Chapter 10: The Final Battle

"What's this?" Sagara wondered, smirking. "The backup fighters?"

"WHAT!" Kuwabara screamed, angrily. "WE ARE NOT THE BACKUPS!"

"Whatever," Sagara sighed. "You'll be dead in a few seconds anyway, just like your pathetic friend." He shook his head and snapped his fingers.

Yasuo stepped up and dropped to a fighting stance.

"Hey!" Yusuke yelled, furious. "Kurama's not pathetic at all. He died trying to save his son's life. He's the most honorable guy I know and one of the best friends I've ever had. And if you can't see that, I'm gonna have to pound it into that thick head of yours!" He charged Sagara, fist raised, only to be knocked away by Yasuo. He landed before Kuwabara and Hiei and hurriedly got back on his feet, wiping the trail of blood from his lip. Man, that hurt, he thought. I wasn't expecting the kid to step in. He's a whole lot stronger than he looks.

"It looks like we're going to have to take care of Yasuo first before we can have the enjoyment of killing Sagara," Hiei said, drawing his sword.

"Wait a minute, Hiei," Yusuke ordered, never taking his eyes off Yasuo.

"What are doing, Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked. "Just let him go. We all know he fights better when he's mad."

"No," Yusuke argued. "We can't kill Yasuo. He may have killed Kurama, but he's still just a little kid. Besides, Kurama would've wanted us to save him."

"But..." Kuwabara started, looking over at Kurama's limp form. You really loved him, didn't you Kurama? he wondered. You gave everything up to save him. Well, don't you worry, buddy. We'll save your son from that monster. "You're right, Urameshi," he agreed, turning back to Yasuo and Sagara. "Let's rescue Kurama's son."

Yusuke smiled at him and looked over at Hiei. "Hiei, do you know how Sagara's controlling Yasuo?" he asked.

"Of course," Hiei answered, arrogantly. "It's a special kind of advanced mind-control that works similarly to brainwashing. The subject is manipulated by the user's spirit energy. The spirit energy is sent into their brain and controls their every thought and movement process. It's really not all that different from what I do with the Jagan eye."

"So, what you're saying is that the only way to reverse this is to kill Sagara?" Yusuke asked.

"You know, you're not as incompetent as you look," Hiei scoffed.

"All right then," Yusuke said, turning back to Yasuo and Sagara. "Well, that doesn't sound too hard. Me and Kuwabara can handle Yasuo while you get Sagara."

Hiei nodded and dropped to a stance.

"Ready, Kuwabara?" Yusuke asked, looking over at his friend.

"You bet!" Kuwabara agreed. He and Yusuke then ran at Yasuo, ready to fight.

Yasuo took a step back and elbowed Yusuke in the stomach, throwing him away. He quickly formed his own spirit sword and blocked Kuwabara's. Smirking at Kuwabara's stunned expression, he threw him away and blurred to take on Hiei.

Hiei skidded to a stop as the boy appeared before him and dropped to a stance. He blocked Yasuo's spirit sword with his own sword as the boy swung at him and continued doing the same as they got into a little sword-fight.

Yusuke sat up and looked over at Hiei and Yasuo. "Or you can take Yasuo, and we'll get Sagara," he muttered, standing. "That works too."

Kuwabara got to his feet as well and growled, charging Yasuo again.

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke called, angrily. "Oh, forget it." He shrugged before following him. Maybe we should knock the kid out first, he thought.

Yes, that's right. All of you just keep attacking Yasuo, Sagara thought. They've got thicker heads than I thought. They don't quite grasp the fact that I'm controlling him, and that the only way to beat him is to kill me. The idiots.

Meanwhile, something silver snuck through the tall grass behind him, getting closer and closer by the second. It lay down on the ground as flat as it could and transformed into its demon form. It slowly, cautiously, took a small seed out of its hair and flicked it at Sagara, smirking as it entered its target. It then purposely made a noise and stood up.

Sagara turned around abruptly, wondering who could have gotten behind him without his noticing. "Kurama," he breathed, stunned. "You can't be here. You're dead!"

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei stopped immediately and looked over at Sagara, surprised.

"Kurama!" Yusuke and Kuwabara cried, happily.

Their joy was cut short as Yasuo punched all three of them in the jaw.

"Actually, I'm very much alive," Kurama argued, smirking. "I only faked being dead to gain the advantage."

Sagara growled and fired a ball of flame at the spirit fox.

Kurama abruptly turned back into his fox form and dodged it. He took off running on three legs, smirking inwardly as Sagara chased after him.

"Ha! You're far too slow with that hurt paw of yours to get away from me," Sagara announced, grabbing Kurama's right hind leg. He lifted the squirming animal off the ground and brought his hand up in front of its face. "Say goodbye."

Not yet, Kurama thought, smirking inwardly. He narrowed his eyes abruptly, starting the death plant's growth process.

Sagara dropped Kurama in surprise as the death plant took root in his back. "So, that's why you wanted to get behind me," he said, looking over at Kurama who was seated before him. "You let me catch you so you could boost my ego, making it impossible for me to see this coming."

Kurama nodded, silently.

"I'm impressed," Sagara told him. "You are far more skilled than I could ever have imagined. Congratulations, my friend. You have won."

With that, Kurama forced the plant to finish its job.

Sagara fell to the ground in a heap of vines and limp limbs.

Yasuo also fell down, unconscious from the strain put on his small body.

Yusuke and Kuwabara immediately ran to Kurama, jumping over Sagara's body. Hiei picked up Yasuo before joining them.