I'm am so sorry everyone! Reasons for delay are explained below! Here's another double chap, and I don't own YYH!


"Faster, Mukuro. Speed is better than strength for someone your size in a fight." I instructed, watching as Minuka deflected the last fist she sent him with ease, causing her to stumble forward before she caught herself. Hands on her knees, she panted as beads of sweat rolled down her face. Minuka hadn't even blinked at her in the entire three hours we had been at it today. Yet, she still put her all into it, attempting to send him flying with every blow she missed. A knock came on the training room door, and Rema's voice entered in through the heavy wood.

"Ya have a visitor, Ryo-sama!" She proclaimed, not bothering with opening the door and disrupting our training of Mukuro even further until she was certain it was necessary.

"Are they important?" I yelled back, signaling to Mukuro and Minuka to pause and take a break. The young girl gratefully went over to where she stored a container of water, lifting it to her lips and drinking it heartily to regain her energy.

"Not very." Came the honest reply. An offended gasp came later, making me grin. Rema always knew just how to piss people off. The fact that she would bother to do so, however, spoke volumes of the fool who wanted to see me. Curious to see what wretch had gotten on Rema's bad side so easily, as it usually took a good number of months, I went to the door and opened it only enough for me to slip out, then shut it behind me. With or without myself there, Minuka would no doubt continue the training.

"I'll have you know I was handpicked by my Lord Enma! This is a great duty and power I posses, demon, so do not mistake me for one of your murderous, lollygagging friends!" The spirit world goon sniveled, turning his already pointed nose upwards even farther at my life long friend.

"As one of those murderous, lollygagging friends, I'll have ya know that if ya speak to Rema like that again, I'll send your head back to your fool of a king on a platter." Rema gave me a small smile at my immediate defense of her.

"He's says he's here on very important and hasty business and threatened to have the maids sold if they didn't bring him to ya right away." I raised a brow, wondering just who the man thought he was. I was the only one selling my slaves, and the maids themselves were under direct leadership from Rema. She wouldn't tolerate me letting go one of her workers because some bratty goon demanded it; not that I'd let it happen in the first place.

"I'm afraid ya are mistaken then, as only Rema decides which personnel stay on board and which leave. On that note, I would never let any maid of mine to be sold; they are free people, paid in a home for their family and gold for their meals. There are no slaves in this castle." I told the buffoon, who went red as a tomato. A deep, snotty scowl drug into his face.

"On behalf of Lord Enma, I am here to take a census of your country. I'd ask you to treat me with as much respect that you would my Lord, but I fear respect is impossible for your kind." He spat, straightening his back and glaring down at me. I smirked.

"You're right; you're better off acting on behalf of yourself here. None of us think too highly of your royal idiot, so if ya don't mind, ya can leave now." He sneered, not liking my reference to his king.

"I'm afraid I do mind, as I must have this census completed within the year, and there are many other places I must still visit." My smirk dropped.

"I'll send for a clean up crew." Rema stated softly, seeing where this was heading. She turned on her heel, leaving the two of us by ourselves.

"Ya don't get it, do ya? It wasn't a request." I told him, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Neither is this census." He stated seriously. It took a few seconds of staring for me to decide that I didn't like him. Annoyed at his smartass attitude, I spiked two shadows up his sides, chopping his arms off at the shoulder. He stumbled back, scream ripping from his throat like a banshee as the blood began to spray. Ignoring the bleeding fool, I looked to the two demon maids at the end of the hall. They must've been the cleaning crew Rema went for.

"Clean the blood, burn the arms. Then send him back to his master." I told them, and they nodded, smiles on their faces. They had, obviously, overheard my statement about how he wasn't in charge around here. Seeing the opportunity for a little bit more pestering of Enma, I spoke to them one last order before heading back to my much more important business of instructing Mukuro.

"Oh, and brand him as a slave while you're at it. Right across his forehead, for everyone to see." Their smiles turned into grins as they bowed, watching me leave the hall.


Out of all the ways I had ever woken up, I was the most curious about this one.

Mukuro, out of all the women I knew, had curled herself up to my chest, wrapping one arm around my torso and laying her head on my shoulder. It was interesting, to say the least, to not see her in chains this early in the morning. The shadows still lay dormant upon her wrists and ankles, as if they had never been activated in the first place. To add to that fact, I had no memory of stopping a would-be-assassination.

It was if she had just climbed into bed as carefully as she could so as to not wake me up. It had to be one of the weirdest things she'd ever done.

When I awoke and figured all of this out, she was still asleep. Hair dusted over her pretty little face just enough to make her look particularly beautiful in the rising sunlight flooding in from the balcony. Her lips were parted in the slightest, moving every now and then as she talked in her sleep. Her words, whatever they may be, were inaudible even to my demon hearing. I smiled, taking in the moment. After a few minutes of watching her sleep, I resorted to sleeping in a bit longer, closing my eyes and waiting for her to wake so that we might go down to eat.

That happened what I figured to be an hour or so later, when a soft knock came to my door. I ignored it, figuring whatever they wanted wasn't as important as waking the girl beside me. But as it was, she shifted at hearing this, stretching her arm over my body as she attempted to wake herself up. Her head lifted from my shoulder for a couple of seconds as the knocking came again, before she realized where she was and dropped back against me.

"You awake?" She asked softly, not wanting to wake me if I was still sleeping. I peeked one eye open to look at her, catching her staring up at me with half-lidded eyes and a tired expression.

"Have been for awhile now. Ya were still sleeping though, so I didn't want to wake ya by moving." She nodded, taking a deep breath before lifting herself up and sitting in the bed lazily. Back slouched against the headboard, she called to whoever was at the door.

"Come in." I almost laughed at the way she played off her not-so-violent way into my bed last night. Like everything was normal. She must've been in a hell of a good mood, too, to answer my door for me. Said door creaked open to reveal a nervous looking maid, obviously human, who kept her head bowed as she entered the door.

"You were late to breakfast, so the staff wanted to know if you wished to be served in bed today." She spoke softly, in a voice that begged forgiveness for her intrusion into my room.

"That would be lovely." I said, giving the girl a smile before she beamed, nodding before bowing quickly and leaving the room.

"Always the charmer." Mukuro accused, rubbing her left eye to wake it up. I grinned, arching my back to stretch before lifting myself up and leaning against the headboard beside her.

"Don't be jealous now, Mukuro." I teased, making her eyes narrow and a glare be shot my way. "I haven't had another woman in this bed since ya came along."

"Ah, this bed." She caught, her glare darkening in the slightest. I shrugged, brushing off the violent look.

"What the point of a harem if ya don't use it? Besides, does any other bed matter?" She just grunted, moving to sit cross-legged as the doors to my room opened before us, and a meal placed on bed trays was ushered in.


"You're getting weaker, old man." I taunted, moving out of the way of Raizen's clawed hand as he swiped at me. The ground adjacent to his blow shattered, and I leapt out of the way. As much as I may have teased him about it, I knew it was true. Our spars didn't last as long as they used to, he was losing his strength more and more as the years of starvation passed.

"Heh, you're only saying that 'cause you're starting to see the wrinkles on your face, hag." We grinned; keeping at it atop the circular desert plateau we had leapt to during some point of our fight. It wasn't until we were both dripping with sweat when we talked again, but this time, Parat started it.

"Ryo-sama. We've got an emergency." I raised a brow, looking at him as he appeared over my shoulder.

"I'm sure it can wait." His look was grave as he shook his head.

"I'm afraid it can't."

"Then spit it out boy, we're having fun here." Raizen snapped, never the one to encourage pauses in action. I gave Parat a look that said I agreed.

"I'm not sure we should talk about it here. It might encourage… stupid actions." He looked at Raizen when speaking the last part. The demon deadpanned at my engineer slash bodyguard.

"Oh please." I said, getting at what Parat was hinting at. "The day Raizen invades our country is the day I destroy his. That's the way it's been for a good century now, and that's the way it's going to be until the day one of us keels over." My sparring partner nodded, motioning with his hand for me to go on. "So just say it already, Parat. You're not doing anybody any great duty by stalling."

He shifted, taking one last glance at Raizen before looking to me nervously. Biting his lip, he took one last preparing breath before spitting it out. "Mukuro has beaten Minuka in a duel."

Things went deadly serious in an instant.

"Are they both alive?" A nod made me sigh before a grin made it's way to my face. "Then it's all good. Who wins what between those two it is exactly that- between those two."

"That's not all." He said, panic starting to make it's way into his eyes, which was the only thing visible past the wraps. "Minuka wishes to step down as second in command."

I was too stunned to think. I mean sure, the action wasn't uncalled for, but honestly? I raised that boy for the position, and he was just going to let it go? Just because he lost a single duel?

Raizen let out a low whistle. "Perhaps it's time for the booze."

Nodding was all I could do at that point, as I stared off into nowhere, waiting for the request to register in my brain.


"Are ya sure?" I asked him, crossing my arms as he smiled. He nodded, a peaceful look on his pretty face.

"I'm positive. This way, you'll be with the person who can protect ya the best, and I can finally settle in with Garudu." It was true. Having to near constantly be away from his lover was a part of the position. This way, the two of them would never have to be separate again. I sighed, seeing his logic clearly. It wasn't all that bad of a decision, really. The change was bound to happen eventually, at the rate Mukuro was growing. Give or take another two or three centuries, and she could very well be at my level.

Running one hand through my hair and shoving the other in my pocket, I nodded. "Alright then, I'll go tell her the news."

The maids bowed as I passed them in the halls, making my way away from the gardens, where I had been conversing with Minuka at, and up to my room. My mind was calmly processing everything. If I died, would Mukuro do well as a ruler? Would she even want the position? It would be juvenile to turn down the offer, but she fully had the right to. I even briefly questioned if she'd go back to attempting to kill me every night. It had stopped almost as soon as I had started training her, but if she one night succeeded, the country would be rightfully hers. Would Raizen kill her, if she killed me? Possibly. It would depend on how I went out. It wasn't that odd, as well, to let her be my second in command. Considering I slept next to her every night, she could almost be considered my mate. And it was only natural to let your partner rule at your side. She was almost grown enough to be in my taste range, too, so it wouldn't be long before she was my actual mate.

My feet were silent as I walked calmly though the halls up to my room. When I stepped inside and spied her leaning against the railing out on the balcony, most of the questions vanished. I smiled, somewhat happy she finally earned the position. She'd continue to grow, and it'd be right at my side, not as some odd tag-along that had caught my interest. As I approached from behind her lithe form, I wrapped one hand around her waist and leaned against her, allowing my other arm to rest next to her own.

"Congratulations, Mukuro." I told her, tucking my nose into the back of her neck. She didn't bother looking at me, knowing what I meant.

"Then I suppose it'd be stupid to ask if you'd heard or not." She responded, watching the setting sun with minimal interest.

"It would. Minuka has stepped down. How would ya like to be my new second in command?" My no-beating-around-the-bush way of asking her brought a smirk to her face.

"I thought you'd never ask."


Another half century passed us all by like a breeze. Things, for once, were almost peaceful. Or rather, as peaceful as they were ever going to be. I still had to deal with Enma every damn year attempting to enforce some new policy or another, and better yet, every now and then he actually sent down armies to capture me. More than once Mukuro dealt with these nuisances for me. It was widely known of the relationship between the Spirit World and I. But one day, just past the half-centennial mark of when Mukuro took her place by my side, Enma went too far.

I received the news from the source itself. Everything had been as usual that day. I had even felt so lively I had decided to take a stroll about the castle. So, when Minuka suddenly appeared in the foyer at the precise moment I walked in, I knew something was wrong. And that wrong something laid limp, cradled by Minuka as he stood in front of me.

The maids gasped as he appeared from the shadows, holding that which he treasured above all else. Sure enough, Minuka, with his hair hell and too many bruises and cuts for any parent's liking held a stone cold Garudu like it was he who had died. No expression was on the boy's face as he looked at me. But when he squatted before me, laying out my Strategic General's body like it was the most precious thing in the world at my feet, an inconceivable amount of sadness washed over him. Minuka held back from crying, however, preferring just to brush his dead lover's hair out of his face, tears blocked by cold eyes.

Garudu had been through hell before he had died, of that much I was positive. Many cuts and bruises covered his body, and more than one looked like it could have killed him. The obvious source of his death, however, lay in the giant, gaping hole where his heart should have been.

"NO!" Rema's screams made nobody jump as she caught sight of her younger brother's body. Tears were pouring as she screamed again, falling at my feet beside Garudu's corpse. "Garudu! Garudu!"

He didn't reply to his name. He would never again.

"Who did it?" Matsukune asked, squatting beside Rema and wrapping his arm about her shoulders. Rema turned into him, sobbing.

"Enma." Came Minuka's soft reply. He never looked away from his lover's face. Not for a second.

I couldn't take it anymore. My throat was so tight- I couldn't breathe. I'm more than sure it was Mukuro who came up behind me, grabbing lightly onto my right bicep. It was only then I realized that my fist had been clenched so tight blood was dripping on the floor

"What are we to do, Ryo-sama?" Asked Fera, whose voice sounded graver than anybody else. I finally blinked away from the corpse, looking at everyone who had appeared in the room. All of my generals were there, clutched to their respective mates. Maids, servants, and guards had left their posts to catch the fuss. More than a few of them were in tears.

One of us had died. One of us. He had left, and would never return again. Minuka would never smile the same. Rema sure as hell would be different from now on. Nobody was willing to let Enma get away with this. If I had said anything other than what I had, riots would no doubt erupt in the country due to the injustice done to the beloved general's memory.

"This week, we mourn. Next, we take from Enma what he took from us. His son," I lifted my bloodstained hand, clenching it before everyone to make sure they were certain of my words, "will die by my hand."


"Will I be coming with ya?" Mukuro asked, seated on the edge of the bed. I looked at her through the mirror above my desk. A bowl of clean water and a rag had been set atop it's wood surface when we entered, and I had set right to washing the blood off.

"If ya want to." It would be unwise to have the both of us there. If we were both killed, it'd be the end. The end would put our country in shambles, at the best.

"It's smartest for me to stay." She decided, crawling into the bed. I nodded, accepting her decision. I would not force her to do anything should she not want. A hiss escaped my mouth when I realized just how deep my claws had gone. To the bone, leaving a never-ending bloody mess for me to deal with. Too tired for much more scrubbing, I sloppily rubbed ointment upon the wounds before roughly bandaging my hands. I crawled into the bed moments later, not in the mood to change clothes or even get comfortable with Mukuro. It's seemed she didn't like that, as she soon scooted closer to me, wrapping her own arm around my wait and pushing herself against my back. I ignored it, preferring to sleep off the anxiety rather than cuddle with her. She must not have noticed it, because all too soon I felt her hot lips on the back of my neck.

"Stop, Mukuro."

She did not. A hand slipped under my shirt, tracing circles onto my stomach with a perfectly sharp nail. A growl escaped my throat as I grabbed her hand and threw her off of me. If she would continue this, I had no qualms with throwing her into her own room for the night.

"I said stop." My voice came out as a harsh command- and I meant it. I didn't need her efforts of comforting me now. Sex would not calm me or make me feel any bit better.

"Then when, Ryo?" She snapped right back, grabbing my shoulder and pressing it into the bed. My eyes widened at her sudden outburst before they narrowed just as quickly. I grabbed her own shoulder, pushing her whole body into the bed below me. I snarled at her from above, placing a single claw at her throat. Killing her would be all-too easy.

"When I damn well feel like it."

Her resulting snarl was just ass pissed as mine, if not more. "You've kept me celibate for almost a goddamn century, and ya haven't fuckin' 'felt like it'? How long am I supposed to wait, damn it? Till ya go off to Enma and get killed? I'm your fuckin' second in command, not a mindless plaything! We've shared a goddamn bed for too long for ya to not have more than touched me like a lover!"

Her reasons were much more selfish than I gave her credit for. It was stupid of me to think she was doing it just to comfort me. She must've seen some level of understanding in my eyes, because she grabbed my hand that was at her throat and moved it away, slipping her other hand on my neck.

"Now fuck me, damn it." And with that, she pulled my head down to hers, pushing her mouth against mine.


Screams. That of women, children, ogres, and workers. They were constant, never ending. I basked in them, killing ogres and warriors left and right. Nobody who stood before me survived. Minuka and Fera were to my back, walking with me to Enma's office. Tuko, Parat, and the other generals had each destroyed a good measure of the Spirit King's castle. Fera was accompanying me only in case of an emergency, should either Minuka or I become wounded. Minuka wanted to watch the fool King's son die.

All members of my private army were present, fighting with Enma's own back outside the palace. It was all too easy to get in. Take no hostages had been my orders. Ones that every demon in my ranks enjoyed, killing with grins on their faces as they avenged their beloved general. But I was not here at the loss of a general. No, I was here because of something deeper. Something far more personal.

Enma had taken my son away, and I would do the same to him.

The Special Defense Force was cut through like butter as we continued on our way throughout the castle. Only Enma could provide a challenge for me, though I would not kill him. He deserved to suffer the agony of losing a child, and killing him would not bring the pleasure that watching him suffer would.

"Hey, ENMA!" I announced myself at the grand pair of doors that surely led to his throne room. They were thick, metal, and probably took a good hundred humans to make it budge. I kicked them down with a single attack, knocking them off their hinges as they fell to the floor at the feet of their ruler. Enma was a huge man, bathed in the darkness of the room. A pair of dark, angry eyes glared down at me, complimented by red skin and black hair. I was, in height, about the size of his pinky toenail, to put it into perspective. "Where's sonny boy?"

"You will not take my son's life." His voice, deep, loud, and angry bellowed throughout the entire realm.

"Ya don't really have an option in that." Something in my lazy posture or smartass response pissed him off.

"You are a pathetic creature, Ryo of the Shadow Clan. You are nothing compared to me. Now leave, before I destroy you and everything you hold dear." His command caused me to grin. My two generals didn't have that much control. Minuka chuckled slyly, tucking his face into his kimono sleeve to hide his empty smile. Fera burst out laughing, holding her gut as she got a good round of humor out of it. "What in my order was amusing to you, Shadow Clan pups?"

"Your brain must be rather small for someone your size." Fera stopped her laughter to smart off to the big man. His eyes visibly narrowed.

"I agree. There's not a person, demon or God, that can order Ryo-sama to do something. Especially something she has no intention of doing." Minuka added, clarifying for the fool just who I was. I was as strong as him, no doubt. If not stronger. His fake idealism of himself being the ultimate was too stupid. Demons near and abroad could just as easily fight him as I could. A moment of silence enveloped us all, as Enma's eyes met mine with a flash of pure, unadulterated hatred.

"Be reasonable, Enma." My voice echoed throughout the hollow room and into the ears of the ruler. "Hand over your son, or all of your children will die."

His face darkened at my threat. "I shall create a personal hell for you, Ryo of the Shadow Clan. I will enjoy tormenting your soul."

My grin widened, I was hoping for that response.

"Minuka, Fera. Spread the word. If any bastard children or pregnant whores are seen, they are to be killed on sight."

"Yes, Ryo-sama." They answered in unison, morphing into the darkness of the room. One of Enma's fists clenched, and his upper lip lifted into a snarl.

"You will regret this."

"Not as much as you." And with that final word, I slipped into the darkness, moving to slaughter any fool that lived in sight.

When all was done, we were positive the Spirit World would never recover. Its ranks were decimated. No women or children breathed. Only a few fast and smart ogres and warriors who had run off survived the massacre. With not one of my general's dead, but half of my personal army slaughtered, we collected our fellows' bodies and left for home.


"Ryo-sama!" Matsukune called throughout the garden, searching left and right but finding no sign of me. Catching sight of the girl below me, he ran to her, stopping only when directly in front of her. "Mukuro-san, have ya seen Ryo-sama lately?"

Mukuro lazily flipped another page of the war book she was reading, "Not of late, no."

His face dropped. With a sigh and a nod, he spoke again. "Alright, well, thanks anyways." Started off again, running a good distance before starting to call out my name repeatedly.

"What are ya doin' up there anyways?" She asked, looking up from her book and catching my eye. I lazed in the tree limb above her head, one hand holding up my head to watch her and the other fiddling with a leaf.

"Watching ya." She scoffed.

"What a productive pastime." Her sarcasm made me grin.

"It is, and I'll tell ya a secret if ya don't take it to heart." Her annoyed expression was noted as her next sentence dripped with boredom.

"Pray tell, what is it?" I dropped from the tree, landing in front of her in a squat. Licking the leaf, I pasted it to her forehead. Grinning even further when it stuck, I palmed my cheek and cocked my head.

"I've figured out your tick." It was something I was rather happy about, too. Her eyes narrowed as she snatched the leaf off her head and crumpled it.

"My tick?"

"Ah, your tick. Ya do it every time ya lie." Her annoyed expression dropped. Curiosity might have been present in her face had she not become so accustomed to hiding it.

"And what is this tick of mine?"

My grin stretched even further, "Can't tell ya that. You'll change it."

The expression was replaced by something of boredom as she ignored me, lifting her book back up. "Matsukune! Here she is!"

I sweatdropped at her vengeance, looking over my shoulder to where Matsukune suddenly jumped out of a tree's shadow. "I heard ya were lookin' for me?"

"I was, can we talk?" He glanced at Mukuro, who was ignoring the both of us. "Privately?"

I nodded, wondering just what it was he wanted. Mukuro's eyes bore into me one last time before we raced through the garden's shadows, appearing inside the maze. Bushes were cut high, and not a single shadow outside of natures could be felt within hearing distance.

"Now, what is it ya wanted?" I asked, starting the conversation. He shifted awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Let's walk." He said, and I stepped into pace beside him as we started deeper into the heart of the maze. "Well, ya probably already know how I feel about Rema."

"It's only the most obvious thing I've ever seen." I stated, looking straight ahead. "What's the point of this?"

He held his arms up in defense, "I'm getting there! Just hold ya horses, please. It's not as easy for me to say these things as it is for ya." He blushed, putting his hands back into his pockets in the most awkward way I'd ever seen him do anything. "Ya and I have known each other for a pretty long time, right? I've watched ya grow time and time again, but you're still the same old catch playin' girl I first met."

At my reminiscing smile, some of his confidence grew. He lightly touched my arm, and both of us stopped in the maze. I stared right at him, and he looked off to the side. "Since you're, ya know, Leader and all, I wanted to do this properly. Your father engaged Rema to Syuki, and even at Syuki's death, that cannot be broken until ya say so-"

"It's broken." I interjected, causing him to jump. He laughed shortly, somewhat nervously scratching the back of his head.

"That's not the part I'm all anxious about, ya see. I know all about what happened between Rema and ya, and well, I haven't wanted to push any boundaries by going too far now. But as you're Leader, it's all kind of your call." His blush grew by tenfold as he took a step back, bowing deeply from the waist. "Will ya allow me to take Rema as my mate?"


First and foremost, let me apologize again for this chapter being a day late! I'm am so, so very sorry. I had a migraine yesterday (it was horrid, really), and I could barely make it through school. As such, when I got home, I went to bed. I've been recovering all morning, hence why I didn't update this morning either. But hey, you'll be happy to hear the Ryo's Arc ends next week, right? That's right! It's over, done, finished! Back to Toshiko, and more importantly, the Dark Tournament! :D I've got a feeling you guy's will like that.

Being that my migraine typically last a week before they peak, and then it takes a full day to recover from them entirely, I want to give a super huge, over flowing with gratitude shout out to my awesome reviewers! Kage Hakari, LadyxAbsinthe, DayDreamer, and OTJ! Thank you guys sooo much, really! Every time I saw a review it made getting through the day that much easier. Thank you, infinitely.

See you all next week (on time)! Review Please!