Chapter 7: Sagara's Plan

Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei walked along through the damp cave path, looking around for any signs of life. None of them realized it, but they were being closely monitored.

Sagara watched them walk down the fire-lit corridor with great amusement. He pushed a button on the armrest of the throne and smirked. "Let's see how they handle my army of cultivated humans," he said, chuckling a little.

"What was that?" Kuwabara wondered, stopping abruptly.

The others stopped as well and looked at him strangely.

"Someone's coming!" Kurama exclaimed, turning around.

The other three turned as well and followed his gaze down the hall as a group of about four dozen cultivated humans appeared before them.

"Not these guys again," Kuwabara groaned, bringing out his spirit sword.

"We don't have time for this," Yusuke added, preparing his shotgun.

Kurama and Hiei nodded and brought out their weapons as well.

The four of them charged the cultivated humans and attacked, killing the entire army.

"Hmm... Well done," Sagara commented, stopping his clock. "It only took them 90 seconds to get rid of all those zombies. I must say that I'm impressed."

The boys ran down the corridor as fast as they could and entered a huge valley at the end. They stopped abruptly and stared in awe at the valley around them.

"Where are we?" Kuwabara asked, confused.

"Where'd this valley come from?" Yusuke wondered. "I thought we were in a cave."

"It appears that the cave was just a passage into this valley," Kurama answered, looking around for Sagara.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Sagara called from ahead of them.

"Sagara," Kurama growled, dropping to a fighting stance.

The others followed suit and prepared to attack the demon.

"Where's Yasuo!" Kurama demanded, bringing out a rose whip.

"Right here," Sagara answered, stepping aside.

The boys gasped as they saw the small spirit fox asleep in a cage behind him.

Without thinking, Kurama dropped his whip and ran to the cage, kneeling down beside it. "Yasuo, wake up," he pleaded, shaking the cage slightly.

"He won't wake up for you, Youko," Sagara said, looking at Kurama over his shoulder.

Kurama turned to the fire demon angrily, still on his knees. His eyes widened as Sagara's eyes flashed red momentarily and whirled around as he heard movement in the cage.

Yasuo stood up but kept his head down, covering his eyes with his silver hair.

"Yasuo?" Kurama ventured, unsure of his son.

Suddenly, a light blue blast burst from the boy and desintigrated the cage around him.

Kurama hurriedly moved to block it and got hit by it as well. He was thrown to the ground and skidded along the grass, stopping at his friends' feet.

"Kurama!" Yusuke and Kuwabara called, kneeling down at his sides as the blast dissipated.

Yasuo straightened and turned to them, finally raising his head. He then looked at them, revealing a pair of blank china-blue eyes that were void of emotion or life.

"Are you okay?" Yusuke asked, worriedly. He glared at Yasuo and Sagara as the latter patted the boy on the head.

Kurama sat up and held his shoulder, gritting his teeth in anger. "What did you do to him!" he yelled, moving to his knees.

"I merely washed out his brain," Sagara answered, simply. "You see, he was useless to me as he was when I took him so I had to fix that problem before I could carry out my plans with him."

"What did you plan on doing with him?" Hiei asked.

"If you must know, I plan to use his power to take over the human, demon, and spirit worlds," Sagara replied, smirking. "I will then have him kill King Yamma and that pip-squeak, Koenma, and rule on high in their place. And, once I'm through with him, I'll kill him myself."

"You wouldn't," Kuwabara breathed, surprised. "Who would want to kill an innocent little kid like him?"

"He would, Kuwabara," Kurama answered, standing up. "He doesn't care a bit about Yasuo. He only wants him for the power he possesses as the Universe's greatest weapon. And that is all he sees him as... a weapon. A weapon that is only good for one thing and can be dispensed with once it's fulfilled its purpose." He took a step closer to Sagara and his son.

"You're angry," Sagara noticed.

"Yes, I am," Kurama agreed. "Angry with you for doing this to an innocent child and angry with myself for not being able to stop you." He abruptly transformed into his demon form and prepared to take on Sagara.