Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.
It was still quite hot, but the breeze that rustled Kurama's blood red hair was refreshing as he stepped out the door and headed toward Yusuke's house. Hiei would no doubt arrive after he was completely sure Kurama was already there so the fox demon felt no need for hurry.
He stepped out on to the sidewalk at a leisurely pace. For some reason though, Kurama was unable to enjoy the peaceful afternoon. Despite the breeze, the air felt strangely stale and thick. He glanced once, discreetly over his shoulder.
A young couple was having an ardent conversation just outside a small café while an elderly woman walking in the same direction as Kurama held the hand of a small child. Completely ordinary, he thought with some disappointment. Something seemed wrong and it would be more comforting if he could see what it was.
Suddenly, he felt a violent blast of heat just to his right. Kurama tumbled awkwardly away from the full brunt of the attack although he knew he was already injured. The entire right side of his body seemed to throb with the burns he was sure were forming there.
Kurama struggled to his feet. Kiosh stood about twenty yards away grinning strangely. He was much more primal looking than he had been just yesterday. He no longer stood fully up right, putting some of his weight on his now long arms. His purple hair seemed to have grown bushier and more unkempt, and his eyes were now slit vertically, like a cat's.
"Hello, Youko Kurama," he said with a smug grin.
"So you've figured out who I am," Kurama said in a calm, carefully flat, voice. "You'll forgive me if I'm not terribly impressed."
"Would you like me to impress you? I've learned some new tricks that I'm sure you'll find very entertaining." The fire demon leapt suddenly forward landing just a few feet from Kurama, who took an unintentional step backwards.
Kiosh, however, was more interested in the couple Kurama had noticed a few moments ago. The woman was lying on the concrete where she had fallen after Kiosh's initial attack. The man was unconscious and the woman leaned over him protectively as she watched the monstrous demon with wide eyes.
With ferocious speed, Kiosh's massive hand grabbed the woman who sobbed once and tried to wretch herself away. Kiosh maintained his grasp as he reached his free hand to the woman's face. His huge hand covered her face and muffled her scream.
Kurama watched with lurid fascination and unable to move, as there was a slight glow beneath Kiosh's palm. The woman ceased struggling and went limp. Kiosh shuddered once and his eyes rolled up into his head as he absorbed her energy. When he threw the body from him, Kurama immediately recognized the sickening thud of dead weight.
Life energy, he thought in the closest thing to panic he had felt in a very long time. If he is able to drain life energy, my barriers cannot protect me.
As if he could sense Kurama's line of thinking, Kiosh grinned wickedly, causing his already disfigured face to become more ugly. "I don't think it would be wise for you to put up barriers around your life energy. Come, Kurama, let's have a real fight. Fight me with your youki."
He's baiting me, Kurama thought quickly. He can sap my youki from a distance, but he needed to touch that woman, skin to skin, to drain life energy. He glanced around quickly. A crowd was starting to gather and no wonder with all the commotion.
There are too many targets for him here; I must draw him away from all these people, he thought as he launched into a headlong run. Whatever Kiosh had expected, it was not retreat, and Kurama took full advantage of the precious seconds his shock afforded him.
The former fox demon was sure he was faster than the enraged fire demon, but he was injured. His entire right side throbbed with every jarring step.
"You cannot run forever!" Kurama heard Kiosh shout from somewhere behind him. He did not look back as he thought, That is not my plan.
A few moments later, as Kurama could hear the fire demon closing the gap between them, he found himself in the secluded forest outside Genkai's temple. In one fluid motion, he skidded to a halt and turned to face his pursuer.
Without slowing down, the lumbering fire demon gathered a huge ball of fire and threw it towards Kurama, who dodged it easily, landing in a tree branch above him.
"Kurama!" the demon bellowed. "Fight me like a demon! You are like a cat fighting with out claws."
"I am not a cat," Kurama said in the same tranquil tone he had used earlier. "I am a fox, and I need no claws." He reached behind his back and pulled out a thick, brown coil. Kiosh eyed him warily. "I would not dream of wasting my power on a coward like you."
Kurama unwound the coil slowly as Kiosh watched him. When he finally recognized the object Kurama held, he laughed. "An ordinary nigen whip, Kurama? You have sunk lower than I imagined into that human form of yours if you are willing to use a stupid little whip against me!"
It was true this weapon was much cruder than his rose whip, but he was extremely adept with either. He only hoped he could hold off the demon until Hiei realized something was wrong. With a quick leap Kurama landed on the ground below.
From there the fight began in earnest. Kiosh threw fireballs left and right, although none were as large as his initial two. Kurama stayed focused on dodging and moving in closer. Whenever he got close enough, he'd lash out at Kiosh's unprotected legs and arms, inflicting minor damage.
Although his mind was usually blank and completely focused when he fought, Kurama felt a wave of anger rise in him. Without his demon energy, he was more susceptible to his human emotions. This demon had no right to become stronger by exploiting and killing humans.
Kurama! He suddenly heard Hiei's voice ringing through his mind. It was almost deafening. Where are you?
Hiei? He thought sluggishly as he dodged another attack. Kurama struggled to form a lucid answer. Forest, outside Genkai's temple. He immediately felt the connection between them snap and he threw himself fully back into the fight.
~*~*~*~
Stupid, stupid kitsune, Hiei thought. He knew the thought was irrational, that Kurama had not sought out the demon on his own, but somehow, he couldn't help but think it.
Hiei had left Yusuke far behind. The human's speed was significantly less than his, and he did not have time to wait up for him. When he reached the dense forest, the small demon paused, sensed the now familiar youki of Kiosh, and sprinted off again.
The two were fighting in a clearing obviously created by Kiosh's pyrotechnics. Hiei could immediately see that the kitsune was losing this fight. He continued to evade his opponent's attacks gracely, but he dodged predictably to left whenever possible as his right side appeared to be badly injured.
Just as Hiei came to the clearing, Kurama suddenly staggered as his foot caught on a rock and he went down on one knee. Kiosh grinned triumphantly and raised his arms, gathering dark flames between his hands. Kurama struggled to his feet, his crimson hair obscuring his face.
Without thought Hiei launched himself toward his stooped friend and the two hurtled away from the blast of Kiosh's attack. Hiei landed in a crouch and Kurama hit the ground without his usual grace.
"Stay here!" Hiei hissed quickly before he drew his katana and began his own assault on the grotesque fire demon.
Kurama stood awkwardly, keeping most of his weight on his left foot. Just then, he saw Yusuke enter the clearing. Without further thought, the teen fired off his spirit gun. Kiosh saw it coming though and suddenly intense blue flames enveloped him completely. Yusuke's blast seemed to bounce harmlessly off of Kiosh's awesome defenses.
The flames disappeared and immediately Hiei jumped, his katana raised. Kiosh turned again, this time throwing a hard punch where Hiei's leap would have taken him. But the small demon used Kiosh's huge fist as a surface to leap from. His feet pushed neatly off and the momentum of the punch tossed him back in the air several yards where he landed in a crouch.
They will not win this way, Kurama thought dismayed. Kiosh is drawing on almost limitless energy and strength alone will not best him. Kiosh had burned his whip to a crisp during the fight, so there was little Kurama could do. Kurama threw his mind back to all of his encounters with the fire demon, trying to find some flaw in his technique.
He frowned suddenly as a plan formed in his mind. It was reckless as hell, no doubt Yusuke would approve, but did it have enough of a chance to work? With a glance at his teammates he realized this might be their only chance. Without any more hesitation, Kurama took off at a full sprint toward Kiosh.
"You've got one shot, Yusuke!" he yelled. Kiosh half turned, but Kurama was already upon him. With a quick leap, Kurama's fist closed around the pendant at Kiosh's throat, just as he tore down the barrier blocking his youki. Intense pain blossomed behind his eyes and he thought he may have screamed, but blackness took over his entire world in an instant.
A/N: I am so sorry this chapter took me so long. I hate to leave things unfinished, but I just started college, and I'm sure you can appreciate how chaotic the last two weeks have been. Again, sorry. I had almost forgotten that I needed to finish this until I got an irate review telling me to get back to typing. I lied in the last chapter. I did not imagine that this chapter would be so long and I did not get to the point I wanted to leave off. So I'm scraping the epilogue idea and I'll just have one final chapter, which I will hopefully be able to write on labour day.