There was a hand gripping my shoulder. The last thing I remembered was trading blows with Sniper, so, half-awake and heart racing, I balled my hand into a fist and swung hard at the person trying to rouse me. Kurama ducked back just in time, looking surprisingly relieved to be very-nearly punched in the face.

"You're alive."

I blinked, taking everything in: Kurama's visible relief, my own position on the floor, and the chaos of the destroyed room. Mitarai was huddled anxiously against the wall, Botan was blinking blearily awake at Koenma's side, and Genkai was attending to an apparently unconscious Shizuru while Keiko hovered uncertainly nearby, clutching Puu like a lifeline. What had happened?

"Of course I am," I told Kurama finally. I tried to sound breezy but couldn't quite manage, wincing as the effort of sitting up brought my attention to the injuries I'd earned, courtesy of Sniper. "I'm practically unkillable. Please tell me someone got the guy who shot me?"

"Unfortunately, no," Kurama said gravely. "Sensui and Sniper escaped, and they took Kuwabara with them."

"What?!" Kurama did not have the chance to explain, because at that moment Botan finally snapped fully awake.

"I'm up!" She cried, then blinked in puzzlement as she took in the crowded room. "Hey, when did all of you get here?"

"Glad you're okay," Koenma said sincerely, in lieu of answering.

Baffled, Botan said, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Genkai snorted, not looking away from her work on Shizuru. "Your formerly fractured back is one good reason I can think of."

This news surprised Botan greatly. It surprised me, too, but I was more distracted by the state of Shizuru. I couldn't see her perfectly from where I sat, but it looked like there was some blood along her hairline.

"What happened to Shizuru?" I asked Kurama.

"She was struck by falling debris when Sensui's attack hit the building," Kurama explained quietly. "In truth, it's a miracle all four of you survived."

Indeed, Koenma was even now explaining to Botan how they had returned to find me out cold and her lying under the heavy bookshelf which now stood upright again against the wall, albeit empty of books.

"You don't remember how you were crushed?" Koenma asked, looking concerned. "Seems like that would make an impression…"

Botan hummed doubtfully, looking at the bookshelf without recognition. "I don't know. It doesn't sound like something I'd do…"

"I know!" Mitarai said suddenly. We all turned to look at him. "She got trapped while she was trying to save me! When the bookshelf started to topple, she shoved me out of the way and she got crushed instead of me…" He shook his head, as if to clear it. "I don't understand! It's not how he said… First Kuwabara, and now you do it! Why do you people keep saving my life?!"

Mitarai had stood during his little speech, and now looked on the verge of tears. Botan blinked at him slowly, then shrugged.

"Because that's just what people do!" She smiled, then paused. "Oh, but I think I'm starting to remember…" She trailed off for a moment, eyes distant, then smiled brightly as she remembered. "So that's what happened! I just acted without thinking!"

"I'd believe that," Koenma said, dryly. Botan laughed, a little self-consciously.

"I'd like to think it's a good trait not to overthink everything."

"I'd say it is like that for a great many people," Kurama said, directing his words more to Mitarai than Botan, "when another being's life is put into jeopardy."

"Well that's never been my experience growing up!" Mitarai shot back. "And not on that video tape!"

"Chapter Black is a one-sided argument," Koenma told him seriously. "It's part of a set, never meant to be seen alone."

Mitarai shook his head. "No, that's all a big lie!"

"Mitarai." Kurama spoke calmly, and Mitarai froze, wide-eyed. "I understand your dilemma. You've witnessed the worst mankind has to offer, in life and on tape. But if your eyes remain open, you'll see the best all around."

Mitarai absorbed that silently, still looking skeptical, but he did not have to respond, because Shizuru woke then.

"Welcome back," Genkai greeted as Shizuru sat up quickly, her eyes darting around the room.

Immediately she asked, "What about Kazuma?"

There was a brief pause, no one wanting to be the one to deliver the bad news. Kurama was the one who finally said, "I'm afraid he's been captured by Sensui and his men. I'm sorry. We made a valiant effort, but could not stop them."

Shizuru looked down at her own hands, jaw clenching. "Don't beat yourself up over it. If I hadn't been standing under falling debris, I could've warned all of you that Kazuma was the one they wanted this whole time."

"But why is Kuwabara on everybody's A List now?" Koenma asked. "Not that I'm jealous…'

"Because of what he can do," Mitarai said from his spot against the wall. Everyone turned to look at him again, and he momentarily wilted under our collective gaze before he straightened up again. "Sensui needs him to carry out the plan. Kuwabara's a lot stronger, a lot more important than any of you seem to give him credit for. After all, he beat me, and in that fight he awakened a new power: the power to slice through dimensions, cut down territories, psychic barriers. The very power Mr. Sensui was seeking."

"You're killing me." Koenma had gone pale. "If Kuwabara can do that, and they've got him, they can crack the kekkai barrier we raised to seal off demon world. Then all hell will break loose, literally. There'll be no stopping A class, or even, heaven forbid, S class demons from destroying mankind!"

I didn't know anything about demon classification, but from Koenma's tone and pallor, it seemed that A and S class demons being unleashed on the living world would be something like an extinction-level event for humanity. It was bad enough thinking about the sort of demons who'd attended the Dark Tournament running amok on Earth, and Koenma had waltzed through crowds of those without much concern. But now, even the thought of A and S class demons making their way to earth was enough to make his face go white.

"I trust Yusuke with a lot these days," said Genkai, "but not this."

"Then we must come to his aid," Kurama said immediately. Genkai nodded.

"If we can find him. We'll round up Kaito and Yana while we're at it." Genkai turned to Keiko and Shizuru. "You two stay here, in case Yusuke comes back looking for us."

Keiko nodded gamely, a stubborn look on her face that reminded me that she, too, had waltzed through crowds of raging demons, but without the benefit of having psychic powers or being Spirit World royalty. "Okay."

"What about me?" asked Mitarai. "Is there anything I can help you do?"

Genkai, Kurama, Koenma and I all exchanged quick glances. While we would certainly welcome the help of someone with inside knowledge of Sensui's operation, even I, who had healed Mitarai and let him cry on my shoulder, wasn't sure exactly where his loyalties lay. But then, I didn't think Mitarai knew, either.

"You should search your soul for the answer to that," Kurama said at last. "You are free to go with us, or you are free to be our foe." Kurama's voice grew softer, more careful. "But if you choose the latter, the next time we meet I'll show you no mercy. You must choose what you believe, and make your stand."

I shivered a little, remembering just how merciless Kurama could be, with his blooming flowers and fountains of blood. Mitarai, completely unaware of the seriousness of Kurama's threat—vow, really—hesitated uncertainly. Genkai nodded, businesslike, like she'd anticipated such a reaction.

"Let's go." All of us but Keiko, Shizuru, and Mitarai turned to leave.

"Wait!" I turned to look at Keiko over my shoulder, eyebrows raised at the urgent tone of her voice. Her eyes, when I met them, were very wide. "Ren, you're bleeding!"

"Am I?" I blinked and looked down. My school uniform was covered in dust and torn in a few different places, around which the navy fabric had turned a dark, ugly brown. I grimaced, already thinking about how little I wanted to explain the damage to my mother.

To Keiko I said, "I'm okay." At her disbelieving look I pressed, "Really, it looks worse than it is—I think the bleeding's already stopped."

Keiko did not look convinced. "At least let me bandage you up before you go."

I turned to glance at Genkai uncertainly, since time was of the essence. Genkai quickly scanned me up and down, then nodded firmly.

"Do it," she ordered. "And change your clothes, while you're at it. It'll be quicker than being stopped on every block by concerned citizens trying to give you medical attention."

I couldn't argue with that logic. And besides, walking around in the chilly night in a tattered school uniform didn't sound precisely comfortable, nor would it be very practical if I got in another fight. I nodded, conceding. Keiko smiled.

"Come on, then. Some of Atsuko's clothes should fit you alright."

And so I followed Keiko back to Atsuko's bedroom, where I abandoned my ruined school uniform and allowed Keiko to quickly clean and bandage my shallow wounds. I had been correct, the bleeding had stopped—but the blood had dried to my uniform, and removing it reopened a few of the shallow grazes, causing them to bleed sluggishly again. Keiko was quick and efficient, cleaning the cuts and bandaging them with sure, experienced fingers.

"You're really good at this," I said, watching as Keiko expertly secured a bandage around my left bicep. Though I hadn't voiced it as such, Keiko sensed the underlying question and shook her head, looking fondly exasperated.

"Yusuke hasn't always fought demons, but he's always fought." Work finished, she shut the first aid kit with a snap, and then sat staring down at it, unmoving.

"He'll be alright." I winced as soon as the words were out of my mouth—they were automatic, an attempt to make Keiko feel better. Keiko looked up at me wryly, clearly understanding that just as well as I did. I tried to dig myself out of the hole. "I mean, he's always been alright before, right? Even when it looks like the odds are against him, he finds some way to turn it around."

"You're right…" Keiko trailed off, eyes going distant. In a soft voice she admitted, "But I can't help but feel like this is different."

"Because he's alone right now?" I guessed. Keiko's eyes widened, and I kicked myself because that apparently wasn't what she was thinking, but now I had made it worse by reminding her.

"No, that's not it." Keiko shook her head slowly. "This Sensui person, he was a Spirit Detective, like Yusuke, you know? Yusuke's never fought anyone so similar before. I want to believe he can win, just like always, but… I'm worried."

She had a good point, and I had to swallow hard around the lump that formed in my throat so I could admit, "Me, too."

Keiko looked up at me sharply.

"But he's not really alone, you know?" I continued. "We're going to find him, and we're going to help him. And that's why Yusuke's gonna win. Because Sensui, he has to manipulate people to his side with that awful video tape. But Yusuke's got a whole team of people behind him who care about him, and who aren't about to let the world be destroyed by a bunch of demons."

Keiko's smile was small, but tinged with humor. "That's a pretty good pep talk for someone in her underwear." I could feel my cheeks going warm with embarrassment—I had honestly forgotten. Keiko's smile widened sympathetically. "Come on. Let's get you some clothes so you can go save the world."

I met the others outside a few minutes later, dressed in a pair of jeans and a thick sweatshirt that were only slightly too big.

"Excellent, we're all here," Koenma said upon spotting me. "Now, which way are we supposed to go?"

We all exchanged glances. Genkai shrugged. "Beats me."

"We have no idea where Yusuke went…" Koenma peered down the street, as if he was hoping for some sort of clue.

"He followed Sensui, didn't he?" I wasn't actually sure about that; no one had actually specified where Yusuke had gone, but since Kuwabara had been taken, I guessed Yusuke had pursued him. Genkai nodded. "And Kaito mentioned that the center of the activity was Demon's Door cave, right? They'll have to go back there, won't they?"

"Not necessarily," Kurama said, looking thoughtful. "But it does seem the likeliest course."

"It's worth a shot," Genkai nodded. "We'll meet up with Kaito and Yana and head that way. If we get lucky, we might even run into Yusuke."

"Wait up!" Rushed, pounding footsteps on the steps of the apartment complex stopped us before we started walking, all five of us turning to look at the person hurtling down the steps. It was Mitarai, breathing heavily and running as fast as he could. "Please, wait for me!"

Mitarai stumbled to a stop at the bottom of the steps, looking suddenly vulnerable and unsure in the face of our surprise. "Or is it too late now for me to go along with you guys?"

Kurama recovered first. "It's never too late to reform one's ways," he assured Mitarai warmly. "Trust me. Welcome to our team."

Mitarai smiled, relieved, as the rest of us nodded in agreement.

"Yes, welcome!" Botan added enthusiastically. "We could really use your help, actually—do you know where Sensui is taking Kuwabara? We thought maybe he would head to Demon's Door cave, but—"

"Yes, that's right." Mitarai nodded firmly, looking quite certain. "I'm sure that's where Mr. Sensui will be taking Kuwabara. Mr. Itsuki's there waiting for him to bring the psychic that can break the kekkai barrier."

"See?" Genkai said approvingly. "You're already more useful than roadkill."

Mitarai blinked down at her, looking uncertain whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"You're a great help, Mitarai," Botan assured him. "Now we'll just find Yana and Kaito, and then Yusuke!" Botan deflated a bit at the mention of Yusuke. Ruefully, she continued, "Oh, I wish Yusuke had his communication mirror! He says it looks like a compact, and fate forbid he ever be seen with makeup."

"Don't worry," said Genkai. "If he's half the bad boy he thinks he is—which isn't totally unthinkable—he should manage to tough it all out and stay on their trail. In which case we should cross paths eventually, so let's move."

Our first stop was a phone booth, to call Kaito and Yana and tell them to meet us at Mushiori Station with a map to Demon's Door cave. Koenma left us then, after a hushed conversation with Botan that left her looking worried. By the time we got off the train from Sarayashiki back to Mushiori, Yana and Kaito stood waiting for us, the latter with a hand-sketched map of the route to Demon's Door cave, which he rather smugly assured us was indeed to scale.

"Now, we're here," Kaito said, pointing to a dot that was labeled 'Mushiori Station' in meticulously neat writing, and then tracing a winding route up the side of a nearby mountain. "...And this is the entrance to Demon's Door."

"Yeah, that looks right," Mitarai agreed.

Kaito glanced at him skeptically. "And you are?..."

"Kiyoshi Mitarai." Mitarai looked reluctant to add any more. He glanced uncertainly at Genkai, but it was Kurama who vouched for him.

"He's on our side," Kurama said easily. "Now, anyway. He has inside knowledge of the cave."

"Pleased to meet you," Mitarai said, seemingly trying to make a good impression.

Kaito still eyed him dubiously. "Uh-huh…"

"Deal with it, boys, we need the help," Genkai said. "We have no idea what's waiting for us in that cave."

The seven of us set out walking, away from the station and towards a trail that worked its way up the nearby mountain and to the cave. Now that we were in Mushiori there were visible signs of the opening portal: demon bugs. They were huge and utterly alien-looking, but stranger than the sight of the bugs themselves was the fact that they were flying and crawling all over the place and none of the citizens of Mushiori paid them the slightest bit of attention—not even when they landed on their shoulders or flew in their mouths.

I didn't get a good look at any of them up close, of course. The bugs vaporized about five feet away from me when they met the edge of my aura. The effect clearly surprised Mitarai, and the soft hiss of the bugs disintegrating even made Kaito look up from his map.

"You weren't exaggerating," he said over his shoulder, sounding impressed. "You really are a demon bug zapper."

"I'm not complaining," Yana said quickly. Indeed, both he and Botan had chosen to walk at my side once the effect became apparent. "These bugs give me the creeps."

"Me, too," Botan agreed. "And it's much more effective than Spirit World's bug spray."

Mitarai turned to look at me curiously. "You're the one killing the bugs?" I nodded. "How?"

"Accidentally, for the most part." My tone was dry. Ahead, Kurama made a funny noise that could have been a laugh or a cough. Mitarai's eyes widened.

"You mean—you can't control it?"

"Not fully, no." I watched, vaguely annoyed, as several more bugs were reduced to ash. "If I tried, I could minimize the radius, or even contain the effect to my skin—but only for about a half hour, and only if I concentrate."

"That's not like any territory I've ever heard of," Mitarai said, brows furrowed.

"That's because it's not a territory." It wasn't me who corrected Mitarai, but Kaito. He had slowed his steps momentarily, allowing Kurama and Genkai to take the lead while he and Mitarai fell back to discuss. Mitarai turned to Kaito in surprise at the assertion, and I watched on, mildly irritated at the interruption.

"Then what?..."

"It's a defense mechanism," Kaito said certainly, then turned to look directly at me. "An unconscious defense mechanism. Am I right?"

He already seemed quite certain of the answer, which didn't improve my mood at all. Grudgingly, I nodded. Kaito nodded in response, looking pleased to have his hypothesis confirmed. He opened his mouth—to ask another question or to make another educated guess, I wasn't sure.

"Kaito, is the next turn a right, or a left?" Kurama called from ahead. "I'm afraid you still have the map."

Kaito looked a little put-out to have to give up his interrogation, but sped up to bring the map back to Kurama and Genkai at the front of our small group. "You still need the map? I'm surprised you haven't memorized it already."

"Alas, no," Kurama said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "I'm afraid I was focusing on Kuwabara's kidnapping and the upcoming fight."

Kaito hummed skeptically. "In any case, we continue straight for another 1.2 miles, and then we'll take a right."

Mitarai hesitated, but after a moment he followed Kaito, confirming the correct route toward the cave. I breathed a soft sigh of relief.

"Sorry about Kaito," Yana said, keeping his voice low. I glanced at him and found him looking mildly exasperated. "It's nothing personal. He just can't stand to leave a puzzle unsolved, or a question unanswered."

"That's right!" Botan realized aloud. "He lost his soul to find out how his territory worked. He might have died if Master Genkai hadn't put it back in his body!"

"Exactly," Yana nodded. To me he added, "No offense, but if the world wasn't ending, he would have figured out your secret already."

"If the world wasn't ending, we wouldn't have met," I reminded Yana dryly. "But I'm not really keeping secrets. I don't really care if Kaito knows my past—I just don't want to talk about it."

"Really?" Yana hesitated, half-lifting a hand. "Then, would you mind if I?..."

I remembered Yana's power, to copy a person exactly, memories and all. It was one thing to have someone find out what Ichigaki had done to me and what I had done under the control of his veruka, but for Yana to see all of it from my perspective… That, I didn't want. And, from a more practical standpoint, it wouldn't be wise. There was no telling how Yana might react to a sudden onslaught of my memories, but I was sure it wouldn't be a positive reaction.

"Now's not really the time," I said decisively. And, because Yana still looked very curious, added, "And, honestly? You probably don't want to know."

Yana glanced past me at Botan, and I looked, too. Botan's eyes were wide and she was shaking her head vigorously at Yana, but she quickly stopped and shot me a sheepish glance when she caught me looking.

"O-kay then…" Yana said slowly, but sounding sufficiently put off. "I guess I'll take your word for it."

"Yes, that's probably for the best," Botan said quickly. "Oh, look, what's that?"

At first I thought Botan was clumsily attempting to change the subject, but then I realized she was indeed pointing at something. I had to squint to see in the bright afternoon light, but there were two figures approaching us from further down the road, one about my height and one a good foot shorter.

"It's Yusuke! But who's that with?..." Botan covered her eyes briefly, then jumped. "Oh my, I don't believe it! Hiei really did come back!"

So he had. Yusuke jogged towards us, looking disheveled but uninjured, and Hiei followed after him at a much more sedate pace. I backed up to the very edge of our little group, attempting to maintain as much distance between Hiei and my offensive aura. Hiei hardly glanced at me, but nonetheless he, too, halted at the opposite edge of the group, leaving several feet of buffer space between himself and the radius of my energy.

"Hey, guys," Yusuke greeted, oddly cheerful. "You're late."

"Sorry," Kurama said, voice tinged with far more humor than regret. "We stopped to think before we acted."

Yusuke rolled his eyes and said with a grin, "So you admit you were wasting time."

"Moron." Genkai shook her head. "I notice that your grand theft bicycle didn't help you save Kuwabara."

"Hey now, I woulda had 'em if it weren't for that Sniper guy throwing a truck at me!"

"A truck?" I repeated. I'd had a bad enough time with marbles and dice.

Yusuke laughed, a little self-consciously. "Yeah. It was actually pretty lucky Hiei turned up when he did, or I might've been blown up before I even got to kick Sensui's ass." Yusuke grinned then, smacking a fist against his palm. "But now you guys are here—so does that mean we're finally done sitting on our asses?"

"Yes, Yusuke." Genkai was serious, not rising to Yusuke's baiting. "Now is the time to take the fight to Sensui."

"Alright!" Yusuke cheered, then quickly deflated. "Only problem is, I lost 'em on the road, and I don't know where they were headed."

"We do," Kaito said, holding up his map.

"Mitarai advised us that Sensui would return to Demon's Door cave," Kurama explained to Yusuke. "We started heading that way, hoping that we would run into you along the way. Fortunately, we did, which only further confirms that Sensui and his allies have returned to Demon's Door."

"Mitarai, huh?" Yusuke looked at Mitarai, who looked deeply uncomfortable at the attention, then shrugged. "Well alright then! What are we waiting for?"

"We are not far from the cave now," Kurama said. "Before we proceed any further, we should all go over what we know about our enemy." Yusuke folded his arms impatiently, but didn't interrupt. Kurama continued, "We know that there were seven of them to begin with. Yusuke took out Doctor."

"And I did away with Sniper," Hiei added. I looked at him in surprise at this news, and found the demon looking darkly satisfied, hand loosely grasping the hilt of his sword.

Kurama did not even blink at Hiei's words. "Yes. Seven minus two leaves five."

"And Mitarai's with us now, which means just four," added Botan.

"One of those is Sensui," I said, turning to Mitarai. "Which leaves just three. Who are the others, and what do you know about their powers?"

Mitarai swallowed nervously, then seemed to visibly gather his courage. "The last three are Gourmet, Game Master, and Mr. Itsuki. Mr. Istuki is the psychic who's opening the portal—I don't know what else he can do. I know that Game Master can make video games come to life, but I've never actually seen him do it. And Gourmet…" Mitarai trailed off for a moment, looking pale. "Gourmet can steal the abilities of other psychics, but his territory is in his stomach, so… so he can only do it by eating them."

"Eating… their powers?" Botan asked, looking half hopeful, half ill.

"No," Mitarai said mournfully. "Eating the psychic. I saw him do it once, and it was the most horrific thing I'd ever seen. He consumes their abilities by literally eating them whole while they're still alive."

Botan groaned in disgust and horror, and I stared at the surrounding trees, trying to focus on the present to avoid creating the mental image of what that must have been like. How did someone even discover that they had such an ability? I tried to put that thought out of my mind, too, with limited success.

Yusuke did not help.

"Does he at least put something on 'em?" he asked. "Mustard, chili?"

"No, he just eats them," Mitarai said seriously, clearly not catching Yusuke's attempt at humor. Or maybe he had, and simply chose to ignore it because he was remembering the horror of seeing a man swallow another person whole. "Once they're inside him, their powers become his."

Their powers become his. Why did that phrasing bother me so much? Powers… why would Sensui enlist the help of a psychic who could take the powers of other psychics? It wouldn't help at all in the fight against us; indeed, it would be far simpler to kill us all than to subdue us long enough to be eaten alive.

But then, he already had subdued one of us, hadn't he? Someone he'd kidnapped specifically because of his special ability. Someone who'd never willingly use that power to help Sensui achieve his goals.

"Kuwabara!" I realized aloud, horror-struck at the thought of him being swallowed alive.

Botan jumped, then quickly looked between me and Mitarai, wide-eyed. "No! You don't mean… Sensui wouldn't!... would he?"

Mitarai said nothing, simply shaking his head bleakly at her.

"All the more reason for us to storm the cave now," Kurama said evenly. "Before the portal has reached its peak, and they require Kuwabara's abilities to break the kekkai barrier."

It was decided—or, more accurately, it was dictated by Genkai and then generally agreed upon by the group—that Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei would enter the cave first, with Mitarai serving as a guide. That way, if the 'first wave' failed, the rest of us would be a second line of defense before the world was overrun with demons.

As I watched my cousin, Kurama, and Hiei disappear into the darkness of the cave mouth with Mitarai, I prayed it wouldn't come to that.