Wow…almost three months since this was updated…gomen! I've been contemplating deleting this story cause I hate some parts of it, but I guess I won't because people seem to like it. I had another one started, and after one of my fics is finished, I may post it…also have several more ideas swimming around in my head, so…

::16::Caught in the Middle::

Harry shook his head, as if the motion would clear the thoughts swirling in his mind. He was more confused than ever, presented with so many contradictions it was staggering. It had always been black and white for him; Voldemort was evil, Dumbledore and the Order were good…there were no shades of gray.

But right now he was staring at several of these shades of gray. He was in a room with killers, none of them but the pure human, Kuwabara, seemed to have any qualms with killing their opponents. And their tactics were quite gruesome…the raven Karasu had his blood sucked dry…Ziru had literally been disintegrated by hellish black flames…yet they were here to protect Harry? Harry, who was either destined to die by the hands of Voldemort or kill him…

There was the gray again. Harry had to kill. And wasn't that wrong? Voldemort was evil and needed to be stopped…would killing him bring Harry down to the Dark Lord's level?

Shaking his head again, the young wizard watched as George, the blue ogre, walked out of Koenma's office, laden down with the videotapes again. Kurama and Yusuke remained silent, but Harry could feel their eyes on him.

"So now do you get it?" Yusuke spoke up suddenly, "These guys have risked their lives for people they don't even know!"

Harry didn't say anything, and Kurama also stayed quiet. The confusion was so obvious in the wizard's green eyes; the kitsune knew something was going on…

After a few moments of silence, Kurama decided to take a chance at guessing what was going on in Harry's head.

"You have lived in a world where good and evil are cut clean. It is easy to discern who is good and who is bad by their actions and principles. But now you have seen us, and you are wondering which we are, are you not? The truth is, we are neither," he said calmly.

"But…aren't you working to save the…human world? Isn't that good?" Harry asked. His confusion was only deepening.

"What about the bad humans? The snipers, robbers, rapists and murderers?"

Harry didn't say anything.

"Look," Yusuke said, getting impatient, "if demons try to mess around with the human realm, we tak'em down. We're only working for the weak guys, here, because the human world wouldn't stand a chance if all the armies in the world tried to invade the demon world."

"Our point, is that you simply need to trust us," Kurama said, "and right now those demons should have arrived at the castle…"

"Where the hell's Botan? She needs to ferry us back…" Yusuke said, glancing around the room as if the ferry girl would pop out of the walls (which she was quite capable of doing, actually).

"Did I hear my name?" a cheery voice chirped, as the doors flung open to reveal the blue-topped ferry girl.

"Oh, good. Botan, take us back to the human world, there's some demons who need their asses kicked!"

Botan's magenta eyes narrowed. "Oh no, Yusuke. You and Kurama are staying right here! You're way too weak to fight, I'm sure Hiei and Kuwabara can handle it on their own. There aren't any demons above B class, it should be quick work."

"Didn't you mention dementors, Botan?" Kurama asked.

"Oh…oh yes! But they shouldn't be too much of a pro-"

"Dementors can only be taken down with the Patronus charm!" Harry said, "Kurama…do your friends have wands?"

"No. That is the problem, only Yusuke, Harry and I know how to use the charm," Kurama said, eyeing Botan pointedly.

"Oh! You two are just itching for a good fight, aren't you?" the ferry girl ranted, "Well, I guess I have no choice…c'mon, boys…bye, Lord Koenma!"

Koenma, who had been stamping and muttering all this time, didn't even look up as his name was said and the detectives and Harry left with Botan.

………

"I'm never gonna get used to that…" Yusuke muttered bitterly, as he hastily climbed out of the boat Botan had, yet again, conjured as an extension from her oar.

Ron and Hermione, who had greatly surprised Harry by being so quiet all this time, climbed out after Yusuke, Hermione looking slightly green, but Ron and Harry, who were used to flying, were none the worse for wear.

"You know…this reminds me…Quidditch season is coming up…" Ron said, glancing at Botan as the boat shrank back to her oar, as Kurama climbed out last. It was obvious the kitsune was weak, he stumbled slightly and Yusuke noted his aura's wavelength was very uneven.

"Yeah," Harry muttered his statement with an angry edge to it. He hadn't been asked to replace Ginny as Seeker yet, and was beginning to wonder if Umbridge's ban was still in effect.

But no one had time to dwell on menial matters like Quidditch, as, from the Forbidden Forest, sounds of clashing metal, growling and hissing echoed.

"Well, we can't let Kuwabara and Hiei have all the fun!" Yusuke grinned, and immediately started off towards the forest. Kurama chuckled and gestured for Harry, Hermione and Ron to follow; they could be of some use in the fight.

Poor Botan was left, glaring at the detectives' and wizards' retreating backs, muttering darkly under her breath as she took off with much more speed than intended and nearly fell off her oar.

……….

"C'mon!" Yusuke snapped impatiently, looking over his shoulder long enough to send Harry, Ron and Hermione a glare.

They'd been running full out for the past 15 minutes, at least, and though Kurama was keeping up fine, the three human wizards had painful stitches in their sides and were falling behind. They had to put out extra effort to jump over fallen logs, yank their robes free of various branches and thorns, and avoid little holes small animals had dug as homes.

"We're nearly there," Kurama assured them, in a much more gentle tone of voice than Yusuke.

They kept on running, Harry, Ron and Hermione panting hard, their chests burning and their heads swimming. Yusuke and Kurama hadn't even started breathing hard or broken a sweat by the time they all reached the battlegrounds.

They were looking at a huge, cathedral-sized clearing in the forest. The rich black soil was now stained a dark, sickly maroon color as blood flowed like a river from the bodies of the fallen demons and the ones that would inevitably be beaten. Hiei was right in the thick of things, slicing off heads and vital limbs expertly with his katana, the silver blade now gleaming a shiny liquid red. Kuwabara was swinging his sword wildly as he always did, slicing demons left and right but not being skillful enough to give the majority of his attackers fatal wounds. He simply wasn't used to such a huge battle royal.

Kurama, Yusuke, Harry, Ron and Hermione all drew their wands. No one had noticed their arrival due to the thick trees and bushes that concealed them, on the outskirts of the clearing.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione, stay on the edges of the battle until the dementors arrive," Kurama warned in a low whisper, "if you are attacked, a powerful Stunner should render them unconscious."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but was silenced when Yusuke glared at him, and so he was forced to watch Kurama and Yusuke enter the battle.

It was nothing like any of them had seen before. Kurama reached into his long crimson tresses, almost the same shade as the blood that was being shed so thickly, and pulled out a blood red rose. Snapping his wrist expertly, a green whip with long, needle-sharp thorns appeared as a shot of golden energy engulfed it. This use of his you-ki seemed to weaken him more, as his reflexes seemed slower than what Harry had seen in the videotapes. Nevertheless, his whip lashed around so fast Harry, Ron and Hermione could barely see it, slicing several demons at once and sending blood flying, staining the trees and bushes that surrounded the clearing.

Yusuke was simply blasting holes through many demons at once with shouts of, "REIGUN!", and the youkai were practically disintegrated as the orb of glowing blue and white light hit them head on.

The fight was over within minutes, though the bloody spectacle seemed to take hours to Harry, Ron and Hermione. Hiei seemed perfectly unhurt, his pale face and pitch-black clothes were splattered with crimson blood, but it was not his own, but his enemy's. Kuwabara seemed a bit winded, and a little scratched, but fine. Kurama and Yusuke, however, were obviously trying to hide the fact their previous loss of you-ki was taking it's toll. Both detectives were breathing fairly hard, and Kurama was slumped slightly, as his whip came down to earth with a metallic clang like a chain, but he held it up threateningly.

Suddenly, a cold chill filled the entire area. It was like a bucket of ice had been poured over each of the detectives and the young wizards, like their insides had frozen right down to their hearts and souls…

Hiei growled, not familiar with the feeling or liking it. "What the hell is this?" he demanded, sending a blazing crimson glare Harry's way.

"It's the dementors," Harry said, trying to sound as even and calm as he could.

::End::Chapter::

Again, sorry for the wait, now that I have this chapter writing more should come a lot sooner than three months apart. Like I said, I was thinking about deleting this fic so I didn't wanna waste time on writing chapters. But I've decided to keep it, so no worries.

Resurrected MIGHT be updated soon. There's either one or two chapters left, I haven't decided.