Kiko's Revenge

Here's the third chapter of the second installment in the Betrayal Series. This particular one has gotten quite a bit longer than I expected it to. It has taken me a while to write this and I'm getting ready to complete it. Hopefully, this will be the last chapter. That way, I can continue on to the next story. Hope you all enjoy the newest addition to Kiko's revenge on Kurama...

Warning: Character death and violence. Possibly language...

All foreign words (save for Japanese) are completely made up.

Ama- kitsune word for mom/mother.

CHAPTER THREE

Koenma approached Kuwabara, who was still watching over Kurama.

"Take him to Reikai. Ayame will be there to help out. He needs to be tended to."

Pulling out his pacifier, the young ruler conjured a portal and Kuwabara jumped in with Kurama over his shoulder.

Ayame sat in her boss' office, having been ordered to stay there to wait for the feuding tantei. She sat patiently, looking out the window.

She was startled by the appearance of the portal. She stood up and rushed to the vortex to help whoever was coming through.

When Kuwabara stepped out, the ferry girl gasped. He was uninjured, but the person he was carrying obviously was.

"He needs help," said the tantei. Ayame pointed to a cot next to the window, "Set him there. I'll take care of him."

"Okay..." Kuwabara set the unconscious demon down carefully. "Go back to Yusuke. Kurama is safe here."

Looking down to his friend in concern, the boy went back through the portal. Ayame continued to watch the area were the portal had been.

After several moments of staring, she turned to her patient.

Her lips curled into an evil smile and the ferry girl began to approach him.

Reaching into her kimono, she pulled out a dagger and positioned it over the most vital part of the human body: the heart.

As she prepared to thrust it down, she heard an urgent voice behind her.

"Wait!"

Ayame turned to the owner of the voice. She snarled at the person in the doorway, "Rajika, you were so eager to help us. Why are you defending him?"

Rajika gave a friendly smile, "First of all, how about you face me for real. No shape-shifting."

"Alright..." Ayame's body began to morph until the girl's real body appeared.

"Thank you, Kara."

"Now, tell me why you are defending him!"

"I'm not. I just think that attacking an incapacitated opponent is cowardly."

"You wouldn't have cared 500 years ago."

"Damn it, Kara! Quit being so stubborn. He's unconscious, you, Kiko and Botan are dead and now Hiei may die! Killing Kurama won't undo the wrong he has done."

"He killed me. It's only fair that I return the favor."

"Are you not listening to me? It won't change anything. You will still be dead even if you kill him."

Kara frowned and looked down at the floor, "I guess you're right." She slowly turned to the sleeping form of her brother and dropped the dagger on the floor.

She sank to the ground and began to sob, "I can't believe I tried to kill him. I almost murdered my own brother..."

Rajika took her friend in her arms, "It's okay, Kara."

"No, it's not! I made a promise that I'd always protect him. I almost broke that promise."

"Everyone breaks promises..."

"You don't understand! A kitsune is bound to their promise. I made it 2000 years ago when my mother died."

"Stay here and help him, then." Rajika stood up to make her leave, "Take care of him."

"Where are you going?"

"My Judgment's pending. I'm being personally tried by King Enma himself."

"That'll take a while, then."

"Not with a past like mine." The water spirit exited the room, leaving her friend alone with her dying kin.

Kara sat down next to her brother and prepared to help him start the healing process.

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Kuwabara stepped out of the portal to a horrific sight. Hiei was lying in a pool of blood and Yusuke was slumped on a nearby tree, no longer able to fight.

A figure was hunched over Hiei. It turned to Kuwabara and stood up. Once it got a few yards away, he finally realized who it was...

...Kiko.

"I hope you know you didn't leave him in good hands."

"What do you mean?"

"Ayame is out on her ferry right now."

"If that's not her, then who is it?"

"Who do you think it is, baka?"

"Kurama's sister..."

"That's right. She's about to help me complete my revenge."

"She's going to kill him?"

"You're not as dense as you lead everyone to believe."

Yusuke looked on from his position at the bottom of the tree. He could hear the conversation between the two people in front of him.

"Kiko, you won. Why do you keep going?"

"I'm not just getting revenge on Kurama; I'm getting everyone who has hurt me since then."

Yusuke called over, "If what you say is true, then Kurama should be dead and your revenge complete."

"Wrong. I have the feeling she won't finish the job."

"What do you mean?"

"She vowed to always protect him."

"You mean she can't do it?"

"That's right: she's bound to that promise with her soul. She can't kill him."

"Then why'd you have her help you if you knew?"

"I hoped she'd forget about that silly pact. We're best friends, but she still holds true to her word."

"That makes her a good person."

"Wrong again. She gave me the strength to defeat you and Kurama." Kiko gave a slight smile and walked away.

A pair of emerald green eyes opened slowly. A searing pain tore through Kurama's body as he sat up and turned to see where he was. He finally realized that he was in Koenma's office.

"Hello, Kurama."

"Hi, Ayame. How are you?"

"I'm okay. I'm more concerned about you. You took a nasty blow. You'll take a while to heal."

"Thank you for taking care of me."

"It's my job."

"I know."

"You need to rest." Ayame placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down flat.

Kurama seemed confused, "Ayame?"

"What?"

"You don't seem yourself..."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Your ki signature is not yours. It's –"

"Kara's?"

"Yes."

Ayame chuckled, standing by a small make-shift table, preparing herbs.

"Well," she started, turning to Kurama, "I guess that's because," her form changed, "I am.

Kurama's fear was noticeable as his eyes grew big.

"You've been here the whole time?"

"Yes. No one knows about it except you and one other person."

"Why didn't you attack me?"

"Rajika stopped me."

"Rajika?"

"Don't get your hopes up. She hates you even more than before."

"Then why...?"

"She doesn't think that attacking an unconscious or incapacitated opponent is noble. As you were both, she wouldn't allow it."

Kurama looked down, almost saddened, "Oh, well, I supposed that's appropriate."

"I would think that, of all people, you would understand."

"Yes, I do. The thing is: Why would you want to attack me?"

"You betrayed her, Kurama! That's the same as breaking a promise. That is punishable by death in our species!"

"But..."

"Only another of our species can carry out the sentence."

"Kara..."

"I'm the only other one left! I have to kill you, Kurama!"

"No, you don't..."

"I have to!"

"No..."

"Tell me one reason why the laws of our species would not allow me to execute you for your crime."

"I was under the influence of feral mating instincts."

"Yes, but you then mated with her again in the morning when you were fully aware."

"That wouldn't have meant anything...!"

"You marked her..."

"While I was in heat!"

"That holds no excuse."

"How?"

"If you had truly loved Kiko, your instincts would have been directed at her!"

Kurama looked down in defeat.

"Just let me have one final word."

"Fine."

"I had to watch you kill Botan. I was forced to kill Kiko and you stepped in the way of an attack..."

"Wait! You killed her?"

"Yes."

The girl's eyes began to flash gold, "Now, you'll wish you'd never been born!"

Kiko disappeared from view of the two Spirit Detectives. When he was sure that she was gone, Kuwabara made his way to the injured Yusuke.

"Hey, Urameshi, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kuwabara helped the team captain to his feet.

"Where do you think Kiko went," he asked.

"She could be going to Reikai to finish what she started."

"You mean kill Kurama?"

"Yeah..."

"We have to stop her!"

"She'll fight until she kills him. If we get in the way, she won't stop. She'll kill us, too."

"I'd rather die protecting my friends, Urameshi."

"We can't..."

"We either save Kurama or you tell his mother that her child was murdered for being a demon."

Yusuke's eyes grew big, "No, I don't- I can't do that! I don't want to have to tell her what happened."

"Then let's go! If he's killed, at least she'll know that his friends were there to help him. Do you want her to remember us as the 'not-so-great' friends who ran away or the protectors who died trying to save him?"

"I get it, Kuwabara!"

"Come on, then." The boys ran off in the direction that Kiko had disappeared to.

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"If you attack me, you'll have to die as well!"

"Why?" Kurama looked at his sister in disbelief, "You'll be breaking a promise."

"It doesn't matter, Kurama. I'm already dead!"

"You promised Ama that you would never let me get hurt!"

"I promised I'd protect you from others. I never mentioned that fact that I could be the one that kills you."

"Kara..."

"I don't want to hear it anymore! You betrayed both of us: Kiko by breaking mating customs and me through death. You killed all of us by loving Botan!" The powerful demoness moved closer to her brother, materializing a small seed in her hand.

"I think you know what this is, my dear brother."

"Indeed I do."

"You never helped me! I always cared for you."

"I did once, remember?"

-/FLASHBACK/-

A fully grown kitsune sat in the sweltering heat of the summer Makai sun. She was sitting amidst her roses; using all the water she could to give her precious flowers water. The drought had lasted a full month and the plants were wilting to the point where her earth based power could not help them grow any longer.

Her brother Kurama was watching her from the shade. He had a worried look on his face; that look that one would get when one was about to do or witness something dangerous.

Of course, Kurama was going to do the latter. He and Kuronue had another raid planned and they were getting ready to leave.

Kurama approached Kara, "Are you coming?"

"No, I need to stay here and take care of the roses."

"Don't overwork yourself. This is dangerous."

"Do you think that I enjoy it when my brother and my mate go around Makai robbing people?"

"Well, in any case, your condition will not allow you to keep this up for long.:

"There is nothing wrong with me," Kara sneered.

"Well, you're with child now, so I'm going to have Yomi stay here with you."

"Fine, just don't get yourself killed."

"I won't." Kara smiled and returned to the roses.

"Well, if anything happens, Yomi can help me."

"Yes."

"Good luck." Kurama nodded before turning around and leaving for the raid.

Kara continued to care for her plants, having sat down to do so. She was 6 months along and she could barely bend over. She had been tending to all of the plants for the last week. Between being pregnant and the heat exhaustion, Kara's power was ebbing and she was about to give in.

She grabbed two buckets and made her way down to the creek. Since her bulging stomach prevented much movement, she sat down on the bank and put her feet in the water. She quickly filled the buckets and returned to the garden.

Kara's friend Rajika stood by the roses, waiting for her return.

"Hello, Rajika."

"Kara, you ought to know better than to work in the heat while you're carrying."

"I know. It's just that Kurama isn't around much and I'm the only other one who can get close enough to the plants."

"At least let me help. I am a water demon, after all."

"Okay. You can go water the death plants. I'll make sure they cooperate."

Rajika smiled, "Alright." She leaned over, "Yomi's watching you from the inventory tent, so take care of yourself."

"You're starting to sound like Kurama."

"Well, he's right."

"How about you just go water the plants." Kara snickered at her friend.

Rajika went to the other end of the three acre garden.

Kara returned to watering the plants at the back end of the garden. She staggered around a little, being very tired from the time she'd spent outside.

Rajika and Yomi both noticed her odd behavior. They were almost 1 ½ miles away from her, though, and they needed to be able to reach her in seconds.

Kara returned to the creek to fetch more water. She staggered even more, her vision blurring.

She got back to the bushes and poured the water on them

She turned around to walk back to the creek once more when she heard a noise behind her. She waved to her brother, who had returned with an injured group member. Yomi helped him tend to the man, taking him to the medical tent.

Kara resumed her long walk to the creek. Her vision continued to blur and her staggering became worse.

Rajika kept a close eye on her friend. Her eyes narrowed. She could sense something wrong.

Kara sat back down on the bank and filled the buckets once more.

She climbed back up the bank. She made it just to the top before she dropped the buckets.

She fell to her knees. Her world went black as she fell unconscious to the ground on top of the bank.

Rajika screamed for Kurama, "Kurama! Help her!"

Both Kurama and Yomi ran across the garden with Rajika in tow.

Kara's position on the bank was not stable and she began to roll down towards the water.

"NO!" yelled Kurama, running faster to catch her before it was too late.

They made it there right as she hit the water. Kurama dove in after her, as she began to float away. He reached her just a few feet off shore. He dragged her back to the bank and Rajika took her while Yomi helped Kurama out of the creek.

He took his sister from Rajika and held her in his arms.

"Come on, Kurama. Let's get her to the medical tent," said Yomi.

"No, I'll take care of her myself." He turned to the two other demons, "Alone, if you don't mind."

"Sure." Rajika and Yomi went back to the tents, leaving Kurama to take his sister back to the den.

He sat there, cradling her in her arms, 'I warned you. You didn't listen to me.'

Kurama lifted himself off the ground with Kara. He started walking back to the den. Kara's long hair, which was tied up, was swaying around with the movement.

When they reached the den, Kurama set her down on her bed. Her arms fell limply to the floor.

Kurama wet a cloth in cold water and placed it on her forehead.

This process continued for several hours.

-/ END FLASHBACK/-

"That was a thousand years ago!"

"So?"

"I've taken care of you for so long that that incident doesn't count."

"Well, I hope you two are almost finished with your little talk," Kiko said, stepping into the room.

Kara moved away from Kurama, "Kiko, I thought you were..."

"Dead? Yeah, well there was a deal made and I was granted another chance."

"What are you doing here?"

"I should have known you wouldn't finish the job, so I came after I was finished with Yusuke."

"You didn't hurt him, did you?"

"I didn't kill him."

Kara approached her friend, "What did you do to him?"

"I incapacitated him." Kiko began to move closer to Kurama.

Kara went behind her, "Don't kill him."

Kiko looked into her eyes, "Are you going to help me or not?"

"No."

"You traitor!" Kiko threw a hard right hook and hit her friend square in the face. Kara flew backwards into the wall headfirst. After impact, her limp body slumped to the ground.

Kiko suddenly realized what she had done. She ran to Kara's side, "Kara? Kara, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hit you!"

Her words of apology could not penetrate the unconscious girl's ears.

Kurama snapped at Kiko, "Now do you see what your stubbornness has caused? You're too far gone to even understand your best friend!"

"Shut up!" Kiko summoned her sword and charged.

She got just a few feet away from her target when she felt a sharp pain in her back.