*Anemone's room...Hiei's decided to move in...Kurama is trying to calm Anemone down in the hallway, who's REALLY getting sick of him*
Anemone: I CANNOT BELIEVE HIM!
Kurama: Mones, please-!
Anemone: I mean, why can't he give Anneliese what she wants?! I'm sure after dealing with him for a few days she'll be sick of him...I KNOW I AM...!
Kurama: he's only been here for a week! What has he done to annoy you this much?!
Anemone: *growl* he sleeps in the tree outside and is constantly breaking in my house in the late night hours to raid my fridge while making a LOT of noise once he's in the hallway and THINKS he won't wake me up, he's incredibly irritatible when he wakes up at noon every day and barks orders at me even more often than usual, he's stalked some of my neighbors REALLY late at night, who, by the way, think he's my crazed boyfriend and want me to get rid of him, he practiced his Katana on my neighbor's prize-winning bamboo garden who now blames ME and expects ME to pay for the damage, he listens to the SAME song over, and over, and over, and over, he's stained my grandmother's quilt with salsa, he's dubbed my bed as his nap place, and he stinks up my bathroom after his training sessions! ...jeez why the hell would Anneliese WANT him, anyway?!
Kurama: erm...my, that is a tad annoying, isn't it? But, it isn't that much...
Anemone: -it is if it's his daily schedule! He's done ALL that, at least ONCE every day! Look at my grandmother's quilt! *holds up really spicy smelling, very stained, formerly blue, green and purple quilt*
Kurama: *clasps his sensitive nose from the really spicy scent* gah!...I see...did you not try hiding it from him...?
Anemone: yes! But he says he likes to nap on it...MEANING, he eats chips and salsa on it then takes a nap with the half-full jar in his hands, spilling it! He does this whenever I'm out...and if I TRY to take the jar in his sleep he GROWLS! And he knows wherever I put my quilt, so avoidance of the staining is enivitable! *whimper, hugs the ruined quilt*
Kurama: *gently takes the quilt, examines the stains* I'm sure Shiori can wash these right out, Mones...maybe dab on a little sprite to ease the stains and toss it right in the wash...
Anemone: it isn't just the quilt! He is driving me NUTS!
Kurama: but, you know Hiei pretty well...he's come over every day for months now...
Anemone: yeah, but he'd only stay like two hours at a time! I've never actually had him LIVE here...!
Kurama: why not approach him about your annoyances?
Anemone: *sarcasm* gee, I don't know...maybe I fear his Katana!
Kurama: you seriously think he'd strike you down if you asked him to leave?!
Anemone: Kurama...this is Hiei...there's no doubt in my MIND he'd come after me! This house is his only sanctuary from Anneliese and he intends on staying here for the rest of his life! Or at least hers!
Kurama: *heavy sigh, bows head, clasps her shoulders* Mones...talk to him...you obviously despise this arrangment...
Anemone: you hate me, don't you?!
Kurama: what?!
Anemone: you apparently want me MURDERED!
Kurama: huh?! No! I don't want you murdered, Mones! What on Earth gave you THAT idea?!
Anemone: you advised me to go and actually CONFRONT him, Fox! That's freakin' suicide!!
Kurama: *heavy sigh* I'll go with you...if he actually goes that far...I'll get court order to keep him away from you...sound good?
Anemone: YES! Thank you!
Kurama: great...*is about to escort Anemone back into her room...sees readers* Oh! I didn't see you there! Er...as you can see, we have some, 'issues' to work out-
Anemone: -what a freakin' understatement!-
Kurama: -you'd best just go into the chapter...it's all up and ready for you...chapter 31, enjoy.
Chapter 31: Yoko Reborn
Kurama gaped in fear at his father...the wolf...a long, sleek mane of untainted silver, jagged fangs, and piercing claws...he crouched in a low stance used specifically for the battling between animal breeds...he sneered menacingly at his humanoid son, a narrow glare of golden stinging into gaping emerald. "Fight me, boy!"
Kurama was lost of composure and of words. 'he...he's faster than I remember...'
"Get UP, Suichi! Fight me! Or else your little deity will be lost of her lover..."
At the seething mention of Botan, Kurama instantly flashed wolf eyes to his crazed father, the wolf pricking slightly in shock. 'he's more wolf than he thinks...'
Kurama instantly kicked up, and dove whole-heartily at his father. Grapko snarled at Kurama's coming, and lashed his claws for the angered teenager. What should have slit into his heart and lungs merely grazed his chest. 'gah?! Damn, I forgot...that blasted arrow's given him tougher skin to pierce!'
"Interesting..." Hiei jut his lips in thought.
"What is it?" Yusuke turned towards the narrow-eyed dragon, who seemed incredibly absorbed in the battle.
"Kitsune must truly hate his father and lack all respect for him."
"Well duh..." Kuwabara sneered. "How did you figure that out, Shorty?"
"His fighting style, you moron...I already knew Kurama hated Grapko, but he must really lack any and all respect for him as an opponet to actually dive into battle without first studying Grapko's technique..."
"...oh..." Kuwabara blinked.
Kurama smirked slightly before diving to the floor...pressing his hands against the stone, he kicked off, and his feet linking with Grapko's jaw in his graced flip, sending the wolf to the ground with Kurama pinning him down. The son curled himself back and flipped off Grapko's stomach...the instant his feet skid to the ground, Kurama sprinted forward, his gnarled fist prepared to bash into his father's chin. The wolf, however, was ready this time.
Grapko blurred from view, leaving a frustrated humanoid in the dead center of the cavern...open for attack. The wolf was right behind.
"Gah! Kitsune! Behind you!" Hiei roared. Kurama jerked around just in time for the wolf to clench into his red hair and face.
Kurama wriggled stubbornly in Grapko's tightening grip, the wolf pinching harder into his son's skull. Kurama growled a muffled yelp of pain, his eyes and nose pressed firm into his face by his father's palm. Grapko sneered deviously...before plowing Kurama head-first into the floor.
"Ah!" Botan yelped in shock as she watched with fear and worry. "Kurama! No, that isn't fair, Grapko! You're cheating!"
The group was stunned as Kurama's skull dented into the stone, the fully energetic Kitsune growling all the while while awaiting the right moment. Then, it came to pass...Kurama--still being shoved into the stone half a foot deep--slowly drew back his arms, and with a forced jerk straight down, dug his fingers into the stone, stopping him mid-plow. Grapko growled in annoyance...Kurama kicked against the wolf's chest, and flipped to a firm stand...there was only one scuff at his temple from that encounter to the floor. Kurama smirked calmly.
Grapko snarled and growled in frustration...he blurred from view and dug his gripped knuckles into Kurama's stomach. The red-head grit his teeth from the pain, a clot of blood slipping into his clenching teeth and his stunned eyes narrowed. Kurama kicked back, ripping from Grapko's punch. A tender bruise swelled gray at the spot, but he didn't care...he needed to beat Grapko...he needed to win...he needed to get Botan out of here.
Kurama roared ferociously as he sprinted for Grapko again...through his paced run, he stroked a hand into his hair, and shouted with a wavering voice "ROSE WHIP!" With a sting of energy to his lovely flower, the petals tore off and a long, spiked whip graced into the surrounding air. Kurama leapt into a jump high above Grapko's head, ready to strike downwards...the wolf grunted as a smirk tugged at his features...he blurred from his spot, and reappeared directly above Kurama.
The wolf's large fist was about to dig into his son's neck...but Kurama had known Grapko would do this since before he called upon his whip. The fox whirled around just as the punch was about to dive for the back of his neck, lashed his whip around the wolf's wrist, and with a mighty heave, yanked Grapko below him as the two descended for the floor. With the shocked wolf just beneath him, Kurama performed a new, powerful trick with his whip. He gushed it with his energy, the whip now glowing in a stunning emerald gleam...it burned with the intensity of the sun, and Kurama lashed it down into Grapko with his most precise, hard-core slash ever to grace his use to the weapon. Grapko was slit into, a deep, gushing gash down his chest and stomach, singeing from Kurama's energy. The wolf collapsed motionlessly to the floor below, denting hard into the stone, dust and splinters of rock snapping off come impact. Kurama collapsed too, exhausted...and lacking of half his energy. He landed on his upper back, flopping on contact and rolling to his hip in one motion.
"Kurama!" Botan gasped a yell for the still Kitsune.
"Kitsune!" Hiei roared, blurring to the fox's side...Kurama was unconscious. 'that was a smart idea, Red...but not the smartest way to go about it...'
"Well, well, Hiei..." a scoffing growl echoed from behind...Hiei pricked in utter fear, his expression gaping...'oh shit!'
"How are you, my boy?" Grapko licked his teeth. "How's your mother?"
Hiei snarled in the purest of hatred, whirling around viciously with his nimble hand to his Katana's hilt. "Be quiet, beast!"
"I think I figured out your relations to the green-haired demonness," Grapko smirked deviously at the scared dragon.
The dragon pricked...'oh no! Yukina!' Hiei instantly blurred into the air, running with the greatest of his strengths to reach Yukina before...suddenly, he skid from his sprint, a look of total fear and shock slapped across his gaping face...there stood a grinning Grapko...with Yukina clenched against his chest.
"MMPF!" Yukina whimpered loudly through the wolf's hand cupped over her lips, kicking slightly, now that she was three feet off the ground.
"YUKINA!!" Kuwabara roared in shock...Yusuke, Keiko, and Hinegeshi were wide-eyed at the passing happening...Grapko had out-run Hiei into reaching Yukina...and now the mint-haired beauty was meshed against his chest with his hands coiled about her fragile chin and mouth in the center of the cavern, ten yards away from where she had previously stood.
"Kurama!" Hinegeshi called viciously into the cavern. "You have to wake up! You have to help Hiei!" Kurama remained motionless.
"Unhand her, Wolf!!!" Hiei howled. "NOW!"
"She's not your lover, I can tell..." Grapko smirked, gently stroking the side of her face and the girl quivered in stunned terror. "You two look too similar..."
Hiei's glare was narrow as he growled in the depths of his throat.
"I know..." he flared his nostrils as he gripped a sniff of her spiked hair. "You both smell like my former best friend..." he grinned. Yukina eyed Hiei in confusion. 'what?!' she thought.
Botan quivered in her shackles at the scene. 'Yukina! No!'
"You're right, Grapko," Hiei breathed calmly. "That's my little sister."
The group pricked in shock...they had all known...but he actually admitted it?! The only person this was news for...was Yukina. She stared at him in the purest of shock. 'H-Hiei?! Hiei is my brother?!'
"I knew it!" Grapko laughed. "You share a father in that traitor friend of mine! Since you are both his offspring, should I not dispose of you?"
"You hurt her, Grapko...and you will die even slower and more painfully than I had originally planned for..." another voice stung into the air. Kurama...he was standing, and glaring with the narrowest, deadliest gaze he ever forced into his calm, human eyes...about his neck...strung the ruby.
"How...How did you get that ruby?! You didn't have it before!" Grapko snarled.
"Hn," Hiei grunted a smirk at the oblivious wolf. "You fool! While I was by his side, I snuck it to him."
"You're screwed if he unleashes Yoko!" Yusuke sneered.
Grapko pricked slightly in dread. 'He's become a much better fighter since I last fought him...and that was in his Yoko form, half a century ago! The strength Yoko must possess now, if his human counterpart is that strong...it must be equal to my own!'
Kurama walked slowly into the scene...Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, and Hinegeshi were silent...Botan watched on in fear...Hiei stood firm, glaring ruby daggers at Grapko...and the ruby about the Kitsune's neck glowed fiercely.
"Release her, Grapko, or I shall release Yoko," Kurama's eyes were murderous with the way he stared. "Now!"
"You think I fear my hybrid son?!" Grapko growled. "You'd only be a threat to me if you were fully wolf...news flash! You're not! Your fox ancestry has made you weak in comparison to me!" and with that, the wolf clenched tight to Yukina's delicate neck, the girl crying out a muffled whimper of fear.
"Yukina!" Hiei roared. "Unhand her! She's innocent!"
"How is she?!" Grapko tightened his grip about her fragile form. "She is just as quilty as you are!"
"No she isn't you moronic beast!" Hiei countered viciously. "I am the only offspring to your crush and your traitor friend...she merely shares a father with me...we've differing mothers, leave her be!"
"What?!" Grapko gaped. "Your father dared cheat on my beloved ice demonness with another to have this little tramp?!" Hiei growled at the wolf's choice of words.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL HER?!" Kuwabara roared violently, about to charge into the cavern before Yusuke caught him in a firm full nelson. "LET ME GO, URIMESHI! LET, ME, GO!"
"Kuwabara, calm down!" Yusuke wriggled hard to keep the angered youth at bay. "This is Kurama's fight...the only other one allowed to get involved is Hiei...we'll just make the chances worse, you idiot!"
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN URIMESHI NO ONE GETS AWAY WITH CALLIN' MY GIRL A TRAMP!!"
"Our father did not cheat on my mother," Hiei glared insanely narrow ruby daggers at the wolf. "My mother died, and he simply remarried, having Yukina...she is not the threat to you that I am...your grudge is with me, you beast!"
Grapko responded with a smirk and a slight pressure applied to Yukina's neck. Hiei and Kurama pricked slightly, growling in frustration. Yukina trembled in muffled cries.
"Kurama!" Botan grunted. "Change into Yoko!"
Finally, Grapko went too far...he slashed his claws against her delicate ivory neck.
"YUKINA!!!!" Kuwabara wailed in pure sorrow and shock. The entire group was silent as the stunned girl collapsed for the stone floor...until, a blurred mass of blackness stained the air, caught her fragile form, and sped her back to the team. Hiei was trapped in utter rage as redness leaked from her gashed neck. The instant he tucked her delicate figure into Kuwabara's tender, gentle hold, he snarled and whirled around, prepared to unsheath his weapon...when four piercing claws dug into his stomach. Hiei's eyes flashed wide in pain as his kidney was fingered and blood sprayed from his torn flesh. The group gaped.
"H-Hiei..." Yukina whimpered through her gushing sores at her neck. Hiei stood completely still, his expression monotonous and his eyes broad from the stinging pain.
"No! Hiei!" Hinegeshi gasped in horror. Grapko smirked as he tore his claws from the dragon's stomach, Hiei instantly collapsing behind him into Yusuke's arms.
"Flames!" Yusuke stuttered in fear at the unconscious demon in his hold.
"My God, Hiei! Yukina!" Keiko squealed, stroking the Hiei's temple and clenching Yukina's fragile hand.
"No! No, please, Hiei!" Hinegeshi whimpered, falling to her knees by the dragon's side. She gripped his hand firmly, tears threatening to streak her face. "Please! Wake up! Please Hiei!"
Kurama stared in total disbelief, his emerald glare wide and his teeth clenched. "Yukina...Hiei..." the fox murmured in shock. The ruby was now pulsing madly in a shocking shade of scarlet.
"Well, that's one grudge put to rest," Grapko sneered deviously. "The offspring of that traitor friend of mine...both dying."
"How dare you!!" Kurama growled. "How dare you!! You slew two innocent people! They've nothing against you let your insanity!"
"Hiei thinks differently," Grapko smirked.
"He only justified your grudge because of his own inner pains! Pains you cause him! You're a beast!" Kurama roared. "You don't deserve to live!"
"Now, really, boy! Is that any way to speak to your father?" Grapko grinned.
"You're not my father!" Kurama countered violently. "My father was a good, honest man...he was a ningen named Minamino!"
Botan stared at him in awe. 'Kurama...'
Grapko simply glared. "This is why I hate you, Yoko...you're too human."
"Well, we'll just see about that!" Kurama snarled. By now, the ruby glowed just as viciously as the last time he was about to transform into his Yoko form. Grapko grunted hard, not about to let Kurama the time to change into a stronger being. He sprinted off for his hybrid son, but just as his knuckles were about to bash into Kurama's chin, the boy's Spirit Energy flickered violently, and he was engulfed in a calming, yet burning aura, one that caused Grapko to step back from the overwhelming heat. The teenager's eyes were narrow, glowing entirely in the emerald brilliance of his ki.
Glowing green energy stung at his scalp, and his flowing scarlet mane slicked smooth, staining from the roots straight to the ends in glossy silver. His ears slowly pinned against the side of his head, the flesh melting into itself...as his platinum mane fell over those now barren spots, dog like ears stretched from the crown of his head, flicking against his scalp in new exposure. With a crack of his neck, his spine stretched, as did his limbs...another foot was added to his stature. His once sagging pants were now just the right size, and his shirt tore with the slight increase of his compact muscle span. A mass of furry silver ripped through his pants bottoms, flicking against his leg...his bushy wolf-like tail. With a slow, calm blink, he opened his previously energy-saturated eyes to reveal narrow, piercing golden stares, even deadlier than those of Grapko's. The wolf stared in scared awe at Kurama's demonic form...feeling the dramatic increase in Yoko's energy level. The singeing aura about the smirking fox-wolf dimmed, and there stood the terror of the ages...the infamous...the powerful...the ingenious Yoko of Thieves.
"What's wrong, Grapko?" came the raspy, low demonic tone from the teenager's devilish smirk. "Suprised to see me again? Well, dad, I'm back."
%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
*hallway in view, no characters seen*
Kurama and Anemone: AHHHHH!!!! *runs out of her room into the hallway, Anemone behind Kurama, Kurama guarding her with his Rose Whip in hand...random objects being thrown at them from her room, Kurama lashing at them with his whip*
Kurama: HIEI! CALM DOWN!
Hiei: how can I?! I'm being kicked out of my only sanctuary!! I was already pissed at you, Kurama, but now you've just made me MADDER! *throws a lamp*
Kurama: *still lashing things away with his whip* but the living conditions you're causing aren't acceptable to Mones! Think about how she must feel!!
Hiei: *throws a book at them* I'm not mad at her I'm mad at YOU! You're the one who's telling me to leave! It isn't even your place to talk!
Kurama: *knocks book away* but! Anneliese can't be that bad! You didn't even give her a chance!
Hiei: anyone who wants me to pay back an owe by serving as her dog can't be good, Kitsune! *throws her radio-cd player*
Kurama: *wide-eyed, catches radio-cd player* how do you know that?! I mean, for all you know she might have just picked a poor choice of words and she just wants you to do odd jobs for her or something!
Hiei: i'm NOT going to be a slave for a human, Kurama! This is the only place I'm allowed to go to get away from her!
Anemone: Hiei if you throw one more of my things I'm gonna kill you!!
Hiei: *throws his Katana*
Kurama and Anemone: AHHH!! *Kurama pins her to the floor as the unsheathed Katana stabs into the wall*
Kurama: my God...he never usually gets this mad...
Anemone: no freakin' duh!
Kurama: *still on the floor with Mones* Hiei! I'll buy you an ice cream if you stop this little tantrum!
Hiei: *brief pause, growling* damn weakness for ice cream...*sigh* Fine!
Kurama: come on then, we'd better go to the shop now before it closes, Hiei...
Anemone: *whispering* what are you doing, Fox?! He'll be SO pissed if you-
Kurama: -Hiei never stays mad at me for long...he'll get over it...*stands up* come on, then, Hiei.
Hiei: hn...very well.
Anemone: *stares after them as they walk downstairs* Fox is dead...*covers ears*
Hiei: *walks out door, forgetting that he's now vulnerable because he REALLY wants Ice cream, Anemone's house having run out* Hey...wait a second...KURAMA!!
Kurama: *locks Hiei out* Quick Mones! Lock the windows!
Hiei: *banging on door in fear* LET ME IN!
Anneliese: *walking by, gasp* Hiei! You left Anemone's house!
Hiei: AHH!!
Kurama: *back against the door, holding it shut, yells over shoulder through door* Hiei, if you get it over with now, I'm sure it'll all end soon!
Hiei: AHH! *being dragged away*
Anneliese: come on! I'd like some Katana lessons today! Let's go!
Hiei: KURAMA!!!
Anemone: wow, Kurama..he sounds pretty mad...
Kurama: *clears throat* yes, well...I think I'll need to hide out here for a few days until he cools off...
Anemone: *snicker* right...but don't forget...you owe him an ice cream when he comes back...and I suggest you make it a pretty damn big one lol...
Kurama: heh, right...
Anemone: *turns to readers* since Flames is now officially the property of Anneliese *lol* I think I'll just be the one to tell y'all to go review...latrs!
Kurama: goodbye.
*p.s.: hey, fans! Go check out the new story "HIEI, PUTT PUTT, AND EVERYONE ELSE" by Flameology...also known as, Anneliese! lol yes, she's a real person and I fan of mine...I read her story and it's good, so check it out, ppl!*
Anemone: I CANNOT BELIEVE HIM!
Kurama: Mones, please-!
Anemone: I mean, why can't he give Anneliese what she wants?! I'm sure after dealing with him for a few days she'll be sick of him...I KNOW I AM...!
Kurama: he's only been here for a week! What has he done to annoy you this much?!
Anemone: *growl* he sleeps in the tree outside and is constantly breaking in my house in the late night hours to raid my fridge while making a LOT of noise once he's in the hallway and THINKS he won't wake me up, he's incredibly irritatible when he wakes up at noon every day and barks orders at me even more often than usual, he's stalked some of my neighbors REALLY late at night, who, by the way, think he's my crazed boyfriend and want me to get rid of him, he practiced his Katana on my neighbor's prize-winning bamboo garden who now blames ME and expects ME to pay for the damage, he listens to the SAME song over, and over, and over, and over, he's stained my grandmother's quilt with salsa, he's dubbed my bed as his nap place, and he stinks up my bathroom after his training sessions! ...jeez why the hell would Anneliese WANT him, anyway?!
Kurama: erm...my, that is a tad annoying, isn't it? But, it isn't that much...
Anemone: -it is if it's his daily schedule! He's done ALL that, at least ONCE every day! Look at my grandmother's quilt! *holds up really spicy smelling, very stained, formerly blue, green and purple quilt*
Kurama: *clasps his sensitive nose from the really spicy scent* gah!...I see...did you not try hiding it from him...?
Anemone: yes! But he says he likes to nap on it...MEANING, he eats chips and salsa on it then takes a nap with the half-full jar in his hands, spilling it! He does this whenever I'm out...and if I TRY to take the jar in his sleep he GROWLS! And he knows wherever I put my quilt, so avoidance of the staining is enivitable! *whimper, hugs the ruined quilt*
Kurama: *gently takes the quilt, examines the stains* I'm sure Shiori can wash these right out, Mones...maybe dab on a little sprite to ease the stains and toss it right in the wash...
Anemone: it isn't just the quilt! He is driving me NUTS!
Kurama: but, you know Hiei pretty well...he's come over every day for months now...
Anemone: yeah, but he'd only stay like two hours at a time! I've never actually had him LIVE here...!
Kurama: why not approach him about your annoyances?
Anemone: *sarcasm* gee, I don't know...maybe I fear his Katana!
Kurama: you seriously think he'd strike you down if you asked him to leave?!
Anemone: Kurama...this is Hiei...there's no doubt in my MIND he'd come after me! This house is his only sanctuary from Anneliese and he intends on staying here for the rest of his life! Or at least hers!
Kurama: *heavy sigh, bows head, clasps her shoulders* Mones...talk to him...you obviously despise this arrangment...
Anemone: you hate me, don't you?!
Kurama: what?!
Anemone: you apparently want me MURDERED!
Kurama: huh?! No! I don't want you murdered, Mones! What on Earth gave you THAT idea?!
Anemone: you advised me to go and actually CONFRONT him, Fox! That's freakin' suicide!!
Kurama: *heavy sigh* I'll go with you...if he actually goes that far...I'll get court order to keep him away from you...sound good?
Anemone: YES! Thank you!
Kurama: great...*is about to escort Anemone back into her room...sees readers* Oh! I didn't see you there! Er...as you can see, we have some, 'issues' to work out-
Anemone: -what a freakin' understatement!-
Kurama: -you'd best just go into the chapter...it's all up and ready for you...chapter 31, enjoy.
Chapter 31: Yoko Reborn
Kurama gaped in fear at his father...the wolf...a long, sleek mane of untainted silver, jagged fangs, and piercing claws...he crouched in a low stance used specifically for the battling between animal breeds...he sneered menacingly at his humanoid son, a narrow glare of golden stinging into gaping emerald. "Fight me, boy!"
Kurama was lost of composure and of words. 'he...he's faster than I remember...'
"Get UP, Suichi! Fight me! Or else your little deity will be lost of her lover..."
At the seething mention of Botan, Kurama instantly flashed wolf eyes to his crazed father, the wolf pricking slightly in shock. 'he's more wolf than he thinks...'
Kurama instantly kicked up, and dove whole-heartily at his father. Grapko snarled at Kurama's coming, and lashed his claws for the angered teenager. What should have slit into his heart and lungs merely grazed his chest. 'gah?! Damn, I forgot...that blasted arrow's given him tougher skin to pierce!'
"Interesting..." Hiei jut his lips in thought.
"What is it?" Yusuke turned towards the narrow-eyed dragon, who seemed incredibly absorbed in the battle.
"Kitsune must truly hate his father and lack all respect for him."
"Well duh..." Kuwabara sneered. "How did you figure that out, Shorty?"
"His fighting style, you moron...I already knew Kurama hated Grapko, but he must really lack any and all respect for him as an opponet to actually dive into battle without first studying Grapko's technique..."
"...oh..." Kuwabara blinked.
Kurama smirked slightly before diving to the floor...pressing his hands against the stone, he kicked off, and his feet linking with Grapko's jaw in his graced flip, sending the wolf to the ground with Kurama pinning him down. The son curled himself back and flipped off Grapko's stomach...the instant his feet skid to the ground, Kurama sprinted forward, his gnarled fist prepared to bash into his father's chin. The wolf, however, was ready this time.
Grapko blurred from view, leaving a frustrated humanoid in the dead center of the cavern...open for attack. The wolf was right behind.
"Gah! Kitsune! Behind you!" Hiei roared. Kurama jerked around just in time for the wolf to clench into his red hair and face.
Kurama wriggled stubbornly in Grapko's tightening grip, the wolf pinching harder into his son's skull. Kurama growled a muffled yelp of pain, his eyes and nose pressed firm into his face by his father's palm. Grapko sneered deviously...before plowing Kurama head-first into the floor.
"Ah!" Botan yelped in shock as she watched with fear and worry. "Kurama! No, that isn't fair, Grapko! You're cheating!"
The group was stunned as Kurama's skull dented into the stone, the fully energetic Kitsune growling all the while while awaiting the right moment. Then, it came to pass...Kurama--still being shoved into the stone half a foot deep--slowly drew back his arms, and with a forced jerk straight down, dug his fingers into the stone, stopping him mid-plow. Grapko growled in annoyance...Kurama kicked against the wolf's chest, and flipped to a firm stand...there was only one scuff at his temple from that encounter to the floor. Kurama smirked calmly.
Grapko snarled and growled in frustration...he blurred from view and dug his gripped knuckles into Kurama's stomach. The red-head grit his teeth from the pain, a clot of blood slipping into his clenching teeth and his stunned eyes narrowed. Kurama kicked back, ripping from Grapko's punch. A tender bruise swelled gray at the spot, but he didn't care...he needed to beat Grapko...he needed to win...he needed to get Botan out of here.
Kurama roared ferociously as he sprinted for Grapko again...through his paced run, he stroked a hand into his hair, and shouted with a wavering voice "ROSE WHIP!" With a sting of energy to his lovely flower, the petals tore off and a long, spiked whip graced into the surrounding air. Kurama leapt into a jump high above Grapko's head, ready to strike downwards...the wolf grunted as a smirk tugged at his features...he blurred from his spot, and reappeared directly above Kurama.
The wolf's large fist was about to dig into his son's neck...but Kurama had known Grapko would do this since before he called upon his whip. The fox whirled around just as the punch was about to dive for the back of his neck, lashed his whip around the wolf's wrist, and with a mighty heave, yanked Grapko below him as the two descended for the floor. With the shocked wolf just beneath him, Kurama performed a new, powerful trick with his whip. He gushed it with his energy, the whip now glowing in a stunning emerald gleam...it burned with the intensity of the sun, and Kurama lashed it down into Grapko with his most precise, hard-core slash ever to grace his use to the weapon. Grapko was slit into, a deep, gushing gash down his chest and stomach, singeing from Kurama's energy. The wolf collapsed motionlessly to the floor below, denting hard into the stone, dust and splinters of rock snapping off come impact. Kurama collapsed too, exhausted...and lacking of half his energy. He landed on his upper back, flopping on contact and rolling to his hip in one motion.
"Kurama!" Botan gasped a yell for the still Kitsune.
"Kitsune!" Hiei roared, blurring to the fox's side...Kurama was unconscious. 'that was a smart idea, Red...but not the smartest way to go about it...'
"Well, well, Hiei..." a scoffing growl echoed from behind...Hiei pricked in utter fear, his expression gaping...'oh shit!'
"How are you, my boy?" Grapko licked his teeth. "How's your mother?"
Hiei snarled in the purest of hatred, whirling around viciously with his nimble hand to his Katana's hilt. "Be quiet, beast!"
"I think I figured out your relations to the green-haired demonness," Grapko smirked deviously at the scared dragon.
The dragon pricked...'oh no! Yukina!' Hiei instantly blurred into the air, running with the greatest of his strengths to reach Yukina before...suddenly, he skid from his sprint, a look of total fear and shock slapped across his gaping face...there stood a grinning Grapko...with Yukina clenched against his chest.
"MMPF!" Yukina whimpered loudly through the wolf's hand cupped over her lips, kicking slightly, now that she was three feet off the ground.
"YUKINA!!" Kuwabara roared in shock...Yusuke, Keiko, and Hinegeshi were wide-eyed at the passing happening...Grapko had out-run Hiei into reaching Yukina...and now the mint-haired beauty was meshed against his chest with his hands coiled about her fragile chin and mouth in the center of the cavern, ten yards away from where she had previously stood.
"Kurama!" Hinegeshi called viciously into the cavern. "You have to wake up! You have to help Hiei!" Kurama remained motionless.
"Unhand her, Wolf!!!" Hiei howled. "NOW!"
"She's not your lover, I can tell..." Grapko smirked, gently stroking the side of her face and the girl quivered in stunned terror. "You two look too similar..."
Hiei's glare was narrow as he growled in the depths of his throat.
"I know..." he flared his nostrils as he gripped a sniff of her spiked hair. "You both smell like my former best friend..." he grinned. Yukina eyed Hiei in confusion. 'what?!' she thought.
Botan quivered in her shackles at the scene. 'Yukina! No!'
"You're right, Grapko," Hiei breathed calmly. "That's my little sister."
The group pricked in shock...they had all known...but he actually admitted it?! The only person this was news for...was Yukina. She stared at him in the purest of shock. 'H-Hiei?! Hiei is my brother?!'
"I knew it!" Grapko laughed. "You share a father in that traitor friend of mine! Since you are both his offspring, should I not dispose of you?"
"You hurt her, Grapko...and you will die even slower and more painfully than I had originally planned for..." another voice stung into the air. Kurama...he was standing, and glaring with the narrowest, deadliest gaze he ever forced into his calm, human eyes...about his neck...strung the ruby.
"How...How did you get that ruby?! You didn't have it before!" Grapko snarled.
"Hn," Hiei grunted a smirk at the oblivious wolf. "You fool! While I was by his side, I snuck it to him."
"You're screwed if he unleashes Yoko!" Yusuke sneered.
Grapko pricked slightly in dread. 'He's become a much better fighter since I last fought him...and that was in his Yoko form, half a century ago! The strength Yoko must possess now, if his human counterpart is that strong...it must be equal to my own!'
Kurama walked slowly into the scene...Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, and Hinegeshi were silent...Botan watched on in fear...Hiei stood firm, glaring ruby daggers at Grapko...and the ruby about the Kitsune's neck glowed fiercely.
"Release her, Grapko, or I shall release Yoko," Kurama's eyes were murderous with the way he stared. "Now!"
"You think I fear my hybrid son?!" Grapko growled. "You'd only be a threat to me if you were fully wolf...news flash! You're not! Your fox ancestry has made you weak in comparison to me!" and with that, the wolf clenched tight to Yukina's delicate neck, the girl crying out a muffled whimper of fear.
"Yukina!" Hiei roared. "Unhand her! She's innocent!"
"How is she?!" Grapko tightened his grip about her fragile form. "She is just as quilty as you are!"
"No she isn't you moronic beast!" Hiei countered viciously. "I am the only offspring to your crush and your traitor friend...she merely shares a father with me...we've differing mothers, leave her be!"
"What?!" Grapko gaped. "Your father dared cheat on my beloved ice demonness with another to have this little tramp?!" Hiei growled at the wolf's choice of words.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL HER?!" Kuwabara roared violently, about to charge into the cavern before Yusuke caught him in a firm full nelson. "LET ME GO, URIMESHI! LET, ME, GO!"
"Kuwabara, calm down!" Yusuke wriggled hard to keep the angered youth at bay. "This is Kurama's fight...the only other one allowed to get involved is Hiei...we'll just make the chances worse, you idiot!"
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN URIMESHI NO ONE GETS AWAY WITH CALLIN' MY GIRL A TRAMP!!"
"Our father did not cheat on my mother," Hiei glared insanely narrow ruby daggers at the wolf. "My mother died, and he simply remarried, having Yukina...she is not the threat to you that I am...your grudge is with me, you beast!"
Grapko responded with a smirk and a slight pressure applied to Yukina's neck. Hiei and Kurama pricked slightly, growling in frustration. Yukina trembled in muffled cries.
"Kurama!" Botan grunted. "Change into Yoko!"
Finally, Grapko went too far...he slashed his claws against her delicate ivory neck.
"YUKINA!!!!" Kuwabara wailed in pure sorrow and shock. The entire group was silent as the stunned girl collapsed for the stone floor...until, a blurred mass of blackness stained the air, caught her fragile form, and sped her back to the team. Hiei was trapped in utter rage as redness leaked from her gashed neck. The instant he tucked her delicate figure into Kuwabara's tender, gentle hold, he snarled and whirled around, prepared to unsheath his weapon...when four piercing claws dug into his stomach. Hiei's eyes flashed wide in pain as his kidney was fingered and blood sprayed from his torn flesh. The group gaped.
"H-Hiei..." Yukina whimpered through her gushing sores at her neck. Hiei stood completely still, his expression monotonous and his eyes broad from the stinging pain.
"No! Hiei!" Hinegeshi gasped in horror. Grapko smirked as he tore his claws from the dragon's stomach, Hiei instantly collapsing behind him into Yusuke's arms.
"Flames!" Yusuke stuttered in fear at the unconscious demon in his hold.
"My God, Hiei! Yukina!" Keiko squealed, stroking the Hiei's temple and clenching Yukina's fragile hand.
"No! No, please, Hiei!" Hinegeshi whimpered, falling to her knees by the dragon's side. She gripped his hand firmly, tears threatening to streak her face. "Please! Wake up! Please Hiei!"
Kurama stared in total disbelief, his emerald glare wide and his teeth clenched. "Yukina...Hiei..." the fox murmured in shock. The ruby was now pulsing madly in a shocking shade of scarlet.
"Well, that's one grudge put to rest," Grapko sneered deviously. "The offspring of that traitor friend of mine...both dying."
"How dare you!!" Kurama growled. "How dare you!! You slew two innocent people! They've nothing against you let your insanity!"
"Hiei thinks differently," Grapko smirked.
"He only justified your grudge because of his own inner pains! Pains you cause him! You're a beast!" Kurama roared. "You don't deserve to live!"
"Now, really, boy! Is that any way to speak to your father?" Grapko grinned.
"You're not my father!" Kurama countered violently. "My father was a good, honest man...he was a ningen named Minamino!"
Botan stared at him in awe. 'Kurama...'
Grapko simply glared. "This is why I hate you, Yoko...you're too human."
"Well, we'll just see about that!" Kurama snarled. By now, the ruby glowed just as viciously as the last time he was about to transform into his Yoko form. Grapko grunted hard, not about to let Kurama the time to change into a stronger being. He sprinted off for his hybrid son, but just as his knuckles were about to bash into Kurama's chin, the boy's Spirit Energy flickered violently, and he was engulfed in a calming, yet burning aura, one that caused Grapko to step back from the overwhelming heat. The teenager's eyes were narrow, glowing entirely in the emerald brilliance of his ki.
Glowing green energy stung at his scalp, and his flowing scarlet mane slicked smooth, staining from the roots straight to the ends in glossy silver. His ears slowly pinned against the side of his head, the flesh melting into itself...as his platinum mane fell over those now barren spots, dog like ears stretched from the crown of his head, flicking against his scalp in new exposure. With a crack of his neck, his spine stretched, as did his limbs...another foot was added to his stature. His once sagging pants were now just the right size, and his shirt tore with the slight increase of his compact muscle span. A mass of furry silver ripped through his pants bottoms, flicking against his leg...his bushy wolf-like tail. With a slow, calm blink, he opened his previously energy-saturated eyes to reveal narrow, piercing golden stares, even deadlier than those of Grapko's. The wolf stared in scared awe at Kurama's demonic form...feeling the dramatic increase in Yoko's energy level. The singeing aura about the smirking fox-wolf dimmed, and there stood the terror of the ages...the infamous...the powerful...the ingenious Yoko of Thieves.
"What's wrong, Grapko?" came the raspy, low demonic tone from the teenager's devilish smirk. "Suprised to see me again? Well, dad, I'm back."
%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
*hallway in view, no characters seen*
Kurama and Anemone: AHHHHH!!!! *runs out of her room into the hallway, Anemone behind Kurama, Kurama guarding her with his Rose Whip in hand...random objects being thrown at them from her room, Kurama lashing at them with his whip*
Kurama: HIEI! CALM DOWN!
Hiei: how can I?! I'm being kicked out of my only sanctuary!! I was already pissed at you, Kurama, but now you've just made me MADDER! *throws a lamp*
Kurama: *still lashing things away with his whip* but the living conditions you're causing aren't acceptable to Mones! Think about how she must feel!!
Hiei: *throws a book at them* I'm not mad at her I'm mad at YOU! You're the one who's telling me to leave! It isn't even your place to talk!
Kurama: *knocks book away* but! Anneliese can't be that bad! You didn't even give her a chance!
Hiei: anyone who wants me to pay back an owe by serving as her dog can't be good, Kitsune! *throws her radio-cd player*
Kurama: *wide-eyed, catches radio-cd player* how do you know that?! I mean, for all you know she might have just picked a poor choice of words and she just wants you to do odd jobs for her or something!
Hiei: i'm NOT going to be a slave for a human, Kurama! This is the only place I'm allowed to go to get away from her!
Anemone: Hiei if you throw one more of my things I'm gonna kill you!!
Hiei: *throws his Katana*
Kurama and Anemone: AHHH!! *Kurama pins her to the floor as the unsheathed Katana stabs into the wall*
Kurama: my God...he never usually gets this mad...
Anemone: no freakin' duh!
Kurama: *still on the floor with Mones* Hiei! I'll buy you an ice cream if you stop this little tantrum!
Hiei: *brief pause, growling* damn weakness for ice cream...*sigh* Fine!
Kurama: come on then, we'd better go to the shop now before it closes, Hiei...
Anemone: *whispering* what are you doing, Fox?! He'll be SO pissed if you-
Kurama: -Hiei never stays mad at me for long...he'll get over it...*stands up* come on, then, Hiei.
Hiei: hn...very well.
Anemone: *stares after them as they walk downstairs* Fox is dead...*covers ears*
Hiei: *walks out door, forgetting that he's now vulnerable because he REALLY wants Ice cream, Anemone's house having run out* Hey...wait a second...KURAMA!!
Kurama: *locks Hiei out* Quick Mones! Lock the windows!
Hiei: *banging on door in fear* LET ME IN!
Anneliese: *walking by, gasp* Hiei! You left Anemone's house!
Hiei: AHH!!
Kurama: *back against the door, holding it shut, yells over shoulder through door* Hiei, if you get it over with now, I'm sure it'll all end soon!
Hiei: AHH! *being dragged away*
Anneliese: come on! I'd like some Katana lessons today! Let's go!
Hiei: KURAMA!!!
Anemone: wow, Kurama..he sounds pretty mad...
Kurama: *clears throat* yes, well...I think I'll need to hide out here for a few days until he cools off...
Anemone: *snicker* right...but don't forget...you owe him an ice cream when he comes back...and I suggest you make it a pretty damn big one lol...
Kurama: heh, right...
Anemone: *turns to readers* since Flames is now officially the property of Anneliese *lol* I think I'll just be the one to tell y'all to go review...latrs!
Kurama: goodbye.
*p.s.: hey, fans! Go check out the new story "HIEI, PUTT PUTT, AND EVERYONE ELSE" by Flameology...also known as, Anneliese! lol yes, she's a real person and I fan of mine...I read her story and it's good, so check it out, ppl!*