Chapter Two- Seeking Death

Yusuke shakily got to his feet as Toguro turned back to the committee. "I insist that the rest of Team Urameshi remain alive."

"What?" one of them said. "The guest team always dies when they lose."

"Not this time," Toguro said.

"We're the tournament committee!" a second one said. "We decide who lives or dies!"

"Are you?" Toguro felt angry and thirsty. Who did these humans think they were to defy a vampire like him? He was impossible to kill, they should be listening to him. With a snarl, Toguro seized one of the men, sank his fangs into him, and sucked him dry. He released his victim and looked at the others. "Unless you wish to join your comrade, you will adhere to my request."

"Of course, Toguro," one said, voice trembling.

"Team Urameshi will live," the other added.

"That's better," he said. He put a hand on Yusuke's shoulder and steered the younger vampire out of the room, Sakyo behind them.

"So, where will the two of you go?" Sakyo asked, though he had a pretty good idea of the answer.

Toguro pulled out the paper, skimmed it, and said, "We will leave the island. Apparently, only human blood will sustain us. So we will settle in a large city; plenty of victims."

Yusuke jerked away from Toguro and faced him. "I will not attack anyone," he said, a lisp of his own developing.

"We must drink human blood, animal blood won't do." Toguro shook the paper he still held. "It says so right here. All our traits, abilities, and a side effect."

"Side effect?" Yusuke repeated.

"If we don't drink every day, we would experience a blood frenzy. In other words, you would lose control and attack blindly. So if you want to avoid that, you will attack. It does say that only a little blood every day is needed, so you won't have to kill if that is what concerns you."

"It did," Yusuke admitted. "But I refuse to live like this. I'd rather die than be a vampire."

"That would be an impressive feat as we have no weaknesses and are impossible to kill."

"I don't believe that. Anyone can die."

"You'll find out how wrong you are soon enough." He looked past Yusuke to see his brother approach and then stop suddenly, mouth agape.

"Brother?" he gasped. "What has happened to you?"

"I am a vampire as is Yusuke. We are immortal, will never age, and can't die, something that Yusuke doesn't believe."

"Does he?" There was such glee in his voice that Yusuke turned just as the elder stabbed a sword into his stomach that had formed from the demon's right limb. The sword was yanked back but no guts or blood spilled out; as soon as the sword was removed, the wound instantly healed.

Elder Toguro grinned and cackled. "Oh, brother we could have fun with Yusuke, you and i. He can't die and that means we could slice him and he'd heal instantly."

"We could, but only if I choose to or he proves difficult. As my blood turned him, he will now serve me. In a sense, his life to bound to mine. Now, we have a boat to board. We drink only human blood and must settle in a city." Toguro put a hand back on Yusuke's shoulder and led the way to the docks.

Yusuke put a hand to his stomach as he was being led. There was a definite hold in his shirt, but there was no wound on his body. He had felt the sword go into his stomach, felt the pain of it as well as when it was pulled out yet the injury healed instantly. Toguro was right: We can't die, can't be killed. I will forever as a teenager and serving Toguro. Yusuke couldn't see a way out of his predicament. His spirit energy was gone so he couldn't use any of his attacks not that any of them would be effective against Toguro now. If I heal quickly, so does he. We're both the same kind of vampire.

Yusuke reluctantly sank his fangs into a human's neck and drank a little before pulling back and healing the mark before leaving the unconscious human behind. He hadn't wanted to, but as he hadn't had nay blood and didn't want to suffer a blood frenzy, he slipped off to feed. Furthermore, Toguro had told him to feed and he couldn't ignore an order from his sire. Now, he stood at the prow of the ship, trying to come to terms with his new life. He was a vampire who would never age, couldn't die, drank blood, and was in service to the one who turned him.

Well, living forever and being impossible to hurt and kill are cool. Drinking blood and serving Toguro I could do without. He closed his eyes and sensed no heartbeat which he had expected; what he didn't expect was the fact that he was not breathing! His eyes flew open. I'm not breathing, but I'm still awake, alive, and thinking. Whoa. Vampires don't have to breathe. That's shocking. I can breathe if I want to but I have to consciously think about not breathing. At least, I think that's how it goes.

"Urameshi! There you are!" came Kuwabara's voice. His friend's voice sent sudden hope through Yusuke. Maybe there was a way to die.

"You okay, Urameshi? You look pale. You're not seasick, are you?"

"No. I'm not," he answered, his lisp noticeable.

"How come you're talking funny?"

Yusuke sighed as he turned to face Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei. Kuwabara gasped while the demons stepped back. "I'm a vampire now. Toguro's wish for winning was to never age and be impossible to kill and the committee made him a vampire. He then turned me and said because of that, I will serve him forever."

"Serve him?" Kuwabara repeated.

"I don't want to. I'd rather die." He looked at his teammates determinedly. "I believe there is a way. I already know a stab to the stomach won't work." Yusuke saw Hiei move before anyone else; he chalked it up to his vampire senses. The fire demon whipped out his sword and slashed it at Yusuke's throat. The blade left a deep cut, but once the blade finished its strike, the cut healed instantly.

"Hn. Kneel detective. Perhaps a beheading will do it."

Yusuke immediately folded to his knees, eager to die. He heard the sword hiss through the air and the edge touch his skin but then heard the sound of a sword snapping followed by Hiei cursing. "Why didn't it work?" Yusuke asked as he stood. "You did cut my throat."

"Perhaps the back is more protected than the front," Kurama suggested.

Hiei faced Yusuke in the front and clenched his fists, fire engulfing them. He launched a series of punches so that Yusuke's whole body was on fire. Yusuke cried out in pain, waiting to feel the life leave his body. Instead, the fire died out leaving him burnet and then his burnt skin returned to its pale state.

"Kurama," Yusuke said, an idea occurring to him. "Your death plant. That should do it.'

"I cannot. I will not kill a friend."

"Please. I don't want to live like this. This may be the only way."

Kurama stared into Yusuke's brown eyes that were silently pleading. He understood Yusuke's desperation to escape this horrible fate. He knew suicide was wrong, even if death was preferable. "Wouldn't not drinking blood result in death?"

Yusuke shook his head. "I must drink at least a little every day otherwise I'll go into a blood frenzy and blindly attack. That may mean I'll attack and kill several people in one day."

"I see. Very well, Yusuke. I will do it." Kurama flicked his hair and a seed was in his hand. He went up to Yusuke and pushed the seed into his chest. Yusuke eagerly waited for the seed to take root in his body so Kurama could feed it with his energy and cause it to bloom. He had seen this technique work once and hoped the see would flower and kill him, unlike when Kurama planted it into himself.

"I believe it is ready," Kurama said. His sad green eyes looked into Yusuke's. "Here goes." Kurama focused his energy on the seed and willed it to bloom and kill his friend.