(Yet another loss)

The heat was intense, not to mention the actual intensity of the battle. Well, maybe for Inu Yasha, that was. The wiped out half demon was panting on his knees, clutched his bloody wound; and seemed to be defying the fact that he was almost at his nerve's edge. Hiten looked back at his brother who was now strangling the life out of the female who had, in fact, deceived them both.

'Sakura was right…' Manten thought to himself as he looked into the eyes of the girl who had lied. 'I was right…Sakura was right…this little imbecile of a girl did trick us.'

"Look here, Manten!" Hiten yelled to him suddenly with a wide smirk on his face. "Our hybrid friend seems to have lost his will to rebel!"

"Heh!" Manten said, coming to. "What more of a lovelier sight is there than the face of a dying female?"

Kagome lay on her back; the only source of air that she had was tiny wisps of it through the small opening through her opened mouth. That didn't do much to help, and the fact that Shippo had lunged towards Manten's thick neck didn't do much to help, either.

"My, you think that you will be able to rescue your saviour?" Manten bellowed as he saw the small fox demon's fangs sink into his flesh. "If you don't let go, I will be more than pleased to twist off your head!"

As he watched the younger thunder demon bash Shippo's head and strangle Kagome at the same time, the silver haired hybrid glared at the older thunder demon with boiling anger.

"I'm not exactly a very nice person myself…" Inu Yasha spat. "But such swine like you disgust me! Blades of blood!"

As he brought out a blood smeared hand, the half demon lunged and swiped at Hiten. He merely smirked and blocked every attack that came to him with the blade of the thunder pike. The Raigekijin was now heavily smeared with warm, slick blood from the opponent, and Hiten found that it could do more than be used only for hurling attacks against Inu Yasha. Very much entertained, Hiten laughed out loud.

"Much better!" He yelled. "Now rebel some more like now!"

Taking the chance that those in the heavens had seemed to create, Inu Yasha dove forward and grabbed his Tetsusaiga. Jumping high in the air, he thrust it towards what Hiten thought to be towards himself. Seeing that the half demon had missed by a mile, Hiten jeered.

"What kind of a stupid aim is that?"

"It's perfect, that's what!"

She was almost there. Huffing as she strained herself from collapsing and giving up, Sakura powered her spirit and went on. She was almost at the end of the rocky hill where the battle was going on. Grabbing the side of the rock, she heaved herself up with all her might. She couldn't see Manten, Kagome or the little fox demon that Manten had been talking about.

Over the skies she could see Hiten hovering above with the aid of his fire wheels, looking petrified. Below him was the opponent, it seemed like. Flowing silver hair, golden orbs, claws covered in blood…this demon surely didn't seem like a weak one at all.

Sakura felt her heart drop and felt that something was seriously wrong amidst the battle.

"Manten!!!" Hiten screamed at the top of his lungs, flying top speed towards his suffering brother.

"You fools, get away from there!!!" Hiten could hear the hybrid screaming also. But it was merely a squeak to him. The hybrid didn't matter right now, nor did the hybrid's damn friends. What mattered now was Manten.

His brother. His brother who had stuck by him for onlyhell knows how long.

Manten…who had always been there for him.

"Move!" Hiten yelled and emitted a series of blasts towards the unconscious fox demon and Kagome. Not caring whether he killed them or not, Hiten threw his Raigekijin aside and fell on his knees before Manten.

"Manten…you idiot…you can't die now!" he cried; tears streaming down his face. Manten looked up with half opened eyes and saw his an-chan crying. Smirking, he struggled to say his last word.

"I'm sorry…" Manten rasped. "I must admit…I was always jealous of you. You had everything…my one wish was to have hair if I couldn't get father's looks. I thought…after I die, I could reincarnate as a fuzzy caterpillar with a lot of hair…"

"I don't care whether you have hair or not!" Hiten said. "I love every last bald inch of you and you know that!"

"Heh…but who am I to…to complain?" Manten said. "Just as long…as I can be your younger brother again, I'm happy…I should…should be grateful…"

"Manten…no…damnit! Don't die!" Hiten burst out crying as Manten's body went cold and limp, all the warmth from his body drained into nothingness.

"I promise you, brother…I shall avenge…" Hiten whispered in a shaking voice and plunged his hand straight into his younger brother's corpse. Ripping out the heart, veins and blood and all, Hiten savagely tore away at it with his teeth as his opponets looked on with a look of disgust and horror.

The feeling…the insanity slowly taking over him was spreading like Manten's blood was on the rocky ground.

Seeping in between the rocks, concentrating the dirt with the redness.

It was more than a feeling that he felt that he had to win.

It was a feeling that he had to win, avenge Manten's death and get back to Sakura.

He knew that Manten had promised Sakura many times that he would return alive and healthy.

Heh…right.

If Manten wouldn't be able to keep his promise, then he might as well keep it for him. That dirty hybrid ruined everything. It was then he realized that he should have listened to Manten and Sakura. The lies, the hoax that the girl had made up were true. Wiping off the last of Manten's blood from his lips, Hiten stood up, using the Raigekijin to help him keep his balance.

"You slaughtered my brother…I shall not let this pass!" he growled as thick flashes of lightening hit the surface of the rocky grounds. The dominant thunder seemed to know his state of pain, and Hiten flew towards the half demon and created a sphere of lightening and thrust it towards the direction of the half demon.

Gathering the last ounce of strength that she could muster, Sakura let out a grunt and fell as she made her way over the rocky hill and onto the battlefield. Hiten was looking baffled; and angered at a huge canyon that the opponent seemed to have created while defending himself.

Hiten was safe. He didn't even appear to have a scratch on him.

Manten…where was Manten?

She looked around, her short black hair twirling as she did so. There, in the corner of the battlefield, Manten lay down on his back.

"Manten!" Sakura cried in a hoarse voice. She crawled over to his huge body, and broke down in the presence of his lifeless being.

His cold, lifeless body. He seemed to have been killed off already, and in such a brutal way. A huge slit was there;to his chest down to his stomach, and a faint drool of blood trickled down the side of his mouth slowly.

"Don't worry, just wait here. We promise we'll be back."

"And I'll take care of your laundry, right? I'll be able to wash off the bloodstains and hang them up on the tree to dry, right?"

"On the pine tree. We promise we'll be safe."

'Liar…' Sakura thought as she placed a hand on the huge wound in the thunder demon's chest. A faint barrier of salty tears made its way through her eyes. 'You lied…you said you'd be back…you said you'd be safe. You said I'd be able to hang up your laundry...you liar…'

How she wished that she could see Manten so lively and happy again. But she knew that was no more. His life force had been ripped from him. It was all because…of that half demon. The opponent that Hiten had not even taken seriously.

The battle that determined either life or death…the next round…was about to begin.

(Looks up) Haha! I'm almost at my goal! 40 reviews away, LOL! Can you people tell me if this story's going to fast for you or no?

Oh yeah, and don't worry...both of them aren't going to die. But I have been thnking and maybe...Ah crap...why do I love to give things away!? (Heh...like I've ever given them away anyway....) Bye bye!

(Bounces away)