AN: I can't remember the last time I even updated this story. So, I want to apologize to all you readers out there and thank you for your patience. And since I'm writing now, I want to leave a message to everyone reading my other fic, Dark Lust. The story was started on short-lived inspiration. I thrive on inspiration, so it may be hard for me to continue. I know this might upset some of you, and I'm really sorry. But when my writing is forced, it sounds like a bad Téa speech...And I know a certain fox who can't stand her awful speeches...So, with that out of the way, onto the disclaimer!

Hiei:Oh, so now we don't get to talk anymore?

Me:I never said that...

Hiei:::points to paragraph::Look at that! Are you writing a fic or a documentary?

Me:-.-

Kurama:You're both just wasting space now...

Hiei:You stay out of this fox...

Kurama:u.u

Me:Forget it...

Disclaimer:Okay! Well, if you didn't get it the last 6 times we've said it, then here's a seventh! I don't own YuYu Hakusho! Good! Now onto the fic!

~~~~~Daring Revolution~~~~~

~~~Yusuke's Pov~~~

"Are you just going to stand there, or do you want to know who the hell is trying to kill us?" Hiei said as the realization of what had just happened set in.

"Someone actually tried to kill us..." Kurama...someone knew that Kurama had overheard the conversation in the alley. They sent someone after us knowing that we'd go back to Shiri. Maybe..."Maybe this is why Shiri was acting so mysterious about everything."

Kurama finally stood up shakily. After he found his footing, he turned to me. "It would seem he didn't want the villagers to know his true intent, nor us. In a way, he's been protecting not only himself, but us." I saw Hiei huff out of the corner of my eye. He obvious didn't like someone inferring that he needed protecting.

"So what should we do?" The red head shifted the basket strap on his shoulder.

"I say we go back to Shiri, tell what we heard and see what he has to say about it." Everyone nodded in agreement. "Alright then, lets--." What was...

"What is it, Yusuke? Wait..."Kurama sniffed the air cautiously. "Fire..." His eyes were set upon the village in the distance. "Someone's set fire to the town center."

"No kidding. It's near the place we stayed in." They must be going after Shiri! "We gotta hurry!"

~~~Kurama's Pov~~~

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. The thought of my being suspicious of Shiri made me feel the deepest guilt. All this time he was only looking for someone to protect him. As much as he tried to play the role of an adult, the child he was could not hide away forever.

I prayed that we were not too late. I would never forgive myself if we let him down. He came to us for help and we could not fail him. He was too young, too innocent to die now. I would not let it happen. Never...

"Nothing's going to happen to anyone, Kurama..." Nani? I turned to see Hiei running next to me. I had almost forgotten...

"Hiei...I...thank you for saving me." He nodded and smiled sweetly at me. Our time here had begun to show a side of Hiei I had never known. It made all the danger worth coming...

~~~Yusuke's Pov~~~

Dust flew up at our footsteps as we raced to the town center. The fire was spreading quickly toward the town's main hall. The thought of the gold-satiated building being destroyed tore me apart. I mean, what a waste! The villagers really were just a bunch of big, stupid idiots...

We rounded the last corner and found ourselves staring into the dancing flames of an immense inferno. Fire was lapping at the nearby buildings. Several had already fallen into heaps of ash and charred remains. Some people panicked, other's looked on in amazement while others still merely stared, unemotional and unaffected by the devastation. It was easy now to pick out the traitors of the town.

That maid from breakfast came running from the town hall as a support beam collapsed, catching its doorway on fire. Shiri must still be inside... "Come on! I don't think we have much time!" I ran toward the building and stopped dead in my tracks as the door frame gave way. "Damn it! How are we supposed to get in now?!?" I clenched my fists at my side. That was when Hiei stepped next to me. "Hiei..."

"I can move fast enough not to get burnt. Besides..." He turned to me, "I'm a fire demon. I don't have much to worry about..." The fire demon disappeared through a curtain of flames.

"Hiei...please be safe..." Kurama whispered as he stared into the erratically shifting flames.

~~~Hiei's Pov~~~

"Damn it...the *cough* smoke." I didn't expect the room to be so thickly veiled so soon. The rolling clouds of fumes blanketed my vision and hindered my speed. I jumped back as another piece of the doorway collapsed. I felt a gentle heat near my Jagan and ripped my smoking headband off. It blackened to ash in the intense heat. Oh well, I'd be able to see better with my third eye anyway.

I began looking frenetically through the hallway. I glanced down at our rooms. Ice...No, I couldn't worry about that now. But...I wanted to save this place. Somehow, that room...

"Eh...err...damn! Someone! Someone help me! I...*ching* get loose!" I whipped around to see Shiri chained to the gold table. His people sure did hate him...

"Managed to get yourself into quite a spot, didn't you?" I said as I came to stop in front of the table." I stood aimlessly. Shiri was overcome with disbelief.

"You ostentatious jerk! Don't just stand there like that! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" He screamed as he struggled violently against his restraints.

I blinked, wide eyed at his integrity. Oh well, mine as well hurry up... "Yeah, yeah. Just keep your clothes on kid..." I said as I withdrew my katana and leisurely cut through the metal links. "There, happy?" Huh?

~~~Shiri's Pov~~~

"Hiei! Move!" I dove straight at the demon, knocking him off his feet. A flaming heap of debris crashed where my abhorrent ally had stood moments before. He met my hateful gaze with his own contempt. "See what you get?"

"Hn. You're right. I shouldn't have even bothered trying to save you." He scowled at me. Forget him. I wasn't going to just stand there and die. I gauged my path. Flames curved along the walls, but there was a clear shot. It was now or never. "See ya!"

"Shiri, don't!" He said as I ran as fast as I could to the exit. "The ceiling!"

~~~Kurama's Pov~~~

"Hiei, no!" I watched, paralyzed, as the roof slowly collapsed on itself. "Hiei..." There...there was no way he could have made it out. He's... "...gone." I fell to my knees. The bitter irony of it all for a fire demon to fall to his own element. Why...

"Kurama, don't give up! Hiei wouldn't just let himself die, you know that!"

I stared up at the raven-haired boy. His deep brown eyes were filled with the hope that Hiei had somehow made it. "You're right, Yusuke. It will take more than a bit of fire to defeat him." I had to have faith in him.

Please Hiei. Please just be alright. I can't lose you now...

"Come on shrimp. You can't just go and die on us like this!"

I gazed into the raging firestorm, desperately searching for some sign of him. A silhouette, a blur of black, even a flicker of movement. Nothing came. My hopes began to die with the embers around my feet. A weak glow growing weaker every eternal second. Life came to a standstill. I felt each arduous beat of my heavy heart exhausting my enervated body.

I dug my fingers into the hard soil, holding back my pain. Then I heard it. I raised my head to see Hiei walking almost casually out of the building with Shiri thrown over his shoulder. "Hiei..."

~~~Hiei's Pov~~~

Kurama looked as though he had just seen a ghost. I noticed his eyes looking over me, obviously for any injury. "Will you quit staring, I'm fine." I walked over to the others and set Shiri down. "Hn. No thanks to the brat, though."

"Oh yeah, *cough* blame it on me. Weren't you the one just standing around when I was yelling for help?"

"It's not my fault you let yourself get chained to a table. You're lucky I even volunteered to save you."

"Like you would offer to go in after me!"

"Idiot! I did! Now I'm starting to regret it though..." All of that and the little brat was still ungrateful. Figures...

"Shiri, Hiei did step forward and offer to save you of his own accord."

"He..."Shiri turned his eyes down. "Please excuse my insolence. I merely didn't believe you would commit such a selfless act...

"Hn...I guess...I guess I shouldn't have been such a...a jerk." I slumped as I spoke.

The next thing I knew, Yusuke had his arm around my neck. "Well now, we're improving I see."

"Shut up." I said, not really meaning it. Everyone was smiling, even Shiri. Something about it just felt right. I looked around. All the flames had begun to die down as villagers had been throwing sand on all the hot spots. The old woman from the restaurant, the weapon smith, the young man, even the children from the alley smiled knowingly at me. I gave them a playful grin as if to remind them of my debt.

And one smile stood out among the rest to me, and it happened to belong to a certain fox. His steady gaze never lifted from me. I couldn't have felt more comforted by anything at the moment. I let out a gentle sigh as I met him eye to eye.

"Guys! Remember what we came here for!"

Dammit. Why did that puffy-haired idiot always have to ruin everything? "Hn. Shiri, we need to talk...."