Hiei froze when he saw the devestation that Raditz had just caused.

The roof had completely been blown to bits and only the electric wires from the lights remained intact. Raditz had long since flown off, seeking new targets at some unknown location.

"Where is Raditz?" he asked Kurama. "Do you know where he went?"

"He flew to the west," answered Kurama. "Otherwise, I know nothing else."

"Was she in there when he attacked?" Hiei went on, in reference to Senseita.

He scanned the rubble as he spoke.

"I beleive so," explained Kurama, "but she was only in there a few seconds when the blast hit."

"Then it wasn't her," conculded Hiei, "but I can make a wild guess who angered him."

Out the door, came Senseita, dragging Botan along by the arm. Neither were looking calm, Botan appeared frantic and Senseita was tremondously annoyed.

"That was a waste," said Senseita, releasing Botan. "If SOMEONE had kept thier mouth shut we wouldn't be in this mess now would we?"

"It was unavoidable," Hiei disagreed. "It was only a matter of time before he lost all reason."

He paused.

"Thankfully, you have no burns to show for it," he finished, sounding somewhat relieved. "Unlike some," he nodded at Botan with her cut up face.

"If he wants low-lives to play with I know precisely where he'd go," Senseita mentioned. "The west end is a haven for that kinda thing."

"Then that's where we'll go," remarked Hiei

The West End.

By the time, Kurama, Hiei and Senseita reached the area, there wasn't much left. The streets had been long since abandoned and many of the buildings lie in absolute ruin. It wasn't as if the place had been top quality to begin with, but now it was lower than low.

"Cheery place," Senseita half-joked. "I must get the name of its decorator."

"I sense a morbid force here," observed Kurama. "Death has made its mark."

"Well, let's hope that's not the case," added Hiei aggressively.

A roar echoed from an office complex down the street and the ground rumbled furiously under thier feet.

"His strength is incredible," commented Senseita. "What's goin on?"

"It would be wise to formulate a plan at this point," suggested Kurama. "Perhaps an ambush or something of that sort would be efficent in subdueing him."

"We don't want to kill him!" Hiei growled back.

"Okay, why do I get the feeling that he's about to find us?" Senseita put in.

"Shut up!" snapped Hiei.

There was a loud rustle of wings as Raditz's energy moved closer to their location. He had sensed them and now, he was going to get revenge. Her prediction, had unforanantly been correct.

He landed before them, as enraged as ever.

"You," he snarled viciously. "What are YOU doing here?"

He stepped forwards slightly, his angle drawing him closer to Hiei and Seneita.

"Hiei," he went on, the malice in his voice never faltering, "you're going to regret coming to this, if you want to run now I understand."

He turned his head to Senseita.

"And why is an inexperienced good for nothing fox attempting to help such a disdained creature," he continued once more. "I told you to stay away from him before we even ran into him again."

"So?" she retorted. "Hiei's the only friend I got next to my big brother. I've more right to defend him than I have with you. All you've proven to be these past few months is pisimistic and low down about even conisdering the relationship WE had. Out of the two, I'd pick Hiei no question."

"Leave her alone Raditz," Kurama commanded. "She's done nothing to you."

Now even he was growing angry. He wasn't close enough to look him in eye, but if he could, one could only imagine.

"I got it bro," Senseita repiled. " Back off."

Raditz wasn't going to take this much longer. He lunged at Hiei with all he had, his power erupting around them all.

Senseita knew what to do this time.

Using the speed techinque learned through Hiei's old exercises, she dashed in the middle of the assualt and sent a blast of white light pouring from her hand. The blast itself was unusual. Unlike those of Genkai, Yusuke, or Bui, this seemed less like a glowing shot or a fireball. It honestly resembled a star in energy form. At first glance, one would think that she took a comet from the heavens or something.

The moved sent Raditz flying backwards, that is, until he recovered. With his power surge, even attacks from his weakness points did little to harm him. They would need to put more punch in to win this one.

Raditz once more went at Hiei and the two were locked in an explosive battle.

The plan devised by Senseita and Kurama wasn't even known to each other verbally but they knew what each had to do. Hiei wouldn't be able to handle Raditz much longer so it was up to them to take control.

Kurama didn't use his rose whip, it would be too precise and too tricky. Instead, he waited until the opportunity arose that he could summon a bunch of rose vines to create a kind of net.

However, Senseita needed to disable Raditz for a spilt second first.

Then, the chance came, as Hiei threw him to the ground using the "Fists of the Mortal Flame" move. Jumping into the air, Senseita hit him twice using her favorite double stiking techinque.

Once Kurama had summoned the vines, it was finally over.

Nightfall came quickly afterwards and a camp was made in a nearby park. While Hiei built a fire, Kurama and Senseita combined forces to create a comfortable yet, restraining plant bed for the night. They intended to let him go once he was calm.

"Your powers have certainly improved these past few years," Kurama pointed out to Senseita as they got comfy by the fire, "You never could've handled this then."

"Hey, I learned a few things," she noted, shrugging, "like how be ruthless and act like you don't give a flip. So what if I'm a light fox, in the demon world no one cares."

"But that is a gift," Kurama reminded her, "You were born into the highest clan of our kind, that's something to be proud of. If you keep it up, your strength will outmatch mine soon."

Senseita laughed.

"Yeah right," she responded, "You've told me that since I was pup. Come to think of it, so did Mom and Dad. Every other kitsune I met fed me that bullcrap. I never believed it for a second. I'm an outlaw, like you, not some noble warrior of justice."

She reached under her shirt and pulled a small medallion from it. Made of silver and diamonds it glistened in the firelight. Two Chinese kanji spelled out "Serpent" on the front.

"I kept this thing to prove it," she added, "along with an old dagger Hiei gave me."

She mused at the scabbard sitting securely in her pocket.

"The Serpent Medallion," said Kurama, a flood of memories hitting him all at once. "We stole that on your second hiest with us."

"That's right," she remarked. "See what else you can recall."

"I gave it to you right afterwards because it was too well known a jewel to sell," he explained, "It was a sort of intiation, between us that is."

Senseita shot a glance at Hiei, who had completely zoned out on them.

"Every night was almost like this one," she said, "and right before I went to sleep I always shifted in the my full fox form so Hiei could use me as a pillow. You were always close by and Raditz would always distance himself in the trees."

"I had be close," Kurama noted. "I got nervous otherwise."

"I know," she added, "you were always like that."

She paused, thinking intently for a minute.

"Kurama," she began again, "I'm kinda scared right now."

"Why is that?" he asked.

"Its about something Enma told me," she answered. "He said that if I screwed up on keeping Raditz in check one more time, he would............send me to prision, possibly for life."

No one noticed but Hiei perked up a little as she spoke.

Kurama was dead silent.

"Look, if that happens," Senseita insisted, "which I'm praying to Inari that it won't, I want you to take my medallion back."

She took it off and dangled it a little before putting it back on.

"That's yours Senseita," Kurama repiled. "I gave it to you."

"But, I want to leave something if I go," she protested. "Just so you won't forget me or anything. I had kept it in hopes that's we'd be together. But, if we're not, there's no point in me keeping it while I rot in a jail cell. You could at least sell it now."

"I won't forget you," he answered, placing his hand on hers, "not again. I can't. I'm your brother."

"Kurama," she cut in, "stop, we both know this is hopeless."

"I'm not going to lose you again," he finished regardless.

The next morning came as swiftly as hurricane. Just like one, it shook everything up in its path. Unfornantly, the gang was about as prepared as the innocent coastal people.

Senseita was woken by Botan who delivered the first wave of news. It wasn't good. The prision sentence was inescapable. She had no other choice of punishment. As for Raditz, he was doomed to be executed.

Hiei overheard this; he had been awake all night and still was alive enough to listen. Kurama still lie sleeping as Senseita slipped over to him, folding the serpent medallion into his palm. Holding back the tears, she lightly kissed his forhead and stood up.

"I heard everything," said Hiei, stopping her before she left. "It's a shame it has to end like this."

There was a great deal feeling in his eyes as he spoke. He may've been silent, but it was a tormented silence.

"Yeah, big shame," she mouthed off. "Now I just wish Enma would die. If Raditz has to go then he should too. Maybe then things would be fair."

"Doubt it," grumbled Hiei, "which is the real shame."

She grinned at him slightly.

"Well, no waterworks," she joked. "That should make you happy."

"That's the thing," Hiei answered, "I'd expect you to be emotional. Not that I'd tolerate anyone else like that, but you, I can handle, particularly in unfair heartless moments like these."

"I would cry but I'm too darn angry," she put in. "So, oh well."

She was lying of course, yet actaully doing a good job of it. Truthfully, she was closer to crying than she had been in years.

Hiei glanced at Kurama, who still lie motionless, his flaming hair falling over his face like bloody water.

"You're not going to say goodbye to him?" he inquired, rather curious.

Having always held his old companion in the highest regards, it was impossible not to show some concern, particularly at times like this.

"Nah," she confessed, now ckoking back the tears, "I don't think it would be worth it, even if it is to hear his voice one last time."

"You know he's not going to take this well," Hiei pointed out. "You've meant the world and more to him Senseita."

He was being as blunt and cold about it as possible. He was beginning to lack there in points however, with Raditz's fate already sealed as well as hers.

"He's going to move on Hiei, I know it," she responded sharply. "He's done it before, he'll do it again. Let him settle down with his human mother and marry a mortal girl in a few years, he'll forget completely about when he was still a spirit fox, by then I'll be a shadow in his memory."

"And a ghost in his heart," he added. "A ghost that haunts persistently and regularly without remorse. No romance or so-called family tie can heal a wound like that."

He sounded as if he understood the feeling quite well.

"But Hiei......" she protested.

He glared at her, trying to get his point across without words. He knew all too clearly, the pain felt by a brother for his sister. It was his deepest wish right now, to make sure that Kurama didn't have to experience the same agony. Yet, there were no words, that he was willing to say at least, that could make her see that.

"I'll tell him what you said," he finished finally, "but I'll repeat what I said before, he's not going to take this well. For all we know, he could return to that cutthroat criminal mastermind that we all were accustomed to."

Slowly Botan approached them both, as scared as a little kid on Halloween night. She was shaking slightly and her palms were as sweaty as a gym locker.

"We wouldn't want that would we?" she put in. "Now that his powers have grown even further and all."

"Excuse me!" Raditz's voice butted into her sentence. "Could somebody cut me loose or something, these vines are starting to hurt!"

"I got it," said Hiei. "Since he's awake and sain."

"Could you give those two a few minutes before we go?" Senseita asked Botan, "They have some catching up to do, before........"

"Of course," answered Botan. "What about you? Don't you want to spend some time with Kurama?"

She weakly shook her head.

"Why?" Botan went on, "He is your brother and all."

"No," Senseita insisted. "If I have to leave him forever this time, it'll at least be as a mature young woman, none of childish little sister stuff. It's time we both went on with our lives anyway. Once he settles down he'll realize that."

"A hundred and fifty is still young for a spirit fox, you shouldn't have to give him just yet, should you?" Botan ignorantly persisted. "And he's three hundred years old right? Well jeez, some demon breeds would consider you both childern."

"WOULD YOU STOP IT!" Senseita shouted, "The only demons I give a flip about are Hiei and Raditz!"

She was tearing up now. Not only that, but her power was swelling tremendously. The forest was starting to become aglow with her rare gift. If she was angered any further one could kiss that of human form of hers goodbye.

Botan was shaking violently and she was as frantic as a rabbit. Another cross word and she would probably dash off in fear.

"A piece of advice," Hiei remarked, while he cut the vines from Raditz. "Don't get either her or Kurama worked up like that unless you seriously have a death wish, if you forgotten already. There's a reason why two of Kurama's attacks have 'death' in the title."

"Ack," complained Raditz, "the pain."

Slowly, he sat up and shook his head s few times to wake himself. Then, he leaned back into a deep canine sretch and stayed there temporarily. Once back, into a normal pose, his gave Hiei the first kind look he had in years.

Hiei was honestly suprised, as most honest people would be. Nonetheless, it made sense in this case. It appeared after twenty years and one rampage later, Raditz had reached his senses.

Yet, at what cost?

To be continued............

J: Oh the pain.

A: No kidding. This is getting tense.

J: Not that! I meant my aching hand muscles!

A: Oh.

J: Well, uh, stayed tuned for next weeks episode.

A: Next week? I don't remember you writing this every week.

J: Oro?

A: --; Major anime pun right there. I'm sure it was pun-intended, wasn't it?

a few yards away stands Kurama and Hiei

Kurama: Niether of these two own Yu-Yu-Hakusho nor do they represent the owner in any way shape, and/or form.

Hiei: Must we always bail these girls out? The spirit fox fanatic is giving me a headache.

Kurama: Oh, you mean J? You'll get used to it.

Meanwhile

A: No kidding. By the way peoples, sorry I haven't updated sooner, but I do have my own account and stories to worry about. So, please be paient.