Chapter 12: Finding A Way

Disclaimer: I cannot tell a lie, well, not about this at least. I don't own anything about Yu Yu Hakusho other then a couple eps. that I've recorded on VHS, and the idea for this story. I also don't have a cent to my name, so you won't get anything even if you sue me.

Jeff walks through the newly cut path in the woods, smiling more then even he thought he should be. He doesn't care though, and he is very grateful to the two boys that are walking a bit behind him, arguing "No way! Spider-Man would so kick Batman's ass!"

Jin shakes his head "Poor little Yusuke, so misinformed. Everyone knows tha' a bat could eat a spider wit' no problem at all. Wayne would take care of Parker jus' as easily."

Yusuke scoffs "Pfft, please! A bat is just a rat with wings. Ratboy doesn't even have any real superpowers! He's a wimp!"

Before Jin can rebuff, Jeff interrupts "Umm...guys, I know this is a really important argument, but could you be quiet? We're trying to find Hiei and Toma-su, not scare them off. That is if they don't already know we're here thanks to Jin's clear-cutting escapade." He motions to the path that they were now on.

Jin smirks "I told ya' already Kei. The wind can be powerful and silent. Even if you were standing right in the way you'd hardly hear a whisper. They don't call me the Wind Master for nothin' ya' know."

Jeff can't help but roll his eyes at the arrogance in Jin's voice "Ok, but what if they were to stumble on this happy little road of ours?"

This gets a sweat drop from Jin "Aye, I'll admit that I didn't t'ink of that." The reaction is a couple of sighs and hung heads.

At this point the three come to a large clearing and Jeff stops, "We've been walking around for about two hours. Let's take a rest for a..." his sentence is cut off as he disappears, a flash of white the only clue to what just happened.

Yusuke bolts over to the spot where Jeff had been moments before, eyes hardening as he tries to figure out which way they went before screaming in frustration "Hiei! I'm gonna pound you next time I see that ugly face of yours!"

Jeff hears it, snaps out of his daze and tries to look around, only to get a headache when he sees the forest whizzing by. His attention is brought upwards by a scoffing chuckle "Your friend certainly has quite the temper. Hiei-sama wasn't exaggerating in the least." There, above him, was his face with Hiei's eyes.

'Wait a minute' he thinks 'Above me? Forest whizzing by? What the hell?!' He looks around to try and figure out what's going on. It doesn't take him long. He's being carried under Toma-su's arm, like a mailman would carry a package. He grits his teeth. "Put me down now."

This only gets another scoff "You're in no position to demand anything human. Anyways, I will in a moment, we're almost there. So just shut your mouth until then."

Jeff glowers at him but stayed quiet, muttering to himself. Indeed, soon enough Toma-su stops in a clearing, rudely dropping him to the ground "I brought Tomu Hiei-sama. Your friend better be right." Jeff's eyes narrow a bit 'Friend?' He snaps his head up and first his glare is practically hypnotized by the fiery yet ice-cold eyes that look down at him, as if they were passing judgement. He practically jumps up and dusts himself off, casting a glare at Toma-su, who only rolls his eyes in response. Jeff looks for Hiei's aforementioned 'friend' only to find Kurama's wise green eyes looking back at him.

Kurama nods understandingly at Jeff's confused expression before explaining "Hiei and I have known each other for some time. I found him soon after you left. Apparently you twin here hadn't been filled in on all the details of your bond. Hiei and I were just examining your options while Toma-su went to get you."

The demon twin growls "I heard the main two options and I refuse to take part in either of them. I will not allow myself to disappear just because of some 'bond' I have with a stupid human, and I will NEVER willingly join essences with a weak human like Tomu." practically spitting the words 'human' and 'Tomu'.

Jeff clenches his fists to keep from slugging his 'brother' "Hey, I'm not exactly thrilled about this set-up either! At least you'd get to keep living if we go with one of the options! For all I know, I'd disappear completely! And another thing that's tickin' me off! Why do you keep calling me Tomu? My name is Jeff or Kei, where the hell do you get 'Tomu' from?!"

Toma-su practically yawns at him "You mean you don't know? Both Toma-su and Tomu mean 'twins'. I assumed you knew when I head that your Japanese name was Kei." The confused look on Jeff's face is enough to tell him otherwise.

He sighs frustratedly "Kei means Pure, Glory, or Fire. Don't you think that it's a bit coincidental for the 'offspring' of a fire demon?"

Jeff dumbly nods before looking to Hiei as he cuts in, "Names aren't important. Kurama and I figured you two would refuse the traditional choices, so we've thought of another possible solution."

This of course peaks the boys interest and they shift in unison to lean in closer to listen. Kurama, after stifling a chuckle at the scene, takes over the talking, "It is thought by certain circles that the reason the demon is the one to always emerge is because the demon's essence is stronger. It overpowers and then absorbs the human's essence, merely because the human essence is not strong enough to resist."

Jeff cocks an eyebrow "And that means...?"

"It means" Hiei continues "that if you don't want to disappear from existence, you're going to have to get much stronger. We think that if the human essence is as strong as the demon, you may be able to hold onto your own minds, recognize your bond, then return to being separate beings."

Toma-su huffs "I don't like it. That still means we'd have to join essences."

Hiei's eyes narrow with a look that a teacher would give an unruly student, but Kurama replies before he can say anything, "Yes, for a time, but I believe your words were 'I will never willingly join essences with a weak human'. If this plan is to work, Kei will have to be anything but weak. Unless of course, you are not as strong as you've led us to believe." He says with a smirk of someone that knows they've backed the other into a corner on his face.

He turns to Jeff at this point, "This, of course, is partly your decision as well. It's your essence that's at stake here. Also, if you decide to go with this idea, you will have to go through very intense training. Even if you just turned seventeen yesterday, it's going to take a lot of work and dedication to raise you to the level that you'll need to be at to stand a chance."

Jeff thinks for a moment before sighing and running a hand through his hair "I guess I don't have much of a choice. Like you said, my essence, really, I'M at stake here, and right now this is my best chance for staying alive. How can I not say yes?"

Kurama nods "I believe we should find Jin and Yusuke, then head back. We can start training in the morning. First you should probably start with some of the local thugs and a heavy workout every day."

Jeff nods, chuckling a bit, "I guess then that going to school is going to plummet to the near bottom of my priority list. How long do we have anyways? We always celebrated my birthday from the day I was found on Mom's doorstep, so I know I have at most 10 months, but I don't know exactly beyond that."

Hiei thinks for a moment, the glower ever-present on his face. "You have 9 months. I kept you for a month trying to find a suitable house to leave you at before succeeding."

Jeff bites the inside of his lip "9 months. That's not very long. You sure we should wait until morning? I mean, there's still some daylight left and I don't want to waste a moment."

Hiei smirks "Glad to hear you're so anxious." He turns to Kurama "I agree with a human, for once. We don't have any time to waste if you plan on forcing me into helping with this. The least we can do is test his abilities tonight. Then tomorrow we'll know where to start."

Kurama frowns before nodding "I guess you're right, but perhaps we should find Kei's companions first, before they demolish the entire forest looking for him."

As if on cue a giant blast of blue light issues forth to their right and they hear Yusuke yell "Hiei! Get yer' ass out here so I can beat it into a pulp! You know you can't hide from me forever!"

Something that could almost be called fear passes over Hiei's face before it goes back to its stoic form. Kurama smiles, poorly covering a chuckle before saying, "I'll get them. Stay here." looking pointedly at the two demons. They let out a 'Feh.' before he disappears into the brush.

Jeff shifts uncomfortably as his gaze flickers to each of the others. 'What have I gotten myself into?' He feels the tension in the air and inwardly sighs 'To think that this time last week all I had to worry about was if I had all my homework done and the track meet.'

A.N. Alright, another chapter done and quite a few answers revealed. Of course, finding a way is one thing; actually following through with it is an entirely different thing. As for the names, all that stuff about the definitions is true, I looked it up on the net myself before I named them. Oh, and just so you know, there's also another reason why I changed Jeff's Japanese name, it's because in Japanese, his name translates to Jefufu, and come on, who could take a guy named 'Jefufu' seriously? Well, anyways, review please!