ME: (stretches) Hmm… The last chapter was a letdown for myself. I had a few more things planned in it but it was too loooooong…Guess I need to just make that up now. Hmph… (grumbles in annoyance)

Hiei: Talk is cheap.

Ghost:(Reading the reviews) Well…that's an interesting idea.

ME: Ghost, I don't need any more ideas from you or from Hiei. The two of you have been kicking it into overdrive as of late as muses and I can't keep it all straight…I think I need to make a more organized outline…because this is getting confusing fast.

Hiei: (smirks) Oh you think this is bad? Just wait. I have more up my sleeve.

Ghost: You're not the only one with ideas to throw at her. Not to mention those waiting in the wings (points to Yusuke, Kurama, Jin and a few others standing there waiting for their turn to say their piece for the upcoming chapters).

ME: …Craaaaaap. I finally had this story finished in outline…why are you doing this to me? Now I have to figure out where I'm going to put all these scenes! (flails)

Ghost: I don't feel bad.

Hiei: It'll do you some good. You always boast about how your writing has gotten better from this story.

ME: …You can just bite me, Hiei. Damn it…I had everything planned and these bastards just gave me about six chapters worth of scenes that I have to find where to put them now…They're making this longer than I had originally intended it to be…Hopefully it ends out better for it. I don't own anything other than my characters…God I hate my muses right now (plants forehead into the desk) chapter start.

-Chapter Start-

Chapter 51: A Place of Reprieve

"What does that mean exactly?" I asked curiously.

"That we need to get the hell out of here and not through the front door…lets go."

"Um…ok," I answered in response as Ghost quickly turned on his heel and grabbed my upper arm as he walked past me. His grip was firm and I winced slightly as I felt his fingers digging into my skin. His grip was a little tighter than I would've liked but at this point he was far more focused on getting us out of the fortress as quickly as possible without having to fight our way out. If I had to suffer a few bruises on my arm for it, I wasn't going to complain. Frankly, I didn't want to fight my way out of the place either and the sudden change of route was clearly a better option considering the fact that I could sense a large group of demonic auras congregated around the entrance we had walked through in. In fact, the group I sensed was agitated and clearly eagerly awaiting our return for a surprise ambush. They were trying to keep their auras low, but there was so much anticipation that it was overflowing through the halls. It gave me chills knowing that I was the intended prey for all of that energy. Yet…what would that mean for Ghost? This was after all his place of employment. If so many of his own… "comrades" had turned against him…what did that mean for his future as part of the organization?

It was a little awkward for me to keep up with Ghost at the pace he was setting for us and the angle that he was holding my arm at. He must've noticed this as well because after about five minutes he released my arm, but motioned that I stay extremely close to him. We were practically dashing through the various halls as quickly as we could without making any sort of noise. I still focused on keeping my power as low as I possibly could and pushed my human limits of running to keep myself under the radar. In doing this…sweat was pouring down the sides of my face and I could feel myself start to hyperventilate. I was never much of a runner back home and not allowing myself call on my demonic reserves was pushing my body in a way I hadn't in some time. Ghost hissed in annoyance and suddenly changed directions once again, setting us down another series of halls and when I glanced back over my shoulder I sensed a second group of demons slowing making their way toward us.

"I hate to break character here, but I think we're going to need to do something a little more drastic to get out of this situation, Ghost," I gasped as we slowed to a stop and I was given a moment to catch my breath. I doubled over, bracing my hands against my upper thighs and looked up at him while forcing myself to breathe normally.

"I think you're correct…In fact, I'm going to have to do something I haven't done in a very long time…Just work with me alright?" Ghost said as he held out his hand to me. Still trying to regain my composure from running, I only hesitated long enough to breathe a few seconds longer before clapping my hand into his. He slowly lead me toward a doorway and upon opening it, I saw a spiraling staircase. I blinked in surprise, considering I was expecting a room of some sort and looked at him curiously. He smirked and shook his head at me saying, "I don't even need to see your face to know that you're questioning my sanity. Just do me a favor and keep climbing the stairs until you can't go any higher up. When you reach the top, go out the door and wait for me. I'm going to work on covering up our trail and hiding any trances of your scent and aura signature. I'll be along shortly and this should buy us enough time to get away while they're trying to get through their own confusion."

"Ok…but when we get out of this…I swear you and I are gonna have to have a conversation about running headfirst into bad situations like this. You're acting way too much like Yusuke and I know you didn't spend enough time around him for it to wear off on you," I growled darkly. Ghost laughed and gently pushed me into the staircase.

"Perhaps…See you in a few minutes," Ghost replied before closing the door behind me. This annoyed me and I wasn't exactly happy to be separated from Ghost in this place, especially under the current circumstances. After all, he had gotten himself into trouble for my well being. Which meant if he was attacked by his comrades it would be my fault and that was not something that I wanted to be hanging over my head. Unfortunately Ghost was a stubborn ass and when I went to try to open the door again, I was immediately repelled by some invisible force. No doubt that was all his doing. I sighed in annoyance and looked up the stone staircase I was told to climb. There weren't any windows in it and torches placed every once in a while kept it lit. Deciding that it would be better to get a move on like Ghost planned, I started climbing the stairs as quickly as I could. By that point, I could feel the calf muscles in my legs starting to burn and my thighs feeling tight. My lower back was beginning to twinge a little as well, but there was a good thing about our cover being blown now. I wouldn't have to act like a submissive mate anymore and I could drop the next asshole that just happened to piss me off…I was going to enjoy that so much. I climbed the staircase quietly and felt the air changing somewhat. I couldn't be sure exactly how high up in the air I had gone, but I looked up to see that it kept going up for a little ways yet. I stopped in my ascent and looked down at where I had come from; listening for any signs of a struggle or indication that Ghost may have gotten into trouble. There was nothing. I couldn't even sense the group of demons that had been converging on us before.

"Damn…double damn…triple damn it all to hell," I grumbled darkly as I turned back around and continued making my way up the stairs. It was uneventful and there was little doubt in my mind that this would probably be the calmest moment I would have while I was in the Makai. It wasn't must longer before I finally reached the point where I couldn't climb anymore and there was a large door in front of me. Trusting that I hadn't been led into more danger, I quickly threw open the door and was immediately met with fresh air…which slammed into my chest like a ton of bricks. It definitely was going to take some getting used to the smell and potent power that made the air so thick…but it was definitely a relief after being closed up in the fortress as I had been. I kicked the door closed behind me and slowly moved away from it taking in where I was. I had apparently climbed to the very roof of the fortress and I walked to the edge to see…quite a bit going on. There were various demons moving about the base and it seemed like they were looking for someone. Of course I knew it was me…now I only had two concerns.

One, where in the blazes was Ghost?!

Two, how in the nine circles of hell were we going to get out of this mess?

I ran my hand through my hair thoughtfully and slowly started walking along the edge of the large rooftop and started looking over the options. The grounds were crawling with demons and considering I didn't know the secret ways in and out, I was at a clear disadvantage. Not to mention, I was positive I wouldn't be able to get out of this without Ghost's help. I could however, conserve my energy from this point on and have it stashed away just in case it was needed. By this point, I was sure that a fight was coming. It would just be a matter of time and skill it putting it off as long as we could. Though…I could feel irritation swelling in my chest.

How long had I been running? Not just in this situation, but in everything. When would the running stop? When would I finally stand my ground like Yusuke and take on whatever comes my way even when I know it could beat me? When would I be like Kuwabara and stop shying away just because I was afraid? When would I be like Kurama and actually use my cunning to catch my enemies unaware? When would I be like Hiei, beating down the opponents? Hell, when would I be like Ghost who was willing to put everything aside to take care of his friend? I grit my teeth in aggravation and cracked the knuckles on both of my hands as I hissed, "Alright, I've had enough hiding."

"I couldn't agree more, but we have one last stunt before we can get out of here," a voice whispered from behind me. I froze in surprise and spun around…to see absolutely nothing at all. I know that was Ghost who had spoken to me, but where the hell was he? I couldn't see anything at all and I quickly turned in a circle, sensing for him carefully. I could only find air.

"Ok…You're going to have to teach me that one," I muttered darkly as I prepared for him to do something…unnerving. Of which I was not disappointed.

"I can try…but there's no guarantee you'll pick it up the way I have. There is good reason as to why Morte thought I could strike you down in battle," Ghost whispered so quietly into my right ear that it caused cold chills to spread through my spine. I could feel his chest pressed against my back and his arms slowly wrapped themselves around my shoulders to pull me closer to him. I couldn't even sense him…fuck I couldn't even see him even though I could feel him holding me there; locking my being in place. He hovered behind me and I…felt my heart pounding. Physically, I could feel him, but I could not see him, could not sense him, and could not guarantee he would stay there if I tried to move. It was terrifying, feeling something there…almost like his aura, though I could not sense it, was threatening to swallow me right where I stood. Now, I was truly starting to understand why he had the name Ghost…whether it was given to him upon his birth or if it was a name he assumed on his own… I understood it very well now. He chuckled softly in my ear and continued, "I plan to extend this unto you and once I'm satisfied that you're cloaked in my power, we're going over the edge and out of this place to my cabin. It rests in neutral territory of the Demon Lords, which is hard to find in this day and age, but nonetheless, once we get there we should have time to rest and recover. No one will find you there. Of that I can assure you."

"R-right…G-Ghost, you've succeeded in disturbing me…Do you mind? This is…terrifying," I stammered feeling my blood freeze in my veins. Half of me was trying to comprehend just how back Ghost would've beat me in the Dark Tournament…and the other half of me was resisting the urge to fangirl, and ask him if he could really teach me how to do stuff like that. Soon, Ghost released me and when I turned around again, I could actually see him standing there once again. There was a grin curling his mouth that threatened to take over his entire face and I saw glee in his eyes. It would seem that he thoroughly enjoyed causing me all kinds of discomfort. I threw a punch into his shoulder, which he took good naturedly. I crossed my arms in annoyance and growled, "So, what are the details of this plan exactly?"

"Follow me," Ghost said as he turned on his heel and led me toward the opposite side of the roof from where I had been standing. I walked after him, struggling to calm my racing heart. I wasn't sure if it was just his unnerving actions that had caused me so much distress or if it was something…else, but I refused to focus on it until we had time to rest safely. Upon stopping on the edge, I noticed there was a wall with a reasonable jumping distance and on the other side of the wall was a rather…steep slope leading down toward some thickly clumped trees. I started to figure out his plan before he even continued talking, "I plan to thoroughly cloak us in the same energy I just showed you. I used that exact technique to cover our tracks within the fortress and it should be fairly simple to do as we leave as well. The only difference is that you have to be in physical contact with me for this to work. Once we're a distance away from this place, I will dispel it and we can continue normally. Then…only one other problem could possibly stand in our way."

"Kano…am I right?" I asked curiously.

Ghost nodded simply, "Yes…he has slowly been going up the ranks and people have been interested in his training for one main reason. So far, his is the only power that has had the potential to rival my own. They even paired us together in a mission once…he's lucky to have survived, to my own disappointment."

"No wonder he jumped at the chance to cause you trouble," I sighed shaking my head.

"I didn't think about the enemy I had made there and it would seem that he has made a following of other demons that I somehow managed to piss off, although I don't know how…" here he snorted in amusement with himself, "…anyway, it should be relatively clear sailing from this point, wouldn't you agree?" Ghost asked turning back to me with a smile.

"Not exactly. My definition of clear sailing would be that we wouldn't have to worry about this and would be walking to your cabin; probably having a good laugh as we did so. That would be my definition of clear sailing," I responded as I covered my face with my hand. Ghost only laughed and I rolled my neck, loosening up my shoulders as I did. There was going to be no way out of this, I knew that and might as well just jump right into it instead of putting it all off. So I turned back to him and said, "Let's get on with this Ghost. I'd rather get the hell out of dodge, sooner than later. We can relax and celebrate when we get to your cabin."

"Good thinking," he agreed as he extended his hand to me. I could see that he was starting to manipulate his powers once again and the air around him was beginning to distort. I took a deep breath before reaching out and locking my hand in his. It was…strange. It felt like something warm was slipping over my entire body. The best way I could describe it was when you put some clothing on straight after it had come out of the dryer. The clothes still retained the heat from the machine and some of them even temporarily shrunk so that your body feels like it has to squeeze into the seams before the clothes eventually stretch back to their original size. It was a lot like that. At first, it felt like it was going to compress my entire body and breathing was difficult for the initial contact, but soon it became normal and when I next looked at my arm…I could see it starting to camouflage just as Ghost had. My eyes widened in astonishment and I looked up to see Ghost's face…starting to fade from my sight. It was strange…he was semi transparent with an ominous glow to the image I could see. This…what definitely what normal humans would call a ghostly spirit of a dead soul. Ghost was just as amused as before…I was beginning to think that he enjoyed showing off his power considering I hadn't gotten to see it in the Dark Tournament. However, he grew serious for a moment and said, "One final thing…if you get injured like this it may keep you from being seen but your blood won't be. We can still leave a trail if we're not careful…now get ready for this."

Before I had a chance to process what he said, let alone respond, Ghost had moved so that he was behind me and wrapping my arm around his next. I uttered one growl of protest as he suddenly lifted me up to carry me bride-style in his arms and then leapt from rooftop toward the wall. I bit down on the corner of my lip in unease, but did my damnedest not to draw blood like before. Instead I watched us fast approaching the wall…and noticed that Ghost wasn't…well, it would seem that he hadn't gotten enough momentum behind him when he had jumped and due to that…the top of the wall was just about at his shins. At the rate we were moving through the air, there wouldn't be enough time to correct and land properly. Even if there had been, it would've been rather difficult for him considering the fact that he was carrying me. I blinked and felt him sigh rather dramatically. I felt my ears twitch in annoyance and I grumbled, "You didn't think this through did you?"

"Not exactly."

"Of course not…" I sighed.

I heard his shins smack unceremoniously into the very top of the wall and not long after I felt his body pitch forward. The jerk of his upper body flying forward while his lower body falling back from the impact was enough to dislodge me from his arms and it sent me flipping into the air. I barely caught sight of the wall disappearing behind us as the two of us went flying through the air and then I smacked into the ground. The momentum behind it didn't give me much time to revel in the shock to the system as I continued down to flip and flop all the way down the steep incline that was just beyond the wall. It was almost comical…if it wasn't so damn jarring. I could hear Ghost groaning as he tumbled down the slope behind me and I was glad of the fact that there weren't any trees down the incline we were falling through. There were however clusters of bushes all over the ground and I tumbled right through more than half of them. The branches scratched my body as I fell through and the cloak that had been keeping me covered was torn is dozens of places from the branches. I could feel leaves getting stuck in my hair and bruises were starting to swell over my body from the constant flipping and crashing into the ground as we continued to tumble down the slope. It was fortunate though that the momentum behind us had propelled us forward as fast as it did and it wasn't much longer before I finally crashed into level ground and skid for a few feet before finally coming to a stop. That was not something I wanted to go through again…it faintly reminded me of falling out of the warehouse window after the Dark Tournament when Morte and Azra had ambushed me. I growled darkly and slid my arms under my torso to push myself up.

"That…was not as fun as it seems on TV," I grumbled darkly and sat up on my legs. I rand my hands through my hair, picking out the leaves and dirt as I did and glanced around to see Ghost come to a stop on the ground a few feet away from me. I could smell his blood and noticed that his legs had been cut from making connection with the wall. Other than that, he was getting to his feet as well and dusting himself off as he went. I followed suit and walked over to him after removing from foliage that had been attached to the cloak I was wearing. He looked at me apologetically, but before he had a chance to say anything I said, "Well, at least we're out of the fortress right? Let's get a move on and get out of here before anyone comes to look for us outside the walls. This time however, I'm running beside you. No more carrying me nonsense."

I held my hand out to him, and waited for him to take it to reinitiate the cloaking power he had placed on us before. Ghost looked over me with a strange little smirk on his face before finally nodding and reaching out his hand to grasp mine. The strange feeling from before washed over me again and I waited until it finally settled back into place. As soon as the power had set once again, Ghost gently pulled me behind him and we slowly picked up our pace from a brisk jog to a full out run. Ghost led the way through the winding paths and the trees while I kept my attention split between following him and watching our backs as well. I couldn't sense anyone in pursuit of us, but that didn't mean anything. After all, Ghost could completely hide our energy so I wouldn't put it past anyone else to be able to do that. My main concern was the fact that Ghost said blood would be our dead giveaway and…well he was the one that was bleeding. He didn't let it get to him though, and we were racing through the terrain like the devil himself was on our heels. For a while I could still faintly hear the commotion from the fortress but as we continued to run, it wasn't long before all was quiet around us. I was biding my time while we ran to make Ghost stop to look over his injuries and when I felt that we were a safe distance away from the trouble, I gave him a subtle tug on his arm.

"Ghost, I think we're far enough away. Let's rest for a minute ok?" I said just as I caught sight of him tilting his head back at me. For a good minute, I thought he was going to ignore me, but he growled in affirmation and our pace quickly began to slow. Finally, we came to a stop and just as we broke contact from each other, I felt the cloaking he had covered me in fade away for a second time. Once it had, Ghost knelt down and began inspecting his shins to see how bad the damage was. Meanwhile, I slowly walked the small clearing we had stopped in, taking everything in. I sighed slightly and brought both of my hands up to clasp them behind my head at the base of my neck. I glanced over my shoulder at Ghost and said, "You know…for once I would be pretty happy for the chance to sit back, relax and have a boring non-eventful week. No fights. No schemes. No baddies looking for trouble. Just a week where I can lay around and be lazy instead of having to kick ass and take names…or get my ass handed to me. Just one, that's all I'm asking for."

"I wouldn't know what that's like and wouldn't know how to handle it if it happened for me," Ghost replied with a chuckle. I smirked ruefully.

"Sadly, I've been part of this group too long I don't think I would know how to handle it either. That used to be my entire life…but now I don't even think I remember how it used to be," I snickered quietly before turning around as my hands fell to my sides. I made my way over to him to see if there was something I could do to help him, but before I got to his side, I sensed an aura flare up from our left. I was able to sense an attack flying right toward my head from that direction and I barely managed to back-flip in to the air to avoid it. However, there was a strange pressure that hit the middle of my forehead as I flew through the air and landed back in the exact spot I had been standing in before. Just as I planted my feet in the ground and looked to see the source of the attack, a loud crack broke through the air. Then immediately after, the mask I had been hiding behind split in two and fell uselessly to the ground just as shreds of cloth from the hood fluttered all around my head. My hair fell gracefully over my shoulders and I knew that my identity was compromised now, beyond the shadow of a doubt. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Ghost on his feet and shift into a tense fighting stance; with an expression that I would liken to that of a coldblooded killer. He was absolutely murderous and I quickly refocused on the figures that were now emerging from the shadows in front of us. I cracked my neck in preparation for the fight and said, "Then again, with fun like this every day, why would I want anything else?"

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here, Ghost? I have to say, I was curious about the little thing you had trailing after back at headquarters, but I didn't honestly think you would sink so low as to disguise a mark and keep them all to yourself. At most, I thought it would be some low-class demoness with which you would not exactly thrilled to be associated with and knew that if it was found out, she'd become a target for the sheer fact that it wouldn't bode well for our employer if it happened. I had no idea, no inkling whatsoever, that you would be hiding the very creature the Demon Lords themselves have been searching for. What did you plan exactly? That you would take her straight to one of them and deliver her yourself? Take the money and stash it away without even considering giving our employer their cut of it all? Oh no no no…Ghost, it would seem like you have fallen quite a bit from the pedestal you were raised to," Kano hissed dangerously as he stood just on the edge of the clearing. His power was subdued, no doubt part of whatever strategy he had planned to deliver his twisted sense of justice upon us, but those he brought with him however were far more forthcoming about the power they were exuding. I could sense sixteen of them right from the beginning and then as I focused even harder, there were half a dozen more slowly creeping up behind us.

"You brought an entire battalion on a hunch that you say was about a mere low-class demoness? Something about your story just doesn't add up. How about you try again?" Ghost sneered in response. I smirked darkly.

"Heh…alright, perhaps I had an idea that the demoness was a little more than what met the eye…and the battalion itself wasn't necessarily meant for her…let's just say there's a few people in our organization that have gotten tired of the way you strut around like you own the place. It's time we put you in your place and what becomes of her…well our employers will decide that," Kano answered laughing and a low rumbled erupted from all around us as the rest of the demons joined him. I started flexing my fingers and rolled my shoulders a couple of times as I took in a single deep breath. I held it for about fifteen seconds before slowly exhaling and feeling my ears twitching intently. While I hadn't been wild about fighting anyone when we were in the middle of the fortress, I had no qualms with squashing this bug here and now. This bastard wasn't just after me at this point. He had a vendetta with Ghost and the coward brought an entire battalion of demons to face his enemy with him. If I hadn't been a fighter, Ghost would've been outnumbered and by the sheer amount, I could see him getting overwhelmed while trying to protect another life as well as his own. I was definitely not sitting back on the sidelines for this fight.

"Rin…you do realize that we can't suffer any of these fighters to live, correct?" Ghost inquired looking over at me calmly.

"I figured as much. Shall we get to work?" I replied punching my right first into my left hand.

"Show me some of that skill you've apparently gained since the last time we saw each other," Ghost said as he started to shift into that same paranormal state that he had done before.

"Gladly," was my simple reply.

"Enough talk! It's time for you to meet your end, Ghost!" Kano howled and then disappeared on the spot. As that coward step back into the shadows, the other demons he had brought with him stepped out. Though their power levels weren't anything too concerning, but the fact that there were twenty-two of them ready to lunch and one still hiding on the sidelines, I knew this was going to be a royal pain in the ass. They didn't give us much time to focus on that though. Fourteen different demons swarmed in on Ghost and the remaining eight started to circle me. I looked over them with a devious smirk and grinned at them while flashing my sharp teeth in the process. I was going to enjoy this…and they weren't going to know what the hell happened to them. I slammed my right foot into the ground forcefully and released a decent current of electricity into the ground. Just as it discharged and shocked all of them into seizing in place for a moment, I rushed into the two who stood in front of me. Focusing my flames in my right fist I punched one so hard that I heard his jaw crack and then spun on the other to deliver a swift kick to the sternum that cracked his ribcage. At that moment one of the other demons swept up behind me and attempted to catch me in some sort of headlock. I lifted my hands up over my head and quickly slipped down to crouch so close to the ground that my chest was barely inches away from it. The demon lunged over my body and tripped over my hunched back to slam into the demon that I had just kicked in the chest. I spun up on my feet once again and reached out to snatch the ax right off the hip of another demon and kneed him in the groin just as I did so.

Just as I was starting to feel badass and unbeatable, someone cold-cocked me straight in the side of my head and caused me to stumble off to the side. I could feel a vein start to pulse on the side I received the blow to and I bit down on the corner of my mouth with my sharp tooth. Deciding to use the force behind his blow, I used it to spin on my heel and then turned around to plant the ax I had taken from the demon into the chest of another demon. His eyes widened in shock and deciding that it was time to get a little more ruthless, I sent electricity coursing through the metal that was buried in his chest. Of course, it was fatal and I ripped the ax from his torso. It was at that moment that another demon slammed right into my side and tackled me to the ground. The force behind the blow knocked the weapon right out of my hands and I felt my chakram dig into my hip uncomfortably under the cloak. I growled darkly and quickly reached up to stop the demon from wrapping his hands around my throat and choking me to unconsciousness. He was laughing and as I stared up into his face, I encountered a yellow skinned demon with one hell of an under-bite. In fact, it looked like he had two great tusks sticking out of his lower jaw instead of teeth and I blinked in surprise.

"Well, aren't you the looker. I'm sure you're a hit with all the ladies so you won't know how to handle this when I say; Get. Off. Me. You. Bastard!" I snapped in annoyance as I placed my hands on his shoulders and sent one hell of a current coursing through him and then caused it to spark so that it repelled him back forcefully enough that he went flying five feet into the air. I swept myself up and took stock of what was going on. I managed to kill one of them, two were wheezing off on the side from the broken sternum and broken jaw I had given them. Then there was the demon I just sent off of me who was on the ground seizing uncontrollably. That meant there were still four that were ready to go and could jump at me at any given moment. There were three that would slowly recover and recompose themselves in a matter of time and then there were all the enemies that Ghost was facing. I looked over at him and stopped in my tracks. My heart stopped and I felt anger pulse through my chest.

Out of the fourteen that had surrounded him, six already were lying on the ground dead and the rest were working together in an attempt to overwhelm him. I noticed there were some strange bindings – that looked like black vines or roots of some sort – wound tightly around his legs, preventing Ghost from maneuvering the way that he usually did and there was a strange sent in the air. At first I couldn't place what it was, but then just as one of the demons rushed me and threw me back a few feet, I watched Kano emerge from the shadows. He had a short blade held in his left hand and I caught sight of some sickly colored liquid dripping from the tip of the blade. There was this…depraved look on his face and Kano didn't look away from Ghost who was currently fighting three other demons. I couldn't even manage to move before two of the demons pinned me to a nearby tree and held me there while the others I were fighting merely stood guard. It was clear they had been given strict orders not to harm me, but to keep me as far from Ghost as was possible. I struggled against the bastards holding me, but they kept me firmly planted there while Kano swept up behind Ghost and raised the dagger over his head. I growled viciously and roared, "Ghost! That coward is behind you!"

Kano snarled in frustration that his advantage had been stolen from him, but Ghost barely managed to throw the enemies that had been surrounding him to the ground in time to twist his body as Kano lunged toward him. His ability to move was so limited that Ghost could only grab Kano just as he came within arm's reach and use the other fighter's own momentum to throw him off to the side, but this wasn't before the dagger sliced straight through the skin on Ghost's upper arm, just below his shoulder. Almost instantly, I saw Ghost's eyes grow wide and the color of his skin…shoot a full shade lighter. He didn't have to say a word. I knew that blade had been laced with poison and now…this fight had gotten a lot more serious.

"I hope you bastards enjoyed your lives while you had them…they're mine now…and I find them lacking," I growled as my voice shot nearly two octaves lower than was normal for me. The demons that were holding me back…didn't even have a chance to react. I dug both of my hands into their arms so deep that my nails had pierced into their arms, drawing blood and unleashed all kinds of hell from that point on. A shockwave of lethal lightning was surging through the air around me – and not to mention through the bodies of the bastards that were holding me – and to follow that up, I sent a furious blast of flames to follow after it. The two that were holding me were dead from the lightning and then charred into nothing more than ash from the flames. Three of the eight were dead. I quickly pinpointed the two that I had wounded earlier. They were on my immediate left and I lunged at them, unhooking my chakram from my hips as I did so. At this point, I no longer cared who these demons were. They stood between the safety of my friend and me…and therefore had to be destroyed as quickly as possible. I rounded on the two of them in an instant and before they even knew what happened, I descended on them. One chakram sliced through the neck of the one whose jaw I broke and the second chakram sliced straight through the chest into the heart of the other. Five out of the eight were now dead. I ripped my weapons clear out of the bodies of the fallen enemies and kicked one of them to the ground before I stamped my foot down on his back. I tilted my head down so I was glaring at the last three demons down the bridge of my nose and felt my hair flying wildly around me as flames were spiraling around my body. I swung the chakram swiftly at my sides to throw the blood off the blades. I locked eyes on them and could see the shock at my sudden viciousness. In fact, sweat was starting to drip down the sides of their face and I growled darkly, "You're going to die, you know that right?"

"You think you're bad enough?" one scoffed in contempt.

"I don't think anything. You're nothing," I answered before disappearing from where I was standing. At this point, I had unlocked all the restraints that I had been using before. I could smell the poison in the air and I could also smell the sickly scent of it mixing with Ghost's blood. I didn't know how quick the poison acted in the body and I also didn't know how bad the initial wound was. All I knew was that I needed to get over to him…and if I just happened to rip Kano into shreds with my own nails in the meantime, it would just be a bonus for me. Besides…these demons were nothing…Compared to Sensui…Compared to my friends…compared to me…They had no idea what they were dealing with. I was going to take care of Ghost the way he had been taking care of me and if these…scum dared to stand in my way, their lives were forfeit. Using a speed that easily rivaled Ghost and Hiei's, I reappeared behind one of them and promptly punched him so hard with my chakram that it spun his head so hard…that his neck cracked. I felt his life immediately end and then looked at the other two, "Six down…two to go."

"This bitch is serious," one stammered in surprise.

"She…didn't have this much power according to the scouts," the other gasped as the dead body of their comrade fell at his feet. I snarled wolfishly and lashed into the two of them so swiftly and so viciously that it wasn't long before their bodies crashed to the ground with the others. I wiped their blood from my face and disregarded the other blood splatters that decorated my form. Instead, I looked to see Ghost struggling with the last three demons that were standing from the force that attacked him. Once again, Kano was standing on the sidelines but, this time he was staring at me instead of Ghost. I had foiled his great plan once already and he knew that if he didn't keep watch on me, that I was going to do it again. Unfortunately for him, I was going to be a thorn in his side anyway. I threw both of the chakram down at my sides so they would bury themselves into the ground and I tensed my muscles in preparation for what I was about to do. I threw back my head and let out a piercing howl and threw a bit of power into quickly transforming into my wolf form. As my four paws touched the ground, I bounded off straight toward Ghost and leapt into the air, bearing down on the first demon that was giving him trouble. Before he had a chance to move, I bit down sharply on his neck and shoulder. The momentum I had mustered up, knocked us both to the ground, but fortunately for me, I landed on my four paws while he landed flat on his back. I shuddered at the taste of the demon's blood in my mouth, but ignored it as I proceeded to bite down even harder on him and twisting my head as I did so. There was a lot more blood…and a lot of crunching and cracking beneath my jaws. The demon thrashed…and then stopped moving. I unlocked my jaws and with a jerk of my head, threw the demon away from me.

At that moment, there were two more dull thuds landing on the ground on either side of me. I turned to look at Ghost down my snout to see that he had taken the last two demons down. However, he was staring at me with a bemused stare and when I arched my furry brow at him, he said, "And here I thought I was heartless."

I rolled my eyes and moved over to him. I quickly bit down on the bindings that were holding his legs in place and shuddered at the bitter taste that shot through my mouth. It wasn't as bad as the flavor of the demon's blood but still…I couldn't get the tastes out of my mouth soon enough as far as I was concerned. A few of the bindings lashed back and smacked me in the sides of my face causing a bit of pain as it did so, but I slowly stepped back and shook my head to get rid of it. Ghost shook his head and shook his legs now that they were free. I could see that the bonds had made the bleeding worse and no doubt had deepened the wounds he already had. He stumbled slightly and I noticed that he didn't seem like he was…completely coherent, but I couldn't focus on him. It was at that moment that Kano made his move, which consisted of bull rushing me and slamming into my side, hard enough that it knocked me back into my regular form. I flipped in the air and came skidding to a stop with both of my heels digging into the dirt and my right hand digging into the ground as well to form a triangle with my feet. I lifted my head up to look through my hair at him as he stood a few feet away from me and looked completely disinterested with Ghost now…he only had eyes for me. I slowly straightened up and ran my right hand through my hair and rolled my neck after. My side ached from where he made contact with me, but I didn't let it show. Instead, I smirked and said, "Oh…were you not amused?"

"I'm going to enjoy turning you in," Kano said as he reached back and pulled out a katana quite similar to the one Hiei fought with. I blinked and glanced back to see that I hadn't landed close enough for my chakram to be a viable option in this fight. I would be with just my powers faced against whatever he had up his sleeves, but I was still confident that I had the advantage and the reason behind this was simple. He harmed my friend. I wanted his blood.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you," I responded coldly and stamped my foot, causing embers to crackle along the ground. Kano wasn't fazed and we lunged into battle soon after.

It was fast paced. It was lethal. Kano wasn't trying to kill me, but he wasn't afraid of injuring me in the process. There were multiple occasions that the blade of his sword just grazed my skin and I had to spin out of the way, but I got my fair share of the blows as well. In fact, my nails were soon dripping with his blood as well and there were quite a few gashes along his face and neck that were all my doing. On top of that, I was also making sure to leave as many devastating attacks on him as he was attempting to leave on me. I was little more successful than he was and that was because I was fueled by fury for what he had done to my friend. There was an instance where I punched him hard in the middle of his left arm and not only did I heard the bone fracture beneath the blow, but I felt the shattered pieces crunch under my knuckles as I twisted my hand. Kano growled in agony and pushed himself away from me to land a good two yards away from me. I planted my feet and spat out some of the blood that still lingered from the prior demon I had killed. My ears twitched as I caught Ghost's breathing catch and I turned my head just in time to see him double over on the ground, with his body convulsing. Seconds later, he spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground and I froze in surprise upon seeing the color of it…it was a sickly green color with tinges of purple here and there. No matter what kind of demon you were, your blood was not supposed to look like that…at all.

Kano only laughed, "It would seem my poison is starting to take effect…Ghost, you'll die soon enough!"

"Fuck you, buddy boy!" I howled furiously as I lunged back on him and drew back a fist that was packed pulled of all kinds of electric currents. I was moving far too quickly for him to see and I was on him in an instant slamming my fist into his gut, unleashing all of the electricity I had stored up. There was a small gurgling sound in the back of Kano's throat and some spittle dripped down the side of his mouth. I pulled back enough of the current so that it wasn't fatal…after all I still planned on making him give up the antidote in order to heal Ghost. Once I drew back my fist I unleashed one hell of an onslaught, even by my standards. I pummeled punch after punch into his face, torso, and gut. I wouldn't let up and I decided to displace all the frustration I could into this one living punching bag. All the anger, frustration, and disgust I had for myself, I threw into beating the shit out of Kano. When I finally got tired of punching, I landed one more punch into his gut with enough shock to further stun him and then grabbed the back of his head with one hand. I brought up my knee and pulled down his head to make his face connect with my knee. Instantly, I felt his nose break from the first blow, but I didn't leave it at that. Oh no. I kept kneeing him relentlessly in the face. Once. Twice. Three times…four…and a couple more. All the way until my leg was covered in his blood. Then I stepped back and spun on my heel to slam my strong leg into the middle of his chest with enough force that it sent him flying back through the air. My eyes narrowed on his limp form as he flew through the air and I quickly realized that he was going to slam into a tree at the rate he was going…I grinned revealing my sharp teeth against my lips.

I dashed forward as fast as my legs would carry me and flexed my fingers as I trained my sights on his exposed neck. My plan was already in motion and by now…I was counting the minutes this bastard still had alive. When I was finished with him though, he wouldn't breathe any longer than was necessary. His back collided with the trunk of the tree and I was there in less time than it took someone to blink. My fingers were wound tightly around his throat and I slammed him far enough into the bark that splinters spat out around his body. Using only my right arm, I held him in place against the tree – which just so happened to leave him with his feet off the ground – and brought my left hand up so that it was a mere inches away from his eyes. My nails were pointed dangerously close to his face and there was lightning sparking through my fingers. I glared at him darkly and waited for his eyes to focus against after the savage beating I had unleashed into him. I stared at the blood that was pouring out of his nose and down his face. His left eye was swollen shut from the beating and when he opened his other eye, he was surprised by the sight that he met. I dug my nails gingerly into his neck, enough to cause pain, but not enough to cause any fatal bleeding.

"Listen up. As you can see I'm not in any mood to play and I don't exactly have time to spare. What's the poison coursing through Ghost's system and how do I stop it? Tell me now and I won't rip you apart in the most painful way possible," I hissed threateningly. My voice was…a lot deeper than I was used to and hell…it honestly disturbed me a little bit. True, I was absolutely pissed off beyond all belief, but…I wasn't exactly used to this instinctive rage. It was so primal. It was…dangerous. Yet, what made me even more unnerved was how…vicious it was. I was used to bouts of rage and wanting to beat the crap out of someone. However, I wasn't used to the feeling of wanting to rip someone apart in the most painful way possible. I wasn't used to wanting to cause as much pain and blood as I possibly could. I wasn't used to feeling this ruthless. I wasn't used to feeling so…detached when it came to someone else's life. I wasn't used to feeling…this demonic. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to think about it.

Kano started to laugh, "You think I'm going to give up the antidote? Even if I was worried about you, which I'm not, I would rather die than give up this opportunity. If there's any chance to see that bastard go down…I will take it."

I grit my teeth. My mind was spinning as I tried to figure out what I could do in order to get the antidote for Ghost and to do so quickly. I wasn't trained in torture…I didn't know the right ways to twist information out people and I didn't know how to get information out of people in a quick fashion. So, how the hell was I going to fix this mess? I was beginning to panic, until Kurama's words echoed in my head. My thoughts shot straight to the seeds in my pocket and I realized that…I had the answer there. There was no doubt in my mind that Kurama had far cleverer of a mind than Kano and his seeds would no doubt cure whatever poison that had been concocted by Kano. So…in actuality…I didn't need to keep this low-life scum alive any longer.

"Fine. Enjoy whatever hell you wallow in," I growled in reply and before I even knew what I had done, I drove my electrified nails into his eye and looked away as I shocked him to death. I felt his body convulsing against the trunk of the tree and I had to keep from shuddering as I felt his blood dripping down my hand. I didn't want to focus on what I had just done and when I was sure that he was dead, I pulled my hand back and released his limp corpse to fall to the ground. Then I promptly turned around, wiping the blood off my hands on the cloak. I focused on Ghost who was looking up at me in surprise. I quickly ran over to him and knelt at his side, reaching out to place my hand on his back as I said, "Hang on. alright? I've got a plan but you have to be stubborn for just a bit longer alright?"

I didn't give him a chance to respond before I was back on my feet and walking over to where I had thrown my chakram to the ground. I quickly hooked them back on my hips and then undid the cloak that was covering my upper body. I laid it carefully on the ground and then reached into my pocket and pulled out one of the seeds that Kurama had given me. I knelt on the ground and dug up some of the dirt with my nails before dropping the seed and burying it back. Taking a deep calming breath, I placed my hand over the dirt and hoped that Kurama had told me all I needed to know before just letting me have at it. Then I allowed a burst of my own aura to seep into the ground and touch the seed. It was instantaneous. I felt the seed sprouting to the life and I quickly jumped back as a plant began to sprout out of the dirt. I watched the vines branch out from the stock and the leaves protrude from the vines and as it grew, the blossoms quickly bloomed before my very eyes. It was like watching a plant growing on fast forward and it wasn't much longer before fruit began to grow on the plant. I watched it in shock until finally it all came to a stop and I reached out and quickly snagged one of the fruits right off the plant. I quickly darted over to Ghost and skid to a stop on my knees. I grabbed his hand and placed it in his palm saying, "I don't care what you think right now, just eat this and don't stop until it's completely gone. I'm almost sure that this is going to take care of whatever the hell Kano made. Now just trust me."

His brow was arched at me warily, but eventually Ghost bit into the fruit and continued eating it until it was nearly gone. Meanwhile, I went back over to the plant and started picking every last fruit off the plant and placing it on the cloak I had spread out on the ground. Once it was picked clean, I grabbed the corners of the cloak and wrapped it up so I could carry it all in one hand. I picked it up and got to my feet looking back at Ghost to see him standing for once…for all of three seconds. He staggered over to a tree and leaned against the trunk before getting very, very sick into a bush close to him. The only good thing about it was that I could at least see some color returning to his face. I smirked and made my way over to him just as he moved back to lean against the trunk of the tree. His face was drawn wearily and I could see that quite a bit of his energy had gone to fighting the poison that had been rampaging through his body. He closed his eyes and braced himself against the tree while I stopped in front of him and placed my hand gently on his shoulder. His eyes slowly opened and focused on me. I smiled and he groaned shaking his head, "You know…sometimes I don't know what the hell is going on when you're involved."

"I had…things handled," I laughed shaking my head.

"You had me worried…especially when you opened that can of whoop ass on Kano. More so though, when you killed him and I didn't know you had that…plant up your sleeves. I was almost sure you had condemned me to death there for a minute and what's more surprising is that I didn't know you had that sort of brutality in you," Ghost said looking at me with an arched brow. I wrinkled my nose at him with a smirk and shook my head.

"I trusted you with my life. So, I owed it to you to make sure your life was safe. Now, as much as I would like to sit and enjoy the fact that we're victorious I think it would be best for us to get the hell out of dodge and get to safety. Can you move?" I said reaching out and grabbing his upper arm gently to pull him onto his own feet. I faintly noticed his eyes go to my barely covered upper body and there was…a flush of color. That annoying voice in the back of my mind starting saying things again, but I pushed it aside and focused on Ghost who swayed slightly on his feet when he tried to stand.

"I can move…but not efficiently. Perhaps after just a little more time to rest-" Ghost started to reply until at that moment the wind picked up around us and we both froze. I caught scent of around…twenty different demons and their power levels were…well they were a lot better than the group of demons we had just faced. In all actuality, they didn't feel like they were even from the same organization that Ghost was from and…they were coming from the complete opposite direction. I blinked and knew that, in our current conditions, there was no way we'd be able to get out of this one and when I looked to Ghost…I felt a chill stab me in the back. There was a look of astonished horror etched into his features and he looked at me before whispering, "That…seems suspiciously a lot like some of Yomi's personal scouts. We need to get a move on."

"No time to waste means no pride can be spared," I replied and moved to his side. Before he had a chance to say another word I wound his arm around my shoulders and then I switched the cloak of fruit to my other hand. I still had plenty of power to spare and I threw everything I could into my legs. If I could put enough distance between us and the approaching scouts, I could evade them entirely and get us to safety. So, that's what I did. Once I was sure that Ghost would be able to stay comfortably on my side, I pushed my legs to the limit, but I also did one thing more. I focused as much of my power as I could into creating a force around us that wouldn't allow any traces of our power to leak out. It was difficult and sweat started to drip down the sides of my face, but this was my own attempt at trying to keep anyone from following our trail. After I got us a could mile and a half away from the clearing, I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes and said, "So…which direction should I be going to reach your cabin."

"Forty degree turn to the left," Ghost grunted in annoyance. I smirked in amusement.

"Don't like a female taking care of you?" I inquired deviously.

"Rin…I would advise you to just run and shut up."

I barked a laugh in response and did as he said. It was rather funny to me that I had managed to disgruntle him, but I had more important things to think about. I focused on keeping our auras from being tracked and ran as fast as my legs could carry us. Ghost meanwhile kept himself quiet until he gave me directions to turn and take us straight to where he wanted us to be. I listened and moved exactly as he told me and kept running. I was watching the grounds around us and listening for anything suspicious. I couldn't anything happen to Ghost while I had control of the situation. Not only would I not let myself live it down, but none of my friends would if they caught wind of it. So by the powers above, I wasn't letting anyone else down from this point on!

I was running for hours and it was starting to wear me down. The sweat that had been dripping down the sides of my face by this point was just a thin layer of constant sweat glistening over my face. My muscles were starting to feel like they were going to tear apart and my arms were starting to go numb from holding Ghost up. I didn't let any of this get to me though. I just kept pushing myself. Until the moment Ghost gave me my last set of directions and said that at the pace we were going, it would be only ten minutes until we arrived. Knowing that the end was close at hand…my focus began to falter. I faintly flashed back to the moment when I had struck Kano down. It was the humanity in me that made me look away and not actually see the damage I had caused when I drove my fingers into his eyes. It was my humanity that kept me from looking at him once again while I tried to make sure Ghost was taken care of and it was my humanity that kept me from looking back on final time before whisking the two of us to safety.

But it was the demon in me that wanted to see it. It was the demon in me that wanted to revel in the damage I had cause and it was the demon in me that was proud of what I had done. I faintly wondered what Hiei would've done if he had watched me kill as I had. I wonder what he would've thought of me now and I wondered if he would've been disappointed that I didn't enjoy what I had done to Kano.

"There," Ghost said bringing me right out of my thoughts. I blinked and looked up to see just what this fabled cabin of his would turn out to me.

I whistled, "This is nice…I'm impressed."

P.S. So everyone knows…this is where the last chapter was supposed to end. I had gotten way too into writing it all and then noticed the page numbers…were going past twenty and decided that it was best to end it as I had and split up the chapters. I'm sorry for the cliffhanger last time, but I figured it was the best place to end it. (sweatdrops)

-Chapter End-

ME: (holding my head) Damn you all to hell…I just finished retyping the outline to include everything that had to be added…my outline from this point on went from being three pages to seven pages…good god…and it's no skimpy outline either…it's pretty freaking detailed.

Hiei: Just when you think you have things planned out.

Ghost: We honestly have no sympathy for you. In fact, had you finished this story before now, you wouldn't even have some of the ideas that we have given you because you wouldn't have matured enough as a writer for them to be done properly.

ME: (mumbles in exhaustion) I still don't know if I can do some of this properly…I can give it the best shot I can but…you guys suck.

Yusuke: Don't forget about us!

ME: SHUT UP! I swear to god, I will get to you I promise. Just give me time to figure this next chapter out already! I had a hard enough time with this one! Grrr…See you next time people and let me know what you thought! I'm dying to hear from you all. Review!