Chapter 6: Defenses have been Breached

"So, I guess that we are supposed to be doing our real training today?" Hawk asked Raven as the two of them made their way down to the kitchen. The sun was just rising, and Raven was reluctant to get out of bed. If not for the fear that Yusuke and Kuwabara would actually wake up early and eat the food, Raven wouldn't haven't gotten up when Hawk had knocked on her door.

"As interesting as this is…can't it wait until I've had some coffee?" Raven grumbled. Despite her reluctance to rise early, she was dressed in her normal fashion with her hair bouncing behind her and her sword on her back.

"Umm…Nope!" Hawk said, her chirpy voice irritating Raven's ears. She hated that her sister was a morning person, but it did suit them while they were on the run, so she tried not to complain too much about it. "Do you think Kurama will have us fighting today? Who do you think we'll be fighting first? I mean we both already held our own against Yusuke and Kuwabara so I would assume that it would be Kurama and Hiei today…but I could be wrong."

Raven groaned and decided it would be safer for her sanity to amuse the younger girl. "We did pretty well against Yusuke and Kuwabara, but I think they were holding back quite a bit. It wasn't like it was a real fight after all, just a couple of friendly sparring matches."

Hawk tilted her head to the side a tapped her chin with her finger. "Yeah, you're probably right. Those wins felt a little too easy. I'd hate to think that the oh so famous spirit detective was able to be beaten that easily…"

Raven grunted an agreement and rubbed her shoulder. She finally caved and let Hawk work on it the night before. It wasn't fully healed but it was nearly there. A few more days and she wouldn't have anything more than a scar to show what had happened. If not for the confession of their abilities and the feeling that they would be safe enough here to allow the use of Hawk's healing skills, she wouldn't have allowed it. Not after it had almost gotten her sister kidnapped and nearly put up for auction when they were just children.

"…I hope it's Kurama. Hiei is just way too fast for me, I would never be able to keep up." Hawk rattle on next to her. Raven realized that she missed part of what was being said, even if it seemed like Hawk didn't mind if Raven was actually listening or not.

If I have to train against Hiei, I'd rather he be first. Then I can fight him with my full abilities. Raven thought to herself as they walked through the door to the kitchen area.

"Oh, Good Morning." Kurama said from the counter. It appeared that he was the one to make breakfast this morning. Hiei was already at the far end of the table and appeared to have arrived just before they did.

"Morning Kurama! This looks delicious!" Hawk said as she took a plate from him and bounced over to the kitchen table. How she did that without spilling anything, Raven didn't have a clue.

Taking her own plate from Kurama she thanked him and grabbed a cup of coffee on her way back to the table. She wondered who else drank coffee in the mornings. Somehow Kurama struck her as a tea kinda guy, and she couldn't imagine that Yukina would drink coffee.

Sipping on her hot beverage she watched as Kurama handed out plates to the others as they trudged in. Her question was answered as Kuwabara and Yusuke each grabbed their own cups of coffee on their way to the table. After everyone was fed, Kurama grabbed his own plate and joined them.

"Where's Yukina?" Kuwabara answered looking around. "She normally cooks breakfast, is she sick today?"

Kurama chuckled a bit at the boy's antics. "No, she's perfectly fine. She mentioned having some things to do later today and wanted to get some of her chores done early. Naturally, I offered to take care of the meals today so she could focus on what she needs to."

"Oh…" Kuwabara grumbled and dug into his food like it was his last meal. Yusuke, having finished his first cup of coffee and was started on a second one, did the same.

Yukina came in a few minutes later with a basket full of produce. She set the basket on the counter. "That plate is yours Yukina, please come and join us." Kurama told her.

Yukina smiled at him and did as he directed, sitting between him and Kuwabara. Somehow, she seemed to ignore her neighbor's eating habits and delicately ate her food, thanking Kurama for cooking.

Hiei was the first to finish. He seemed in a hurry to get away from the table as he politely washed his dishes before leaving the room. The others followed suite shortly after, leaving the rest of the meal to the two hungry boys.

"So, I assume that their lack of table manners is a common occurrence?" Hawk asked in a teasing manner, not wanting to seem offended by the site of the Detective and his best friend gorging themselves at the table.

"Unfortunately." Hiei muttered, resting against the wall under the window. Yukina touched his shoulder with a smile before heading off to do her own thing. It managed to bring a smile to his face at her sweet nature, just as she had intended.

Kurama was selecting a book to read while they waited. "Yes, they do seem to eat as if each meal would be their last. Though in Yusuke's case, that feeling might not be too far from the truth. Between him dying twice and Genkai's training, he probably has developed some terrible eating habits. I'm sure Kuwabara has his own reasons for eating the way he does, possibly in part due to always having to compete with Yusuke."

"Idiots." Raven said before going outside and waiting on the porch for the others to be ready for their training session. She happily just took the moment to enjoy the natural beauty around the temple. Despite the few warnings they received about certain areas, most of the property seemed tranquil and was pleasing to the eye. Which was all too soon interrupted.

"The morons have finished devouring the kitchen," Hawk said rolling her eyes. "You should see the mess they made of the kitchen! Kurama said that they would start training as soon as the mess was cleaned up. It shouldn't take him too long to get Yusuke and Kuwabara to take care of it."

Raven nodded as Hawk sat next to her. She could feel her sister's nervous energy. "What's wrong?"

Hawk frowned, looking straight towards the tree line. "We are going against Hiei and Kurama today."

"So?" Raven frowned at the repeat of the conversation earlier. Something obviously had the girl anxious about today. "It's not life and death, just training. That shouldn't have her sister putting off such anxious vibes. "What's got you so worried about it? It's just training, nothing major."

Hawk nodded but didn't seem too convinced. The feeling that Yusuke and Kuwabara took it easy on them was prominent and she was sure that Kurama and Hiei wouldn't be as considerate. "You're right. It's just training, we do that all the time."

Raven wrapped an arm around Hawk's shoulders. "C'mon, what's the worst that will happen? We get our asses handed to us and then get stronger? Just think of it as a new challenge, a safer one than we normally get hit with."

Hawk tilted her head as she considered it. "Alright, I think that helps."

"Well…you could always imagine one of them naked. I hear that helps with anxiety." Raven whispered to her sister. Hawk squeaked and shoved Raven off the porch. The other girl righted herself and turned to her sister with a huge grin on her face.

"That's not funny Rae!" Hawk said.

The boys came outside to see a blushing Hawk and Raven on the ground, holding her sides from laughing so hard. Kuwabara looked confused until Yusuke gave him a push off the porch in the direction of the training area, which set Raven off for a second round of laughter. Hiei rolled his eyes and took off after the boys to await Kurama, Raven and Hawk.

"I'm glad to see you two enjoying yourselves." Kurama said with a small smile. "If you're ready, I think we'll start this off with Raven paired up with me and Hawk paired with Hiei. I want to test your speed and reflexes this time."

The girls nodded. Hawk hopped down and gave Raven a hand as a peace offering. The older girl accepted the hand and gave her sister a hug before shoving her off in the direction of Hiei. "Go kick some ass girl!" She called out and Hawk just raised her hand in acknowledgement.

*Raven's Training*

Raven followed Kurama to an open area. In the distance she could still see Yusuke and Kuwabara sparring. She studied Kurama, trying to determine what weaknesses he may have. "Ok, I know you're a fox demon. Does that mean plants are your specialty?"

Kurama gave her one of those distinct smiles that meant everything and nothing at all. "I have a very strong affinity with plants, yes." He replied and ran his fingers through his hair only to produce a beautiful red rose. "In fact, that's exactly what will be involved in this session. Rose Whip!"

Raven jumped out of reach of the newly formed whip. Me and my big mouth. She thought to herself as the very tip of the whip snapped right where her feet had been. In that brief moment she realized that there were thorns covering the body of the whip and that damage was a real possibility.

"The goal of this exercise is for you to dodge my attacks. During this match you are forbidden from attacking me with a blade." Kurama paused to explain after the initial attack. Raven's hand had been wrapped around the handle of her sword, ready to pull it and fight back but at his words she left it where it was. "The idea for this is to see just how well you can maneuver when fighting back is not an option."

Well, that's the simplified version of it anyways. Kurama thought to himself and launched a series of attacks. Her ability to react and think at the same time is important. I suspect that she's been able to rely heavily on having her weapons nearby whenever they have been attacked.

Raven muttered a series of curses as she flipped backwards through the air to dodge the next attack. Turning the flip into a handspring, she shoved off with one hand to flip to the side instead of backwards. She continued to roll, dodge and flip away from the whip but just could not work out an opening when it came to fighting back. The fox's defenses were flawless as long as he had that whip flying around him.

"You're doing well." Kurama complimented, not even remotely out of breath. "Shall we pick up the pace a bit then?"

Raven opened her mouth to give him a sardonic answer and had to quickly dodge again as the whip flew faster at her. It was all she could do to stay one step ahead of his attacks. Any possibility of defending herself or attacking back was gone as her sole focus was on dodging the green vine tearing through the air.

It was nearly a half hour later when Raven started to tire and ended up slipping forward, landing on her hands and knees on the ground. Kurama was attacking so quickly that even his last second attempt wasn't enough to completely redirect the attack. Pain sliced across Raven's back, causing her to cry out, as the whip's strike landed. Kurama's interference managed to reduce the damage and the sheath blocked part of the hit, but the back of her right shoulder and down at her left hip Raven could feel small trickles of blood forming.

Kurama recalled the weapon and rushed over to check on Raven. "Are you alright? My apologies, I miscalculated your reaction time with that last attack."

Raven pushed his hand away as he attempted to check on the spots that had been hit. She moved into a sitting position and shook her head. "I'm fine. It's just a scratch, I was surprised more than hurt." She told him and looked him dead in the eye to encourage him to believe her.

Kurama didn't believe her, but he also suspected the damage wasn't terrible and she would heal quickly from what he was able to see. "Alright, Hiei and Hawk should be done soon. We'll give you two a break before switching off."

Raven moved to where someone had placed a bunch of water bottles in small bucket and sat with her back against the tree next to it, using the pressure to help stop the bleeding. She hid her actions behind the ruse of drinking a whole bottle of water in one go and leaning her head back with her eyes closed. Though she joked with herself about it not being much of a ruse when she really was that thirsty and resting felt good.

*Meanwhile Hawk's Training in Hiei's P.o.V*

While I was intent on working with Raven as soon as possible, Kurama was able to talk me into testing Hawk's close-range abilities. Taking Hawk far enough away from the others that we wouldn't be disturbed or her distracted, I tossed her a piece of bamboo that was consistent with the size and length of an average sword. I held a nearly identical one in my hand.

"So, what training do you have planned for me today, oh Great and Powerful Hiei of the Jagan Eye?" She was teasing me, and I was astounded that she could keep her face so straight and serious with just the slightest of ticks at the corner of her mouth to betray her. She reminded me greatly of the ferry girl, too chipper all the time with a tendency to grate on my nerves. Since Shade had a more somber and playful personality, I could only assume that this was a trait she had inherited from her mother.

"We are not doing anything." I told her firmly. "I will be attacking. Your job is to either dodge or effectively block my attacks. I will not be holding back."

I watched as she shifted a bit in discomfort. Some sadistic part of me felt enjoyment at making her fidget a little, though it felt more along the lines of picking on a puppy and left the pleasure at the whole thing feeling hallow. I decided to ease up a bit. "Any questions before we start?"

"What ends the training?" She asked and shifted into an awkward looking stance. I walked over and corrected the stance and grip on the bamboo before answering. She gave no resistance to my corrections whatsoever, which was a bit of a relief.

"I do." I told her and sped back so I was standing across from her again, 'sword' at the ready. I didn't give her a chance for any more questions before I launched the first attack.

Her block was clumsy, but I was going about half my usual speed and pulled the attack just a bit. That would be the only warning she would get. I slowly built up the speed and strength behind my attacks as she gained more confidence in blocking them. It wasn't long before she was dodging less and blocking a little under half my attacks. For someone who didn't normally fight close combat, I was just a little bit impressed.

The sound of Raven calling out caused my attention to deviate from the younger girl. I retracted the attack and put my focus into searching her out. I could tell that she had been hit by Kurama's whip and bloodlust began to build. I swallowed it down as Kurama called an end to their training, then considered the idea of locking the girl in her room until she was fully healed this time, if necessary.

"Hiei?" Called the other girl from below me. I hadn't realized that I was halfway up a tree while being so mentally focused. "Is something wrong? That sounded like Raven, but she's got her blockades up tight enough I'd really have to focus on her to get through."

Smart not to try and get Raven to lower her guards while I'm still here and able to attack her while she's not focused. I ignored the fact that that was the exact thing I did. Then again, I also knew that this girl wouldn't attack me when my guard was down like that. I'll have help her to change that habit. It'll get her killed, not taking advantage of weaknesses like that. I've seen the damn fox pull that same stunt too many times to let it go with these girls.

"I think she's fine for the time being. Kurama is taking care of her." I said, falling back into my previous stance. "We are not done here."

I didn't need the drop of her shoulders or the groan she emitted to tell me that she was reaching her limit. She had done well with the little experience she's had. She just needed a little more to push past those limits, even if it meant adding a few more sore muscles and nasty bruises on her. Chances are, it would just encourage her to improve faster.

Steeling herself for my next round of attacks, she returned almost perfectly to the stance I had shown her earlier. I nudge her arm back into the correct position and kicked her feet a little farther apart but otherwise it was nearly perfect. She's a fast study. It won't take long to train her.

I waited for a moment, then returned to my attacks. I wasn't quite to full speed yet, but I was at the limit where she could see my movements. I gave our mock battle another ten minutes before separating again. I watched as she struggled to catch her breath, sweat dripping down her face and coating her clothing. I almost rushed forwards to catch her when she dropped to one knee, a single finger gesture told me she was alright.

I couldn't even bring myself to give her a snarky reprimand for it. She had definitely impressed me during this session. Instead, I grabbed the training weapons and helped her to her feet before heading back to where Raven was.

In her demon form, Raven's hair was such a dark red that it could easily be mistaken for black. In this form though, it was a few shades redder, and the color was that of a dark burgundy wine in the sunlight. Even more drastically changed were her eyes. In her true form, they were about the color her hair is in human form. In this form, her eyes were a blue so vibrant I initially thought they were purple. I would have expected something more subtle like them being a chocolate brown or hazel, the blue threw me and yet fit her so perfectly.

Hawk flopped on the ground next to her sister, nearly chocking on the offered water because she drank it while lying completely flat. I shook my head in disbelief as she didn't even bother to tilt her head up enough to drink the water safely.

'How injured are you?' I asked, guzzling my own water down. I had to push the question a little harder than I would have liked since she was determined to keep me out of her mind. Unfortunately, she was being too effective about it and blocking everything. Another dangerous habit these girls needed trained out of them. I suspected that Yukina had been the one to stock us up on cold waters, I'd have to remember to do something to thank her for it.

'I'm fine Hiei. Nothing to worry about.' She responded and I got the impression of snapping teeth. 'I still plan on taking you down later.'

"Hn, we'll see about that." I replied and hopped up to the branch above her. Kurama and I had agreed to give them a decent break between sessions. There was plenty of time before the tournament rolled around. I wondered why word had made its way to Koenma before it did us though. That was a bit concerning.

Stupid girl. I thought to myself as I waited for them to rest a bit. I could smell the blood coming off of her, but it didn't seem enough to be cause for concern. I still felt a need to punish her for getting hit in the first place. Just because Shade and Lyra had to go and get themselves killed, didn't mean that she needed to be so eager to follow them down that route.

'We will.' She told me determinedly. I could hear the confidence and desire to best me coming through her emotions. 'A few bruises and a scratch or two won't be enough handicap for you to win.'

I knew she was seriously downplaying how she felt. I've seen what that fox's whip can cut through. 'Fine then, you have twenty minutes, then we will see how well you can keep up with me.'

I had initially intended to do the same training with both girls, but this was definitely a better plan to put her in her place. I waited exactly twenty minutes before dropping down in front of her.

"Get up," I snapped, all my niceties used up for the day. "We'll see if you can keep up with me."

Both girls stood. Hawk bumped her fist against Raven's shoulder before hurrying off to meet Kurama in the clearing. "Try to keep up." I challenged before running off into the woods. It only took a second for her to react before she was dogging my heels.

I slowly and consistently increased the pace until I had reached about seventy-five percent of my maximum speed. We raced around the property for well over an hour. I did everything in my power to attempt to knock her off my trail, but she managed to keep pace with me. I even went so far as to run down the beach, the dark forest and the swamp. None of it slowed her down, not even startling the Bat Trainer awake and him swooping down on her with all his bats.

By the time we had run up the steps at the front of the property, she finally started to slow. I circled us back around and ended the chase next to Kurama. Raven took that for the signal that it was and dropped by the tree she was next to previously, downing another whole bottle of water and contemplating a third. Just as she decided to go for it, I grabbed the bottle out of her hand with a smirk and downed the contents in one go. The deadly look she gave me was worth every moment of it.

*Hawk's training*

Hawk had watched Raven chasing after Hiei and assumed that their session would be different from hers. Shrugging it off, she turned her focus onto the opponent in front of her. "I'm just supposed to dodge your attacks, correct?" She asked curiously. "It would match what Hiei had been doing at least."

The question amused Kurama as he realized just how cunning the girl's mind possibly was. He looked forward to testing her mental capabilities but that was something for another day.

"That is accurate." He said, once again summoning his rose whip. "The idea is to avoid being hit by my attacks. I do recommend doing so as my whip has been known to cause serious damage and I have only been able to weaken it's attack damage a small amount over the last few years."

Hawk tilted her head to the side as if she were calculating a difficult problem. Just as Kurama was ready to rethink his assessment of her she popped back up with a large grin on her face. "Okay, not a problem!"

He chuckled and swung his whip around him a few times to loosen the tension building in his arm. "Very well, let's begin then."

It only took a few attacks for him to realize that this sister was the more flexible of the two. She dodged his attacks gracefully and with minimal effort. She wasn't even phased for more than a couple seconds when he changed up his attack formation and increased the speed. Whereas Raven was quick and methodical on her movements, Hawk was all fluid grace. She moved as if she were dancing through the air and no effort was wasted.

"You are much faster than Raven." Kurama commented as he stepped back for a small reprieve.

Hawk giggled a bit. "That's because Raven dodges only as a means to prepare her next attack. She's a powerhouse with a sword and that is her element. If you ever watch her truly battle, it has a dangerous beauty to it. Like watching a leopard stalk it's prey or an eagle diving to claim a fish. Absolute beauty in motion with deadly intent."

She picked at her shirt as if to remove some imagined item from it. "I'm terrible at close range fighting. My specialty is long range and magic. I learned to dodge quickly and keep out of the way of Raven's battles, assisting in whatever way was possible."

"I'm sure it allowed her to fight more freely, not having to worry about taking you down by accident." He agreed. "I find it absolutely fascinating how the two of you play to each other's strengths and weaknesses. I can't imagine much that could stop you working together as a team."

Hawk beamed at his praise. She had always seen Raven as the strong one, the protector and she was always the one needing protecting, barely able to hold her own. Kurama's assessment had her rethinking her whole view on the situation.

"I'd be interested in seeing a sparring match between the two of you." He said, pulling out of her thought process. At some point during their discussion, Raven and Hiei had returned. Hawk looked at her sister, mulling over what Kurama had revealed.

"Raven beats me every time. The matches are mostly to try and improve my skill and keep Raven in a battle-ready state of mind." She told him a bit distracted and curious as to what good it would do to watch a match between the girls.

Before Kurama could explain his reasoning, a burst of energy from inside the building caught his attention. Hiei and Raven were next to them in a second. Kurama noticed that Yusuke and Kuwabara were nowhere in sight and found their energy signals near the entrance to the building.

The group raced to the temple entrance to find two upper C class demons guarding the door. Hiei had them cut down in less than a second and had the door knocked open before the bodies could hit the floor. They entered to find Yusuke and Kuwabara trussed up by the doorway and knocked out. Someone had to have caught them unawares as they came in the door.

A muffled sound drew Raven's attention across the room. She was surprised to see Keiko in the hands of an A class demon, mouth covered by one hand and held immobile by the other. Another demon had Yukina in a similar manner.

What's Keiko doing here? She wasn't supposed to show up until this evening. Raven thought to herself and desperately tried to find a way to manage the situation.

Keiko had wanted to take the girls shopping but was vetoed by their training sessions. Eventually it had worked out that she was going to take them out with the other girls the next day and none of the boys dared to argue with her.

'She's earlier than expected.' Came Kurama's voice in her mind. She realized that she could feel Hiei and Hawk there in the background as well. Somehow Hiei was maintaining a group link between the four of them.

'So, what do we do?' Hawk demanded. 'If we attack directly, we're putting both girls at risk.'

Raven let out a low growl, the bloodlust rising off of the four of them blended together and made their energies almost impossible to separate from each other. She for one wasn't going to stand by while two innocents were at risk.

"Get away from them and face me you cowards!" She growled, moving to stand in front of the group. "I'll take you on myself."

Before she could move any farther forward, Kurama placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. 'We need a plan; we can't rush this. It isn't just these two we need to worry about.'

Raven followed his eyes to the sides of the room. Two lower C class demons were nearly invisible, each holding a crossbow in their hands and pointed at the girls.

'Hn, Raven. I need a distraction. I only need a few seconds.' Hiei ordered. He knew Raven could easily get these fools to pay attention to her. Kurama would be too obvious, and Hawk would likely trigger Raven in to reacting the wrong way and ultimately working against them.

Raven quickly agreed and glared at the demon holding Keiko, now chuckling at her demands. "Let them go?" He demanded and ran a claw down the side of the girl's face, leaving a mark behind. He had stopped short of actually breaking the brunette's skin and sending his allies into a frenzy.

"Why should we release such succulent morsels?" He continued and sniffed Keiko's hair, egging the others on with her muffled cries. Raven was on the verge of losing control.

Raven drew her sword. "I said…LET THEM GO! Face me as your opponent, unless you're too cowardly to take on a female demon who fights back. I bet humans are all you can handle."

Hawk was actually surprised with her sister's actions. She knew what was going on but could count on both hands the number of times Raven had yelled at an opponent, and she would still have several fingers left over. Most demons bowed down quickly to her rage or died in seconds of denying her what she wanted.

"Big words from a little girl." Said the demon holding Yukina. "What exactly do you expect to happen if we don't obey your command?"

Raven smirked and flicked the tip of her sword to the bowmen. "You end up like those two fools."

The words barely left her mouth before the two low class demons hit the floor, their heads landing away from their bodies. Raven's eyes started to glow a dark burgundy as her demon form started to peak through. Her wings shot out of her back and the startled demons loosened their grips on their two captives, allowing the girls to rush over to the group and stand with Hawk.

Raven assumed that they were familiar with Kurama and Hiei's habits and figured Hawk to be the safer person to rush to in order not to interfere with what would happen next. Hawk allowed her demon form to come out and circled both girls in the protection of her arms, blocking their view of what would come with her wings. "Someone's gonna die today!" Hawk told the demons in a singsong voice and moved the girls to a safer location, out of the way.

"GET THEM!" The demon who had held Keiko ordered. Nearly a dozen demons made their way into the room and started to attack the trio of fighters. Somehow Hawk hand gotten the girls near enough to Yusuke and Kuwabara to erect a barrier around the small group of non-fighters. An ice shield seemed to meld with the protective barrier, doubling its strength.

The group of demons was quickly destroyed, leaving only the two leaders for the trio to finish off. An eerie glowed came to Kurama's eyes as a plant appeared out of nowhere, obliterating the lesser of the two demons. Hiei jumped forward as the leader stood in shock at his partner's demise. The demon didn't even register that his head had even been removed from his body as he turned to flee. Raven clicked her tongue in disgust as the dismembered head rolled in front of her, the look of terror forever etched on the demon's face.

A blue blur suddenly latched onto Hiei's arm and the soft clink of gems hitting the ground was all that was needed for the bloodlust to dissipate from the three fighters. They watched as Yukina cried on Hiei's shoulder making him unable to put his sword away without disturbing her. Moving the sword to his left hand, he placed his right against her cheek. His movements were slow and gentle as he tried to calm the girl down.

"They are dead." He told her simply and that seemed to be all she needed to regain herself.

"Yes," She sniffled and stepped back half a step, not yet ready to let go of Hiei's shirt. "I am sorry that you were put in that position to kill again for me. But thank you for saving me once again."

"Hn, they are the ones that attacked you. Unless you asked them to attempt a kidnapping and staged this whole thing, you are in no way at fault." He replied firmly and Hawk noticed that he seemed a bit uncomfortable. A glance to Raven confirmed that it would be discussed later.

Yukina realized she was still holding onto Hiei and quickly dropped her hands, holding them together in front of her body. "I'm sorry, I know you prefer your space. It was wrong of me to violate that."

"Hn, don't worry about it." He said, putting his sword back in his sheath. He began searching the remains and started on cleaning up the mess the demons left behind. He didn't want Yukina's hands touching this filth.

Yukina thanked the others and made sure that everyone was alright. Raven thanked her, promised she was fine and went to help Hiei with clean up. A smack could be heard from the corner and all of them turned to see Keiko slap Yusuke and Kuwabara into awareness before lecturing them about getting knocked out and tied up.

The intruders had done their job well, leaving both boys at Keiko's mercy for several long minutes before she simply stalked off to her room. Both boys still gagged and bound, unable to get free.

Hawk and Yukina left for the kitchen, returning a short time later with tea and snacks to a nearly cleaned up living room. Some damages needed repair, but the structure was still intact and there was no more blood or bodies left behind.

Hawk untied the boys finally and the group sat down to the snacks, discussing what happened. According to Yukina, the demons seemed to appear out of nowhere. Their energy was well suppressed so they boys didn't notice it over their usual arguments as they came in the door. Yukina also told them that Keiko had arrived about a half hour before the attack with the idea of getting to know the girls while they waited for Shizuru and Botan to join them for a surprise sleepover that night.

Keiko returned near the part where the boys had been jumped, her hair wet from a shower. "I called Shizuru and told her not to come tonight. I didn't have a way of telling Botan the same."

"Well, you shouldn't have been here either!" Yusuke said, irritated that he was getting beaten by so many demons lately. He was silently planning a trip back to his territory for some heavy-duty training. "It's stupid to come out here on your own right now. Haven't you been paying attention to what I've been telling you girls?"

Keiko turned a glare at him, tears in her eyes, and smacked him before storming out of the room. "What was that for?!" the former spirit detective demanded, holding his cheek.

"Yusuke…sometimes you are an idiot." Kurama stated simply, sipping on his tea.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Yusuke responded, absolutely frustrated. "All I did was tell her how stupid she was for coming out here by herself right now."

"Yusuke," Hawk looked him right in the eyes and the detective seemed to lose all the built-up rage. "She just got attacked by a demon, one that we weren't sure we would be able to rescue her from before he made off with her. She is human and engaged to a half-demon king. Nothing about this is simple for her and I can guarantee it is scary."

Yusuke seemed to think about this and nodded his head for her to continue. Seeing that he was actually paying attention to what she was saying, Hawk continued. "Keiko is terrified right now. She watched a demon get the jump on you and Kuwabara, taking away her feeling of being safe. Then she watched us struggle to rescue them from demons who threatened to kill them if we tried anything. She had no way of knowing that Hiei was working on a plan or that he would be fast enough to disable the bowmen. She had no way of knowing that she was going to walk away alive today, other than her absolute faith in you and your friends."

She took a shaky breath. Raven realized just how close to home this situation had hit Hawk and remembered all the times that she had yelled at the younger girl when similar situations had occurred in the past. Guilt swamped her as she listened to her sister lecture the boy sitting across from her. "What she needed was for you to wake up, hold her and tell her that everything was okay. To tell her that those demons were dead and would not be able to attack her again, just as Hiei did for Yukina. Instead, you lectured her. You just made her feel guilty for something that wasn't even her fault to begin with."

The realization hit Yusuke like a ton of bricks, and he dropped his head into his hands. "Aw man, I screwed up again." He shot to his feet and grinned at Hawk. "Thanks for the insight. I need to go talk to Keiko and do some apologizing."

With that they watched as Yusuke took off down the hall. 'Hawk, I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that way.' Raven told her sister on their private path. 'It's not a good excuse for doing so, but the fear of seeing a loved one in danger is nearly paralyzing. Victim or protector, both kinds of fears have the same reactions. For the protector though, it is boosted by the feeling of failure. The failure to prevent the attack from happening in the first place and the thought of how that person allowed those they cared about to be in that position in the first place. A protector's first instinct is to protect those they care about at all costs. Sometimes the emotions from the fear and the anger build and us protector types snap and grab onto the first thing we can before those feelings can balance out. Can you forgive me for being guilty of doing so?'

The words were hard for Raven to say to her sister. She didn't know that she had felt that way. To make matters worse, Raven was just as guilty of adding to the negative feelings. That Hawk had felt like that during the moments after an attack happened and Raven failed to comfort her.

Before she could wallow in her own guilt for very long, Hawk stood up and wrapped her arms around the older girl. 'You are forgiven. I am fully aware how much those responsibilities weigh on your mind and emotions.'

"I'm going to go take a nap." Hawk said and Raven could feel the weariness coming off both their bodies. She stood up and said she was going to do the same.

With Raven near Hawk, Yusuke with Keiko and Kuwabara sticking close to Yukina, all the girls were well protected. Kurama and Hiei left the building to discuss what happened and what measure could prevent it in the future. No one wanted the girls to ever be vulnerable at the temple again, especially not with so many strong fighters so nearby.

The two demons worked together until dark to secure the building. By morning, there were dozens of new and beautiful plants around the temple grounds.