Brotherhood of the Fox

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha

Part Eight: Assembling the Team

"We're too late!" Yusuke yelled watching in anger as King Enma's army disappeared into a portal. "Come on, we have to catch up with them!" Yusuke yelled taking off at a sprint before a black blur appeared in front of him.

"Hiei?" Kuwabara yelled halting immediately behind Yusuke, and giving the small demon a strange look.


"Come with me to the hag's temple. There is much we have to discuss if we are to come up with a plan to save the fox," Hiei stated turning and strolling towards Genkai's temple. "Hurry," Hiei yelled turning around and glaring at the two humans that still stood rooted to the same spot. Yusuke and Kuwabara exchanged glances before taking off after Hiei.

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"I knew that you would be coming," Genkai stated sipping out of her tea cup calmly.

"What is going on?" Yusuke demanded falling into a sitting position on a mat across from the old women.

"Tell me Yusuke, just how much do you know about the Warring States period?" Genkai questioned.

"I don't know, it's the time period that many of the old temples were made from, but other then that it's pretty boring," Yusuke said shrugging his shoulders.

"The Warring States period was a time period were demons and humans coexisted. It was the time before spirit world, and the demon world was created," Genkai said.

"Thanks for the history lesson grandma, but what does this have to do with Kurama?" Yusuke demanded.

"It has everything to do with the current situation. The demon Koenma ordered you to capture is not from this time. Inuyasha has been dead for hundreds of years, he was killed when the three worlds were created," Genkai said holding back her annoyance so that she wouldn't stray from the current situation.

"How do you know all this?" Kuwabara asked watching as Genkai sighed and put the cup down.

"My great grandmother was Kikyo's and Kaede's cousin. The story of the two priestesses have been passed down to me, and I am the only human left who knows the truth of what happened in that time frame," Genkai said pausing and looking upward. "I knew that this would happen when Yukina told me about the prisoners she treated. It didn't take me long to realize who they were, and what they meant to Kurama," Genkai said softly.

"Enough with the hinting, just tell me already," Yusuke demanded.

"There is no need to, you can ask them yourself," Genkai said looking past where Hiei was leaning against the wall, toward the entrance of her temple, where a group of people stood looking around the room cautiously. "Welcome to my temple," Genkai greeted causing Yusuke and Kuwabara to spin around defensively.

"Good, I'm glad to see that you are all here, that will help speed things along," Botan said pushing her way past the two dog demons till she was standing in between the two groups.

Genkai nodded before standing up, and brushing down her uniform. "Sesshomaru, you can leave Rin here. I promise that she will be well protected. Shippo and Jaken, I suggest that you two stay here too," Genkai said looking over at the remainder of the people left. "The rest of us better get going, I fear that we don't have much time. King Enma will show no mercy, and we still have a long battle ahead of us before we can rescue Kurama," Genkai said turning to look at Yukina who had just entered the room. "Yukina, we will be needing your healing powers," Genkai said getting a nod of understanding.

Without another word, the group disappeared into the night.

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Koenma raced through the halls of his father's castle. Orange rays from the morning light slowly lighted his way, casting the hallway into an eerie reddish glow.

Son,

Come to the lower levels of my castle. There is something I want you to see.

Koenma clutched the note in his hand. His heart pounded forcefully against his chest, and he gasped for oxygen as he continued his journey to lower and darker parts of the castle. He wanted to turn away, knew that whatever his father wanted to show him wouldn't be pleasant, but he couldn't disobey a direct order, and anyways, he already had a bad feeling that he knew what his father wanted to show him. A second later, his fear was clarified as a familiar scream filled the castle.

Koenma halted in his tracks. Leaning against the wall, he slowly began to shake in disgust before he took off faster then before. Guilt filled him while he thought of the many ways he could have possibly prevented this. His long teenage legs pounded against the ground, causing the sound of his footsteps to echo throughout the long corridor.

Too soon, Koenma found himself at the entrance of the dungeons. Taking a deep sigh, and brushing himself down to a more presentable appearance, Koenma pushed open the door, and was immediately assaulted by the sound of a whip cracking against bare flesh.

Koenma gulped in horror as he caught sight of the silver fox demon chained to a pillar in the center of the room. The flawless white flesh of the demon was now covered in bloody lacerations and blackened in deep bruises. The white robe was ripped, exposing the fox's perfectly formed body.

Another crack filled the room, knocking the fox into the beam from the force. Koenma's legs grew weak, and he felt himself sink to the ground as he watched the punishment unfold.

"Take a good look Koenma. This is the only way to deal with criminals. You can't show them any pity. Putting criminals on probation in exchange for their services is foolish."

Koenma raised his eyes toward where his father was watching the torture before him. A sadistic smile was evident on the giants large face, and his eyes twinkled in joy at every agonized whimper the fox tried to prevent.

"Stop this!" Koenma yelled pushing himself to his feet, and staring at Kurama in pity.

Two dulled golden eyes met the young lord's brown ones, before they were shut in agony. "Please father, stop this, this is immoral," Koenma begged.

A look of disgust crossed the giant's face before he rouse to his feet and glared down at his son. "You have no authority to tell me what to do. I've been waiting to do this for a long time," King Enma said turning to the large red demon holding onto the whip. "Retrieve the jewel from him," King Enma demanded sitting back down and leaning forward in anticipation.

Koenma watched in confusion as Kurama was unchained from the beam, then strapped down to a surgical table.

"What Jewel? The only thing he has is his robes," Koenma pointed out watching as his father seemed to beam even more.

"The Jewel is inside of him," King Enma announced causing the color to drain from Koenma's face before the red demon plunged his clawed hand into the fox's abdomen. A pain filled cry erupted from Kurama as the red demon mercilessly clawed through organs in order to find the jewel.

Koenma released a horrified scream, before he leaped forward toward the tortured fox. "Stop it! You're killing him!" Koenma yelled before he was grabbed roughly by his father. "No! Stop it!" Koenma yelled trying to break free, but his struggle weakened when the red demon pulled out a jewel triumphantly. Koenma watched sadly as Kurama's struggling stopped, and his Youko form reverted back to Shuuichi. Shuuichi's green eyes met Koenma's again, before all life left them.

TBC.