Random: Haha! I have smited the network and can finally upload. Sorry it took so long, guys, but teh network was down a t my house for a while and I couldn't upload.

Kai: Not to mention the two week brain block you had that you kept complaining to me about!

Random: Oh, just be quiet and eat a cookie!

Kai: COOKIE!

Random: Again, many apologies. (bow bow) And I will be leaving for a few weeks in a bit so I will try to update before than, but I am not promising anything.

Punkie: Since, they are all up apologizing and such, I had better do the disclaimer-

Random: Oh, oh, pick me, pick me, I'll do it! I OWN NOTHING SO PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE DON'T HURT ME AND KEEP ALL LAWYERS AWAY! WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!

Kai: Annyyyyywwaaayyyyyy...on with the chappie!

Chap. 15

Hiei turned, eyes open wide. Vines tore off the walls of the castle, whipping Hiei backwards. He slammed onto a tree and crumpled to the ground. Botan darted forward and laid her hands on his chest to heal the wounds, but he slapped her hands away.

"I can do this myself!" was his angry response.

He leapt forward, katana drawn again. He sliced at the vines, only to have another set of vines slam him backwards again. As he rose for a second time, Kurama placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling Hiei back. Hiei glared at him and Kurama shook his head and drew a rose from his hair.

"Rose Whip!"

The vines fell to the ground, dead. Hiei ran ahead, darting to the upper window, using loose, stuck out stones as stairs. Yusuke tried to follow, only to fall to the ground. Botan leapt on her oar and began to ride up, but Hiei waved her away.

"Help them and catch up when you can," he said softly, actually showing a bit of care for his friends.

"Okay."

"Stay together!" Hiei shouted as he disappeared.

"Did he just….worry about us?" Yusuke questioned.

"I think Mariko's doing him good," Yukina whispered, taking Kurama's hand.

"Yeah. I think she is."

With Mariko- (soon with Hiei too!)

"Tools! What tools, you freak!" Mariko shouted at Taru, even though he'd left.

There was no answer, just a questioning silence. Mariko pulled on her shackles, but to no avail. She was stuck good and tight. A crash echoed from the downstairs area and Mariko vaguely wondered what it was, but she was more concerned about what was going on with Taru. Suddenly, he came strolling out, pushing what looked like a doctors rolling tray.

"Goodness, my dear, Mariko, there is no need to yell…" Taru smiled placidly.

"Whatever, you sicko! What do you need a scalpel for? And pointed tongs? What is your problem! What's going on!"

"I suppose I should tell you now. I'll try to keep it simple for your little brain. Once upon a time, there was a demoness named Kalachi. She was a great jewel thief and traveled all over the Makai, stealing some of the most guarded jewels."

"What does this have to do with anything, you jerk-spaz?"

"Silence, wench! Anyway, one day she decided to steal the most guarded and most precious gems of then all, the one called Nevermore, the last black diamond, worth more than life itself. She knew it contained the power to overthrow all of the Makai, Reikai, and Ningenkai. So she proceeded to steal it. She had almost escaped when a demon hunter mortally wounded her with an emerald arrow. She died moments later, but not before she cast two spells with her dying breath. One was to transfer her spirit into a human form to hide and the other to possess the jewel when she was reborn."

He took a breath, smiling that placid, evil smile he was so good at.

"Unfortunately, the two spells clashed, causing Kalachi to lose all memory of her demon life and lose her demon spirit. She was born as a human girl, succumbing to a darker and more superstitious side of human nature. Fate stepped in and she met the Spirit Detectives. You know the rest."

"What was the point of that stupidity that spewed from your mouth just now?"

"My dear, don't you wonder what happened to Nevermore? Why, it came right along with Mariko without her knowledge. It is set right above her nose!"

"Don't you mean under my nose?"

"No. It is in your forehead, dear, just begging to be released!"

"Wait! Whom did I steal it from?" cried out Mariko, fearing that she already knew the answer.

Taru picked up the scalpel and turned to her, aiming the tip of the blade at her head. He grinned peacefully, as if in a trance.

"Me."

With the Gang-

"Do these vines never end?" gasped Keiko, severing one with her spear.

"I think we have to defeat the heart of the castle, but we can't even get in!" gasped Botan.

Yusuke's shotgun blasted another vine just as it reached for Keiko. Keiko simultaneously threw her spear and snapped the vine that was trying to curl around Yusuke's neck. They grinned at each other. Suddenly block stones began shooting out of the walls in a never-ending stream. When one was shot off, another instantaneously replaced it. One flew out, conking Kuwabara on the back of the head and he crumpled to the ground. Yusuke ran over.

"Kuwabara!" he shouted, shaking him.

"Hey, whatcha shakin' me for?" he asked groggily.

"Good Lord, you have the thickest head I have ever seen," Yusuke shook his head and walked off.

"I'm at a loss for what to do," Kurama gasped, looking around, "Hey, where's Yukina?"

He whirled around, fearing the worst. But Yukina was standing in the middle of all the vines, meditating under a protective force field. She slowly lifted her arms and began to chant, her eyes closed. Suddenly her arms flew to the sides, her eyes opened with an even more intense ice blue than usual as she screamed the end of her chant.

"Curling Frost!"

Suddenly everything was still. The vines were unmoving and flying blocks of stone dropped to the ground. Yusuke reached out and touched a vine. It shattered, chunks and splinters of ice flying everywhere. Yukina had frozen the enemy. She turned and pointed her finger into the mass of vines. An iced wind flew from her fingertip, clearing a frozen path directly to the castle entrance. She smiled softly and beckoned for the others.

"Come. We have a friend in need."

With Mariko-

Blood dribbled down the bridge of Mariko's nose as Taru made a shallow slice down the middle of her forehead. Taru smiled maliciously.

"What a sicko," Mariko thought, not daring to move and throw off Taru's aim.

Taru made the slice deeper and a small bit of black sparkled through. He moved toward it again, but suddenly there was a pounding on the door.

"Boss, Boss! It's terrible, come quick!" a voice shouted through the door.

"Dix, you moron!" Taru stormed over.

"Wait, that's not Dix," thought Mariko, "That's-"

"Can't you see that I'm in the middle of somet-"

Taru went sailing across the room as a fist smashed his face as he opened the door. Mariko attempted to smile, fighting the urge to pass out as blood dribbled more steadily down her face. Yes, that was most definitely Hiei.

Taru picked himself up as Hiei stormed in the room. Hiei drew his sword and was after Taru in an instant. He swung his sword, only to be blocked by Taru's own. Soon the two were too fast to be seen. The only clues to where they were were the spots of blood and sweat that dotted across the floor.

Mariko struggled to follow the fight as her normal senses would. But she couldn't. Her eyesight was hazy due to fact that she was nearing unconsciousness and the blood that was blurring her vision. She saw Taru finally manage to land a blow on Hiei, who was sent sprawling. Taru took the opportunity and slammed his foot onto Hiei's already injured chest. Hiei was pinned, unable to speed away.

"Love is a fool's errand," sneered Taru, slamming down on Hiei again.

Before Hiei could rise, Taru darted to Mariko and grabbed the tongs that he had let fall earlier. He neared them to her head. Hiei stood and took a step forward.

"Don't take another step," Taru warned.

"Cliché," Mariko managed to snarl a weak insult.

"Why not?" demanded Hiei, his fingers itching to snatch his sword and take off Taru's head.

"Because the second you move is the second this diamond comes out!"

"So?"

"This diamond is the only thing holding her to life."

Hiei froze as if Yukina had blasted him, eyes only slits with suspicion. Mariko quietly twisted her hand around, managing to snatch something off the rolling tray.

"You're bluffing," Hiei said.

"Am I?" challenged Taru.

Then everything moved at once. Taru grabbed the jewel and began to pull. Hiei flew forward, sword out. Then a sound made everyone stop.

Click.

Mariko's left hand flew out of the shackle and sank the scalpel directly into Taru's neck. She had picked the lock. Taru pulled the scalpel out, knowing that Mariko had just killed him.

"If I die," he gasped out, giving one last pull on the tongs, "then so do you!"

Nevermore flew out of her forehead. Taru hit the ground, gave on last weak maniacal laugh, and was gone. Hiei quickly broke the shackles that held Mariko and she fell into him. He quickly laid her out on the ground, hoping, praying………..but no. The end was inevitable.

Mariko's breathing was slowing and came hard for her; Hiei could see it happening. The light in her eyes was fading. She tried to focus on Hiei's face as if that would save her, but her vision was dark and hazy. She lifted her hand and put it on Hiei's cheek.

"I…I…..lo-" she gasped and blood trickled from her mouth.

Then her eyes lost their light and her mouth stopped in midsentence. Her hand fell and Hiei caught it before it hit the floor.

Plink.

Plink.

Two black tear gems hit the ground. Hiei wrapped Mariko's hand around one and laid it to her chest. He closed her eyes gently. The other tear gem shone sadly on the stone floor. Hiei picked it up and carefully held it tight to him. And then he cried.

Half an hour later-

Kurama pressed his ear to the door. He couldn't hear anything, not fighting, not yelling. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door in and stepped into the room. He beckoned for the rest to follow. Keiko gasped, horrified at what the (remains, I suppose) room looked like.

Stainless steel tables were sliced in half. The chair that held Mariko was a molten pile of metal. Burn marks were on the floor. The walls. The ceiling. Glass, stone, and metal was shattered all over the room. A cool wind blew through holes in the walls that Keiko was pretty sure that had not been there previously.

And then the group saw Mariko and Hiei. Mariko was still where Hiei had laid her. Hiei sat cross-legged with is sword propping him up. (A/N: kind of like how Rurouni Kenshin sleeps) His bowed head gave no acknowledgement that the group had entered. Yukina pulled herself to the front of the group.

"Hiei! Mariko!" she ran to them.

"Oh no," murmured Botan, feeling two spirits' presence in the room.

"Hiei!" Yukina grabbed him by the shoulders and began shaking him, "Hiei what's going on? Hiei, answer me!"

She looked to the ground and stared in wonder at the black tear gems that surrounded Hiei. She shook him again and then gave a surprised yelp when his hand snapped out and grabbed her wrist. He looked up and Yukina gasped. Tears were still rolling down his face. She enveloped him in a hug and began to cry simply because her brother was crying.

Kurama walked over, glanced in concern at the siblings, and bent down next to Mariko. He reached out to take her pulse, but pulled back, realizing that there was no pulse to take. The girls ran over and Kurama shook his head. He stopped them before they could see her. He didn't think that they could handle the gashes in her forehead or the blood on her face. But everyone got the message anyway. Mariko was gone.

Hours later-

Only Botan and Kurama were left at the castle. Yukina had taken Hiei home, knowing that he would not deal well with Botan having to do her job. The rest accompanied them, Keiko crying all the way. The boys were silent, finding no way to give comfort. And then it was just Kurama and Botan, both with a job to complete.

"Do you really have to do this?" Kurama asked softly.

"You know I do. I can't leave her here and I can't bring her back, no matter how much I want to. But I can leave her here while I take Taru to Reikai."

"Alright."

Botan took off on her oar, obviously dragging an unwilling spirit. Once she was gone, Kurama sat down next to Mariko. He couldn't see her, but he knew that she was there.

"I don't know what happened here, but I don't know if Hiei will ever speak enough again to tell us. That is the first time I have ever seen him cry."

Kurama sat and strained to here anything. Then he shook his head, knowing that there was no way Mariko could answer. But he could feel a heavy pressure of sadness cover the room.

"I guess you can only answer through emotions. I wish you could tell us what happened. I wish Taru were alive so I could kill him. I think everyone was thinking the same. I wish you hadn't left us."

The sadness became heavier.

"You too, huh? After wishing that you could die all these years, you find something to live for and then you leave us. But how did Taru get to ya? How could a weakling like that kill you!"

A dark aura began emanating around Nevermore. Kurama stood and picked it up. He looked around.

"This? Is this Nevermore? It is. Oh, Mariko. You didn't."

The jewel rose from Kurama's hand. Mariko had it, unwilling to give up the reason for her demise. Suddenly Botan was back. Kurama gestured to her where Mariko's spirit was and turned away, afraid of his own actions if he saw Mariko leaving forever. Botan quickly gathered her up onto the oar and, in a blink, they were gone.

Kurama turned to the Mariko on the floor. HE quickly gathered her up and headed back to the house. He knew where her will was and the funeral was waiting.

Three days later-

"And, finally, to Hiei, I leave my katanas and any of the men's black clothing that I have that he would like," Kurama finished the will.

Hiei didn't even look up. He spoke only once to explain what had happened and then he lapsed into silence. He hadn't spoken since. He didn't even say anything when the procession carried her out to the house to the back yard where, according to her wishes, she wanted to be cremated. And so that was how it was to be. Well, that is what would have happened if her body didn't disappear seconds after it was laid out.

Ranodm: Oh-hoh! One last cliffie for the fans! You know you love me, so don't leave me beforethe end!

Kai: (smile smile) I have a cookie! And I don't have rabies! (grumble grumble)

Random: (sweatdrop) Whatever...hey, Kai, when I get back from vacation, we shall have a sleepover! YAY!

Kai: (with a mouth full of cookies) Yay!

Hey, guys, thanks for sticking with me and my atrociously slow updating. I hope it is worth it! Many, many apologies, i hope that you will forgive me.

P.S. TSUME!