A/N: I knew there was something wrong with last time's chapter preview… I messed up on it. I'm so sorry! I really ought to go over more than one chapter at a time… Anyway, please review!

11. Jiusenki's Plan – Kill or Be Killed

"What kind of offer?" asked Hiei, his hand stealthily sliding to the hilt of his katana.

Jiusenki noticed Hiei's hand slip to his sword and smiled a bit. "You probably realize the world is gone," he said, addressing the two as if they were naïve fools.

Hiei was not amused by Jiusenki's obvious statement. "I'm not blind," he replied edgily.

"That makes one of us!" Kuwabara added grumpily. He was still blinded by Killer's bright, blinding white soul-lights, and he was still angry about it.

"Yes, I can see that," Jiusenki said, then continued, "Anyway, as you may have noticed, everybody's souls are captured inside that little bird you hold in your hand." He nodded at Killer, whom Hiei was holding with his free hand that wasn't on his sword. "A soul is what a human needs to live, without it, they are nothing. This bird is basically the only thing that is keeping all the humans truly alive. They are not dead yet."

"Then there's hope for the world!" Kuwabara shouted, pumping his fist into the air. Hiei was relieved as well – he just wasn't as vocal about it.

"Now, I could just kill this bird right here," Jiusenki said musingly, stroking his chin with his large, scaly hand, "and everybody on Earth would truly be dead. But then, I wouldn't be able to play my trump card…"

"Trump card?" asked Kuwabara.

"What is it?" snapped Hiei.

"I'm glad you asked," Jiusenki said, his lips curving into an ugly, sinister smile. "I will be needing your help—"

"Us? Help you! No way! You're evil!" Kuwabara shrieked, flailing his arms wildly about to express his rage.

"Note, I didn't mean 'your' in the plural sense," Jiusenki said, again with the tone of one explaining obvious things to naïve fools. "When I said 'your', I meant Hiei."

Hiei's eyes narrowed, and his left eyebrow shot up.

"What? You mean I'm not invited to help! Oh, gee, thanks, that really makes me feel loved…" Kuwabara mumbled.

"I thought just a second ago you didn't want to help," Hiei spat. "Make up your mind!"

"Truth is, Orange-Haired One With Low IQ," Jiusenki said, "I don't really need your help. Who I really wanted was Hiei, the fire demon, and Kurama, but thanks to a… miscommunication…" He glared harshly at Koto, who recoiled in embarrassment and shame. "… things didn't work out, and we got stuck with this fool instead." He jerked his thumb rudely at Kuwabara.

Hiei's eyes narrowed again and a low growl leapt out from his throat. He means to say that thanks to a mistake from the fox-girl, I could've been stuck with Kurama instead of The Idiot! At least I can stand Kurama! "Could you get to your point?" Hiei asked Jiusenki, impatience and anger laced in his voice.

Jiusenki smiled again. "I need your help in destroying Spirit World."

"WHAAAAT?" Kuwabara yelled, standing up and toppling over in the process. "Destroy Spirit World! Are you crazy? You-you can't do that! You can't destroy Spirit World! You are sick! Sick and evil and crazy, you freak of nature! You should die! I can't believe you would even think of destroying Spirit World, you monster!"

"Shut up!" Hiei snapped at the gibbering Kuwabara on the floor. He then turned back to Jiusenki, question – and even a little bit of intrigue – in his large scarlet eyes. "Destroy Spirit World, huh?"

"That's right."

Hiei seemed to ponder this for a moment.

"DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE ACTUALLY THINKING OF AGREEING WITH HIM!" Kuwabara shouted, spit flying from his mouth.

Hiei ignored him. "And what if I don't help you destroy Spirit World?" he asked Jiusenki.

"I will kill that bird you're holding, killing off everybody trapped inside. Every human on Earth will die."

Hn. Not like I care. I never liked the humans anyway… Hiei thought, but he figured he'd better hear what was in it for him if he helped Jiusenki. "And what if I agree to help you?" he asked.

"As your prize for helping me, I will let you choose a few select people to come back to life with you. Then everybody else will be killed."

Hiei cocked his head to one side, weighing the options. The former had only one thing that was beneficial to him – no humans to deal with. But… he thought, remembering his previous loneliness. Not all of them were bad… not Kurama, and even the Spirit Detective was okay. And Yukina… she had been in the Human World and had her soul sucked into that bird… He pondered the latter – helping Jiusenki. If he helped the dragon demon, he could have Yukina, Kurama, and Yusuke come back to life, and not be bothered by anyone else. Plus, with the destruction of Reikai, there would be no Koenma or King Yama to boss him around anymore and force him to help out with the Spirit Detective's assignments.

"What are you thinking about, runt!" Kuwabara demanded. Again, Hiei ignored him, figuring he'd better find out if there was a catch involved and find out all the information he possibly could from this mysterious dragon.

"Why do you want to wipe out the Human World?" Hiei asked.

"Yeah, why does everybody have to die?" Kuwabara added.

"There's not enough room in Makai for everyone," Jiusenki said. "Besides, they would probably all die in seconds anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Hiei asked. I hate people who are vague… he added to himself.

"When Spirit World is gone," Jiusenki went on, "you and the lucky chosen friends will come and live with me in the Makai. If I feel like it, I'll let the lower-class demons run around on planet Earth and Reikai, but the main thing is, I will become ruler of the entire Makai once I wipe out all the humans – every Makai demon's dream!"

Hiei scoffed. "You really think you could become ruler of Makai? Where have you been living the past eternity? There is no real ruler of Makai. You live for yourself. Sure there are kings, but how much do they really control others? You take orders from nobody. You mate, you eat, you die. You live by your own rules. If you truly think you can become ruler of everybody, you are indeed a fool."

Jiusenki ignored Hiei's little speech. He would become ruler, no matter what the pessimistic punk said. "That doesn't matter," he said. "You see, all demons will bow to me once I accomplish what they could not – total destruction of the Human and Spirit Worlds!" He finished this proclamation with a loud, sinister guffaw.

"Hey!" Kuwabara interrupted. "Why are you all talking like I'm not here? Don't I have a say in this, too? I say that this dude – whoever he is – is an idiot and can't take over the Human and Spirit Worlds! We have to defend the justice! WE CAN'T LET EVIL TAKE OVER THE WORLD!"

"Cool the drama," Reishi said calmly from behind Jiusenki. "We will do away with you properly and make sure your death is quick and painless."

"WHAAAAT? But I don't want to die!"

"Too bad!" Jiusenki snarled. "We don't need you, human. You are too weak."

"Weak! Hey! Do you realize who you're talking to! I am Kazuma Kuwabara the Man, Defender of Justice, and Protector of my World! And I say you can't do this!"

"Be quiet, fool!" Jiusenki commanded, his voice reverberating off the walls and causing a little decorative wall hanging to come tumbling off its hook. "You may have your uses…" he continued ponderingly. "We might keep you alive a while longer."

Damn… thought Hiei.

NEXT TIME – PLOT OF A BETRAYAL – REISHI'S REVENGE!

--crazykitsune17--