Kurama's POV:

She had been protected by the imbalance of Demon World until recently. There was no need for her to know its policies and intricate pattern on which it survived for so long. As I scanned the energy trail left behind by the seeds given to Hana it felt as if she was given a crash course in demon history.

Layer after layer, running deeper, energy fainter by each passing moment. In my human form I could never hope to venture so deep, these are after all different demons, not all being in agreement with the new rules and regulations. Even as Yoko, they still stirred, attacked, razor sharp fangs and nails ready to tare through flesh at a moment's notice. I was not welcomed in these parts, after all I had abandoned the demon ways.

The golden eyes and silver crown were nothing but a ghost of the past, as faint as the energy left behind that I was following without stopping. Muscles burned underneath the fabric of my torn blood soaked garments, begging for me to slow down, to rest, however if I did it might be too late, if I was having such a hard time travelling through layers and diverting my energy to get demons off my scent there was no telling what Hana was enduring.

If she was even alive.

Shaking the thought free from my head, I pushed it down, repeating constantly how she was the Light. If I were the enemy I would ensure she was alive long enough to deliver my message.

"Kurama, I'm here, scanning ahead." I did not react to Hiei's intrusion, as welcomed as it was. He surely must have forfeited the match in order to reach me in time. Together our odds increased, we could cover more ground, learn about the dangers lurking in the shadows, waiting for the ripe moment to snap at our necks .

After all, I was still the famous bandit and Hiei the rouge, the outcast. Despite our accomplishments, no matter how much we fought, those initial labels still presented themselves beneath the surface, a permanent mark on our souls, our lives. The reasons why we could never be loved, the motive for staying away in order to protect. Yet we failed, we got attached and we were living every second ready to pay the price of our sins. A burden as heavy as a mountain on our shoulders, regrets grinding our bones to dust.

These parts of Demon World are dangerous for even us demons, a human would be made into a meal the moment they caught a whiff of their scent. It's dark and uninviting, the smell of fresh and old blood mixing in the thick air. It sticks to the back of your throat, bile rising. It's rotten, leaving a metallic taste in my mouth despite the number of times I swallow.

Here her scent fades almost entirely, something so fresh and pure is overpowered by death and decaying flesh. Light barely shines in these parts, the vail of black thick such as a fog and the earie silence makes my ears ring.

"Anything?" Hiei kept silent, scanning further, his light steps finally leading him by my side. He will not say "no", instead continued to search. We had been caught in the same dance for over a day now.

"We're not alone." His fingertips danced on the sword handle, a single twitch betraying he did not like the feeling and truth be told, neither did I. It felt as if we were being watched from every corner and at the same time from nowhere. The energy scattered before having time to settle in a certain place, making the air around us shift. Strange yet hauntingly familiar.

"It means we're close. Be prudent." My voice travelled through the bare trees, soft and melodic before vanishing entirely. The energy trail went cold, however that was not a sign for us to despair, but to be prepared for the worst. Darkness could conceal her, could hide her energy which was weak to begin with. Unless she unleashed her territory and we walked inside of it, we could not sense her.

Come on Hana, give me a sign.

Hiei's head snapped to the side, eyes wide and alert however no sounds were heard. His Jagan shinned bright, brows furrowing, every muscle under his robes tensing one by one. What are you seeing?

Moments passed, him not reacting, not blinking or even breathing. Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, he snarled at me as if I had just awoken a beast from its slumber. Crimson eyes settled down, blinking a few times, finally truly focusing on me "I heard her scream then it went quiet."

With a mind as hectic as Hana's there was only one possible reason why her mind stilled.

A thud was heard in the distance, me and Hiei slowly making our way further through the thick forest. The hair on my arms stood up, a deep chill taking over my burning muscles as shadows around us danced. In the distance the darkness shifted, a pair of hallow burning white eyes opening to stare at us.

"Darkness." A tentacle like hand lifted slowly, the sound resembling bone grinding on bone, cracking and crackling in the silence. We braced for an attack which never came, instead that thing pointed in a certain direction, one we approached with extra caution.

It could very well be a trap, everything goes.

But if Darkness lives in the last layer, what is it doing here? Indeed we were in rather deep, but not so close to the ends of Demon World.

A second thud drew our attention to a clearing, a mountain of a demon standing with his arms raised, attack on the ready. A blinding flash of light made me look away. Once my eyes adjusted I saw the demon falling to his knees, eyes lifeless as he crashed on the ground, no longer breathing, no life energy being sensed.

Soft breaths reached my ears from the middle of a circle composed of bodies. Fresh blood filled the air as I approached, Hiei placing a hand on my chest to stop my advancement, his head shaking "I can't hear her."

Yet we could see her, thin arms hugging her knees close to her chest, blood glistening off her like a second skin "Hana." She did not lift her head at the sound of my voice, then again I did not expect her to truly react. Allowing my body to shift back to the familiar face she knew I uttered her name once more, slowly making my way towards her.

The moment I stepped inside her territory, her head shot up, lifeless eyes as if looking through me, Hiei pulling me back at the last second, her barely grazing the surface of my soul. I felt the pain of all my feelings bleeding out, hot tears streaming down my face without warning.

Placing her forehead back on her knees, she stilled once more, whispers leaving her lips "My name is Hana and I'm no longer a healer." Nothing was allowed to get close, all vegetation wilted away inside her territory, a fortress of bodies shielding her. Biting on my lower lip I tasted blood inside my mouth, hands franticly wiping away tears. Hiei remained silent by my side, Jagan trying to get through to her, however it earned him no reaction.

"Hana" I whispered as if afraid to startle the beast that now lay dormant within her "let me in." was she infected, was she dying? "Hana, please, it's me." Sending vines forward inside her territory, they alerted her quickly wilting away as if death touched them. She lifted her head once more, looking straight at me and Hiei "Let me in, let's go back."

"We can't win fox." Her voice was dry, as if something else was speaking through her body and not her own being. What has he done to her? "Why escape? Why go back?" Hiei continued to watch her with a bewildered expression which told me there was nothing there, but how can her mind be still when such words left her mouth?

"It's not safe here." she slowly rose to her feet in all her glory, no expression betraying emotions. In the corner of my eyes, shadows shifted, me and Hiei going back to back, watching, waiting.

"He won't hurt you, not yet at least." As if remembering where she was, Hana looked around, for a moment loosing herself as she stared in the distance "I don't know how to do this." Staring down at her hands it was as if she saw her limbs for the first time, hurt finally surfacing as she buried her face behind dirty palms. Hiei kept me at a distance, shaking his head slightly, he still couldn't hear her.

She looked back at us, bare feet taking slow steps as she started climbing on top of the bodies she laid to rest. Is she even aware of how many demons she killed? We both froze as her territory encompassed us, Hiei being the first one to react as he slowly took of his cloak, extending it to her "Let's return, we'll take this one step at a time." Hana just nodded at his words, but her eyes were locked to our chests. What are you seeing?

Accepting the cloak placed around her shoulders, I picked her up in my arms. She was not hurt although some of the blood was indeed hers. Her territory felt strong, hitting us with far more force than what we knew. Where did you gain this power? Her chest showed no sign of infection, so it was not that.

She continued to watch over my shoulder, at one point lifting her hand, waving goodbye. I was right, she was needed all along in order to reach Darkness. If it were us, we would have been killed by now. What he required was for her to be brought back in one piece, that was the only reason we were allowed to take her and leave.

I did not intend to burden her with questions, it would be futile, especially in her current state. She was not truly making sense either. As we travelled to Gandara, she spoke of Genkai, remembering a time when she managed to break a porcelain tea pot and how she got told off. She mentioned her mother giving her a silver bracelet for her fifteenth birthday, where she would hide her cigarettes, nothing making sense.

White strands of hair contrasted against her raven locks, a sign on too much stress, fear, trauma? What could have done that to her?

Hiei glanced at me from time to time all the way, something dangerous and sad lurking in his eyes. It felt like I was carrying in my arms a ticking time bomb. Hana would have killed me if not for my friend, the very thought of it freezing the blood in my veins. It's too much, the risk not worth it.

Once we arrived, Yusuke took one look at us, reading into the situation perfectly. She did not stir or protested when I got her cleaned up and into a set of fresh clean clothes. She did not close her eyes to sleep, or placed her head on the pillow. She just sat there, watching and nothing more.

After several hours, she emerged from the room, hands searching Yusuke's pockets for a smoke "Hey, you wanna talk to me?" but she did not utter a single word. Yanagisawa tried to touched her, but she lashed out knowing what he wanted to do, baring her teeth in a snarl.

"Don't fucking touch me."

Kaito did not say anything, could barely even look her in the eye. Kido did not even sit outside with us.

Once Yomi managed to make some time to visit her, she was on the fifth consecutive cigarette, sitting on the ground, looking up at the highest tower, barely blinking even when thunder struck. Slowly he kneeled close to her, hand reaching out to touch her, however he snapped it back in an instant "You feel different."

Turning to look at him, a mixture of disgust and hurt crossed her face "I am." Standing up, he remained in the same position as she looked down at him "Congratulations for winning, king. But I'm afraid there isn't much to be ruled." Turning to look at us, she sighed "I need to go to Spirit World."