Chapter 20 – Winds of Change

Kurama had offered to take an extended shift on guard duty as Kuwabara was out of action and to allow Kaisei, Fubuki and Akira to rest. He had intended to spend part of the very morning making a plan for gathering his mother and the others to the safe house: but any plans he had been making were quickly forgotten when he found Kuwabara and Yukina in the living room, despite the fact that everyone else in the house had gone to bed to sleep. He politely greeted them and made to leave the room again, but Kuwabara called him back. As he made his way over to sit in an armchair facing the sofa they were sitting on, Kurama became painfully aware of just how solemn and intense their faces were.

"I didn't know you'd asked the SDF to come here," Kuwabara said as Kurama settled into the armchair.

"Why would you do that?" Yukina asked.

"I was trying to find help to test the abilities of the three trainees, and the strongest warriors I could think of who could help with that were the officers of the Special Defence Force," Kurama replied. "I had no idea they would launch a vendetta against Akira the way they did."

"I thought I already told you that Spirit World don't really like Akira," Kuwabara replied.

"You did mention that," Kurama said. "But you never told me that the hatred they felt for Akira was quite as ardent as it evidently is."

"They were trying to kill Akira," Yukina said. "And you were standing watching."

Kurama opened his mouth to tell her that he had not intervened because Kaisei and Fubuki had already done so, but he stopped when her face changed slightly and the look she was giving him became quite threatening, particularly so when she was usually so gentle and meek.

"The thing is Kurama, they don't even consider Akira to be human," Kuwabara said.

"Akira's not human," Kurama pointed out.

"They call Akira "it" or "monster"," Kuwabara replied, practically ignoring Kurama's remark. "And even when they do admit that Akira has a name, they never get it right."

"I heard them call him Tetsuo Shima," Kurama offered.

"Yeah, that's because one of them said Akira was named after the lead character in "Akira"."

"Ah, I see. And of course the lead character of that series is in fact called Tetsuo Shima."

"Yeah. Sometimes they say Tatsuo too."

Kurama had already figured out that the name Tatsuo Shima on the list of death row prisoners in Spirit World was a reference to Akira, but somehow having it confirmed only made the situation all the more disturbing. He was almost certain that Akira was not feigning his innocence, that he genuinely could not remember what he may or may not have done and that he had been unfairly treated by Spirit World: no doubt because of his demon heritage.

"I would never have called in the SDF had I known this would happen," Kurama assured Akira's clearly concerned parents. "And now that I understand the situation, I will do my best to keep the SDF away from Akira."

Kuwabara nodded and, seeing that he looked a little calmer, Kurama decided to push the issue.

"Outside of Akira being a half-demon living here in the human realm with you," he began carefully. "Is there another reason the SDF could possibly have to dislike or distrust Akira?"

"No," Yukina immediately replied.

"I really don't like talking about Akira like this," Kuwabara grumbled. "It's not really our place to say things Akira maybe doesn't want anyone to say."

"I understand," Kurama assured him. "And I appreciate that you are very close to Akira–"

"We're family," Yukina said.

Kurama nodded.

"Yes, I know that…"

Kurama then slowly moved his eyes from Yukina's intense face to Kuwabara's slightly less grim visage, the memory of Akira admitting to being fourteen years old surfacing in his mind.

"So Kuwabara," he said slowly. "You were seventeen when Akira was born?"

"Yeah," Kuwabara replied.

Kurama found both that fact and Kuwabara's casual acceptance of it quite odd. At seventeen, Kuwabara had still been in high school, and even after leaving high school, he had continued on to college and studied for several years longer before starting a job: and during that time, Yukina had mostly lived in Genkai's temple with Genkai, up until her death, at which point Yukina had moved into the Kuwabara family home, taking up residence in Shizuru's old bedroom. It had not really occurred to Kurama before then that Kuwabara and Yukina must have married before they were even living together, and spent the first few years of their marriage living separately, but now it seemed quite odd, especially as they had not married because of Akira's arrival, as had been Kurama's initial assumption.

"And Akira must have been three years old when the two of you married?" Kurama asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Kuwabara agreed. "Akira was at our wedding. Don't you remember that?"

Kurama frowned. He had no recollection of a purple-haired, red-eyed boy being at Kuwabara and Yukina's wedding, and surely, as a member of their family, Akira would have featured quite prominently in the ceremony.

"Well anyway, the main thing is, Akira's fine now," Kuwabara said after a short pause.

"Yes, that is good," Kurama replied. "And what about you? How is your leg healing?"

"It's a bit less icky to look at now," Kuwabara replied with a small smile. "I'll be back on my feet in no time."

"That's good to hear," Kurama said. "You should rest for now though."

"I couldn't sleep for thinking about what happened last night," Kuwabara replied. "And knowing that I was sitting inside the whole time…"

Yukina touched a hand to his arm and gave him a sympathetic look.

"It's just lucky Kaisei and Fubuki were there, right?" he said.

Kurama nodded, though he was beginning to wonder once again exactly what had happened to Shun-Jun.

"Yes," he said. "And it's lucky something was strong enough to stop one of the SDF officers."

Kurama wondered if Akira had somehow been responsible for what had happened. Maybe, in times of desperation, like the one he had just been in and the one he had described encountering in Demon World, he was able to exert some sort of unusual power, perhaps in part inherited from Kuwabara.

"They both went though, right?" Kuwabara asked. "Both the SDF guys, they're gone now, right?"

"Yes," Kurama replied. "But before that, something happened–"

"As long as they're gone, then everything's fine," Kuwabara said.

Kurama could not tell if Kuwabara had deliberately cut him off or not, but he decided not to push the matter any further for the time being. It seemed that Akira was still the best source for information about Akira, and so he decided to simply wait until the time was right to either help Akira recover his lost memories or else take off the collar around his neck and so that he could demonstrate exactly what he was capable of.

After a full day of travelling, Yusuke and his team had finally arrived in Tourin. Yusuke had lost track of time – though that was nothing new for him – and could not really remember how long it had been since he had left his tower to go and register for the Demon World Tournament: but he was sure that, however long it was, it was not long enough to have justified what awaited him when he returned.

"I'm sorry Yusuke, but we're not letting anyone past this point."

"But you know who I am, you asshole!"

Hokushin shook his head.

"Things have changed since you left," he began.

"I've been gone longer on visits to the living world," Yusuke pointed out.

"Everyone else who left when you did has returned under control of the Dark Force."

Yusuke paused.

"And as much as I want to trust you, I just can't," Hokushin continued. "If you appreciate what I'm saying and if you're not aligned with the enemy, you'll do as I say and turn around and walk away."

"This is my house!" Yusuke argued.

"It's also a symbol of power in Demon World," Touya said. "And, to the old followers of Raizen, it's a symbol of hope. It's good that a body of warriors remain here to guard it at all costs."

"But didn't we come here to get help?" Yusuke asked. "Wasn't that the whole point of coming here? To stop and rest for a bit and to get some more guys on our team?"

"I could probably spare you some of our men," Hokushin offered. "But I still can't let you come in here."

"Son of a bitch, this is my damn house!" Yusuke snapped at him.

"Yusuke mate, I think we gotta let this one go," Chu said. "I know you're mad, but we're in a tight spot here and we can't argue this one. Let's just get any guys they can spare, set up camp for the night and tomorrow we'll move on to Alaric, and maybe get some more help from there."

Yusuke looked up at the tower in the distance, feeling cheated no matter how logical he tried to be. The tower had been his home longer than any other place and it had also been the place he had felt the most at home: but if the alternative was watching the Dark Force to do the tower what it had already done to Yomi's temple, then he could make himself walk away and leave Hokushin to guard his home, in the hope that it would be there for him when he came back to it at the end of the war.

"Okay," he resigned. "We'll set up camp for the night and leave in the morning. Though maybe you could get us some food, Hokushin?"

"I can arrange for that," Hokushin replied.

"Not humans," Yusuke reminded him.

"I see you still have your sense of humour," Hokushin replied.

"And don't worry about giving us any help. You'll need everybody here to hold this place."

"Wait, what?" Touya echoed.

"Hang on there mate, we do still need help," Chu added.

"Hn, typical," Hiei muttered. "We should have just gone straight to Alaric, like I originally suggested."

Yusuke decided to ignore Hiei's remark – mostly because he was still reeling from Hiei's earlier accusations about him having had an affair with Yukina – and instead focused on helping the others pick out a sheltered spot to light a campfire. They all set about building the fire – including Hiei – and eventually some of Yusuke's men arrived with bags of food and blankets, which Yusuke joked was a nice touch: though when they told him it was Hokushin's idea, he suddenly found the concept slightly embarrassing, and quickly changed the subject.

After eating and choosing places to sleep, the group decided that they would all sleep at the same time, since they were within view of where Hokushin had set up a sentry to guard and watch over the tower, and so they would be alerted to any impending danger that way. And, despite not feeling tired and being sure that the adrenaline of his conflicting emotions would keep him awake, Yusuke fell asleep quite quickly, only really realising how quickly he had fallen asleep when he awoke again in the middle of the night.

At first, Yusuke was not really sure what had woken him – whether it had been a dream or something that had really happened to disturb his sleep – and so he lay still, on his back, his hands folded over each other on his chest, and he kept his eyes closed. He tried to relax to ease himself back to sleep, but something kept him just on the point of consciousness. The sound of the wind agitating the embers of the fire, causing it to hum and crackle, made Yusuke open his eyes and he realised that he would not get back to sleep until he had gotten up and walked about to satisfy himself that the nagging feeling he had was just a result of his heightened nerves and not an indication of pending trouble. He quietly peeled his blanket off and got to his feet, looking around the others to assure himself that all three were still asleep before tip-toeing away from the campfire.

As he walked, Yusuke looked over at his tower again, and the marching guards placed at various points around the periphery of the grounds, again feeling conflicted about being denied access to his own home. He was still angry that Hokushin was basically treating him the same way Hiei had treated Rinku, but also he was glad that, in his absence, the others at the tower had taken the initiative to set up a guard and hold the tower from being turned into the same mess Yomi's place had become. The wind was still lifting dust from the ground in small swirls and sometimes in big sheets, but the noise it was making was quite welcome, as otherwise the air would be silent – which was something Yusuke had never experienced in Demon World before, as there was always something to be heard, whether it was the sound of a distant battle, the sound of screeching birds overhead or the sound of one of the almost perpetual storms passing over. It seemed odd that there had not been many storms recently, least of all since Yusuke had returned to Demon World from his last visit to the living world and started out with his team of eight: and as he was wondering if that was because the Dark Force was somehow affecting the weather, the gust of wind suddenly threw a wall of dust against him. As the wind died down, Yusuke spat out the dust that had inadvertently entered his mouth and blinked and rubbed at his eyes to clear them, before clawing his fingers through his hair to shake loose any dust there. He finally swiped his hands at his clothes a few times before satisfying himself that he was clean.

He looked back over at the campsite and noticed that Hiei was suddenly awake and standing, his sword in his hand. Yusuke paused, partially unsure if he was imagining what he was seeing. He wondered if it was a dream or a hallucination caused by the still swirling dust in the air and the darkness of night: but, even after the dust had settled, Hiei was still clearly standing there, his weapon drawn and his face set into a disturbingly irritated expression. Yusuke turned fully towards the campsite, facing Hiei directly. They were some distance apart, but Yusuke was starting to think that the sense of foreboding that had roused him from sleep had in fact been emanating from Hiei all along. Touya and Chu were still sleeping at either side of the fire, apparently blissfully unaware of what was potentially about to happen.

Another gust of wind swept along, filling the air with dust again until the image of Hiei was barely visible: but just before he lost sight of the campsite altogether, Yusuke saw Hiei start towards him. Despite the tension there had been between them lately, Yusuke was still shocked that Hiei was attacking him, but he told himself it could surely only be because Hiei was the latest victim of the Dark Force. Pushing aside exactly how that made him feel – because it was quite a sickening idea that someone as in control as Hiei had become a puppet for the same sick voice that had spoken through Risho – Yusuke readied himself to defend against the attack Hiei appeared to be about to launch. He brought up his arms and steadied his feet, expecting Hiei to go for one of his typical first moves of either swinging a punch or slashing with his sword.

When Hiei leapt into the air and launched himself high over Yusuke's head, Yusuke flinched before spinning around, expecting Hiei to land behind him in an attempt to catch him off-guard. The first thing to land was Hiei's sword, followed shortly by Hiei himself, who landed in a crouch, wiping the back of one hand over his suddenly bloodied mouth. It took a moment before he looked directly at Yusuke, but when he did, he once more looked quite irritated.

"What are you standing there for, idiot!" he roared. "Move!"

He launched himself directly at Yusuke, and the two fell to the ground, rolling over each other. Yusuke was ready to start punching Hiei, but he stopped when something collided with the ground at the exact point he had been standing on before Hiei had knocked him over. Hiei leapt to his feet and Yusuke quickly copied, both leaping in opposite directions as something smashed into the ground where they had landed, creating an impossibly thick flurry of dust and dirt that left Yusuke choking and his eyes watering, making visibility even more restricted. Relying solely on sensing the source of the movement, he continued dodging it until he found himself almost stumbling into the still smouldering remains of the campfire, with his three teammates close by, all on their feet and straining to breathe and see through the murky air.

At that point, the movement stopped, and the dust and grit slowly began to thin and fall back down the ground, the air gradually clearing, eventually revealing a single figure standing before them, watching them with the sort of self-satisfying smirk that always drove Yusuke mad.

"What's the matter boys, surprised to see me?"

Yusuke had heard the phrase "my heart sank" before, but he had never realised that it could be a literal feeling, as a weight starting in the region of his heart dropped downwards towards his gut, leaving his chest tight. He was looking at Jin and he had heard Jin's voice speaking, but, even without any further evidence, he could tell by the tone of his voice and the look on his face that the wind demon had become the latest to fall prey to the enemy.

"It was awfully kind of you to leave me alone with Yomi like that," he continued, his voice sounding increasingly unlike his own as it became blatantly clear that he was not the one speaking. "I thought he might be willing to join me, in the same way his son had, but there was no convincing him. Of course, given how weak he was from bemoaning the death of his son and how he had been the one to take his life, he was ripe for exploiting: I could have just taken him over by force. But his pain and suffering was just too easy to exploit for fun, and by the time I'd finished feeding off of his misery, he wasn't worth the taking."

Yusuke and the others edged slightly closer to each other.

"Don't look so serious, boys," Jin said with a smirk. "I made sure to reunite Yomi with his son in death."

"I don't believe you," Yusuke said quietly. "There's no way you killed Yomi."

Jin shrugged and closed his eyes, smiling in a smug way that Yusuke knew the real Jin never would.

"It's incredible what some of my victims are truly capable of when I strip away their self-doubt and their consciences," he said.

He opened his eyes again and relaxed his shoulders, tilting his head slightly as though amused by the group of four facing him.

"It's also incredibly easy to manipulate the emotionally vulnerable," he continued. "After he'd killed his own son and you'd left him behind to consider the wreck his temple was in and that he'd let his son infect all of his men and spread my influence, Yomi was in a very bad place. It didn't take much effort on my part to convince him that killing himself was his only option left – in fact, it was so easy to convince him, it almost wasn't any fun. The flavour of the absolute collapse of his self-esteem was delectable though: the blend of self-loathing, self-doubt, anger, grief and regret was almost intoxicating."

"Damn you…" Yusuke muttered.

"It seems I need to do a little herding action to complete the final part of my plan though," Jin said. "The chosen eight are still too far apart, and getting them closer together is apparently going to involve me getting my hands a little bit dirty."

Yusuke glanced over at Hokushin's guards: none of them appeared to have noticed Jin's arrival, or else they did not think it out of the ordinary, as they were still just casually walking their lines. He was confident that the four remaining members of his team could take Jin alone in a fight, but he did not want to have to fight the wind demon as he was sure that Hiei would just use the melee as an excuse to slaughter yet another of his friends.

"Before any of us does anything else," Touya said. "Why don't you tell us the meaning of the cryptic messages you left for us?"

Jin tilted his head in the opposite direction to before, looking slightly lost.

"We saw your poetry, written in blood," Touya explained. "I'm not sure that the message was intended for us, but if it was, you be as well explain it to us here and now."

"I'll tell you the meaning of my messages when you tell me the location of the woman," Jin replied, looking suddenly quite stern.

"What woman?" Yusuke asked.

"You know what woman," Jin replied, shifting his glare to Yusuke. "I know you're hiding her from me because I've been searching for her since the moment I awoke, and I've never felt any trace of her."

"Maybe you killed her along with everyone else when you blew up the tournament arena for the Demon World Tournament, you asshole," Yusuke said with a hint of dry sarcasm.

"I didn't blow up anything. What you saw there was the result of a weapons expert I convinced to blow himself up in the busiest public place he could find."

"Right. Because you don't like getting your hands dirty."

"I don't need to get my hands dirty and it's much more fun watching other people panic and fail. The one that blew up the arena was one of my favourites: I took control of him but I let him retain a certain level of consciousness. I stayed inside him for weeks and drove him to the brink of madness and beyond."

"Well your dumb tricks are stopping here. If you want a piece of us so badly, why don't you come out of Jin and face us yourself? I'll even send everyone else away and it can just be you and me, one-on-one. That's what you really want anyway, isn't it?"

Jin sighed and appeared to consider Yusuke's offer, his eyes looking up as he tapped a finger against his chin. When he lowered his eyes to look at Yusuke again, he realised that it had all been a mocking ruse.

"You know this is the only way I can have a physical presence," Jin said. "And as for you versus me, you should know that, even now, you wouldn't stand a chance against me. You will never defeat me, Yusuke. I will be the one who defeats you. I will slowly wear you down until you reach the point that you beg to join me."

Yusuke growled and bared his teeth, his fists clenching painfully tightly at his sides: the only thing stopping him from rushing forwards and punching the face of the mocking voice was that it was Jin's face.

"You're not getting me," he said. "And you're not getting Chu, or Touya or Hiei, I'm gonna force you out of Jin and I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to Suzuka, Shishiwakamaru, Rinku and Yomi!"

"Well now that's hardly fair," Jin said, with a look of mock sadness. "After all, I didn't do anything to Rinku."

"Yeah you did," Yusuke replied. "You set that whole situation up. Hiei was wrong to do what he did, but the whole thing was ultimately your fault."

"Your loyalty to your not-so-loyal friend is touching," Jin said. "However, loyalty alone won't make you immune to me."

"There is nothing you can do or say that will ever make me agree with you or want to join you. And if you knew anything about me, you'd know that I'm not the sort of guy who lets anyone tell me what to do, so there's no way in hell I'm letting you take my soul."

"Well I don't exactly take souls, as such. And I'll even be so generous as to tell you that I haven't even managed to consume a single demon so far: everything you've seen is just what happens when I take control of someone."

Yusuke hesitated, at first thinking that what he had just heard meant the situation was not as bad as he had thought: if the Dark Force had not managed to consume anyone then it was not as strong as they had feared, and he was sure that Koenma had said there was hope to recover those who were just controlled, meaning that if they could stop the Dark Force, they could save Jin.

"Hope is a nice snack, but that's really all it is for me," Jin said.

Yusuke hated the fact that he was facing an opponent who could literally taste his emotions. It was both an invasion of privacy and it was utterly repugnant.

"It's just an aperitif and all it does is whet my appetite for something more substantial," Jin continued. "Like the sourness of guilt and the bitterness of total despair."

"I'd like to see you try," Yusuke growled. "You don't have shit on me."

"Idiot, don't goad it!" Hiei hissed.

"Stay out of this, Hiei!" Yusuke snapped.

"I'm always up for a challenge," Jin said cheerfully, almost sounding like the real Jin. "And Yusuke is quite an interesting challenge – though not an especially difficult one. His weaknesses are too easy to exploit."

"There's nothing you can say to me or do to me in this world that can break me," Yusuke replied.

"I think there is," Jin said. "For example, I could ask you about that "safe house" Koenma has set up back in the living world."

Yusuke suddenly felt cold. Koenma had said the Dark Force would stay in Demon World until it had caused the collapse of Demon World, and after that it would move to Spirit World before going to the living world: had he been wrong? Had that just been another titbit of misinformation from Spirit World that could potentially cost the lives of those the team had so carefully chosen to stay in the supposed "safe house"?

"Panic and doubt and, as usual, anger," Jin commented casually. "Let's see if we can't expand on that tasty spectrum of negative emotions: I'm not implying that your safe house isn't safe, I'm implying that the whole concept reveals the darkest parts of everyone involved in its creation."

"Wh-what?" Yusuke echoed.

"Confusion is quite sweet, but it's really not very substantial."

"Stop tasting me and get to your dumb point!"

"You chose Keiko over your mother very quickly."

Yusuke felt that sinking feeling in his chest again – although this time it was more like a plummeting feeling than a gradual downward tug like it had been earlier.

"Ooh, guilt," Jin cooed. "And more anger – really Yusuke, is there anything in this life that doesn't piss you off?"

"What do you know about the safe house?" Yusuke asked.

He genuinely wanted to know. How did the Dark Force know about it? Had it been present when the team had set it up? Had the Dark Force attended Keiko's birthday party, under some inconspicuous guise, unnoticed by anyone?

"I know that, after you rushed to guarantee Keiko a place there, you asked about another place for your mother," Jin replied. "But when your request was refused, although you argued the point, since that time, you haven't given your mother a second thought. She's back there, in the human world, drinking her life away, oblivious to the fate that awaits her when I take over the living world."

"Not gonna happen," Yusuke growled.

"I suppose that's status quo for you and mother dearest though. Ever since you first came here, to Demon World, to seek out your ancient ancestor, your mother has been left behind, wondering where you are and if and when she'll ever see you again."

"My mom's a tough lady."

"Yes, she does an excellent job of appearing that way through the abuse of alcohol. By maintaining a constant state in inebriation, she can mask her true pain so well. Because you, just like your father before you – and I mean your actual father, your biological father, not Raizen – left your mother alone with all her problems."

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Right, because your mother's a "tough lady", right? She never gets overcome by her feelings for you. Every day that you're gone, and she doesn't know where or why, never upsets her. Just like how she wasn't in the least bit upset at your funeral, right? She's so tough, she didn't shed a single tear. Is that right, Yusuke? Do you remember when Spirit World made you visit your own wake and you saw how well your mother was coping with your death? Do you remember how tough your mother was then?"

Yusuke was shaking – because he was frustrated – and still he had to hold back. He was silently trying to figure out a way to silence Jin without killing him. He could vaguely remember Genkai once teaching him something about blows to the larynx that incapacitated the voice, but it was difficult to concentrate on a lesson he had dismissed as useless so many years ago when someone was seriously getting on his nerves.

"It's quite ironic, actually," Jin said, rocking on his heels and acting as though he was retelling a tale from his own life that meant nothing. "As a child, you worried your mother by spending all your time with Keiko – at her parents' restaurant, at the playpark, following her around and generally just watching her in everything she did – and then, as you got older and Keiko started giving you attention, you started treating her the same way you'd always treated your mother. Confident that you had her undying devotion, you turned your back on her."

"What?" Yusuke snapped.

"You drift into her life every now and then – just often enough to remind her that you still exist, and staying just long enough to lull her into the false sense of security that maybe, just maybe, this time your phoney marriage proposal actually means something of substance – before vanishing again as though it's no big deal. Heartbroken, she mourns your absence, but in time, she learns to deal with the pain. She starts to think she needs to move forward without you, but at that point, you pop back into her life and start the cycle all over again."

"You've got no idea what you're talking about!"

"Unfortunately for you, I know exactly what I'm talking about. And I – and your three friends here – know that I'm right because you're getting so defensive."

"I'm not getting defensive, I'm getting pissed off!"

"Yes, you're angry – but the taste of guilt is far stronger than that of anger right now. You're an asshole, but you're the absolute worse kind of asshole: you know exactly what you're doing to your mother and to Keiko, and yet you continue to do it, over and over again."

"Shut the hell up!"

"It makes you feel wanted, needed. You like that. It's an addiction for you. If someone cries when you walk away, isn't that just the ultimate validation of how badly they need you around? Everybody likes to be wanted or needed, but you need to be needed, don't you Yusuke?"

Yusuke took a step forwards. In his mind, he had already justified beating Jin unconscious. He was sure Jin did not want to be saying the things that he was, so really, he would be doing his friend a favour.

"I'm only telling you the truth, Yusuke," Jin said. "I'm merely holding up a mirror that just happens to only reflect the truly ugliest parts of your soul: if you don't like what you see, don't blame me."

"I'm not gonna let you get to me with this bullshit," Yusuke warned.

"Oh, but I already have started to "get to you", haven't I?" Jin responded.

"No!" Yusuke snorted.

"It's pointless to try to lie to me. I can taste everything you're feeling, and I know I've agitated you – and I'm not talking about how angry you've become, because any idiot can make you angry, that's hardly a challenge – I'm talking about how you've abandoned the one thing you started out this argument with: your loyalty to your friends."

"What?"

"Jin is one of your best friends, but right now, you're prepared to push him to the point of death just to shut me up. You wouldn't brutally attack one of your friends under normal circumstances, but I've touched a raw nerve, haven't I Yusuke? And now you're so desperate to silence me, you'll do just about anything."

"You don't know what I'm thinking."

"Don't feel bad about it, Yusuke. After all, it's the same thought process all of my prey goes through. It was the same thought process Yomi went through when I convinced him to kill himself to atone for killing his own son. It was the same thought process Shishiwakamaru went through when I convinced him to kill himself because he was a phoney who hid a horrible evil deep within his soul. And it's the same thought process you will go through many times more, when I convince you to kill some of those you call your friends…"

Yusuke started to move forwards but stopped abruptly when he suddenly found himself confronted by Chu's back. He looked up at the back of Chu's head, pulling a face of angered confusion at him, even though he would be unable to see the gesture.

"What are you doing?" Yusuke demanded.

"I saw the little message you left with Suzuka," Chu said to Jin, ignoring Yusuke. "You said I was next. If that's true, then I reckon you oughta leave these fellas out of it, because if you know me so well, then you know I fight one-on-one."

"Your sense of honour is touching, Chu," Jin replied. "But I should tell you that when I said you would be next, I meant you would be the next one to meet his own demise: of the original team of eight that Koenma assembled to counteract my mischief here in Demon World, I only ever had interest in four. And you, Chu, were never one of the four."

"I see," Chu said. "Then I gotta assume that means you wanted Jin – and, for now anyway, you've got him – and that you want my mates Yusuke, Touya and Hiei."

"Correct," Jin replied.

Yusuke's face twisted: the only logical reason he could perceive for the Dark Force wanting only the four he had named out of the original team of eight was simply that they were the strongest in terms of raw power – though even that theory was tenuous at best, as Chu had a higher power level than Jin.

"Do you care to divulge why you have singled out me, Yusuke, Jin and Hiei?" Touya asked.

"I don't think I need to," Jin replied.

"Please do," Touya said. "Your logic isn't obvious to any of us."

"Hubris isn't my style," Jin responded through a feral grin.

"Hn, this from the arrogant bastard who's done nothing but brag and dribble over its own imagined magnificence since the moment we were unfortunate enough to cross paths with it," Hiei grumbled.

"Then what d'you say?" Chu asked. "How about a one-on-one fight? You and me?"

"Don't you mean "Jin and me"?" Jin asked.

"Call it what you like," Chu flatly replied.

Yusuke poked a finger at Chu's shoulder, causing him to look back and over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Yusuke asked him in a low voice as their eyes met.

"Buyin' you boys time to go get a team together from Mukuro's army," Chu whispered back. "That was the plan, right?"

"The plan was to get some guys and go back for Jin and Yomi," Yusuke replied. "But one's dead and the other's turned into a puppet, so there's been a slight change to the plan!"

"No there hasn't," Touya interrupted. "It's true that we will no longer be returning to Gandara, but now the plan is simply to continue to Alaric and recruit as many to our team from Mukuro's army as we possibly can. Then we continue to fight and try to stop the fall of Demon World."

Yusuke slowly looked around the others, again getting that nauseating feeling that they had all somehow come to a decision without him, as though they were now operating on some sort of hive mind mentality that only he was not a part of.

"I'll buy you as much time as I can," Chu said.

"Good luck," Touya replied.

Hiei started to leave and Touya made to follow him, leaving Yusuke hesitating on the point of angered indecision.

"Go mate," Chu said to him. "Get a stronger team, get back here, and make this dirty bastard pay for what he did to our mates."

Yusuke paused just long enough to accept that even Chu had resolutely made up his mind, the look in his eyes one of granite determination, before reluctantly nodding his head.

"Stay alive," he said. "Because we will be back for you."

"No problem, mate," Chu said with a smile.

Yusuke sighed and then turned his back on Chu, running after Hiei and Touya, who had already moved some distance from the campsite, hoping all the way that he was doing the right thing: because the definition of the right thing had been getting harder and harder to decipher of late.

Next Chapter: Botan has another run-in with Saito in Spirit World (that's actually really horrible), Kurama and Akira train together and Akira reveals something Kurama was not previously aware of, Hiei has a sense of foreboding on the approach to Alaric, Kurama discusses with Kuwabara what he learned about Akira, and Yukina continues to be elusive and off-handed. Chapter 21 – Kuwabara's Little Secret