Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.
Quick note, there are some flashback scenes in this chapter. They are all done in italics. If this is confusing or difficult to read, let me know in a review, and I'll come up with some other way to set them off.
Kurama allowed his concentration to split. Half of him was working with heavy vine digging through the ceiling above as they supported the tunnel he created. The other half of him was waiting for Yusuke or Hiei to question him. He was rather surprised they had not already.
With a weary sigh, Kurama leaned back against the stone casket behind him. He could hear Yusuke over him, examining the skeleton inside the casket. Hiei was leaning against the wall across from him with his head down and his eyes closed.
"Did you get the pendant?" Yusuke asked suddenly.
Kurama closed his eyes. "No."
The unblemished silver glinted against Kurama's hand as he pulled the pendant away from the skeletal neck of the demon in the large casket. It was really quite lovely, he thought. That picture does not do it justice.
There was the sound of leather padding softly on dirt behind him, and Kurama spun around. A tall demon stood at the tunnel doorway. Fairly human looking, the only sign he was actually a demon was the long, pointed pair of ears that stuck out from his deep purple hair. The demon looked surprised to see Kurama, but he quickly prepared for a fight. Kurama felt his youki spike.
Although from what Kurama could sense this demon did not present much of a challenge, he was not one to underestimate his opponents. He lifted his hand to his hair to grasp the grasp his rose. The other demon's eyes stayed narrowed on the silver pendant held in Kurama's left hand.
"There's no need for you to die here," Kurama said softly. Anymore, he tried to avoid adding to the blood on his hands. "You cannot win this fight." The demon only smiled.
"Why not?" Hiei said gruffly without opening his eyes. Kurama could tell from his tone he was still angry about his interference in Hiei's fight.
"Another demon came after it. He took it and left," Kurama answered simply.
"You lost a fight?" Hiei's bright eyes snapped open to regard him. There was a small smile on his face. Yes, he was definitely still angry.
"It happens from time to time," Kurama said curtly and his normally smiling eyes narrowed dangerously. "This demon had…abilities that complicated things."
As soon as Kurama pulled his rose whip out, his opponent began radiating a dense heat. A fire demon, then, Kurama thought with mild surprise. Immediately though, he began to feel something else. An almost feverish heat pounded behind Kurama's eyes.
The fight began in earnest. The fire demon used mostly martial art skills, trying to land punches on Kurama with his fists which radiated with his energy. Kurama dodged sluggishly. His vision was getting hazy and he was beginning to feel as if there was a fire burning him from the inside.
Suddenly, Kurama felt the change coming on. That familiar split second of agony, the shift and suddenly silver hair flowed in front of Kurama's eyes instead of red. But instead of the feeling of immense power rushing through him that came with becoming the youko, he felt only drained.
He tripped on his suddenly longer legs and fell, hitting the dirt floor with his cheek. The haze had not lifted and he saw double as the fire demon approached him with a wicked smile. A sudden kick in the ribs sent the semi-conscious youko flying. He half hit the casket behind him, and he felt blood running down his leg.
"Why did Koenma send you two after me?" Kurama asked. Changing the subject, hm? Hiei thought to himself.
Yusuke, not picking up on this answered, "After three days, can you blame pacifier-breath for worrying?"
"Three days!" Kurama exclaimed in surprise. His emerald eyes were wide with disbelief.
With a sigh under his breath, Hiei stood completely and walked over to where Kurama was sitting. With his hands crossed over his chest, the demon looked down at Kurama for a moment. "Perhaps you had better just tell us what happened."
Yusuke came around from where he had been standing behind the stone casket. With both of them looking down at him like that, Kurama could not help but feel as though he were being interrogated. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Just after I had the pendant, another demon, a fire demon, came in through the tunnel. His youki was minimal so I was not particularly worried although he did seem determined to get the pendant." Kurama closed his eyes as he continued.
"He did something to me. And I changed into my youko form. In stead of getting stronger though, I was much weaker." Kurama opened his eyes and looked at Hiei with a piecing, questioning look. "I have never experienced or heard of such an ability."
Yusuke looked at Hiei as well. The abilities of fire demons seemed to be Hiei's department of expertise. With a small shrug, Hiei turned away from them and went back to leaning against the far wall.
"Then what happened?" asked the spirit detective as he slumped down next to Kurama.
"I don't remember," Kurama answered. "He took the pendant, and I must have lost consciousness because the next thing I knew, I could feel Hiei fighting above me. I was Suuichi again."
The three waited in silence for a few moments. Yusuke watched Kurama. The fox demon had sounded…confused and that something he had never heard in Kurama's normally detached voice.
"I'm through," Kurama said abruptly. He stood awkwardly and walked over to the spot on the wall where his vines clung. "Smallest first," he said with a smile to Hiei.
The smaller demon growled slightly under his breathe, but quickly started climbing up the thick vines that led up to a dark opening in the ceiling. Kurama smiled to himself before he began his ascent up the wall.
A/N: See, that didn't take me as long! I hope the flashback scenes weren't too confusing, but I kind of like the way that turned out. And questions abound in my reviews! Thank you, I love it when people question my plot because then I know that I'm tickling your curiosity. Anyway, please leave me more feedback!