The Welder of BlackFire:

Thorn's New Life-The Legend Lives

Chapter Four: A Mysterious New Ally

Yusuke bolted down the stairs and out the hotel. He looked around, searching for GenKai.

"Yusuke Urimeshi.." came a voice to his right. He looked over to see a large group of demons surrounding a girl, who was in a fighting stance and looked ready to beat them all into the ground. Her hair was long and flowing to her waist where it danced slightly as she shifted her weight on her right heel and her eyes were bright green. "GenKai is not too far, about a mile into the sun. You'll find her easily enough." The young woman smiled, the look in her eye was sly and cunning as she watched the demons that had begun to close in, not paying attention to the boy behind them, almost as they didn't see him. "You had better go," she said, and with a nearly unnoticable twitch of her hand, the demon's moved in, obscuring her.

"Hey!" the spirit detective started before being cut off.

"Go," she said, thuds accenting her voice as she beat on the mass around her. "I can take care of myself."

With growing anxiety the boy turned and raced into the woods to find his mentor.

*(Fore warning here! I HAVE NO CLUE HOW THE DARK TURNAMATE ENDS, THIS IS JUST THE ENDING I CREATED!)

"Hello Keonma," says a girl, around fifteen, standing in front of the Prince. She was leaning against the wall to his right, hidden in deep shadows. Keonma, in his teenaged form, looked up, binky bobbing as he spoke.

"Who are you?" he asked, turning from the blue Ogre at his side. The girl smiled at him and steps forward.

"My name? You can call me Thorn. But there are more important matters.." she said softly, her voice a melodious song to the prince's ears. At this he straightened.

"Oh! I need to get to the arena!" the prince said, and started forward, only to be stopped by the girl, who straighted and stood up, her crossed arms dropping to her sides.

"That's what I'm here to talk to you about, sir," she said placidly, her voice hinting sarcasim.

"I don't have time for this!" said the boy hotly, but his statement only proved to widen her sad smile.

"Yes you do. I'm here to save your skin, and here you are pushing me away," she said almost seductivly.

He eyed her wearily, her long, brown-black hair glinting in the shadows of the tunnel that lead out into an arena that held the ruler's team, who was short one player thanks to an unfortunate end to Gen Kai. A black, iron emblem glinted at her throat, its serpentine body coiled in hot anger, its eyes made of bright sapphire chips.

"What do you mean?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Now you don't want to risk your hide out there do you, Keonma? I'm here so you don't have to. You can go back upstairs and sit in your comfortable chair and watch the fight. I'll take Gen Kai's position in the Turnament." She stepped closer to him, out of the majority of shadows.

"What makes you think I can trust you?" he asked wearily. She grinned.

"What makes you think you can't?" she asked cunningly. "I mean, I am human, down here in a world of demons. You think I don't know how to survive? Besides, it wouldn't matter. Those stubborn boys wouldn't let me fight anyway, and you know that as well as I do, don't you?" she asked quizzically, but not expecting an answer, so the boy was cut off when she continued. "I'll just be there as a substitute, just incase something goes amiss." Her green eyes bore into his, convincing him. 'Why not? It'll save your skin...because there is always that chance that it'll come to you fighting....'

He shook his head, breaking from her gaze. He glanced back at her.

"I am a healer of sorts as well, and I'm sure there will be plenty of pieces to mend when this battle is done," she said.

"Hmm," was all the prince said. She looked up at him, her five-foot three not measuring up to the tall lord, but her gaze intimidating. Fear quickened its step up his spine. He was only, at heart, a toddler after all.

"Sir, what are you going to do? Surely you can't trust her!" said the silent blue ogre in a trench coat, who had come to his master's side.

"And what makes you think we can't? If she pulled anything, then anyone on the team could take care of it. And she's right when she says that they wouldn't let her fight." He sighed. "Yes, I suppose she could take my place." He turned his head at the mumbling from the Ogre, giving him a fierce glare. "What was that Ogre?" he quipped.

"Oh nothing, Sir!" he said, waving his hands, and sweat-dropping, proving he was indeed not thinking about nothing.

"Very well, Thorn," said the prince, nodding. "Go. But if you pull anything...." he threatened. The girl tilted her head in a nod.

"Yes, Koenma, I am quite aware of your power. Nothing will happen." And with that, she turned and walked toward the door, from which behind its thick walls came angry shouts. The prince followed her, to tell the team of what was conversing.

The door opened, revealing a large dome, lined with shouting and cheering demons that brayed for a bloody fight. On a large arena stood a reptilian girl who was trying in vain to quiet the crowd. The Urameshi team turned.

"Yo, who is that?" asked Kuwabara, a tall, carrot-topped fighter with extraordinary scences for tracing spirit energy.

"This is your new team member, Kuwabara," said Keonma, walking from the shadows and looking at all of them knowingly.

"But she's a girl!" screeched the boy, staring.

"I'm sure he's aware of that you dolt," replied the quiet Hiei with his crimson eyes looking at the new-comer.

"I am," replied the prince. Thorn smirked at this, looking over the team.

"Ah, team Urameshi? The rules state that a new member can only enter the team if the former one was killed," the announcer said, her turguoise tail twitching nervously.

Thorn turned to Yusuke, who was clearly pained by this statement. The girl straightened and walked forward, toward the arena, her soft, leather, tie-up boots silent on the grass. She walked up to the announcer, putting her back to the team, revealing a glistening double-edged broad sword the glowed a faint bluish tint in the dim light. Her short, black leather skirt and single-strap top, which was leather as well, shifted easily with her graceful movements, her hair swaying down to her waistline in a ever-flowing waterfall. Her left hand began to slowly close by her side as she walked forward proudly, her head high and determined. Yusuke's eyes closed involentarily and he shook his head to block out all sound.

"Team Urameshi's fifth fighter, GenKai, met with her end not too long ago. I am here to take her place as the fifth fighter for the team," the girl explained, her soothing voice was clear, even over the roar of the crowd, to the team. All but for Yusuke. The announcer nodded, acknowledging Thorn's words. The girl turned and walked back, her fist unclenching slowly as she smiled almost sweetly.

Yusuke's eyes opened and he turned to Koenma.

"You coward!" he hissed, advancing toward the brown-haired boy.

"She asked me, Yusuke, not the other way around. Besides, she doesn't need to fight, just sit on the sidelines," the prince spoke simply.

The girl walked over to the cement wall and leaned against it.

"Koenma, your chair is getting cold," she said, a smirk tracing her features. With a glare, the young ruler walked away, leaving the rest of the team in disgust or confusion, but for the girl. She yawned and leaned against the solid wall paciently, eyes staring straight ahead into nothingness. Yusuke glanced at her, reconizing something about her, but not quite placing it.

"Will the first fighter for the Urameshi Team step forward please?!" cried the announcer. The dark red-head Kurama stepped forward. The fight was harsh and bloody, but Kurama prevailed, with the help of his plant weapons. His wounds were so great, he nearly dropped there on the arena.

"And the Urameshi Team is the winner of the first fight!" declared the announcer flatly.

Thorn stepped forward without a word. She stared crossly at the wounded boy, her gaze intense.

'Get up. I don't want to have to waste my energy levitating you out just so I could use more energy healing your wounds!'

The words rang clear and almost coaxing, like the stern voice of a mother. He looked up to the strange girl staring at him with green eyes that now were tinted a faint glow of cobalt. He stood up and stumbled over to the edge of the arena, where he slid from the stone arena floor. He leaned his back against the arena's cool stone as her right hand rested on his left shoulder. It glowed a fierce and comforting blue around him. His eyes closed as the waves of warmth spread around him. The girl mumbled, he couldn't make out her words, but they sounded touched with annoyance. But she didn't seem to be talking to him. Her words were met with answering hums and buzzes.

'It must be my head,' he thought.

The team watched as Thorn went about caring to Kurama.

"The second fighter for the teams please step forward!" said the pink-clad announcer into the microphone, her voice thundering over the booing voices of thousands of demons. Hiei stepped forward without hesitation.

Kurama awoke to the level gaze of the long-haired girl.

"I thought you might have wanted to see Hiei's fight," she said coolly. His large green eyes opened slowly, and his body tensed, ready to feel the pain that must surely would sear through his body. "Relax, the majority of your wounds are healed, if a little crudely. But its enough so that you can walk over there," she said, pointing to the wall she had been leaning on earlier, which proved a good viewing spot. "And stay awake to watch him battle." Kurama nodded and got up slowly, much to the amazement of the rest of the team.

"But he was hurt," said Kuwabara, awed. "She must have healing powers like Yukina."

"Yeah, guess so," spoke Yusuke, realizing now that Koenma had thought that the girl would be a better addition to the team then himself spacifically for that reason, that she could heal. He watched her uncertainly.

Thorn walked Kurama over to the cement wall, and bid him to sit on the grass to watch the fight. He did as he was told. She stood beside him, guarding him like a mother hen would her chicks.

The battle was intense, but the victor proved to be Hiei. He walked out of the arena, although, like Kurama, he was badly injured. Again Thorn walked forward to the arena's edge. Her glare pierced into the demon's mind, her gaze assesing the damage. She sighed almost innoticably and the broad sword on her back hummed a soft tune.

'You don't go lightly do you Hiei? Its all or nothing for you isn't it?' a soft voice asked, a tisking clicking in the fire-youkai's mind. His head jerked toward the healing girl, who stood at the edge of the cement platform. His scarlet eyes were cold as he glared down at her, knowing that it was her voice that blended in his mind softly. Their eyes met, a meeting filled with seething electricity as the demon's fiery eyes met with her cool jade ones. Their stare of wills battled for a few moments before the youkai's savage wounds reminded him they still existed and made him tear his gaze away and grit his teeth.

'Come out of the arena and I will treat your wounds,' cooed the voice. At this his gaze fastened to her face, but she was no longer looking at him, but past him at the brutially severed body that was slowly soaking the floor a sickening red, burnishing the stones with liquid rays of life, and the ending of it. He stood straighter and exited the arena without a word, but when the girl began to approach, he shot her a warning glare, his Jagan Eye glowing from its position in his forehead. Her soft gaze turned hard and stubborn and began to glow a faint bluish hue, matching the sword's mist. The demon turned away and began to walk, well, limp, away from the arena's edge.

The girl's eyes narrowed and her sword began to buzz pleadingly. A small twitch of her head rendered it silent. She closed her eyes and hardened her jaw, yet expression was still strangely soft.

She closed her eyes and the retreating form of the black-haired youkai paused, his step quaking. She opened her eyes and twitched her hand; Hiei stopped. Her eyes narrowed once again, their depths a burnishing azure. She rose her chin higher and raised her hand to the level of her hip. She quickly flipper her hand palm-up, only to turn it over slowly. When nothing seemed to happen she slowly pushed the hand down.

Hiei fell to a knee. As Thorn's hand began its decent, his eyes closed and he knelt there, frozen in place. She approached him fearlessly, her brisk walk bringing her to his side quickly. Her eyes shone down angry, but soft, as if she had expected such an occurance to take place.

"Get up and walk over next to Kurama," she said quietly, but to the rest of the team's amazement, the fire demon slowly stood and walked to where he was bidden. "Sit," she said simply, and he did, his eyes still closed, his mind sleeping reluctently. Kurama looked up at her quizzically, but her eyes were on Hiei as she knelt down next to him, blue aura smoking from her fingers, wrapping around his body just as it had done to Kurama.

"Stubborn," she muttered under her breath. "At least he's asleep, now I can work without hurting him."

Kurama chuckled. "It will take more than a little crude healing to give Hiei any pain."

She glanced up at the human boy, her eyes burning with a blankness he had never seen. "Well he's never felt my healing before, its awful," she scoffed, turning back to her patient.

"I disagree," the fox demon said simply.

"Will the next fighters please enter the arena?" called the announcer, disrupting their conversation. Both Toguro brothers entered the arena, as did Yusuke and Kuwabara. Two on Two.

"Wake up, Hiei," said Thorn, shaking the newly healed youkai. Deep cardinal eyes opened quickly, and his lungs took in a quick breath, as if stifling a gasp. His eyes turned up to the girl, heated in anger. She almost smiled, 'I told Kurama my healing was awful,' she thought to herself

"Look, they're about to start," said Kurama, drawing Hiei's gaze from Thorn to the two teams. The girl too looked up, watching the fight with her eyes beginning to glow their normal green and her sword hissing in her ear. But she soon turned back to the still-injured fire demon in front of her. His hand was badly burnt, from his Dragon of the Darkness Flame attack. Her hand reached out to caress the burns with her healing power, only to have Hiei pull back. Thorn looked up at him with a sigh and a dissaproving look in her eye.

'You wont heal without help,' she said to him, her words seeping into his mind.

'I can take care of it myself,' he said back.

'Hiei, don't make me put you back to sleep. I woke you up because I thought you might actually want to watch the fight. If you insist upon being that stubborn, well, then you wont be awake much longer to be stubborn,' she said, and edge in her voice. Hiei seemed to debate before letting her fingers caress his burns as her energy healed them throughly.

When she was done, she stood up, leaning against the wall with crossed arms and narrowed eyes. Her power was dwindling now, and it aggrivated her. She stared off into space, a seemingly bored expression on her face.

Hiei glanced up, noticing the expression. Nothing that happened in the arena seemed to surprise her, if she was even watching. He wondered what she was thinking about. He tapped into the power of his Jagan, searching her mind. He was locked out instantly by another force. Surely not this weak human's own! It growled in his mind, flashing a threatening set of glistening fangs and shinning blue orbs, a sliver of black in each saying that the creature verged on insanity.

Hiei pulled back his powers, stiffening his back against the stone wall and staring straight ahead. At the same instant, the girl turned her face down on the youkai, her glare hot and burning cobalt. With a comforting buzz from the sword, her eyes turned back to the fighting teams.

'You shouldn't pry, Hiei. I have a fierce guardian,' came her voice into his mind. 'Watch the fight, its something you'll want to see.' With that her voice retreated. Hiei brought his gaze back to the fight.

The battle on the round arena's floor was tense, but he couldn't draw his mind back to it easily. But he did, and watched as Team Urameshi won the Dark Turnamate.

Thorn walked forward as the victors were announced, hopping easily onto the platform. Kuwabara was hurt the most, and made it clearly known.

"Hey you-!" he began, only to be cut off.

"Yukina will tend to your wounds, I'm very nearly drained," she said coolly, turning to Yusuke.

'How did she know about Yukina?' thought the carrot-topped boy.

'I have ways of knowing about everything,' spat her voice into his mind. He jerked his head up, but her head was turned toward Yusuke and he passed it off as his imagination and nothing more.

She came within a few feet of the black-haired boy, sighing at the inflicted wounds. She knelt down, flipping her long hair over her shoulder she set to work, welkin-blue fire streaming from her fingertips into the wounded body of the spirit detective. He felt better instantly and sighed with relief.

Thorn lowered her hand and let out an exhusted breath. She closed her eyes a moment, regaining her composure.

While Thorn healed Yusuke, Yukina had come down from the stands and healed Kuwabara. Boton and Keiko came over to Yusuke and the girl. The black-clad girl looked to the two girls. She nodded silently.

"Done," she said her voice slightly gruff.

"Thank you," came the replies from all three of them before they began to babble.

The announcer came up. They were to name their prize for winning the turnament. They went down the line, until they cam upon the healing girl. She snorted, her arms crossed.

"You can give me nothing that I could not aquire in less then a year, and that includes power," she spat, walking off the arena's stone floor and back through the doors from which she had come. The team watched her go, hair streaming over her back in a brown-black river with glinting gold highlights. They looked at each other and shrugged.

Thorn passed Keonma as he was making his way toward his team. He opened his mouth to say something to her, but she stopped and cut him off with a glare. She said nothing as she walked briskly away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Authoress' Note: Hai! Done with Four! Yay! Okay, now we're getting into the good stuff. From now on, its full of action! Yeah!

Hiei: I can't believe you made me look so weak.

J: Quiet you! I needed it to show…wait, I know there was a reason why I wanted to show that. Umm.

Kurama: The great Authoress is at a loss for words. A pity.

J: -growl- silence Fox. You know, I could always edit this chapter to make you die…..

Kurama: Well, you could, but you still need me for later chapters, do you not?

J: -growl- damn. Yeah, I guess I forgot about that. Hn.

Hiei: watch it, that's my symbolic word.

J: -hiss- Silence!

All: 0_0 don't make her angry, Hiei.

J: just because you said that, you'll have to do the disclaimer.

Hiei: -sigh-

J: well, actually, I'll give you a choice. You can do the disclaimer, or you can be attacked by a small group of fan girls.

Hiei: O.O I think I'll take the disclaimer.

J: nah, I take that back, you have to get attacked by the 'small' -does finger quotes- group of fan girls.

Hiei: -weary- what do you mean by 'small' -does finger quotes- group?

J: oh, only about five hundred. I mean, these people I just got off the street, it doesn't even hold a torch to the people I could get to torchure you! Bwahahaha! -talks on radio- okay, you can let the fan girls in now.

Hiei: agg! -jumps out window, fftting (its that cool sound he makes on the anime when he goes really fast) way)

J: hehe.

Yusuke: were there really five hundred fan girls waiting downstairs?

J: of course! ^_^

Kuwabara: then why are you laughing.

J: hehe, because I told them Hiei's favorite hidding place in that big tree! -grin-

Botan: I'm confused

All: -sigh-

J: and to think, some people like smart and handsome Kurama with the bubbly, air-headed, Grim Reaper Botan as a pair. Sorry, I just don't think its right…..

All: anyway…..

J: anyway! Yusuke, since you haven't done it yet, you get to do the disclaimer!

Yusuke: -whine- why me?

J: because! I said so. Now, don't make me threaten you! -holds up spoon-

Yusuke: -cringe- okay okay! J does not own YYH but does own this plot, Thorn, Rose, and BlackFire.

J: good boy!

Yusuke: Can I have a cookie now? I'm hungry.

Rest but Yusuke: -_-'