Hiei came to a sudden halt near the door at the top of the stairs. He grimaced, shifting most of his weight to his uninjured leg, as he reached out to push open the door. The door opened to reveal a room bathed in a strange green light.

"Don't!" Yusuke shouted desperately from somewhere within the room.

I leaned into the room and glanced around until I found Yusuke's bound figure. He was bound with wards, limiting his youki, and chains, restraining his movements. His wide, frightened brown eyes found mine. He shook his head frantically.

"Don't enter! The room is rigged with traps! Stay away!"

"Hn. Detective, traps were made to be broken," Hiei smirked, stepping past me.

"Hiei, wait...." I began but one glance from Hiei silenced me.

"We can't. Look above Yusuke," he murmured.

I did and felt my stomach clench. Hundreds of very sharp swords dangled from the ceiling, swinging as the rotten rope holding them began to fall apart. A metal clip held the end of the ropes, waiting to be released the moment the trap was triggered. Either way, the swords were coming down. "Yusuke...."

I glanced at him and saw the terror. He cringed, following Hiei's gaze to the ceiling. Yusuke was more afraid of what would happen to us than what he already knew was going to happen to him.

"Don't worry, Yusuke. We will get you out of there," I said firmly, jaw clenching.

Hiei slowly lowered his gaze from the ceiling and locked the crimson orbs on Yusuke. "Detective, be prepared. I won't have time for small talk. Understand?"

"When do you ever?" he replied softly, his eyes closing in anticipation.

"Hiei," I whispered as Hiei prepared to make his dash. He looked at me, one dark eyebrow raised.

"Make it back here, both of you."

"We will."

Hiei sprung forward, his form blurring as he shot forward. My gaze jerked up at the loud click that signaled the abrupt release of he swords. Hiei grabbed Yusuke while I watched in helpless horror as the swords fell around them. I turned unable to watch, expecting the worst.

"Kurama, you can stop cringing. We're fine."

I whirled in time to see Hiei gently place Yusuke on the floor. Blood spilled from several cuts, blending in with the dark black of his clothing. Hiei touched one of the bleeding cuts on his face and stared at the blood on his fingers. His clothing was torn where swords had sliced through them.

"Kurama, release Yusuke," Hiei said, turning away.

I knelt beside Yusuke and began the slow process of removing the wards and then unlocking the chains. Yusuke surged to his feet and caught Hiei's shoulders tightly, whirling him around.

"Why did you do that? You could have been killed. Why?" Yusuke demanded, shaking the smaller boy.

Hiei pulled free, wincing. "Detective, I would not have been killed. If I wasn't injured I wouldn't have even been cut."

"You idiot, I told you to stay away! Look at you! You were nearly killed because of me!"

Yusuke suddenly embraced Hiei. "Thanks a lot, you little selfish demon."

Hiei was frozen like a dear caught in the headlights of a car. He glanced at me, stunned. "You saved his life, Hiei."

Hiei pushed Yusuke away and stepped back. "There's really no reason to get so emotional. Your life isn't exactly worth much."

Yusuke grinned at Hiei, brushing off the cold words. "You little softie. You can drop the front."

Hiei glared at Yusuke. "Stop calling me little."

"The shrimp actually did something good for a change," Kuwabara spoke up.

I slammed my elbow into his ribs, silencing him. "Don't start an argument, Kuwabara. They could have died."

"Enough talk," Hiei interrupted, moving into the room.

With the sword trap disabled, the room was safe enough to walk through now. I glanced at Yusuke. "What happened when you fell?"

"I don't know. I was knocked out. That reminds me..."

Yusuke slammed his fist into Kuwabara's face. "Don't do anything else!"

"What did you hit me for?! I didn't know the stairs were bad!"

"Idiot."

Hiei rolled his eyes and turned. "What you don't know could fill Makai and Human World, but that's still no excuse for your stupidity. If you could for once use that peanut you have the audacity to call a brain you might live beyond this point. If not, I will quickly put you out of your misery."

Kuwabara mumbled something under his breath as Hiei turned away again. I followed Hiei to the far side of the room and studied the metal door he had stopped at.

"What do you think, Hiei?"

"I think we've found our demon. Kurama, I want you to stay behind me," Hiei said, not looking at me as his soft words registered through my brain.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"It is you the demon wants most of all. I do not trust this situation. Something feels off. Whatever lies beyond this door will likely be meant to break you."

"I am not so easily broken, Hiei."

"You pleaded for my life when Koenma would have thrown me into the deepest depths of Hell. Let me do this."

"You're already injured."

"Kurama, I have had much worse. You know that. Do you doubt me?"

"No, you know that I trust you."

"Then trust me now." Hiei's voice had grown weary, his many injuries obviously taking their toll on him.

"I trust you."

Hiei nodded and threw open the door and entered quickly. The room was shaped like an octagon and filled with a piercing yellow light. I stayed behind a few steps while Hiei examined the room. Suddenly I was shoved forward hard enough that I fell hard to my knees. Yusuke landed beside me in an angry heap.

"Kuwabara, you idiot, watch where you're going!" he shouted, rolling to his feet and stopping to help me stand.

I glanced back at Kuwabara and saw him standing still a few feet from us. He looked down, embarrassed. The door swung shut behind him. Yusuke hurried past him and began pulling on the door. "It's locked!"

Hiei caught my wrist and drew me to his side as the floor began move, beginning to recede from the wall. I stared down through open space and saw dark water several feet below.

"Damn, this is bad," Yusuke murmured, backing up.

I glanced at Hiei and saw how pale his face had grown. He met my gaze, his eyes locking with mine. I saw an emotion in those dark depths that I had never thought to see. Fear.

"The water?" I whispered and received a sharp nod in answer.

Of course. How many fire demons were fond of water? I glanced around desperately for an escape but found nothing.

The floor beneath me began to part. I stepped quickly onto another section and watched as the floor split into four equal parts with each of us separated from one another. The floor slammed against the wall, nearly knocking me off as it hit, and began to slid under the wall.

"This is just great," Yusuke said, glancing at me.

The lights died, leaving us in darkness. I leaned against the wall, feeling the floor sliding beneath my feet. A soft whisper echoed through the room.

"The mighty Youko Kurama has fallen. He and the feared Spirit Detectives have been duped by a demon Youko once spat on. How does it feel, Kurama, knowing that you are responsible for the deaths of your friends?"

"The only death I'm going to be responsible for is going to be yours," I ground out through clenched teeth.

"Really? Can you really tell which of your friends I am impersonating right now? One of your fellow Spirit Detective has already lost his life."

I felt cold all over. He had been with us the whole time? One of my friends had already been killed?

"That's impossible!"

"But true. Choose wisely. The only way to stop all of you from dying is by killing me right now. Can you do it, Kurama? Can you kill one of your friends? Or will you kill each other trying to save yourselves?"

Cold laughter echoed through the room.

Author's Note: Intrigued? Which of the four is the impostor? Do you know when he made the swap?