic energy in the air?"

I frowned. "I don't see how you can't sense him. His energy is like a Broadway stage light." I pointed to the hat on the Tin Man - the turret on the very top of the castle - above and beyond Byakko's level. "He's up there - waiting for us." I glanced at Hiei as Yusuke frowned at the turret. "What about you?"

Hiei's expression was unreadable. "I can see him with the Jagan, of course."

I was guessing that without it, he wouldn't be able to sense him at all. I allowed myself to feel a little smug before I turned back to Byakko with Kuwabara. We started across with a growled protest from Yusuke, and I tossed a silent glare back at him. Yusuke scowled back at me, but I knew he was just worried. I glanced at Kurama, and found him frowning as well. I gave him a reassuring smile and turned back to Byakko as we crossed the bridge.

Byakko's expression was surprised and insulted when he saw us coming. "You don't believe that you can beat me with just one human do you? …and this pipsqueak of a girl?" He blinked.

Kuwabara scowled at him, and then glanced at me. He turned back to the demon. "Alice is a helluva lot stronger than she looks, you jerk. And I'm not too terrible myself!" We got to Byakko's side of the bridge and stared up at him. "Let's fight, Byakko-monster!" Kuwabara yelled.

Byakko looked angry. And then he suddenly burst into roaring laughter. "Oh, please! I can't stay angry if you make me laugh!"

"I'm serious!" Kuwabara yelled angrily. "Come down here so I can punch your lights out!"

Byakko continued laughing. "Stop it, I can tear you into little pieces with nothing but the hair on my mane."

"Oh, really?" he demanded.

Byakko reached up and tugged four green hairs from his head before roaring and blowing on them. The hairs fluttered down, growing and twisting and suddenly four huge green monsters dropped down around Kuwabara. They were the size of rhinos, with green scaly skin and eyes and very sharp teeth. My heart pitterpattered in my chest as I looked at Kuwabara surrounded by them. He met my eyes and grimaced, sunshine sword lighting up in his hands.

The hair-monsters leapt at Kuwabara, while I stayed to the side - out of the way - immediately feeling the familiar protective anger that fueled my powers. Tentacles of viridian tightened around the two closest to me, squeezing them into submission, and with another wave of anger - nonexistence. I heard Kuwabara give a battle cry and looked up, seeing him swing his sword around madly. The hair-monsters may have been big, but they were quick on their feet.

I heard Hiei's voice and looked up to see him watching Kuwabara with disdain. "That idiot has no strategy. He's just swinging his sword with the grace of a flyswatter - that's no way to survive."

I had a sudden flash of memory. "Kuwabara!"

"What?" he yelled, taking a swing at a hair-monster's head. He missed.

"Lead those two across the bridge and make them a shish kabob with your sword!" I shouted.

Kuwabara's face brightened up. "Great idea! Wish I'd thought of that myself!"

I snickered at the irony and watched him lead the monsters toward Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama. Kuwabara stopped at the very end of the bridge and twisted around, plunging his sword through the first hair-monster and growing it through the next one. He laughed triumphantly.

Byakko looked down at me with angry yellow eyes and bared his teeth at me. I looked back at him, unaffected.

"What do they call you pipsqueak?"

I replied to him in some Latin I learned from a horror movie. Just for kicks. "Sum exorcistam. Non me terreat." I am an exorcist. You do not frighten me.

He raised a green eyebrow, taken aback. I knew he understood me though. Demons have always understood a human language - no matter what it was. I'm not really sure why. "You're just a little girl," he said, laughing. "You're no priest!"

I shot my viridian coils at him and squeezed him tightly. His eyes went wide as he grunted in pain. He could feel me purifying his energy and sucking it away, and I could feel him weakening.

I smiled. "Whoever said I was a priest?"

He gurgled and writhed. Eventually, he fell from his tall perch and to the stone platform with a thunderous sound and he roared in agony. I didn't enjoy his pain, but I certainly didn't hate it. Kuwabara was suddenly next to me again and I felt my concentration on Byakko waver.

That lapse was all he needed to get me back.

I don't know if you've even been knocked unconscious before, but it's very disorienting. Usually, you don't even remember what happened to you. When I was in fourth grade, I was swinging on a swing at recess, and the next thing I remember is being flat on my back and looking up and seeing girls from my class surrounding me. They were calling my name and prodding me, looking very worried. For years I've tried to remember the actual falling-off-the-swing part, but I've never been able to.

When I came to, I was hot. I felt like I was in a sauna. There was a strong smell of sulfur and a more muted smell of cigarettes in the air. I could feel my chin propped up on someone's shoulder, and my cheek was pressed against their sweaty neck. My eyes flew open and I found myself on Yusuke's back, but he wasn't paying attention to me. He was looking out at Kuwabara and Byakko, who were standing on separate platforms above a lake of boiling lava.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to digest the fact that yes that was lava.

Kurama was beside me in a second, green eyes searching mine. "How do you feel?" he asked.

I blinked at him. "Fine?"

He read my confused expression. "You were doing well with Byakko, but he managed to get his arm free and hurt you. He knocked you out."

"He tossed you into the wall behind him like a Frisbee," Yusuke said sardonically. "Kuwabara's even more pissed off now."

I looked at Kurama, feeling around my head. "Am I bleeding?" I winced when I felt a bump, but luckily my fingers came away dry.

"You've got a cut above your eyebrow, but otherwise you seem miraculously unharmed," he said, pressing his lips together. "I think you can set her down now, Yusuke. I want to see if she can stand."

Yusuke crouched down and let me slide out of his hold. Kurama steadied me by my shoulder, his deep forest green eyes assessing my every miniscule movement. He smiled when I didn't fall on my face. "You seem fine. I just hope you don't have a concussion. Do you feel tired at all?"

I shook my head, giving him a disappointed smile. I had really hoped to kick Byakko's ass and show them I could fight. "How do you feel?" I asked him, eyeing the slash in his jacket. "Do you have super-healing powers too?" I asked dryly.

"Actually, yes," he said, giving me an amused smile. "It's already started healing up, but it won't be fully healed for a few days."

"Ah, that's good," I said, looking down at my shoes, wishing I had super-awesome-healing powers.

His fingertips traced the cut above my eyebrow, and I winced. "This looks like a clean cut," he said lightly. "I doubt there will be any scarring - especially with my healing salve. Are you all right?"

I forced the moody expression off my face and smiled. "I'm fine." I pulled away from him.

Kurama's attention was stolen from me by Kuwabara, who was making an attempt to swing his sword at a ball of crackling energy. Kurama's eyes went wide. "No!" he shouted at Kuwabara. "You musn't touch it! Get away!"

Kuwabara took his advice and leapt to another platform just in time. The ball of energy hit the platform he had been standing on, which immediately sizzled black and crumbled into the lava.

Hiei looked at Byakko very seriously. "For years I have heard of a fighter who could destroy molecular bonds with the sound of his voice. I never thought I'd meet him."

"So he can't use his spirit sword on it?" Yusuke asked.

"No. The sword would cause a chain reaction and that would destroy his entire spirit," he replied, looking back at Yusuke. His red eyes slid over to me, but I couldn't read his expression. I walked over to him and stood beside him.

"Hey, Hiei."

"Hn." His eyes slid over to me again and he seemed to be looking me over, appraising my condition. "You're lucky you managed to weaken him when you had the chance. If you had experienced the full brunt of his strength, your weak human bones would have shattered and you would have died. As it stands now, you're lucky to even have a concussion."

I rubbed my cheek, assessing my head. "I don't think I do. I don't feel tired, I don't have a headache, I'm not dizzy, my thoughts are clear, and I don't feel like throwing up."

"Congratulations," Hiei said dryly.

Byakko started shooting more glowing hairballs at Kuwabara, who skittered across the surrounded platforms, jumping to the next one as fast as he could. I could tell Byakko was just toying with him though. He was tweaking the trajectory of his hairballs to hit just as Kuwabara leapt to the next platform. Kuwabara slowed on one platform, and Byakko tossed what looked like white glowing senbon through him, yelling, "Tiger claw!"

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke yelled, a note of desperation in his voice. "Would you switch with me already?"

I noticed that Kuwabara had no where else to jump, and that Byakko had destroyed all of the surrounding platforms. The tiger demon was talking to Kuwabara in his low growling voice, but I couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Kuwabara," Yusuke mumbled eyes huge.

"Can you reach him, Hiei?" Kurama asked, stepping behind me.

"If need be," Hiei replied.

Kuwabara obviously heard them talking. "You all had better stay put! You're all whispering over there about how you're gonna rescue me, aren't you? How many times do I have to tell you - I don't want your help!"

"I don't understand that guy. Doesn't he know that he's about to die?" Yusuke asked.

"Perhaps he's still devising an attack," Kurama suggested.

"Hn. Perhaps he's a fool."

Byakko laughed and shot another glowing hairball at Kuwabara, who had absolutely nowhere to go.

"He's jumping!" Kurama exclaimed.

Kuwabara did jump. He leapt off the platform with all the leg power he could muster, with a determined look on his face. It wasn't enough to reach Byakko's taller platform though. He started to fall toward the lake of lava.

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke and I shouted together.

"He didn't make it…" Kurama breathed, horrified.

Kuwabara roared, and then his hand glowed with his crackling sunshine energy, shooting out into a huge yellow pole, sticking into one of the leftover pillars of a destroyed platform. He pole-vaulted himself toward Byakko like an Olympic champion, and punched the tiger demon in the face.

"I told you I'd punch your lights out! Now let's go to hell together!" Kuwabara shouted as he and Byakko went over the side of the platform.

Down into the lake of boiling lava.

"No!" I shouted, terrified. "Kuwabara!"

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke cried. His eyes were huge and horrified, and stunned.

I pressed my hand hard over my mouth to make sure I wasn't dreaming. It had to be a nightmare because Kuwabara, who was all sunshine and laughter and happiness, couldn't be dead. He was just a kid, a boy-child, and a baby brother - he had no business being dead.

I didn't realize I had sunk into a crouch and was crying into my knees, until I felt Kurama's warm hand on my head. I wouldn't have even noticed that, had he not brushed against the bump Byakko had given me.

"YOU CAN'T DIE!" Yusuke yelled, and I cried harder. "It's all so stupid! I mean, we're protecting the world, so who's protecting us?"

"Hey! Can I get some help here? Guys!" Kuwabara's voice shouted.

I froze, wiping my cheeks, and looked up. Kuwabara was hanging off the edge of Byakko's platform, eyes wild and huge, hands grasping at the bandage that had obviously caught on a jagged edge. "Hurry!"

"He's alive?" Yusuke murmured.

I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling all the emotion rush out of me.

"How fortunate," Hiei said in a clipped tone. He turned to me, then yanked me up by wrist so fast I wasn't sure what happened at first. "Kurama can't carry you right now. It's me or Yusuke."

I liked Yusuke, he did already carry me a bit, but I also trusted Hiei's strength to safely bring me over a boiling pit of lava much more.

"You," I replied. Hiei nodded, and I clambered on his back. He hooked his arms under my knees and we were off to Kuwabara. A wave of heat washed over me, a combination of Hiei, embarrassment, and the lava. I really wish he didn't have to carry me. Kurama and Yusuke quickly followed us.

I slipped off of Hiei's back and dropped down on my knees to look at Kuwabara. "Are you okay?" I asked, stretching my arm down. I couldn't reach him though, and I frowned with worry. "Can you reach my hand?"

He took a swipe at my arm, but it was no good. I was afraid to lean over further without someone holding on to me, or something to anchor myself to.

Yusuke stood over me and Kurama crouched beside me, both looking amused.

"You had me scared there, Kuwabara," Yusuke said, giving a smirk. "For a second I thought you bit the dust."

Kuwabara still looked desperate. "Yeah, it's exciting, now help me up!"

"An interesting strategy. Maybe we should let you kill the other beasts this way too," Hiei said.

"Yes," Kurama agreed.

I sighed, getting annoyed.

"No way guys, I've done my share of fighting for this trip. Now will you please stop goofing around and help me up?" Kuwabara demanded.

Yusuke grinned cheekily. "We can't Kuwabara, remember? You said you'd kill us if we helped you."

"Yes, it goes against your honor code," Kurama said brightly.

"But that doesn't count! Once I beat 'em it's okay!"

"Well, we've still got two Saint Beasts we've gotta fight. Might as well get going…" Yusuke said.

Were we really doing this? Really?

I snapped and whipped around at Kurama and Yusuke, eyes flashing, glowering at them with every fiber of my being. "Quite teasing him and help him up! Now!" I demanded angrily.

"Temper, temper," Yusuke jibed, putting his hands up in mock surrender. Kurama knew me enough to at least look wary, and I pointed directly down at Kuwabara.

"Get. Him. Up. Here. Now."

Kurama gave me a placating smile. "Of course, Alice. You know we were only teasing and we really wouldn't let Kuwabara fall -"

"Now!" I shrieked, enraged. "I swear to God, Kurama, you are going to kill me with your passive-aggressive stalling behavior, by giving me a heart attack or a stroke and then I'll die and come back and haunt you for the rest of your life! And when I do, I will make sure you never get laid because I'll scare all your girlfriends away with my ghostly powers, and then you'll die sad and alone!"

I heard laughter behind me, and I turned and saw Hiei turned away from everyone else, shoulders shaking. I blinked at him, and then turned back to Kurama and Yusuke who were staring wide-eyed at Hiei.

"Whoa! Is shorty laughing?" Kuwabara asked from his precarious position.

Kurama and Yusuke shook themselves and offered their hands to Kuwabara, pulling him up with surprising ease. He gave a relieved sigh and then smiled at me. "You're my hero, Alice!"

I lunged and smacked every single inch of him I could reach.

"Ow! Ow! What the hell? Why are you hitting me?" he shouted, trying to fend me off.

"You, asshole! I thought you were dead!" I snapped.

"I'm sorry!"

I stopped and scowled at him thoughtfully. "Fine. I'm still mad at you though. Shizuru would have killed me." I ran my hands through my hair. "Augh, that was horrible. I need a cigarette."

Kurama frowned. "You shouldn't smoke, Alice."

"You are not my mother, Kurama." I glared at him, clenching and unclenching my fists. It was just a need. I needed nicotine, now.

Kurama rolled his eyes.

Yusuke leaned down next to me and cupped his hands around my ear. "I'll give you a cigarette when we get off this stupid lava lake," he whispered.

I brightened up immediately. "Come on, Hiei. Let's get across this stupid lava."

"Yes, let's," he agreed in his normal dry tone. I climbed onto his back again, and he hooked his arms under my knees again, and then we were off. My stomach was quickly left behind in the dust. Carrying me seemed effortless for Hiei, and he didn't complain like Yusuke probably would. We landed on the other side of the lake and waited for the others to catch up.

"Thanks for carrying me," I said, sliding off his back and touching the cut above my eyebrow lightly. I winced.

"Hn."

Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara dropped down beside us.

"We need to hurry," said Kurama, eyeing me and Yusuke suspiciously as Yusuke dug in his pocket.

We sighed together in defeat and followed Kurama's quick pace out of Byakko's playroom, and through another corridor, and up another tight, spiral staircase. I dashed up as fast as my legs would take me because I was feeling claustrophobic, and I wanted that damn cigarette. Finally we got out of that staircase and into a room surrounded by doors.

"Augh, you're kidding me, right?" Yusuke said, dismayed.

"It appears we've found a maze in Maze Castle," Hiei commented.

There were at least fifteen different doors, all the same color, shape, and size. They curled around the chamber in a horse-shoe shape.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," Yusuke said dryly.

Kurama looked at them seriously. "We must be careful. It's something of a legend. In the beginning before the barrier was erected around the city, hundreds of bounty hunters came and searched for the Beasts. None succeeded. But the Beasts never left their tower - letting whoever entered this castle forfeit their lives to this maze." He pressed his lips together. "There are fifteen doors. All but one leads to a dead end and there are no second attempts. Unavoidable traps lie in incorrect passages, so you see, a poor choice seals our fate."

Yusuke grimaced and turned to Kuwabara. "Okay, Mr. Sensitive, this one's all yours."

"No pressure," I added.

Kuwabara ignored me and examined all of the doors carefully. He frowned seriously. "The second door on the left."

"Okay, you heard the man, let's go," Yusuke said with no doubt at all, twisting toward the door.

"How do we know he's not making a mistake?" Hiei asked scornfully.

Kuwabara walked over to the door he picked out, hand in his pocket. "I'm sorry, shorty, maybe it's not your thing, but you're just gonna have to trust me on this one," Kuwabara said seriously. "I know. There's something big behind that door - something scary." He pushed the door open and yelped. "Ah! I hate mice!"

The mouse skittered from the doorway, winding around Kuwabara and ducked underneath another door, disappearing. I shuddered.

"Gee, Kuwabara, and that speech of yours was getting so dramatic!" Yusuke said brightly.

"Let's go," Kurama said, trying to hide his amusement from Kuwabara.

We made our way down the dim corridor. Yusuke nudged me and passed me a beautiful slender white cigarette, which I marveled at for a full minute before Yusuke shoved his lighter under my nose. I noticed then that while I had marveled, Yusuke had lit his cigarette, and was now attempting to light mine in the dark corridor. There was hardly enough light even with the little flame.

"Where's your mouth?" he demanded, voice slightly muffled from the cigarette in his.

I nabbed the lighter out of his hands. "I'll do it. You're going to set me on fire at this rate," I told him plainly around the filter in my mouth. He snickered as I flipped the butane lighter open, sparked the flint, and inhaled the flame on my cigarette. I snapped the lighter closed and gave it back to Yusuke. "Thanks."

"No problem," he replied.

As the nicotine within the bitter taste of tobacco hit my system, I felt a lot calmer. My nerves steadied and I gave a very relaxed sigh. "Much better. What brand is this?"

"Mild Seven," Yusuke said, exhaling. "They probably don't suit your gaijin tastes, but they're cheapish."

I debated. "Nah, I like it. It's mellow."

We finally came to the end of the corridor, and walked into an antechamber. There were a large pair of blue doors with golden borders. On either side were statues of dragons as big as Hiei. Lightning struck and cast a dark shadow over the dragon statues, highlighting their teeth and claws.

"Are we supposed to be scared?" Hiei asked, a note of incredulity to his voice.

I took the last drag off my cigarette and dropped it onto the stone floor, crushing it under my shoe. "Not unless we're in a Wes Craven horror film. And I doubt we are."

"Did you see Scream 4?" Yusuke asked.

I grinned. "I did. It was awesome."

"Man, I wanted to see it, but I didn't have any extra cash that week," Yusuke said sadly.

"Get it when it comes on DVD," I said. "It's cheaper that way, anyway."

"Could you two focus?" Kuwabara asked, staring at us in disbelief. "I mean, we're standing here and about to go in to meet the third Beast, and you're just talking about horror films!"

"Yes," Kurama agreed, raising an eyebrow at us.

Yusuke and I exchanged devlish grins and shut up.

Kurama eyed the doorway. "This is the mark of the Blue Dragon. And judging from the odor, I'd say the Beast is inside."

"Yeah, and it doesn't feel very nice," Kuwabara mumbled.

There was a mechanical clanking sound from the doors, and they creaked and slowly swung open. A silver mist poured out and brought a wave of chilliness through the air. Yusuke squared his shoulders and stepped through the doors, and we quickly followed him. The doors closed behind us with a metallic clank.

It was colder in this room.

"This fog's alive," Kurama said with a calculating expression. He was right. The demon's energy was in the very mist that surrounded us.

"Must be a form of spirit energy coming from our Beast's body," Hiei observed, looking annoyed.

A low, careful voice came through the mist. "You have done very well to come this far. But I shall no longer allow you to disgrace my master."

"Where's that voice coming from?" Kuwabara asked, looking around. He glanced at me and I shrugged. His energy was too big to pinpoint an exact location.

"I don't know," Yusuke snapped. "Come out now dragon! This hide-and-seek thing's getting pretty lame!"

There was a crackle of thin lightning in the room as the fog thickened. There was a ball of light as the energy washed over us, and then the mist dissipated. Seiryu stood in the middle of the stone chamber with a very serious expression on his green-tinted face.

"As you request," he said, in his very serious voice.

"A giant!" Kuwabara exclaimed. I glanced back between the demon and Kuwabara, and indeed the demon was taller. Not quite as tall as Byakko, but still.

"You may call me Seiryu. I am here now to end your lives, intruders," said the demon, with a dark chuckle.

"Well, he's no dragon, but he is ugly," Yusuke said.

"It is not wise to say such things to your executioner." He gave a sound of annoyance. "It appears we have another guest."

I examined my internal radar, and found that Seiryu was correct. There was a weakened energy behind the doors, accompanied by the sound of shuffling.

Kuwabara looked surprised. "Uh, guys, I'm not sure how to tell you this…"

Hiei turned around. "It's coming from behind us."

The doors opened with a creak, and a very badly singed Byakko stood there, filling the doorway and holding himself up by the door panels. He looked at Seiryu. "You must help me," he said.

"You're joking," Yusuke said, wide-eyed.

Byakko lumbered into the room, and we stepped away from the door and his gigantic feet. I eyed his large hand warily and stood behind Kuwabara. "Please, Seiryu," he said, "these cowards…they tricked me in my own lair. They hid their true power from me 'til the end…you must help me recover."

Kuwabara looked horrified. "I knocked that guy into lava!"

"What does it take to kill this guy?" Yusuke asked.

Seiryu did not look happy. "Weakling. How dare you dishonor us further?"

Byakko's expression became beseeching. "Please, Seiryu!"

Seiryu straightened. "You are no longer wanted here. You are a disgrace." He settled himself into a stance and pulled his fist back, energy turning it an ice bright blue.

Byakko looked horrified. "No! Seiryu! I can help you destroy them!"

Seiryu let the energy in his fist fly, and Byakko became covered in ice, frozen solid. His mouth was open, revealing all of his pointed teeth, and his arms were up and his huge claws glinted on his hands.

"He's frozen!" Kuwabara exclaimed in shock.

"He makes a nice statue," I commented, still bitter about him knocking me out.

Seiryu suddenly leapt at Byakko and shattered the entire tiger demon with one kick. I blinked at the shattered body parts scattered all over the ground for a minute, in shock. I didn't really expect him to kill Byakko.

"Hmm, you were right about my fog of energy. By lowering it to subzero temperatures, I can wrap my enemy in ice," Seiryu said, completely unaffected.

Yusuke gave him a glare. "You heartless bastard! How could you kill off your own friend?"

"Seiryu…why -"

I looked over to see Byakko's head was talking, and I felt a wave of nausea. It gave a cough and turned over weakly. I looked away and tried to go to my happy place.

"He was a weapon, not a friend, and like a cheap sword - he rusted," Seiryu explained, gaining my attention again. He turned and spit in the direction of Byakko's head, but I pressed my lips together and looked up at the ceiling, fighting my rolling stomach.

Kurama took pity on me and gently pushed me behind him, so that I could look at his back instead. I sighed with relief and rested my forehead between his shoulder blades. I forced myself to focus on the clean smell of laundry detergent coming from his uniform, and wonder if Sitka was being good for Shiori. Then I wondered if she was safe. Botan said that things were getting pretty desperate back in the living world and that had me worried.

"Are you all right?" Kurama murmured, voice reverberating through his bones.

"I got a bit nauseous. I'm worried about Shiori-san," I mumbled into his back. His hair tickled my nose.

He didn't move, keeping his attention focused on Seiryu, but he murmured, "I'm worried too."

"This, guy's pushing me too far," Yusuke said, furious. "He's dead!"

"Save your anger," Hiei interjected. "You can take their leader. I insist this fight be mine." I picked my head up and leaned around Kurama to watch him walk toward Seiryu.

"Ah, shall you be first, Hiei?" the dragon demon asked.

Hiei pulled his cloak off and tossed it over Byakko's dead head. I went back to hiding my face in Kurama's uniform and trying not to vomit.

Seiryu chuckled. "What was that? Tell me you're not feeling sympathy for that amateur. From your actions at the Gate of Betrayal I was hoping you had more of a warrior spirit."

"He's a puzzle, isn't he?" Kurama asked. At first I thought he meant Seiryu, but then I realized that he was talking about Hiei. Unfortunately, I had to disagree with Kurama. Hiei was moody and prickly, but he was usually consistent in his actions. I could always understand them at least. "In times before," Kurama continued. "I've seen Hiei act with similar cruelty, but something about Byakko's execution has caused great anger in him. Hiei seems to live by his own code with very complex rules, but one thing's for sure, I've never seen Hiei begin a fight using such extraordinary amounts of his spirit energy."

"Hiei doesn't take betrayal well," I said into Kurama's back. "Even if he's not the one betrayed."

"Good," Yusuke said. "As long as he kicks some ass."

Seiryu's energy was strong and as smooth as top-shelf vodka. It contained a threat of ill-intent and maliciousness, and it settled on either side of us. I realized, peeking around Kurama, that Hiei was blocking his energy with his own. Hiei was shielding us. My stomach settled, so I stepped out from behind Kurama to watch the fight properly.

"I assure you, Hiei, it is not too late to join our ranks. Prostrate yourself before my master and he shall give you power and fame beyond what you have ever tasted," Seiryu said.

"Fame?" I asked, looking at Kurama, making sure I heard that right. "Did he just seriously offer Hiei fame? Are all of these Beasts fucking divas?"

Kurama hid a laugh behind a cough.

"Is that all you have to say?" Hiei asked. "They're last words, you know."

Seiryu was insulted. "Fine! So that is your choice. You shall meet your death with the other weaklings!" And then he raised his energy and shot it out toward Hiei. Hiei cut through it though, protecting himself and us. The walls around us, on either side of the double doors, got holes blown in them.

Kuwabara looked at the hole in the wall nearest to him and then turned back to Seiryu. "Hey, be careful!" he scolded.

The dragon demon powered his fist up, like on the attack with Byakko. "Try blocking this!"

"It's that freeze technique! Run!" Yusuke exclaimed.

Seiryu roared with his technique, as Hiei's form grew taut in his crouch. Hiei flew up in the air as the floor where he had been turned to ice, and landed behind Seiryu, with a face that said you're-too-slow-but-I'll-put-up-with-it-for-the-sake-of-killing-you.

Seiryu chuckled. "I'm sorry, I had forgotten of your impressive speed. Now let's try again!"

And then there was a quick and fast-paced montage of Hiei being there, there, no, there, and now he's over there, with ice appearing wherever he had been. I couldn't follow Hiei's movements at all, but I could see flashes of black and olive skin dance around Seiryu. The dragon demon became increasingly angry when he could not catch up to Hiei. I bit my lip and tried not to laugh.

As Hiei dodged and Seiryu shot his ice everywhere, the room became increasingly cold. I unwrapped my jacket from my waist and pulled it back on, burrowing into myself and pressing my side against Kurama's.

"He's gonna turn the whole room into a hockey rink," Yusuke said, annoyed as he shivered.

"Not just the room," Kuwabara said, clutching himself and shuddering. The top of his head was icy, and he wasn't wearing his jacket, or a shirt. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Man I wish I had my jacket back," he mumbled.

"Hiei," Kurama suddenly said.

We turned back to the fight and saw Hiei land one-handed and drop down into a crouch. He seemed annoyed.

"Hey, he's okay," Yusuke said lightly.

"Yeah, don't scare us like that," Kuwabara chided.

"No," Kurama said, gritting his teeth. "His leg - he won't be able to run away anymore."

I frowned, looking at Hiei carefully. His left leg was encased in ice, but he was a fire demon, wasn't he? I toyed with the idea that Hiei was playing possum, because surely a bit of ice like that wouldn't actually hurt him.

"You see?" Seiryu said. "No one ever escapes - only begs for mercy. With your leg like that, you can't hardly move. I suggest you start groveling." He fell into an attacking stance and let his energy crackle around him dangerously.

"What can he do?" Yusuke asked, horrified.

"Ice Dragon!" Seiryu shouted, throwing his ice-encased fist out at Hiei.

Hiei jammed his sword down in front of him and launched himself at Seiryu. After that, I pretty much lost sight of what was going on. There was another flash of Hiei's sword, and then Hiei landed in front of us with his arm and other leg covered in ice.

"Hiei!" Yusuke yelled.

Seiryu turned around, triumphant. "Hah, you have escaped, but you are wounded."

Hiei gave a dark chuckle, facing Seiryu.

"Why are you laughing?" the dragon demon asked.

"So what if your ice trick can kill your wounded friend? It won't kill me," Hiei said, raising his icy left arm and closing his fist. The ice faded and cracked like the sound of breaking glass. The same happened with his legs, and I assumed he was just raising his already high body temperature to accomplish this.

Seiryu seemed surprised. "That's…impossible! I shall give one final blow!" But he was unable to do so because blood trickled down his forehead.

"I don't think so," Hiei said flatly.

I could see lines of blood appearing all over his body, and he roared, covering his face as his energy surged around him. A tornado of fog wrapped his body up and disappeared with a crackle of thunder.

"He even has to die like a diva," I muttered.

"When did he attack?" Kuwabara asked, frowning.

Yusuke laughed and ran toward Hiei. I followed him, now that the room warmed up again. Kurama and Kuwabara quickly followed, cheerful.

Hiei slid his sword back into its sheath and turned around to face us.

"You made French fries out of that guy!" Yusuke said, excited, blood boiling from the fight.

"Hiei, how many times did you cut him?" Kurama asked curiously.

"Only sixteen," he replied.

"Sixteen? Damn it!" Yusuke said, disappointed. "And here I could only keep track of seven or eight."

"That's nothing meager," said Kurama. "After the first hit, I only saw flashes of light."

"I couldn't even see the flashes," Kuwabara said dejectedly.

I patted his shoulder sympathetically. "I couldn't see much either," I told him.

"Man, this isn't good. If you use those moves the next time we fight, I'm gonna be screwed!" Yusuke said nervously, laughing slightly, one hand behind his slicked-back hair.

Hiei turned away to get his cloak. "Maybe," he muttered.

Kuwabara looked after Hiei with over-exaggerated suspicion. "I thought for sure he was going to say, 'well of course, you fool'!" he mocked.

"Hiei is going through a tricky change," Kurama said lightly to Yusuke. "It appears he's beginning to like you."

Yusuke gave a slight smile that was half amused and half pleased.

"Let's go," Hiei called from across the room, turning to look back at us. We followed him out into the next corridor, eager to get on with it.

I turned to Yusuke. "You know what my favorite horror movie is?"

Kuwabara sighed with annoyance and disbelief.