Disclaimer: Don't own Yu Yu.

Shattered Soul56- Thank you soo much!!

KURAMA!!! HIEI!!! sniff I still can't believe I'm putting them through this. Please review!
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Kurama couldn't control himself anymore. He clutched his head in his hands, but the pain doubled. He howled in agony. He fell to his knees. His fingers tightened around his head, his nails drew blood where they dug into his skin. He shrieked. And howled. And screamed. He couldn't stand it. He had to stop it.Tears streamed down his cheeks. He wanted to die.

Hiei was in pain. Hot, burning, ripping pain. It coursed through his veins, tunneled through to his soul. But it wasn't just his pain. It was Kurama's, too. The spell Kurama had performed to save Hiei's life was now the very thing causing him this agony. Kurama hadn't known it at the time, and did not know it now,but the spell had bonded them in some way. They could feel each other's pain. Kurama only felt the slightest sensation when Hiei was hurt. But Hiei, because Kurama's blood was now in his own body, took on Kurama's pain full force. And it was not just physical pain. It was also pain from the soul.

"KURAMA!!!!"yelled Hiei. He was in so much pain. "STOP KURAMA!!! DON'T MOVE!!!!" It hurt so much. Hiei knew what was happening. He was feeling Kurama's pain. The more Kurama struggled, the more painful it became for both of them.He had been able to take the whip without a sound, but this...it was too much. Andit wasn't just for himself that he yelled. It was also for his best friend.

"KURAMA!!!!!!!"

He collapsed and rolled on the floor, shouting his friend's name. It was all he could do tokeep himself from screaming like Kurama, making the wordless noise that represented suffering and weakness. All three of his eyes were squeezed shut and tearing.This had to be worse than anything he had ever felt before, even worse than the implantation of his Jagan.

"What's with him?" asked Berkou, Ryton's teammate, the one who had taken Hiei's katana. "No clue," said his teammate, Penti. Then, the sly one realized what spell Kurama must have performed to save his friend.

"He feels his friend's pain," he muttered. Penti looked at him in confusion. Berkou explained, "There is a spell that can save someone's life, but to use it, you really have to care about them.You give some of your blood and energy to the person who is dying, and you must take some of theirs. It saves them, but there is a price. Kurama must not have realized it when he performed the spell."

"What is the price?" asked Penti.

Berkou looked at him. "You and whoever you save bacome bonded in some way, and you share a curse.You feel each other's pain. Kurama must not have used the entire spell, or else he would have been writhing on the ground like Hiei when we hurt him. Kurama must have given Hiei his blood and energy, and not taken any in return. That is why Hiei's wound is not completely healed. And Kurama must only feel the slightest sensation, if anything, when Hiei gets hurt, but Hiei feels everything Kurama does."

Penti grinned. "This will definitely make it more interesting." Berkou smirked and nodded.

Ryton listened to Berkou's explanation. "That is quite interesting," he said, his voice dripping with contentment, as he looked at Kurama as if seeing him for the first time.

--Help me. Yusuke. Kuwabara. Hiei. Someone. Anyone. Kill me. End my misery. Please.--

This was Kurama's plea. But he couldn't control himself enough to say it. He couldn't even form the words in his mind. He just felt it. Now the pain became even more intense. It fed off the desires and fears of his soul. It attacked his soul. There was not a single part of his body that was not screaming with pain, burning to death.

And, despite everything, one image forced its way through his fear, hatred, despair, and pain. It was the image of his friends. The day they had won their first Tournament. There was Yusuke. And Kuwabara. And Jin, crazy Jin, the Wind Master. There also was Touya, Master of Ice, one of the only people who had ever rivaled Kurama and lived to befriend him. Keiko. Shizuru. Botan. Yukina.

And Hiei. Something inside Kurama stirred when he thought of Hiei. He was the reason why all this was happening. But Kurama didn't care. Hiei was his best friend. He was why Kurama was here, why Kurama was doing this, what Kurama was fighting for.

Kurama's memory locked on to this one glimmer of hope. He refused to let it go.

Koto noticed that Kurama was on the ground, and she felt sorry for him. But she was not allowed to take a ten-count while an attack was taking place. Yusuke and Kuwabara, who was shaking because of his Awareness, yelled, "COUNT TO TEN!!!" But she could not. The fans were enjoying it, and if she did make the count she would get kicked out of the referee job again. She certianly didn't want that.

Kurama didn't know what he was doing. He tried to retreat deep into his mind and remember times of happiness. He wanted to leave all the pain behind, forget about everything, slip into unconsciousness. But it was impossible. He tried to think about Hiei. But even that was difficult. It was hard to think about anything but his pain.

But he held on. Somehow he kept that picture of his friends in his mind. He changed the attitude of "I can't do this. I want to die." to "I will make it through this. I have to. And I will." And though he was screaming with agony both inside and out, he was able to keep a small part of his mind focused on the words "I will".

After what seemed like forever, Kurama stopped screaming. His body was still ripping with pain, but it was old. There were no new bursts of heat and pain. He fell backward. He gave a yelp as his torn back hit the ground. But he became silent, relishing the cool breeze on his body. He lay there, panting, with his eyes closed. His hands still clutched his tear-stained face.

Koto began the ten count.