Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

Warnings: See Chapter One.

Words: 13,916

A/N: Heeeeyyy... Yeah I know this hasn't been updated in a long time. But I had been working on this I swear! It half helps that I have written up to 50ish chapters for this story but what doesn't help is they were all the insert story style and need to be updated/changed *sweat drops* Anyway, sorry about the long wait for this chapter and I promise to work on more of this and my other stories.

With that, enjoy!


Chapter 10: Operation Rescue!

A few days later, Kuwabara's gang was much better. Kuwabara wasn't in pain and neither was Yusuke. Joann had put the knowledge of the electric force field at the back of her mind. Everything seemed to calm down a bit. That was until Yusuke walked into the classroom. School hadn't officially started yet and the two were chilling with Kuwabara's gang when Yusuke walked in.

"Hey Joanna! Oii Kuwabara, could I watch this at your place? My VCR's broken." Yusuke said as he walked up to the group, holding up the videotape.

Kuwabara looked over to his best friend.

"Huh?"

After a moment at seeing the video tape being waved in the air, the carrot top stood up almost knocking over his chair.

"Hey, that's it isn't it?! The thing Hiei gave you! That'll dump us all into another Demonic mess!" said Kuwabara, a little worried.

"Not too keen to see it myself, but I gotta..." Yusuke started but was interrupted by Keiko.

"Hey, what's that? A video? You can't bring those to school!" she said.

"Yeah? Like I give a hag!" said Yusuke.

There was an awkward silence.

"Well...what's on it? Terminator Two, maybe? Huh?" she asked.

"Didn't they release that on DVD?" Joann said, thinking to herself aloud.

"What the heck is a DVD?" Yusuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

It took Joann a moment to realize her mistake. She remembered DVD players weren't invented until 1999 and the show took place in 1990-1994. Her eyes widened at her realization.

'Shit...' Joann thought as she sweat dropped at her mistake.

"Did you get a concussion or something? The guys told me that you headed butted a guy in the nose. Do you need the nurse to look at it?" Kuwabara asked with concerned brown eyes.

Joann felt really embarrassed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm saying but I'm fine, really." Joann said as she gave the carrot top a small smile.

Kuwabara continued to give the girl a doubtful look before Yusuke broken the awkward scene.

"It's my next Underworld assignment. I haven't watched it yet, though. Honest."

"Underworld, what's that?" Keiko asked with a confused look.

Yusuke anime fell, bringing a chair down with him and dropping the tape. He looked up at Keiko with a confused look on his face.

"I thought Botan told you all about it!" he said a slight sweat drop forming on his head.

"Right. She said you're working for a private detective..." Keiko said before her face lit up.

"Oh I see! 'Underworld' is the name of his agency!" she said with a finger in the air.

Yusuke did another anime fall while still sitting on the floor, causing his shoe to fly off. Kuwabara and Joann sweat dropped at the scene.

'Master of deception.' Joann thought as she remembered Botan telling Keiko this 'detective' story.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later At Kuwabara's House~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey Botan! What's all this garbage?!" Yusuke shouted as he found the blue haired fairy of death in the Kuwabara household.

"And I quote: 'Yusuke decided to get serious about his career options, so he's taken a job as a detective's assistant. He was investigating a drug ring when a deserter took refuge in the school. The ringleader sent an assassin trained in hypnotism, and he hypnotized the teachers to act like a movie zombie mob as a distraction while he dealt with the deserter. The teachers, left unguided, got a little out of hand until the hypnosis effect wore off!" shouted Yusuke, doing a good imitation of Botan.

"Now, now." Botan said, with a small sweat drop.

Yusuke continued to give the poor girl a death glare.

"I was trying to explain stuff to Keiko without giving too much away. This is the 'explanation' I managed to cook up and she seemed to buy it. Not bad eh?" she said, looking a bit proud of herself.

"For lame improv comedy, maybe..." Joann said with her own sweat drop.

She had been there to witness the explanation and was surprised how the very smart Keiko would believe the story.

Botan ignored the girl and continued to plea her case.

"As you know, we must be discreet! The fact about your job is too secret." she said before her face turned into a cat face, "It's too dangerous for Keiko to know of the Underworld."

"Hmmm...can't argue that." said Yusuke, sweat dropping.

'That's quite a distracting cat face.' Joann thought with her own sweat drop.

Kuwabara had been ignoring the little scene happening in his bedroom. He was setting up his VCR and had the tape in question in his hand.

"Hey, how 'bout we watch this thing?" Kuwabara asked, getting a bit anxious.

"Why? It has nothing to do with you this time." Yusuke said with a raised eyebrow and suspicion crossing his face.

"What do you mean this time? Last time we volunteered." Joann said with a raised eyebrow.

"Exactly! So shut it and let's watch this thing." Kuwabara said before popping the video tape into the VCR.

Yusuke grumbled under his breath, but didn't respond. He did make a face while Kuwabara's back was turned. Joann couldn't help but giggle at the face. Kuwabara went back to where Joann and Yusuke were sitting on the floor.

Koenma appeared on the screen.

"My dad's off being a big deal again, so I'm back as director of Underworld Investigations. This recording concerns your new mission!"

"You're kidding! This is your boss?! Another snotty shrimp boat?!" Kuwabara said with wide eyes.

"My feeling exactly." grumbled Yusuke.

The video continued.

"It will appear only as noise to normal humans, so don't worry about eavesdroppers."

"Yay! I'm no normal human!" Joann said, throwing her arms up into the air.

"That's for sure." Yusuke said with a snicker.

Joann stuck her tongue out at the raven haired teen. Kuwabara seemed to be focused on the screen.

"Hey! Pay attention!" shouted the Koenma on the screen.

All eyes went back to the screen, even more interested in Koenma's words.

"Your mission this time is simplicity itself. A rescue!"

A small tightness appeared in Joann's chest. She didn't know why she was feeling dread. But she knew what was coming.

"The rescuee: a non-human girl. That's not to say she's entirely in-human, but anyway..." Koenma said before the screen showed some pictures of a mansion and some other things.

"But anyway, she's being held in a mansion in Bone Ulcer Village, a very desolate place. This much we've learned from reliable Underworld messenger birds. She's an ice maiden, belonging to the demonic family of winter spirits. They are noted for beautiful jewels they produce..."

Another picture crosses the screen of a very pretty jewel.

"She's been taken by a heartless human who is forcing her to produce those jewels...she does so through...her tears." Koenma said, a bit of a sadness tone in his voice.

"They must be pure rare crystals! Worth hundred of millions on the black market!" Botan said with a gasp.

"So this dude is making her cry to get these jewels?" Kuwabara said, a bit of disgust in his voice.

Joann felt a small bit of disgust fill her. She had forgotten how cruelly the ice maiden had been treated. And for what? Money? It disgusted her.

"Yes." Koenma said, as if hearing Kuwabara's question.

"The perpetrator is a human gem dealer named Gonzo Tarukane."

A picture of the guy appeared on the screen. He looked like a scumbag and an ugly one too.

"He's always earned his living by unscrupulous means, but the ice maiden's jewels have made him enormously rich and powerful." Koenma added.

"Yeesh! He sure looks like a sleeze!" Kuwabara said while dropping some chips he had been eating.

"Worse than any demon!" Yusuke added, while stuffing his face with the same chips, from the bag Kuwabara was holding.

Botan had been eating some too.

"Where did you get those chips?" Joann asked, surprised she hadn't noticed the snack.

"I keep a stash in my room." Kuwabara said before stuffing another handful into his mouth.

"Ohhh let me have some!" Joann said before reaching into the bag.

"And this is an image of the girl, telepathically relayed by the birds." Koenma said.

Yukina's image slowly appeared on the TV screen, surrounded by talismans. Kuwabara's body went stiff. Joann noticed and felt a small pain in her chest. She couldn't help but frown.

Kuwabara's face turned to awe at the beautiful ice maiden on the screen, some crumbs from the chips sticking to his face. It was a funny sight.

"She's confined to a room at Tarukane's summer mansion. The barrier of talismans must keep her restrained." Koenma added as Yukina's image continued to stay on the screen.

Kuwabara's shot straight up, scaring both Joann and Yusuke. The latter now holding the bag of chips. He stared up at the carrot top with wide eyes.

Kuwabara's body began to quiver as he looked away from the screen, a slight blush crossing his face. He could feel his heart beating a bit faster. He couldn't be sure but he was sure the feeling he was having was...

"I'm in love..." he mumbled, finishing his thoughts aloud.

"Huh?" Yusuke said a bit confused.

He couldn't hear what his friend said but he heard him say something. Joann couldn't hear what he said either but knew this was the moment Kuwabara had fallen in love with Yukina. The thought made her chest feel even more heavy. She looked back at the screen, Koenma still talking though it seemed to be more about the lay out of the building and more evil deeds this Tarukane guy had done.

"Let's go to that village!" Kuwabara said, determination in both his face and voice.

"What? Now?" asked a confused Yusuke.

"Of course now!" Kuwabara said, turning to walk out of the room.

"But we haven't even finished the video." Yusuke said, a bit annoyed and confused at the sudden enthusiasm.

"What more do we need to know? She's suffering! And we know why! Hustle yer butt or I'll go without you!" growled Kuwabara.

"Come on Joann." Kuwabara added, taking a quick glance towards the girl.

Joann felt her heart stop as she had turned around to look at the carrot top.

Kuwabara paused at seeing a hurt expression cross the girl's face. He felt a small pang in his heart at the look but he shook his head. They had to hurry. He turned back around to his sister, who had been standing in the doorway the entire time, holding a tray with tea and cookies.

"Shizuru, lend me enough to get me and Joann to Bone Ulcer!" he said with determination.

"Honetadare Village? That's way in the next prefecture." Shizuru said with a raised eyebrow.

She took a quick glance towards Joann and could see how tense the girl looked.

Yusuke and Botan sweat dropped at the carrot top's over the top determination. Joann turned back to watch the video, trying to ignore the scene behind her. She felt a small sting to her eyes but had pushed the feeling down. There was no reason to cry. Kuwabara had the right idea of going quickly to save Yukina. She was being treated horribly and had probably been physically abused on top of the emotional abuse. But Joann couldn't bring herself to move.

Once Shizuru gave him the money he gave a quick 'thanks' and rushed out of his room, down the stairs and out of the house; slamming the door as he left.

"What's got him fired up? My idiot brother on another tear. You guys taking off too?" Shizuru asked looking out where Kuwabara had vanished.

"I'm staying for tea!" Botan said as she raised her hands up.

"What is going on?" Yusuke asked in confusion.

"Mmmm..." Botan said as she took a sip of the tea Shizuru gave her, "Springtime for Kuwabara!" she giggled.

This caused Joann to turn around. She noticed the tea the blue hair deity of death was drinking. A thought occurred.

"Wait...you're not coming with us?"

"Hmm?" Botan hummed while taking another sip of tea.

She gave Joann a raised eyebrow.

"Why would I? You're going aren't you? I'd just get in your way." Botan said before shrugging her shoulders.

Joann stared in shock.

'Shit...this is a huge change.' she thought.

Yusuke and Botan gave Joann a look.

"What's wrong?"

Joann blinked before looking at the confused and curious looks of the three people in the room. She couldn't help but sweat drop and put her hands up.

"Nothing I just thought you were gonna be coming along but it's all good." Joann said with a weak laugh.

Yusuke gave an annoyed look while Botan looked at the girl with concern.

"One more thing, Yusuke..." came from the screen, causing the group to remember that the video had been playing.

"And this is important..."

"Here it comes..." Joann whispered.

Yusuke seemed to hear it and raised an eyebrow at her before looking back at the screen.

"As it involves a personal debt you owe."

Joann let out a sigh, which caught everyone's attention.

"The girl's name is Yukina and she is Hiei's sister. With that, I wish you good luck." Koenma said before the screen went black.

Joann had watched this and the next episode so many times that she practically memorized certain lines. This line from Koenma was one of them, even though it was only said in Yusuke's backflash. But because of that, she would either mouth or mumble the line aloud. She loved these two episodes as it displayed Kuwabara having more abilities. The fact he could talk to people through a mind link without even knowing them. How he could form objects with just his energy and have them be solid objects: ie the bandana that read "Love" he wore while fighting demons to get to Yukina. Not to mention the quick thinking at how to finish off the Toguro brothers.

However, it was because of her knowing the words and mumbling them aloud, the room had become quiet.

Joann noticed the odd silence and turned to see the three looking at her with wide eyes. She blinked at them as she turned fully around.

"What's up?"

"That's what I want to know." Yusuke said with narrowed eyes.

Joann blinked a couple times before tilting her head.

"Huh?"

"How did you know that Hiei and Yukina are related?" Yusuke asked.

"Yeah. I didn't even know this information until today." Botan said with a confused look.

She could tell there was something different with Joann. Even talking it over with Koenma, he didn't know what to say without getting more information. That was were Botan came in. She was not only there to give Yusuke his missions and help him out. She was also there to learn more about Joann and figure out who she really was and where she came from.

Joann's eyes widened before covering her mouth.

'Shit! Did I repeat that outloud?! How do I explain this?!' she thought.

"Joann."

Joann looked at Yusuke who gave her a serious look.

"You didn't really lose your memory did you."

Joann froze. Yusuke seemed to figure her out.

"I kinda thought it was odd for someone to only forget certain things but remember other stuff. We've been through a lot of shit and I feel like we've gotten closer cause of it. I know I could trust you with anything but..." Yusuke said before running a head through his hair, "I feel like you are hiding something."

Joann lowered her hands from her mouth and just looked at those chocolate brown eyes.

'What do I do? What can I say?' she thought before looking away.

"I can't..." she mumbled, closing her eyes.

"Why? Why can't you just tell us. Tell me?" Yusuke said, scooting a bit closer.

Joann sighed before opening her eyes.

"I just can't..."

Botan's eyes widen before she jumped up and pointed at he girl. The movement caused Joann and Yusuke to jump and look at the blue haired girl with wide eyes.

"You're from the future aren't you?!"

Joann looked at Botan with blinking eyes.

"Huh?" Yusuke said also blinking up at the girl of death.

"That explains so much! The reason you can't say anything isn't because you lost your memory but because you're from the future!"

Joann continued to stare at Botan.

"Like I said, huh?" Yusuke said again.

"If she is from the future, then she could possible change it! Anything she does now will have either a good or bad influence on the future! But," Botan said before looking over at Joann, "You being here might already have changed our future."

Joann looked at her for a moment before shaking her head.

"I'm not from the future..."

Joann didn't know what to say. The only thing she could do was tell them the truth. Or rather as much as she could tell them.

"I'm from an alternate reality. A reality where I know of Yusuke and Kuwabara and everyone else. I can't tell you 'how' I know them all but just that they exist in my reality in some form." Joann said, hoping they would understand without explaining more.

She didn't think it would go over too well to share that in her world they were an anime and fictional.

Botan blinked down at the girl.

"Another reality?" Yusuke asked, even more confused.

"It's happened before. But it's very rare. The last recorded case was at least 500 years ago. Although, it was more so someone from the future rather than another reality..." Botan said before taking out a book and flipping through the pages.

"Not much is known, as the Underworld wasn't as organized as it is today." Botan said as she looked at the page.

Yusuke snorted.

"Organized my a..." he started before getting wacked on the head with Botan's book.

Yusuke yelped and covered his head before glaring at the blue haired girl who seemed to continue without missing a beat.

"But what records we do have states there was a woman who came from the future and had been a reincarnation of a very powerful priestess. This was also before the demon realm was created and a time when demons lived...well relatively peaceful with humans." Botan said before closing the book.

Joann looked at Botan with wide eyes.

'Someone else came here? Was it the same way I got here?' she thought.

The room became oddly silent.

"So it seems that her being here might be fate." Shizuru said before sipping on her own cup of tea.

Joann looked at her with blinking eyes. Yusuke still seemed confused but was starting to get the gist of the situation.

Botan shook her head.

"I'm not quite sure." she said.

'I'll need to talk this over with Koenma...' she thought.

"Well, it seems there is nothing we can do about it. Especially since there isn't much known about the other case." Shizuru said before taking out a cigarette.

Yusuke shook his head before standing up.

"So let me get this straight. Joann is from another dimension and is here for some reason that not even she or even pacifier breathe knows?"

Botan stood up and put the book back from whence she got it. She nodded.

"Seems like it."

Joann just sat on the floor in shock. So she was there for a purpose. But what was it? Why was she brought here? Why her? What made her special where she would get sucked into this world and change it's future? It was too much to absorb.

"Let's talk about this later." Shizuru said, causing everyone to look at her.

She took a puff on her cancer stick before letting the smoke out.

"We can figure all of that later. Right now, my twit of a little brother is going to rush off into another mess. And if Joann is destined to be here then it's probably to keep him in line and out of trouble."

Joann couldn't help but slightly blush. The thought that she was there for Kuwabara's sake was flattering. But if that was true, then how come the events were basically the same as in the show. Sure, there were a few differences but they weren't much to really make that big of an impact on the story. So what was her purpose?

Yusuke noticed the tint of pink cross her cheeks. He raised an eyebrow. He had a sneaking suspicion that Joann may have feelings for the big oaf. However, it was hard to read if Kuwabara felt the same way. Yusuke could have sworn the carrot top liked her back. But with how the guy was acting over this ice maiden demon, it seemed Yusuke could have been wrong.

"Speaking of dumbass..." she said looking towards the window.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS WAITIN' FER?" came a yell from outside.

Yusuke blinked before growling and going to the window. Waiting in front of the house, with a glare, was the carrot top.

Yusuke stuck his head out the window.

"WE GOT A DAMSEL TO SAVE!" Kuwabara shouted.

"GEEZE YOU COULD HAVE LEFT WITHOUT US, IDIOT!" Yusuke growled back.

"WHATEVER, JUST GET YER ASSES DOWN HERE SO WE CAN GO!" Kuwabara yelled back up at Yusuke.

Yusuke put his head back into the room with a sigh. He turned to look at Joann who was starting to stand up. He let out another sigh before walking up to her. He put his hand on her shoulder causing her to look at him with blinking eyes.

"Better get a move on before the big guy gets an aneurysm." Yusuke said with a snicker.

Joann looked at Yusuke for a moment.

"Wouldn't want that." she said with a snicker.

"HURRY UP!" shouted Kuwabara.

It was Joann's turn to growl and head over to the window.

"WE'RE COMING! GEEZE!"

Kuwabara gave her a huff before watching her duck back inside. He continued to look at the empty window with a frown. He could feel his heart hurt just a bit. He shook his head. He had to ignore that pain.

Inside, Shizuru and Botan had smirks on their lips as they watched the two left.

Joann and Yusuke were bombarded by the impatient carrot top. He looked even more annoyed.

"Finally!" Kuwabara growled, "Took you long enough."

"Well, we had to finish the tape." Joann said with a frown.

"We saw the important stuff already. What else was there to watch! Now let's go! The train leaves soon!" Kuwabara said before heading towards the station.

Yusuke and Joann sighed and followed behind the big guy.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~An Hour Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Really something, reaching the mountains after only an hour by train and bus." Yusuke said.

"There's plenty of countryside outside the city, but only the rich get to enjoy it much." Kuwabara added with a frown.

"It looks like there's tire tracks that go that way. I bet that's where the mansion is." Joann said as she looked down the dirt path that lead into a forest area.

"Patience, lady of the snow! I'll save you! So I swear!" Kuwabara shouted before rushing off down the path.

'Wow! She really got to him! Good thing he didn't see the rest of the video.' Yusuke thought with a sweat drop.

Yusuke wondered how the carrot top would have reacted to hear his beautiful ice maiden being Hiei's sister.

Joann sighed before shaking her head. She had to focus on saving Yukina. She was such a sweet woman...or girl? She wasn't sure how old the ice maiden was but she was sure if she found out Hiei's age she would know Yukina's age. They were twins after all. Demons seemed to have a long life span so they could be over 100 years old. Joann shook her head at the thought of hiei being an 'old man' in human years.

Yusuke and Joann quickly caught up to Kuwabara who had stopped in the middle of the dirt road. In front of the three stood a man wearing a suit.

"Buzz off, you punks. This is private property." growled the man.

"It's late, we missed out train, and we thought..." started Kuwabara

"...we could stay the night at Tarukane's mansion!" finished Yusuke.

"If you don't mind." Joann added trying to give an innocent face.

"Heh, sorry but we would mind. No one is allowed past this point..." the guy said before his body began to transform.

"But since you are here, you'll be leaving now..."

The guy's legs transformed into tentacles.

"...in body bags." he added as his mouth appeared in his chest and a long trunk appeared on his face. He looked between an elephant and an octopus.

"Once I send you to the afterlife...you may ponder your folly in setting foot on the property of Gonzo Tarukane."

The three looked on disgusted at the transformation.

"EEEWWW that's gross even for a demon!" Kuwabara said.

"Ick..." Joann said with a scrunched face.

"Don't think of turning back. No human who sees me like this lives to tell of it!" said the demon.

"With a face like yours, that's a given!" Joann said.

Both boys laughed at her comment.

Yusuke cracked his neck once he stopped laughing and became serious.

"You do know that the girl being held here is a demon too right? She's one of your own." Yusuke said.

"Doesn't it bother you that these scum ball humans are having their way with her?" Kuwabara asked, hoping they could recruit the guy to help them.

"Why should it? You humans are always ready to sell each other out to please yourself-inclinations. Why would you expect demons to be any less greedy? Hee hee...I'd bet if there was a pile of money in it for you, you'd each throw the other to the dogs for it." the demon said with a sickenly grin.

"You don't know spit about us!" Yusuke growled as he powered up his fist.

Kuwabara already had his spirit sword out and ready to use it.

"You don't know how stupid you sound!" Joann growled while getting into a defensive stance.

She had cursed the fact she forgot to grab some form of weapon. She would just have to go the old fashion way and use her fists.

"Hah! All high and mighty, are we?" the demon said before lunging at the three.

Kuwabara growled before slicing through the demon. It was so quick, Joann was sure Hiei would be impressed.

As the demon fell, Yusuke used his spirit gun and finished him off.

"Damn..." Joann said with wide eyes before a smile crossed her lips.

"That was awesome."

"You haven't seen anything yet." Yusuke said with a sideways grin.

Kuwabara was also grinning before the group headed further up the road. They had run into a couple other demons here and there but none stood a chance with the three. As they got closer to the mansion, or where they thought was the mansion, more demons appeared. It seemed like there was an army in their path.

Both guys grinned before they rushed in to attack. Joann was right behind them kicking and punching enemies left and right.

After a couple of demons got flattened, another set came at the trio.

"You got lucky human scum!" shouted a demon.

"We're ready for you now!" shouted another.

"Stuff it you pug-uglies! Outta my way! I'm burnin' with romantic fury!" Kuwabara shouted.

It seemed his words could create objects as a white headband went around his head. On it read I (heart shape) Snowgirl. He screamed as he cut down another set of demons.

Yusuke watched with a sweat drop.

'He's cranked to 11!' he thought as he watched another set get cut down.

Joann looked on in awe. It was something different to see Kuwabara in action. She had seen him battle before but this was totally different. She was impressed and couldn't help but smile.

Kuwabara began to slice his way closer up the path. Yusuke was right behind him with Joann taking on whoever Yusuke or Kuwabara missed. It wasn't long until the demons were finished off, with Yusuke taking the last set with his shotgun.

"That was a work out." Joann sighed, earning a chuckle out of Yusuke.

"We're not done yet." Kuwabara said as he looked forward.

Yusuke and Joann looked in the direction the carrot top looked.

In front of the trio was a huge building.

"That must be the mansion." Yusuke said.

It certainly looked like a mansion at how fancy it looked and it's size.

"It's where that creep is holding my ice princess! I'm here snow girl! I'll save you!" Kuwabara shouted before rushing towards the entrance.

"You might want to confirm that she's here." Yusuke suggested.

"Right mmm..." Kuwabara said before concentrating on locating the ice maiden's aura.

Joann stared at the mansion and could feel something awful coming from it. There was certainly evil coming from this place. It gave her more than the chills. She felt every single hair stand on end.

Yusuke seemed to notice her become stiff. He also noticed that her body was a bit shaky.

"Oii Joann you okay?" Yusuke asked turning towards Joann.

Yusuke's voice snapped her out of her trans.

"Huh? Oh yeah, peachy." she said with a forced smile.

Yusuke obviously didn't believe her and was going to said something.

"I don't pick up anything." Kuwabara said, causing the two to look at him.

He had his finger on his temple and had his eyes closed in concentration.

"Those talismans we saw in the video must shield against my six sense..." Kuwabara said before his forehead furrowed.

"On the other hand, I'm picking up three demonic auras stronger then the dozen we just wiped out."

Joann shivered as it seemed the auras spiked for some reason. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

Yusuke didn't notice but seemed excited over the news.

"Three demons left, eh? Well, they may be powerful, but I'm ready to take on anything. I've got my reigun rapid fire down to a sweet science." Yusuke said with fire in his eyes.

"You're not the only one ready! I've felt a new surge of power since I recovered from my last injuries. We've gone up a level!" Kuwabara said with a cocky grin.

Joann seemed to snap out of the chill and nodded, a smile crossing her face.

"I've leveled up too! I bet it's cause we practically fought in an old school video game." Joann said, earning a chuckle from both boys.

"Well then," Yusuke said before cracking his knuckles, "let's all earn another level in kicking ass."

"Yeah! Let's go!" Joann said with a fist pump.

Yusuke grinned at the girl and nodded. Kuwabara watched the two interact and furrowed his eyebrows. He had noticed the two had become pretty cozy. He shook his head. He couldn't focus on that. He had to focus on saving his ice princess.

The three turned back towards the mansion and entered.

"Geeze, I know they are in the middle of nowheresville, but they could have at least locked their front door." Joann said with a frown.

"Guess they didn't think anyone could get pass their security." Kuwabara said as he cautiously walked into the entrance hall.

Yusuke looked around. He took the cue from Kuwabara to move carefully. Joann felt a surge of pure evil fill her body. She stopped moving for a moment and felt herself drowning in despair and pain. She could feel tears wanting to form in her eyes but held them back.

Joann slapped her face good and hard. This had scared the two boys who turned towards her with wide eyes. She looked over at them with red cheeks. Not from embarrassment but from how hard she slapped her face. She sweat dropped and gave a nervous laugh.

"Sorry."

"You seriously need to stop hitting yerself." Yusuke said with a sweat drop, which earned another nervous laugh from the girl.

Kuwabara frowned at the girl. She had been acting funny since Yusuke brought in the video earlier that morning. He didn't know what was bothering her. Although, he did know she had some form of sixth sense. He could tell from how she reacted back in the Four Saint Beasts mission. She had become paralyzed while going against Genbu. It was the same reaction she had with that rock monster that she was having in this mansion. He knew they would have to be extra careful.

"Come on. I think it's this way." Kuwabara said, getting his two companions attention.

They nodded before following the carrot top further into the building. As they turned a corner, there stood a line of men with guns. The minute the trio saw the men, and vise versa, the men began to fire.

Joann's eyes widened. She had forgot about this scene. She ducked back behind the corner and watched as the bullets fly out from the room.

'Man, I wish I brought something!' she thought.

Kuwabara and Yusuke seemed to easily dodge the bullets. It was amazing to watch.

"Keep firing!" shouted one of the men.

More bullets came at the group. Joann yelped and hid back behind the wall, watching the bullets go past her again.

"Blast! They're fast!" shouted another man as Kuwabara and Yusuke continued to dodge the bullets.

However, they were closing in on the line of men. In a blink of an eye, the two boys seemed to vanish from sight. At hearing the firing cease, Joann looked out from behind the wall. She noticed Yusuke and Kuwabara standing behind the first line of guys. In a flash, Yusuke and Kuwabara knocked out every single guy in that first line.

"Quantity can't replace quality dude." Yusuke said with a grin.

"It's obvious, when and where you're going to shoot." Kuwabara added.

Joann blinked before letting out a relieved sigh. She stepped out from behind the corner.

"You guys are worse than the storm troopers." Joann said with a laugh.

One stray bullet let loose from a gun. She yelped and dodged it before turning an annoyed glare at the guy before Kuwabara knocked him out.

There was a second line of men who stood there in fear. They had just witnessed something that was impossible.

"Th-they're not human!" one guy shouted as he lowered his gun.

"Guns are useless against them!" shouted another as he took a step backwards.

"Precisely. Step aside." said a very pretty looking woman from behind the group.

She walked past the line of men and stood in front of them. She looked at Kuwabara and Yusuke with a smug look on her face.

Joann walked up to the boys and stood a bit behind them.

"Hello. I'm Miyuki, ogre Triod vertex one. Haah!" she said, throwing a small bomb at the group.

They jumped out of the way and watched as the bomb caused a crater where the trio had been staying moments before.

Kuwabara took a good look at their new opponent.

"She's a girl! I can't fight a girl!" Kuwabara said.

"You've fought against me." Joann said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah...but that was training. This is the real deal." Kuwabara said with a frown.

"Hmm...this certainly won't be training but don't take me lightly. I think it's sweet you have chivalry but that will not mean I'll spare you any mercy." said Miruki.

"Chivalry? Never heard of it. I don't care. Man or women, young or old...you want a fight, I'll give you one." Yusuke said with a grin that showed how excited he was to fight the woman.

"Just so you know, I'm a girl too. I could fighter her too." Joann said with a sigh.

"Well that's true I guess..." Yusuke said while scratching the back of his head, nervously.

"It doesn't matter. You will all die!" shouted Miyuaki.

She rushed forward toward the trio.

Yusuke narrowed his eyes and seemed to be studying her a bit closer.

'I don't think that girl's a girl... ' Yusuke thought.

"Better make sure first..." he finished aloud.

In a flash, Yusuke rushed forward towards the woman. The two seemed to disappear for a moment before they reappeared. The two landed back-to-back, a couple of feet away from each other. Yusuke looked a bit annoyed while Miyuki seemed to look pissed as she held her chest area.

"Y-you impertent whelp!" she shouted.

Kuwabara looked on a bit of confusion on his face. Joann shook her head. She remembered what was happening here and still thought there was something wrong with Yusuke. Even if he suspected the woman to not be an actual woman, he was still checking by groping her breasts. Joann couldn't help but blush and cover her own chest from embarrassment.

Yusuke looked back, holding up the offending hand.

"Rude, I know! But that should give you an idea what you're up against." Yusuke said.

Miyuki growled before turning completely towards Yusuke, who turned to face her too.

"ARR! Silence!" she growled before rushing towards Yusuke.

Right as she got in front of Yusuke, he punched her so hard into her face that it sent her flying backwards.

Kuwabara watched with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"You really don't care, do you!" Kuwabara said, disgust in his voice.

"Well, I was maybe gonna go a little easy on a real girl...but then I checked! She's a demon cross-dresser!" Yusuke said while holding up his hand.

It took a moment for Kuwabara to register what Yusuke had done. Joann shook her head in disgust.

"Still not cool man." Joann said with a disapproving look.

"Guh! You didn't!" said a horrified Kuwabara.

"On that first pass I discovered 'her' bust was either an implant or padding...and that 'she' was packin' mighty heavy down stairs." Yusuke said matter of factly.

"Incredible! I didn't see any of that! Gawd...can't decide if I'm impressed or grossed out!" Kuwabara said with disgust on his face.

"Totally grossed out." Joann said from behind.

Kuwabara turned to her and nodded, agreeing with her.

Miyuki glared at Yusuke.

"Bigot! You beat on me because I'm different! I'm a man in body, but my soul is a woman's!" Miyuki shouted.

"Oh really? What a load! You're not a real cross-dresser-you just can't make up your mind! You might wanna do that before you get into anymore fights!" Yusuke said as he pointed at the demon.

Miyuki gasped, realizing that maybe she really was just confused. Maybe she wasn't sure what she was and needed to learn more about herself.

"You're so right..." Miyuki whispered before passing out.

The trio stood and looked down at the knocked out she-man. It seemed the men who had guns had already left. A noise caught the three's attention. Above them on the wall was a security camera. It seemed to be the type that could move and focus. The three looked up at the camera with a grin. They all made the peace sign.

"Heads up, Tarukane!" said a grinning Kuwabara.

"Two more, and we're in your face!" added a grinning Yusuke.

"See ya soon dude!" Joann added with a wink.

After gloating a little more, the trio began to travel further into the building. They ended up entering into a hallway. Once in the hallway, they began to run. They didn't know if any more henchmen would become coming up from behind them. They didn't' want to risk that. Not to mention they were in a hurry to save Yukina.

"I can't believe you. What if that'd really been a girl!" Kuwabara asked Yusuke, not sure if he really wanted to know the answer.

"Then I'd have gotten some cheap thrills." Yusuke said with a perverted grin.

Joann slapped in upside his head.

Yusuke yelped and stumbled a bit during the running.

"You're such a perv, ya know that." Joann said with a glare.

Yusuke chuckled and scratched his cheek.

Kuwabara chuckled, catching both Yusuke and Joann's attention.

"Yukimura'd love to hear that." Kuwabara said with a wide grin.

This comment caused Yusuke to instantly stop running. Joann, who was right behind him, almost ran into him. However, while trying to avoid running into the raven haired boy, she ended up falling to the ground with a thud.

"Are you sayin' you'd tell her!" Yusuke growled, grabbing Kuwabara and causing the carrot top to stop running.

Kuwabara looked at Yusuke with what could be described as a 'shit eattin' grin'.

Joann growled as she stood up. She began to dust herself off. She turned a glare towards Yusuke.

"Well, there's this CD I've collected..." Kuwabara began.

The carrot top stopped mid sentence. His eyes narrowed. Joann felt a slight chill. She could sense a strong emotion close by. It had blood shed on it's mind.

"Look out!" Kuwabara shouted before pushing Yusuke backwards.

Joann sensed the blood lust coming straight at Kuwabara. Without thinking, as usual, she moved forward and pushed Kuwabara away, just in time. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to dodge the attack. She felt sharp claws slash across her face. She let out a cry before covering the area with her hands. She could feel the scratches slightly bleeding. It seemed she didn't get the full strength of the attack. That didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"Shit." she growled out

"Carson-san!" Kuwabara shouted with wide eyes.

He saw the attack as if it was in slow motion. How the claws were coming straight at his face. He had brought up his arm but felt Joann push him backwards. He was so shocked at being pushed, that he stumbled backwards. He saw those claws slash across Joann's face, close to her right eye.

Kuwabara went over to Joann filled with fear.

"Carson-san, are you okay?!" Kuwabara shouted, looking over her face.

"It's Joann." she growled, still covering her eye.

She could tell the claws just missed her eye, which was a miracle. It did seem she had a cut above her eye and right below it. She wasn't sure if it was deep enough to scar. She hoped it wouldn't, although it would have been cool to have a small scar.

"And it's just a flesh wound." she added as she could feel the sting from the attack slowly disappear.

Joann moved her hand away from her face. Kuwabara looked at her with wide eyes.

"Flesh wound my ass! You're bleeding!" Kuwabara growled.

"Head wounds tend to bleed more no matter how deep or shallow the cut is." Joann sighed, as she could feel the blood from above her eye dripping into it.

Yusuke had fallen on his ass from how hard Kuwabara had pushed him. He was standing up when he saw the demon was coming back for another attack.

"Hey guys! Watch out!" he shouted.

Joann and Kuwabara heard Yusuke's shout and were able to jump out of the way of another attack. They went over to Yusuke who stood next to Joann, while Kuwabara stood on Joann's other side.

The demon stood where the two had been moments ago with a wide grin on his face.

"Greetings! I'm vertex two: Inmaki!" he said before covering himself with his cape.

Right in front of the trio's eyes, Inmaki disappeared.

"Didya see that! His cape-"started Kuwabara.

"It made him invisible!" finished Yusuke.

The three went back to back to back. Joann kept wiping the blood out of her eye before quickly tearing off a piece of her shirt and pushing it against the bleeding area. She wasn't too concern about the slash under her eye, as that seemed to stop bleeding. It was the one over her eye causing the issue. She held the material tightly, but now she was one handed and wouldn't be able to defend herself or the boys.

'Just great...' she thought.

"Can you pinpoint him?!" Yusuke asked, looking around the room, hoping he could catch something.

"No! He's too fast! Direction keeps shifting!" shouted Kuwabara.

Joann could sense the blood lust growing stronger as it appeared right in front of Yusuke.

"Yusuke!" she shouted before pulling him out of the way of the attack.

Yusuke tripped a bit, as he wasn't expecting the pull from Joann.

Kuwabara jumped, feeling Joann bump into him. He turned around and saw Inmaki right were Yusuke had been standing moments ago.

"Cripes! Let's scram!" shouted Kuwabara.

Joann had let go of Yusuke and began to run. Kuwabara and Yusuke ran right along with her.

"Heh heh...can't fight what you can't see." Inmaki said as he covered himself back with his cloak.

Inmaki followed right behind the trio. He watched as they turned a corner further up the hallway. He snickered. He knew it was a dead end. Perfect for him to rip them all into pieces.

"It's no use!" Inmaki shouted as he turned around the corner.

"Now, Urameshi!" shouted Kuwabara.

Kuwabara had sensed the demon the moment he turned the corner. At his shout, Yusuke let lose his shotgun, which hit its target. The demon crashed into the wall that was behind him; making an indent of where his body slammed into the wall. He was also surrounded with holes from Yusuke's shotgun blast that had missed the demon. Slowly, Inmaki's form was revealed as his cloak seemed to disintegrate from the blast. His body slid down the wall; leaving a bloody trail behind him.

"H...how..?" he asked in shock and close to death.

"That cape hid you from sight, but not my six sense. An' you're not much to speak of once you lose that advantage of invisibility." Kuwabara said.

"Once Kuwabara gave the signal, I just filled that doorway with reiki blasts...some of which were bound to hit." added Yusuke.

Inmaki grunted before passing out.

There was a familiar noise from above the trio. They turned and saw another camera.

"One left" all three said while holding up one finger.

"We'll see ya soon." Joann added while grinning.

Yusuke grinned as he turned over to Joann.

"Whoa Joann! What happened to your face?!" Yusuke shouted, actually getting a look at her face.

"It's fine, just a scratch." Joann said while keeping pressure on the head wound.

"I've been scratched by my cat before and that's no scratch!" growled Kuwabara.

"Relax, I'll be fine." Joann said before removing the material from her wound.

Her face looked a bloody mess, figuratively as well as literally.

"A bleeding head wound is not fine!" growled Kuwabara.

"It stopped bleeding." Joann said with roll of her eyes.

"I hate to admit it, but Kuwabara's right. You look horrible." Yusuke said as he stared at the drying blood.

It reminded him of a horror movie.

"We seriously don't have time for this! We have to save-" Joann started before the wall to their right exploded.

Kuwabara and Yusuke were flung forward, while Joann was knocked backwards, away from the guys. Joann landed on the ground, coughing from the dust flying around. She covered her head as she felt the small pieces from the wall falling on and around her. After a moment, Joann froze as she felt a strong emotion that felt like hate. She uncovered her head just to see a huge hand reaching for her. She gasped as she felt the huge hand wrap around her waist and lift her into the air.

"Carson-san!" Kuwabara shouted as he quickly stood up, hands clenched at his sides.

Yusuke growled as he also quickly stood up.

Joann struggled while in the big demon's hand.

"Hahahahaha...I'm vertex three: Gokumanki!" the demon laughed.

"Let her go!" growled Yusuke.

"Hahaha...why should I? I need to use her as a shield! As long as I have her, you can't attack!"

"Heh...you can't attack either." said Yusuke with a smug grin.

"On the contrary, I can still use my other hand to attack you!" he said.

Joann growled as she struggled in Gokumanki's grasp.

'This totally sucks!' Joann thought, 'why didn't I bring something to use as a weapon! The fact I knew this would happen makes this even worse.'

Gokumanki raised his free hand and slammed it down right were the boys were standing. The two were able to just dodge the ground smashing fist.

Joann struggled a bit more and was able to free her right arm. She began to bang on the hand holding her. This only made Gokumanki laugh at her.

"Don't hurt yourself there little lady." Gokumanki laughed.

Joann growled before clenching her free hand.

'Why didn't I bring anything! I'm so stupid!' she thought, growling mentally.

A soft heat began to radiate from her clenched right hand. At feeling it, Joann brought the hand in front of her. She could see a familiar purple spark surrounding her hand and upper part of her forearm. Her eyes widened. The warm sensation began to grow as the purple spark began to grow more.

"What the hell..." she whispered.

Joann opened up her hand and saw the purple sparks move into her palm. A thought came to her mind before she began to concentrate on the slowly growing warmth and purple sparks in her hand.

Gokumonki raised his free hand, ready to slam it back down to hit the boys.

Joann growled as she put all her focus and energy into her hand. A flash of purple sparks surrounded her hand, catching the eye of Gokumonki. He looked over at his prisoner with blinking eyes. Yusuke and Kuwabara also noticed the bright purple lights and looked over at Joann.

Joann began to yell as the purple sparks turned into a three foot long pole. It reminded Kuwabara of his own Spirit Sword, but had a surge of purple electricity surrounding it. Joann continued to yell as she brought back her weapon and brought it right across Gokumonki's face. The demon yelped in both surprise and pain. He let go of Joann and went to cover his face.

Joann felt herself falling and instantly dispelled the weapon before covering her head.

"Carson-san!" Kuwabara shouted.

"Joann!" Yusuke shouted at the same time as Kuwabara's shout.

Yusuke was a bit quicker than Kuwabara and was able to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Hey, you ok?" Yusuke asked as he held Joann in his arms.

Joann uncovered her head. She looked up and saw Yusuke. She let out a relieved sigh before nodding. Yusuke put her back onto her feet with a grin.

"Yeah, thanks Yusuke." Joann said with a nod and a smile.

Kuwabara stood there staring at the two. He had only hesitated for a second. If Yusuke hadn't rushed over, then Joann could have really hurt herself. He let out a relieved sigh, but felt a weird pain in his chest at how easily Yusuke and Joann were getting along with each other.

The three turned as Gokumonki howled in anger. Joann felt that roar go right through her body and caused her to freeze.

"Bitch! How dare you hit me!" he growled before clasping both his hands together before raising them above his head.

Kuwabara's eyes widened as he saw Joann frozen in fear. It was exactly what happened back at the Four Saint Beast's castle.

"Carson-san!" Kuwabara shouted before rushing forward.

"We gotta move, now!" Yusuke growled, grabbing onto Joann's arm.

Joann watched as if it was in slow motion. The hands were coming straight down towards her. Her entire body had been paralyzed from just the pure rage plushing from the demon in front of her.

Right before the hands came down on both Yusuke and Joann, Kuwabara jumped into the air and sliced up along the arm towards Gokumonki's face. The demon screamed in pain as he felt the Spirit Sword slice up his arm and up the middle of his face. Yusuke stared up in awe as Joann felt the rage fade, releasing her from the paralyzing fear.

Gokumonki moaned as his body fell backwards, landing with a thud and a shake of the ground. Kuwabara landed right past the fallen demon. He stood there for a moment before letting out a sigh and turning back around.

Joann blinked and looked over at Kuwabara with wide eyes. Yusuke looked just as surprised and impressed. He shook his head before grinning from ear to ear.

"That was amazing! I bet Hiei would even be impressed." Yusuke said with a nod.

Kuwabara walked towards the two wit his Spirit Sword resting on his shoulder.

Kuwabara ignored Yusuke and looked over at Joann.

"Are you ok?" he asked looking over Joann.

His eyes landed on Joann's right hand. It didn't look burned despite it being completely covered in what looked to be electricity. However, if it was from her own spiritual energy, then she wouldn't have any scorch marks. He furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

Joann didn't know how to feel at this moment. Kuwabara was being overly protective of her. Sure, he usually was protective of her but never this much. She wasn't sure if it was because he was in 'shining knight' mode or something but it was a bit uncomfortable. She also noticed how he was staring at her right hand. She pulled it close to her chest.

Yusuke also looked at her hand. It reminded him a bit of Suzaku's electric attacks. He wondered if it had something to do with their fight with the head of the Four Saint Beasts.

"I'm fine!" she growled.

"What about your hand?" Kuwabara asked, pointing at it.

"Not to mention, your frickin' head is still a mess!" Kuwabara growled, remember the head wound.

She had dried blood covering half the right side of her face. It seriously looked like a scene from a horror movie.

"I told you, I'm fine!" she growled.

"You look like friggin' Bloody Mary!" Yusuke said with a growl.

"Now you're being rude." Joann said with a pout.

"Does this place have a bathroom or something, or at least a hanging mirror?" Kuwabara growled as he looked around.

"Seriously guys, I'm fine!" she said before turning around and beginning to walk away.

The two boys looked at each other before growling. They rushed up to walk beside her.

"Fine, then tell us what happened with your hand back there." Yusuke said from her right.

"Yeah, when did you start being able to make objects with her spirit energy! And why didn't you tell me!" growled Kuwabara from her left.

"Just now and I don't know how I did it. It just...happened." Joann said before shaking her head, "There's no time to worry about that! We're on a rescue mission, remember?!"

Kuwabara's eyes widened, realizing he was so worried about Joann that he almost forgot his ice maiden was in trouble.

"You're right, let's go save my ice maiden." Kuwabara said with determination.

He didn't catch the wince that crossed Joann's face. Yusuke had and furrowed his eyebrows.

A noise from the ceiling caught the trio's attention. They stopped walking and looked up. There was another camera hanging from the ceiling. The three couldn't help but grin up at it.

"That's three!" Joann said as she stuck out her tongue while closing her right eye.

"Your time's run out, Tarukane!" Kuwabara said while making the peace sign.

"See ya soon!" Yusuke said while grinning at the camera.

Kuwabara looked over at his two comadres who nodded before the trio began to run down the hallway.

As they traveled further into the mansion, Kuwabara searched out for any new threats. He wasn't going to risk being ambushed again.

"I don't detect any demons! Let's find my ice demon and clean Tarukane's clock!" Kuwabara shouted, ready to pick up his pace.

Yusuke and Joann got the hint and stepped up their pace. However, Kuwabara suddenly stopped. This caused Yusuke to stop, barely running to Kuwabara. Joann wasn't lucky, as she ended up crashing into Yusuke and caused both of them to fall to the ground. Luckily, Kuwabara had stepped to the side as if searching for something.

"Whoa! I sense something! Not evil...it's her! Must be!" Kuwabara said with hope.

Yusuke sat up, giving Kuwabara an annoyed glare.

Joann sighed as she sat up looking at Kuwabara with a slight sad expression. Yusuke heard the sigh and turned to look at the girl. He could tell she was upset. He looked over at Kuwabara, who seemed to be in mid concentration.

Yusuke stood up and began to brush himself off before looking back at Joann.

Joann was just sitting there, her head down and looking at her right hand.

"Does your hand hurt?" Yusuke asked.

Joann's head snapped up to look at Yusuke.

She could tell he was worried. She couldn't help but smile before shaking her head.

"How about your head? Is that ok?" he asked.

He wished they would find a bathroom or something because it was starting to really bother him. She seriously looked like something out of a horror movie or at least a zombie horror movie.

"As much as it could be." Joann snorted with a small smile.

Yusuke could tell she was trying to joke and gave a small smile.

"Well," he began before outstretching his hand to her, "why don't you get up off the floor and we can..."

"I think I can make contact, 'cept...I don't know her name!" huffed Kuwabara.

"Yukina." Joann and Yusuke said in unison.

Kuwabara turned to look at the two with wide eyes.

"How do you two know?!"

"We actually finished the video." growled Yusuke, giving his best friend a glare.

"Unlike some people." Joann said with a huff.

"Oh..." Kuwabara said before going back to trying to contact her.

As Yusuke was helping Joann up, Kuwabara anime fell. The two looked over at him and gave him a weird look. However, before either could ask what happened, Kuwabara jumped to his feet and began to run at full force down the hallway.

"Oii!" Yusuke shouted before letting out a growl.

"Must have made contact." Joann said before the two rushed off after the carrot top.

Yusuke and Joann followed Kuwabara as he made a few turns before seeing a staircase straight ahead.

"You're outside those suppressing wards! I know where you are! Like it or not, you're being rescued!" Kuwabara shouted aloud as he stepped up the pace.

"This way! The basement!" shouted Kuwabara, running down the stairs.

After running down the stairs, the group passed by cages of weird looking creatures. Joann grimanced as they passed a cage that had the remains of what looked to be a huge animal.

"Ick! What he heck's that!" shouted a disgusted Yusuke.

"Who cares? On ward!" shouted Kuwabara as his focus was on getting to Yukina.

A door could be seen up ahead, which was beginning to close.

"Uh-oh! The door!" Kuwabara shouted.

"Hurry!" Joann shouted, running as fast as she could.

"Before they close!" shouted Yusuke.

The three made it just as the door slammed close behind them. Joann let out a long breath before falling to her knees. She hadn't run like that since high school. And even then she didn't run that fast for that long. She just needed to catch her breath for a moment. She could even feel sweat coming down her face. She wiped her brow and found some dry blood had come off onto her arm. She wrinkled her nose in disgust before trying to wipe it off on her pants.

"You ok?" Yusuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

He knew Joann said she was out of shape. But she truly didn't look like it until this very moment.

"Just...give...me...a...minute..." she huffed.

A chuckle was heard from across the room. Kuwabara had already been standing in a defensive position the minute the doors shut behind them. Yusuke and Joann looked over to where the chuckle came from and found two men. Joann's eyes widened as she was seeing the Toguro Brothers. She couldn't help but feel a chill go down her spine.

Yusuke took a defensive stance, putting himself a bit in front of Joann.

Behind the brothers, but also above were five screens. Each had a man in shadow on the screen. Below the screens was a see through glass. Standing behind it was the man known as Mr. Tarukane. Next to him was Yukina and a few others all looking down into the huge room.

"Guess he's the last of 'em." Yusuke said as he opened and closed his hands.

"Check those bastards on the monitors, watching all this." growled Kuwabara.

Joann felt herself less winded and stood up.

"Must be a hobby of theirs." she said as she dusted herself off.

"C'mon Toguro! I'm counting on you!" shouted Mr. Tarukane.

'Just a matter of time!' Kuwabara thought as he looked up at Yukina with a smile.

"Welcome. You will go easy on me, I hope?" said Younger Toguro.

Joann glanced over to the Eldest Toguro brother. He was the sadistic one of the two. At least there was a reason Younger Toguro acted the way he did. The Eldest was just sadistic and cruel. She still got angry at how he hurt Kuwabara at the Dark Tournament. It made her growl as she glared at him. She same the Eldest turn towards her with curious eyes.

Kuwabara stared at the two for a moment before smirking.

"Heh, the duffus got zilch demonic aura. This'll be a snap!" said a grinning and confident Kuwabara.

Yusuke stared at the two before resting his gaze on the taller man. His gut was telling him to be afraid.

"No...if you ask me, this guy is big trouble" Yusuke said as he clenched his fists.

Kuwabara raised an eyebrow before looking over at his friend.

"Why?"

"Just a creepy feeling that screams 'Watch it!'" said Yusuke.

"They are more of a threat then you'll ever know." Joann said as she felt a growing emotion that reeked of blood lust.

Joann had felt a lot of blood lust and evil during her time journeying with the boys. However, this was the worst she had felt so far.

"Heh...seems like the girl knows, or at least has heard of us." said Younger Toguro.

Before anything else is said, Younger Toguro tosses the Elder Toguro into the air. The three watched in awe and horror as the man began to transform into a sword while in the air.

"Ulp! That little guy on his shoulder..! He's...scrunching up?" shouted Kuwabara in horror.

"If you think my face is horrible..." Joann mumbles.

Once turned into a sword, Younger Toguro catches his brother by the hilt.

"Amazing transformation by my older brother, don'tcha think? Its effectiveness depends on the wielder, of course." said Younger Toguro.

"He's turned into a sword!" shouted Yusuke.

"As for me..." begins Younger Toguro.

He started to expand his muscles. Yusuke and Kuwabara look on in awe and horror. Joann shook as she felt the pure hatred and blood lust basically pulsing off the two brothers. She had been petrified before but this was worse.

"...I provide the muscle! Lots of it! Y'see, we're one unit!" shouted Younger Toguro.

The wind in the room started to pick up.

"His aura is now-incredible!" shouted Kuwabara.

"Like being hit by a hurricane!" added Yusuke.

Younger Toguro charges straight towards the three. Yusuke and Kuwabara jump away, however Joann completely frozen over by fear didn't even flinch. Kuwabara and Yusuke turned in mid jump to see Joann not moving.

"Carson-san!" Kuwabara shouted.

"Joann!" Yusuke shouted.

Younger Toguro brought down the sword, which pushed up some dust and caused a huge gust of air. Dust surrounded the area. Both boys stared with wide and dilated eyes as they landed a safe distance from the attack. Once the dust cleared, they noticed a purple dome seemed to appear around the girl. Younger Toguro's sword had slightly broken through the shield but Joann appeared to be unharmed.

Both Kuwabara and Yusuke stared in disbelief before both letting out a sigh of relief. They heard a chuckle come from the big man as he pulled out the sword from the slightly damaged dome. It began to crack before shattering like glass.

"Very impressive. Her body went into automatic defense after her fear took over, paralyzing her. With more training, she could be a worthy fighter. Unfortunately for her..." Younger Toguro began as he brought back his fist.

Joann couldn't move. Her eyes had went to dark. She couldn't see. She couldn't hear. She couldn't speak. She couldn't even taste. All her senses were drowned out by so many feelings that surrounded her like a cocoon.

She could feel the fear coming from Yusuke and Kuwabara. She could feel the greed dripping from the men watching above. She could feel the pain and horror from Yukina. But what was the worst of all was the blood lust and delight coming from the two men that stood in front of her.

"But orders are orders." he finished as he brought his sword down.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Kuwabara howled as he rushed forward.

Younger Toguro paused in his attack. A slight chill went down his side. He hadn't felt such energy in a long time. He turned just in time to parry the attack. Kuwabara was pushed back and landed on his feet.

"You're form needs a bit of..." Younger Toguro began before finding a glowing fist hitting him in his face.

Yusuke was in front of him, his eyes glowing red as he glared up at the larger man.

Younger Toguro looks down at the young man even with his head turned by the strong punch. Yusuke jumped backwards. Younger Toguro turned towards Yusuke, ready to attack but found Kuwabara's sword coming back down on him. Younger Toguro blocked it again with his sword but as he was defending from Kuwabara, Yusuke fired a Spirit Gun right at Toguro's head. Yusuke rushed over to Joann.

"Oii! Joann! Come on, this is not the time to pass out! Joann!" Yusuke shouted.

After another moment of no response, Yusuke growled before bringing back his hand.

"Wake." he said as he slapped her left cheek.

"The fuck." he said as he slapped her right cheek.

Joann's right hand flinched.

"Up." he shouted as he slapped her again on her left cheek.

Joann's right hand turned into a fist.

"I said." he shouted as he slapped her again on her right cheek.

Joann's arm began to shake.

"Wake!" Yusuke shouted as he slapped her left cheek.

Joann's eyes came back to life as a growl came from her throat.

"UP!" Yusuke shouted, not noticing the danger he brought upon himself at that last slap.

"What the hell?!" Joann shouted as he punched Yusuke in the face.

Yusuke got the full punch and fell backwards.

Joann stood there with a pissed off look before blinking. She looked around. She didn't recognize where she was for a moment.

"Finally!" Yusuke said, rubbing his cheek and standing up.

"Huh? What? What's going on?" Joann asked, blinking at Yusuke, who's cheek was red with a hand print.

"You blacked out for a moment, while in the middle of a battle."

"Huh?" Joann said before looking around at her surroundings.

It took her a minute before she remembered what happened. Well, she remembered up until she looked at the Toguro brothers. Her eyes widened as she heard Kuwabara screaming. She turned to see Kuwabara was fighting the brothers by himself.

"Yo! Why aren't you helping Kuwabara?!" Joann said with a glare.

"I had to wake your ass up that's why! Now go hide!" Yusuke sighed, a bit relieved that she was okay.

"What?! But I can help!" Joann said.

"No. Go hide!" Yusuke said before rushing off to help Kuwabara.

Kuwabara was a bit out of breath and looked horrible. He had rips in his uniform as well as blood on his face and in the holes of his clothes. Yusuke rushed forward and began to let loose a barrage of punches. Kuwabara took the moment to breath and turn to look at Joann. He let out a relieved breath at seeing her safe, before turning back towards Yusuke.

Joann didn't know what she could do to help, but it seemed she had been more of a burden then helpful. She had to try and help. Otherwise, what was the point of her coming on the mission in the first place? She focused energy on her right hand and began to feel it spark with the purple electricity. At the same time, left arm began to feel the same sensation. She couldn't help but grin. It looked like she wouldn't be a burden any more.

Yusuke screamed as he jumped back and aimed his pointer finger at Toguro.

"Got ya! Spirit Gun!" he shouted.

However, the energy exploded again a shield.

"His sword...it turned into a shield!" shouted a shocked Yusuke.

Younger Toguro punched Yusuke, sending him flying backwards.

"I forgot to mention...my brother has a wide repertoire of transformations..." Younger Toguro said.

Kuwabara growled before rushing forward. He jumped into the air and brought his sword down, just as Younger Toguro was about to kick Yusuke. However, his attack was blocked by the shield before he brought his fist towards Kuwabara's gut. Kuwabara's eyes widened before pulling back. Unfortunately, a part of the punch ended up connecting with the carrot top's stomach and sent him flying backwards into the wall on the other side of the room.

"Kuwabara!" Joann and Yusuke shouted.

'He's strong! ' thought Yusuke.

"He was smart enough to know when to dodge, but he still wasn't quick enough." Younger Toguro said before turning towards Yusuke.

Yusuke growled before being kicked in his side. He let out a yelp before holding his stomach. Kuwabara coughed from his spot on the ground against the wall. He was surrounded by dust and debri. He looked out with blood dripping from his lips and was heavily panting.

Joann growled before feeling the pole appear in her right hand and a shield attached to her left arm. She rushed forward.

"I'm a bit disappointed." Toguro said while looking down at Yusuke.

He gave him another kick to the side. Yusuke rolled onto his knees and coughed out spit mixed with blood.

Elder Toguro turned back into a sword. Younger Toguro lifted his sword above Yusuke.

"I expected more from you." Toguro said as he brought down his sword.

Joann jumped between Yusuke and Toguro and held back the sword with her shield.

Toguro looked down in surprise before finding the sword knocked out of his hands and into the dirt. Joann's pole swung around towards Toguro's side. However, it was caught by the bigger man's hands.

"Brave, I'll give you that. But a stupid move on your part."

Joann's eyes widen as she saw the punch coming towards her.

"Joann!" Yusuke shouted as he struggled to his feet.

Joann dispels her pole and moves back. However, it wasn't enough to avoid the punch. She felt a pain shoot through her entire body before she is knocked back into the same wall as Kuwabara.

"Carson-san!" Kuwabara shouted as he watched Joann falls face first into the ground.

Joann moaned as she struggled to get to her feet. Her head wound reopened and the blood began to pour down again.

"I-it's...Jo..." she began to say.

"Stop talking!" Kuwabara growled.

He turned towards Younger Toguro who was holding off Yusuke's punches. Yusuke threw one more punch before being sent back against the wall with the other two.

Kuwabara growled as he closed his eyes. Yusuke groaned as he crawled over to Joann.

"Are you ok?" he asked while looking over her.

"S-sure..." she said with a cough.

Yusuke sighed.

"...Takukane's human...Could a man really do all this?" Kuwabara mumbled, catching Yusuke's attention.

Yusuke turned to see Kuwabara stand up and slowly walk over to Toguro. His eyes widen as his best friend takes out his Spirit Sword.

"Step aside, demon. You're not the fiend I'm after today. The one I want is the fat, grubby pig behind you!" growled Kuwabara.

"You talking to me, boy? You've got no chance! But go ahead-try! Toguro! Finish them off!" shouted Takurkane from his safe spot behind the glass window.

He pointed down at Kuwabara with a grin.

"Hear that? My orders. Sorry." said Younger Toguro.

"Outta my way!" growled Kuwabara.

He rushed at Toguro and began to attack the larger man. However, all of his attacks were easily blocked. Toguro blasts Kuwabara backwards, back towards where Yusuke and Joann were sitting. Yusuke had to help the girl sit up and was looking over her injuries.

"Wasted effort, kid. I could parry you all day." said Toguro.

Kuwabara growled, his eyes turning dark.

"Kuwabara..." Yusuke said with blinking eyes.

He had never seen his best friend so angry. It wa a bit terrifying.

"Urameshi, listen...one thing might work!" whispered Kuwabara.

Yusuke nodded and leaned in as Kuwabara began to explain his plan. Joann grunted as she went to her knees. She felt the throbbing in her gut and hoped Botan could fix her again. Although it would probably be just as embarrassing as the last time. She couldn't help but blush. Maybe she would be better off asking Yukina for a heal.

"Play time's over, Toguro. Kill them. Splatter them over the walls." shouted Takurkane.

"Aye-eye sir." said Toguro with a sneer.

He walked over to where his brother had been tossed and picked him up.

"That's crazy!" Yusuke shouted after hearing Kuwabara's plan.

"If we do that, you're toast!"

"Kuwabara has more durability then anyone I know. I know you know that. Besides, I'm sure you have enough control to not kill him." Joann said with a slight cough and smile.

Yusuke looked over at her and nodded.

'Both Joann and Kuwabara are putting their faith in me. I can't screw this up.' Yusuke thought.

Kuwabara staggered onto his feet and took out his Spirit Sword. He took a couple of steps in front of Yusuke before rushing towards Younger Toguro, who was facing the rushing teen.

"A suicide charge, eh? If that's how you want it." Toguro said before lifting his sword over his head.

"...I'll split you with one strike!" he shouted.

Yusuke began to power up his right finger. As he watched Kuwabara get closer to the larger man, he took in a deep breath.

"Spirit Gun!" Yusuke shouted as he let loose his energy blast right at Kuwabara's back. Once the ball hit Kuwabara's back, it pushed the carrot top straight towards a surprised Toguro.

Kuwabara plunged his sword right into the stomach of Younger Toguro.

"Took the blast...right in his back...boosted him like a rocket...very nice...move..." Toguro gasped before falling backwards.

Kuwabara's sword vanished. Kuwabara's body bounced off the 'dead' Toguro's chest and rolled to the side.

"Game over. Sixty-six trillion, 270 billion to me. I'll come at the end of the month." said a man with black long hair and a scar over his eye from one of the five screens.

Then all of the screens went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In The Room Above~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Rev up the helicopter Sakuashita! Yukina and I are leaving! Now! Hee hee...why worry? With the tears of ice I'll..." Takurkane began as he tried to escape.

"Turn around, fatso."

Takurkane froze as he heard a voice behind him. He turned to see his men all knocked out and on the ground. Hiei stood in front of Yukina with a pissed off look on his face.

"I hear you kept Yukina caged with talismans. Explains why my evil eye couldn't find her. But then you let her out. Careless..." Hiei said as he slowly walked towards a terrified Takurkane.

Hiei punched him in his face, causing the man to hit the window.

"I won't kill you. Yukina's worth far more than your pitiful life." spat Hiei as he glared at the man.

Takurkane coughed before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out.

"Th...thank you...Um...who are you?" Yukina asked.

She was a little confused, but still grateful.

"Oh, just...a friend of theirs." Hiei said as he looked out the window towards the three below.

"Oh my! They need me!" Yukina gasped before running out of the room and towards the battle arena.

Hiei watched her rush off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In the Arena~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kuwabara groaned as he began to sit up. Yusuke and Joann slowly walked over to him. Joann holding her stomach but trying to make it not be too noticeable. She didn't want to worry the guys.

"Still in one piece?" Yusuke asked as he gives his friend a once over.

"You've a certified loony, you know that?" he added as he gave his friend an aggravated look.

"Well, you told me you could adjust your blasts. Figured you could set 'em to 'stun' instead of 'kill'." Kuwabara said with a smirk.

"Yeah I-whoa! Almost forgot! We still gotta kick Takukane's blubbery butt!" Yusuke shouted before rushing towards the open stairway.

Kuwabara let out a sigh before trying to stand up. Joann sat down next to him. Kuwabara looked at her.

"Are you ok?" he asked, looking at the new dry blood coating her face.

He looked away as he was certain he would get nightmares if he kept looking.

"I'm fine. What about you?" Joann asked, looking over Kuwabara's battered body.

Before Kuwabara could reply, Yukina rushed over. She gasped at seeing both of them in horrible condition.

"Keep still! I can heal some of the hurt...I'm so sorry...you suffered...for me.." said Yukina as she began to heal Kuwabara's face. healing Kuwabara's face.

"All of you..." she added as she looked over at Joann.

Joann sighed before giving a small smile. Yukina gasped at the blood stained face before turning to Joann. Joann jumped with wide eyes.

"Let me help, please." she said as she began to heal the two slashes on Joann's face.

Joann felt the warmth on her face and let out a sigh of content. Kuwabara smiled as he was injured but knew Joann needed healing more then he did. He began to focus his own energy to healing some of his minor injuries. Yukina's sleeves rolled down where her burn marks on her arms were visible.

Kuwabara closed his eyes.

"Don't apologize...to a lousy human, Yukina." Kuwabara said.

Yukina finished up on Joann before turning back with blinking wide eyes at Kuwabara.

"What's been done to you...by one of us is unforgivable. All I can say is we're not all like that. We may not amount to much...but we try, y' know? So, if that can count for anything...maybe you won't hate all humans...please..." Kuwabara said, looking like he was on the verge of crying.

Joann opened her eyes and felt the pain Kuwabara was feeling from this. Her heart hurt so much. However, a warmth slowly appeared. It came from Yukina, which began to make Joann feel at peace and ease.

Yukina looked at Kuwabara and smiled warmly.

"Don't worry. I...don't hate humans at all. And I like you...and your friends." Yukina said, looking warmly at him first before turning and giving Joann a smile.

Kuwabara looked at her with astonished eyes before lowering his head.

"Thank you..." he whispered.

Yukina smiled and began to heal the carrot top again.

Joann felt a ting of pain but pushed it down. She stood up, catching Yukina's attention.

"Thank you for healing me. I feel so much better. Although, I think Kuwabara needs a bit more healing. So I'll leave the two of you alone. Besides, I should check on Yusuke. Gotta make sure he isn't in trouble." Joann said before giving Yukina a smile and a wink.

The ice demon blinked up at Joann before nodding and giving her a warm smile.

Kuwabara looked over at Joann confused. He was sure she needed more healing then he did. He wasn't sure how bad her stomach was after the punch there. However, Joann began to walk off before giving him a chance to even protest. Yukina continued to heal Kuwabara while Joann pushed away the tears as she walked towards the stairway Yusuke had gone.


End of Chapter 10.

Thanks for reading!