okay next episode time oh and it's the new revised version! HYAH! Ninja kick!

on with the show!

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EPISODE SEVENTEEN: ALL HELL BREAKS LOSE

It was the winds spewing from the mouth of the open gates that brought Kuwabara back to his sense and to face reality. As Kuwabara stared at the gates before him, he felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"After all this...after all this he won?" Kuwabara collapsed on his knees, the gates slowly opening. Wind sped for the gates, pushing, and pulling things inside, or throwing things away violently. Sage's body flew in, and turned to dust before it even reached the gates. This has been the small demon's plan the entire time. After all one bent on destruction and death really couldn't expected to be able to survive, now could they?

"KAZU! KAZUMA, MY SON!" Kari cried, fighting against the winds that tried to suck her in. Kazuma held his wife, and called for his son who shared his name.

"Kuwabara! Kuwabara!!"

"Get back! Kuwabara! Get back!!"

"Run away! Run away! Get back here!"

Everyone was screaming for Kuwabara, but it was a soft voice that finally got his attention.

"Ku…wabara?"

Kuwabara turned and saw his best friend was sitting up, with a bewildered look on his face.

Around him, everyone bore shocked expressions, but none could be more puzzled then Yusuke's. "Wasn't I...?" Yusuke whispered, and then turned to look at his friends.

"It's a miracle..." Kurama whispered, standing next to Kazuma and Kari, who looked just as stunned. Mukuro who was leaning heavily against Hiei looked over at Kuwabara who was staring completely fixated on Yusuke. "Did he revive Yusuke?" Mukuro asked, pressing her hand harder to her injury, "Did Kuwabara bring him back?" Hiei looked at her unable to give her an answer.

"What does it matter now?" The shortest Rekai finally said, "Sage has won. Hell is opening."

Kuwabara, unknown to the group, could hear every word they all said. He, himself, did not know how his best friend was now sitting up. Hadn't he died? How had Yusuke been revived…Kuwabara touched his head, and thought miserably, 'All I remember was Urameshi died and then...then I got angry...' Kuwabara's thoughts trailed off when he felt something touch his shoulder very gently.

Before Kuwabara could figure out what the gentle touch was, Yusuke was calling to him, as he struggled to his feet stumbling forward just a little. "KUWABARA! GET BACK HERE! WE HAVE TO LEAVE! DEMONS WILL BE COMING THROUGH ANY MOMENT! KUWABARA!"

The soft feeling on Kuwabara's shoulder made him tear his eyes away from Yusuke, and he turned to look at whatever was touching him.

Then all went white.

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Koenma watched with a grim face as his ogres ran back and forth, crying out frantically to one another. Boeton rushed to Koenma's side, and whispered, "Lord Koenma sir! You must escape your father has just sent the message that somehow the gates of Purgatory have been broken! The demons will come for you first!" Koenma looked at the pink-eyed girl, and turned to her making the young woman release him.

"Boeton, thank you for staying by my side," Koenma said with a calm voice, and a relaxed smile, "but I won't leave. This gate matter is all tied to Kuwabara, and the others. I've let them down...I couldn't help them, I didn't even have the decency of telling Kuwabara and Shizuru what happened to their parents." Koenma smiled at her teary face, "I won't leave."

"NO! KOENMA PLE-"

Koenma placed his hand on Boeton's lips, and smiled, "Just go Boeton. Tell my father what I have just said to you." Boeton shook her head frantically, "No, sir! No I won't! I can't!" Koenma looked sternly at her, and grabbed her by her shoulders, "This is an order, and my Father must be alerted so that he can try and fix things, I'm not leaving Boeton, and I won't let you stay here in harm's way."

The young woman began to sob, and Koenma sighed, "Please Boeton, you must go." She nodded, not looking at him, and whispered, "Koenma...if...if I give him the message and he lets me leave, do I have permission to come back?"

Koenma looked at her startled, "What?"

Her pink eyes met his brown, "Please," she begged, "I want to be by your side. I want to stand at your side, no matter what happens, I want to be at your side." Boeton looked at him with her wet face and Koenma sighed nodding giving her his consent.

Bowing deeply, she turned to leave, but he caught her hand. Her face went red and she looked at him in surprise. "Here," he said with a smile, and placed his pacifier in her palm. She looked at him, gave him a weak smile, and rushed off, taking off in the sky and headed for Yenma.

Koenma turned to all the ogres, and shouted, "ALL OF YOU! LISTEN TO ME!" At once, there was silence, and all eyes upon him. "Go home," Koenma said looking at them all sternly, "Go home, and try to get as far away from here as you can." Whispers filled the air, and Koenma narrowed his eyes, "I SAID GO!" The ogres jumped, looked at each others and bowed towards Koenma, for what they all felt would be the last time.

As the entire group of ogres began to leave, Koenma turned around and walked towards his room, where his desk, and paper work lay. He approached his desk, and looked at the lone paper that had been on his desk for over a week now. He glanced at the other piles of paperwork and with one sweeping arm through all the paper to the floor. It's not as if he had timed to do it now…but there was one thing he wanted to get down. One last piece of paperwork he wanted to get done.

He sighed, the emptiness around him pressing against his shoulders. He pulled out a pen and filled in the name, "Kazuma Kuwabara." Under the phrase, 'Name Of Deceased,' and proceeded to fill in the blanks as he went down the paper.

Age At Time Of Death:

17

Details of Death:

Murdered by a demon Sage. Further details unknown.

Description Of Deceased:

Orange hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Always tried to do the right thing with a goofy grin on his face. A very loyal friend.

Family Left Behind:

Shizuru Kuwabara, (Koenma paused for a moment and then added,) Eckiji.

Death A Surprise, Or Death On Assigned Day:

A surprise, and huge mistake.

Place Reserved:

Heaven.

Now at the bottom of his page, was just a place for him to stamp. He looked down at it, and sighed. He looked at a stack of papers on the other side of the room that he'd knocked all over the floor, but he turned away and looked back at the single piece of paper on his desk. The paper taunted him with the title of, "Confirmed Death Of Kazuma Kuwabara."

He glared at it, when he heard the creaking of the door. He looked up in surprise, and gasped, "George!" There in the doorway, stood George, the loyal blue ogre. He strode over to Koenma, and took his place at his side. Looking at the teen aged form of his lord, he smiled, "Shall we wait for them to come then sir?"

Koenma looked up at him, and smiled, "You want to wait for the demons with me? Why don't you leave?"

George smiled, and shrugged, "Because I feel no need to sir. I'm sticking with you, even if it's a dumb move on my part, sir." Koenma sighed, shook his head, and leaned back in his chair. He looked at the paper on his desk, and picked up the stamper.

There was a tiny thud sound as Koenma stamped the paper.

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Kuwabara blinked rapidly at what he saw as soon as the white died away. It was a boy…no it was himself when he was younger…or at least it looked like him. Only difference was, Kuwabara didn't glow white when he was young.

"Listen to me," the figure said in the most soothing voice Kuwabara had ever heard, "Only you can see me, and my time with you is very limited. Since the time everyone is born, someone is sent to watch them, and I have been watching you." The small boy smiled, "You are very special, no matter what anyone else says, and it is up to you to stop those gates from opening and stating Armageddon. To stop these gates you must leap inside hell, of your own free will."

Kuwabara gasped, and cried, "What? Why would I do that?!"

The glowing boy was suddenly eye level with Kuwabara and touched Kuwabara's face gently, "You must join with the gates of Purgatory, and become a new bar of the gates. That will close the gates."

Kuwabara stared at the small figure, and rose to his full height feeling a power wash over his body. A power all his own, a power that flowed from his will. "I...I am afraid," Kuwabara admitted. The small glowing child stuck his hand in Kuwabara's, "I will be here with you. I am always at your side. And I will always remain with you even as you suffer…"

Kuwabara looked down at the tiny boy, "So…you're like my guardian angel…this is really it then huh?"

The boy smiled sadly at Kuwabara and disappeared, and with him, the white light faded away.

Shaking his head, he saw his friends were in battle with demons that had started squeezing their way through the slowly opening gate. Kuwabara looked at his friends watching as they fought for their lives.

Kurama was slammed into the cave wall and blood burst from his mouth. Hiei growled loudly as a crooked blade stabbed him in the hip. Mukuro was behind him, speedily going from demon to demon, receiving many more injuries from this task. Kuwabara couldn't even see his parents anymore...finally his eyes fell on his newly revived best friend.

Yusuke punched another demon, sending him crashing to the ground, and his head immediately jerked up at the sound of his name being called.

"Yusuke."

He turned to stare at Kuwabara, and let his arms drop to his side.

The pair stared at each other, and they both remembered the countless times they had stood staring at each other just like this. This time it seemed different. They were both ragged, and tired. Both smelly, dirty, needing a bath, both injured, and miserable. And both had grown older from this ordeal. Kuwabara smiled at Yusuke who smiled back, and it was as if everything seemed okay.

As if the world was right and this whole ordeal was already behind them.

"You came to save me..." Kuwabara said smiling at his best friend.

"Of course I did dumbass I wouldn't just leave you! You're my best friend! Do you know how hard it would be to go find some new stupid oaf, have to break their face in over and over, and then get attached to them? That would eat up all my time and patience." Yusuke snorted, trying not to get lost in the strange crosses in Kuwabara's eyes…trying to keep the conversation normal and avoid the fact that the world had fallen into chaos around them.

"I'll never forget that, I'll remember that for as long as I can," Kuwabara continued walking backwards.

"Kuwabara..." Yusuke gasped as he saw his friend back up towards the gates.

"Good-bye."

"KUWABARA WAIT!"

Yusuke rushed forward as Kuwabara leapt backwards into the portal that led to the gates. His smiling face was the last thing he saw, when a demon tackled him. By the time Yusuke killed the demon, the portal was closed, and all the other demons that had been coming out from the gates lay dead around him and his friends. He stood up, and looked back at his friends, who wore the same face as him. Yusuke walked towards where the portal had been, and touched the wall.

Kuwabara was gone.

Yusuke couldn't understand how it happened. He hadn't seen Kuwabara do it but Yusuke knew Kuwabara had thrown himself in hell, and the portal had closed, and the gates had gone.

But even though those were the facts Yusuke couldn't piece the events together. Couldn't get everything in order…how did the gates close? Why did Kuwabara go? What stopped the gates? There were so many questions, but no times for answers…because there was still the biggest problem and that was the fact Kuwabara was gone. He was gone!!

"We came all this way...we went through so much..." Yusuke whispered, his entire body shaking, "WE WENT THROUGH SO FUCKING MUCH! KUWABARA! KUWABARA!" Yusuke punched the cave wall, shattering a large portion of it. All eyes were on Yusuke and staring at the wall that had swallowed up their friend in disbelief.

So this was how it was all to end?

The world was safe; the gates had vanished without a trace but at the cost of Kazuma Kuwabara? The person that everyone had come to rescue, had risked their lives for on this spirit breaking adventure…was gone? Where was the justice? How could this be happening…

Yusuke screamed angrily and fell sobbing on the cavern floor, crying out the name of his best friend. "KUWABARA! NO! IT'S NOT FUCKING FAIR! WE CAME TO GET YOU! WE CAME TO SAVE YOU! I CAME TO SAVE YOU! THIS ISN'T HOW IT IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!" Yusuke continued slamming his fists on the ground cracking the cavern floor and causing the cave to tremble at the might of Yusuke's despair, "I WAS SUPPOSED TO COME HERE AT THE READY AND SAVE YOU! I PROMISED TO NEVER LET SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN TO YOU…AND…GOD DAMMIT KUWABARA! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU GO OUT LIKE THIS! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DIE A CRAZY OLD MAN NOT…YOU'RE NOT…" Yusuke's voice died down and his sobs echoed in the cave, "You're not supposed to die like this…come on…this isn't right…Kuwabara…"

Yusuke's eyes flitted up to the cavern wall where the gates had once been, where his friend had been and he dropped his head in defeat letting out one final, frail, bitter cry.

"Kuwabara...Kuwabara..."

End of this chapter.

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