And as I promised, here is the other chapter. Sorry its so long...

Chapter XI

"Hey where's Aya?" Yumi asked. She and Hiei had just gotten back from taking their walk. They had fun considering they didn't only take a walk...Hiei and Yumi took a seat beside Kurama who looked up at them.

"Where's Aya?" Yumi asked again.

"Oh, she went to the bathroom, though...that was about fifteen minutes ago." he mumbled sitting his head back down. Yumi exchanged a worried glance with Hiei.

"Don't worry Kurama." Yumi assured him as she soothingly patted his back. "She probably just got lost or something; you know how ditzy she is," she laughed. Kurama lifted his head and smiled.

"Thanks Yumi, you're probably right."

Yumi nodded to Kurama as she got up and walked out into the hallway. What can she be doing in the bathroom for fifteen minutes...? Yumi pondered. She rounded the corner to the girl's bathroom where she was welcomed by some evil glares from what she suspected to be popular girls who loved the spotlight. She ignored them as she reached for her sister's presence. Yumi's eyes widened in dismay when she couldn't find her sister; in fact, she couldn't even feel her presence in the building. Crap. Where did she go? Yumi groaned as she pushed the door open and stomped down the hallway leaving a bunch of confused girls in the bathroom.

Adrian and Aya appeared in a forest in a matter of seconds. Aya could tell that they were in the demon world –the trees were as white as bone and leafless. They were near a cliff and the ocean was black, barren and lifeless; the wind frigid with anticipation. She glared at him.

"Why did you take me here?" she said as she backed into one of the lifeless trees. Adrian smiled.

"I thought you'd like to help me repair this forest," he said as he stepped up to her. He stroked her cheek affectionately and pulled her face into his.

Don't let anyone get in your head!

Wait a minute…what? She thought to herself. She wasn't sure where the familiar voice was coming from, but she was sure that it seemed to eco from deep inside her head.

You let people in too easily!

Is that…it's Yumi? Wh…What's going on…My head. It hurts…

So what are you gonna do? Are you going to let anyone get inside you and control?

What? No…

What do you say Aya? Are you going to stick up for yourself?

...Yes. I will.

Are you going to snap the hell out of it!

YES! That's when she remembered, when she remembered where her sister's voice and particular choice of words came from. It was ages ago when Yumi decided to start to train Aya's mind's defenses. It was when Aya failed and failed time and time again. These words were what made her finally get it right and become stronger.

Aya's eyes widened as she defeated the last of the spell she was under. She turned her cheek just in time to avoid Adrian's kiss.

Anger flashed in his eyes for a moment –Aya could tell—though he quickly tried to hide it; she side-stepped out from beneath him.

"Kurama...I'm with Kurama now," she said, boldly as she turned to face him. He looked at her critically as he sized her up; he laughed evilly.

"You've become stronger!" he exclaimed. "I thought my tricks would work on you, but I was wrong wasn't I?" He said wryly. "Rebellious wench! I guess I'll just have to beat it out of you; you're starting to become too much like your sister!"

Aya was suddenly slashed in her stomach, the force knocking her into a tree splitting it in two. Only by instinct was she able to dodge the next blow aimed at her neck. Mid-way through the air she transformed into her Kitsune-self. She used the momentum gained to sharpen her claws and strike Adrian cutting him in the torso. A thick line of blood formed from the deep wound from his left hip to his right shoulder. He grimaced in pain as he gathered his energy; he threw the energy blast straight towards Aya. Her eyes narrowed as she easily dodged the blow and in one fluid movement struck at Adrian again. With all means, the blow should've hit its intended target, but for some reason unknown to her, she missed him; she clawed at nothing but air.

"Illusion!" she hissed, but unfortunately the revelation was made too late. A harsh blow landed on her cheek—blood ran from three parallel cuts. The attack was followed by a furry of blows to her mid-section of her body. Again she was hit, but not yet defeated. She retaliated with a drop kick that sent Adrian flying into the trunk of another tree. It looked as though he was down for the count –or so Aya thought. She released the power that she had used to transform and reverted back into her human form. That's when she was hit; she recognized the pain immediately. She heard the familiar chanting that sent chills crawling up her spine and unwanted memories come forth. She tried to move her arm, but couldn't. Damn. He paralyzed me! Adrian walked over to her.

"Hm, I guess you have gotten a little tougher," he said as he spit blood on her dress. Aya grimaced. "Oh, don't look at me that way," he jested.

"I should've made the cut deeper," Aya replied cheerfully making Adrian grimace once again. White-hot rage seethed in his violet eyes as he mumbled some unknown curse then licked is hand. He used the hand to touch her shoulder. She screamed in agony as her skin burned from the black magic. He did this about a hundred more times leaving her dress in shreds on her, barely covering any of her skin. He ripped the roses from her hair that Kurama had grew and tore the large rose—the rose Kurama had first given her –out of her hair and held it in front of her face.

"Hmph, Kurama. Who does he think he is, Romeo?" he hissed as he crushed the rose in her face. He let the petals of the beloved rose fall to the ground before he stomped on them. Aya's eyes widened, glistening with unshed tears.

"No!" she yelled. She broke free from the spell –much to Adrian's surprise—and tried to pick them up. She managed to pick up most of the pieces before Adrian had cast another spell making her fall in agony. He kicked her in the ribs forcing blood and bile to come up and out of her mouth.

"Wench," he mumbled as he conjured his nine-tailed whip. He brought it down on her back starting the long process of forming new scars...

"YUMI, KURAMA!" she screamed as she was whipped again and again.

Yumi had just reached the table where Kurama and Hiei sat when she suddenly felt a rush of pain shoot up her spine, registrating in her brain. She fell to the ground as she heard her sister scream in pain triggering a sudden vision in her mind of Aya being whipped by Adrian in a dead wasteland of the demon world. Hiei was beside her, helping her up in a matter of minutes. Yumi's eyes were wide in terror, but quickly changed to a look of glowering hatred. She disappeared in front of everyone in seconds without explanation.

Kurama had the same look on his face as Yumi had for he too had heard Aya's call and saw her being whipped. He knew it was definitely not a vision from their past; he recognized Aya's dress—if it could still be called as such. He growled in rage as he ran out the door; a confused Hiei followed close behind.

Not far from the school had Kurama lost patience and turned into his Kitsune-self. Hiei had to boost his speed to keep up with him.

"What is going on!" Hiei yelled at Kurama. Kurama didn't even look toward his friend before answering.

"Aya, she is hurt," he said, monotone.

"What?"

"Adrian is there!" Yoko Kurama snarled. "He's torturing her and Yumi has teleported herself there, presumably to fight."

Hiei's eyes widened as the realization of the situation sunk in. If Adrian was there then Jase couldn't be far behind. His eyes narrowed to slits as the anger began to seethe beneath his skin. "Stop Kurama," he ordered. Reluctantly, Kurama stopped and turned to Hiei.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked. Hiei untied his bandana in response. The Jagan eye glowed deep violet as they were both transported to the demon world's gate, on the far side of the earth, in the blink of an eye.

Yumi wasted no time in finding the barren landscape Adrian held her in. She turned into her demon-self as she ran atop the ghastly trees. Her ears pricked up as she heard another familiar scream of agony. This is taking too much time! She thought before she used her powers to sink into the shadows while thinking of ways to torture THEM.
Hiei and Kurama arrived before the luminous, blue portal to the demon world. Without hesitation, the two ran through it and ended up in an unknown territory. It was red and blistering as volcanic lava replaced streams and rivers. The sky was a crude black and there were no trees remaining, except for the occasional few that were long dead from the intense heat surrounding them. Hiei and Kurama were too determined—and mad—with worry to be fazed by the heat.

They each snapped their heads to the west—the direction that they felt Yumi's familiar aura suddenly strengthen.

"Can you teleport us there?" Kurama asked impatiently. Hiei scowled.

"No. There is too much demonic aura in the atmosphere. Dammit! We'll just have to do it the old fashioned way. Besides, it's not that far..." he grunted as he sped off leaving Kurama to catch up. If you get killed Yumi, I'm going to kill you... he thought as he entered a second territory then another and another.

Aya screamed as Adrian brought the whip down harder. She could feel the blood seeping from her fresh wounds like a crimson river.

"Hmph, I thought you'd be used to this by now," he sneered. Another sharp crack was heard as he brought it down even harder, this time tainted with some black magic that sent spasms of lightening throughout her body.

"Please stop..." Aya cried. "Why are you doing this to me?" she asked between sobs. He smiled evilly.

"Because I need you to be a good little girl for me again," he answered. "I don't know what your sister or your new friends have taught you, but you better forget it fast, or the pain will be even worse."

"Kurama..." she whispered.

Adrian grimaced at the name, jealousy written all over his face. "You will NEVER EVER mention that name again!" he hissed. She screamed as he through another dark energy attack on her. She was immediately enveloped in a black cloud that could've been mistaken for a rain cloud—not that that could have been far from the truth. Lightening bolts struck her sending waves of gut-wrenching pain up her spine.

Adrian laughed again as he drew his arm back for another blow from his whip when he was suddenly knocked into a tree, smashing it into splinters. The pain emitting from his neck told of the damage done.

"I believe she said stop," Yumi hissed. She descended towards him as she conjured ice around her. "DIAMOND DUST" she yelled as tiny ice daggers formed and hurled themselves at Adrian. He barely managed to maneuver behind some trees. He heard the thuds and cracks as the trees behind him were torn apart and those closest to him stabbed.

"Got to watch out for that..." he muttered to now one in particular. He looked out from behind the tree—she wasn't there. He sighed in relief as he looked up. He jumped; Yumi was standing face-to-face with him. She snarled, the sound sounding remarkably similar to a lion or panther's growl, as she jumped back and brought down her fist, hard. He dodged the attack with some difficulty as he counter-attacked with a spin kick. She, in turn, dodged the blow and sent a furry of punches and kicks Adrian's way; he managed to block most but one hit home. He spit out blood and bile as he staggered backwards. Yumi grinned sinuously as she conjured her dragon sword to her side.

The frigid air surrounding them did nothing, but fuel her rage towards him. It reminded her of what he did to her sister when taking her here. She unsheathed the sword; Adrian flinched as he heard the ring of the sharp blade against its sheath. He got up from the ground and started to run with difficulty—he felt a rib crack when she hit him last. Crap. She's gotten even tougher than before. Jase you better get your ass down here and stop watching! He thought as Yumi emerged from a shadow in front of him. She pointed the sword at him; it let out a roar as it released a beam of energy at Adrian.

Adrian looked around him frantically searching for something to hide behind. Nearly all the trees nearest him were wiped out—nothing but mere splinters now. He cringed as the blow hit him awkwardly in the side. Well, there goes a few ribs...he thought with morbid humor. He truly began to believe that he was going to die until his dark thoughts were interrupted by a familiar, cruel, harsh snickering. Yumi turned around sharply preparing herself to face her worst enemy ever.

Jase.

Hiei and Kurama were in another territory, even closer to their target now. They could each feel the presence of Yumi and Aya grow stronger with each footstep. They ran through dark tunnels that basically made the territory they were in. Each was growing impatient with the time it took to run; they couldn't help but feel helpless as precious time slipped by.

For what seemed like an eternity, especially after they killed many weak demons that were in their way, they finally reached the end of the tunnels. They stepped out of the cave to find themselves in a world of black and white. It looked as though it was a barren waste land of nothing but black soil and dead, bone-white trees. They were on the beach; the irregular black waves crashed against the cliffs surrounding its edges.

"They're here." Hiei stated as he looked around. Kurama didn't wait for Hiei; he only kept on walking out of the cave and onto the beach. He had already sensed the area where Aya and Yumi were and didn't have time to talk, even if he knew that Hiei was doing it in hope that it would calm him down. He didn't want to be calm right now. He had to KILL Adrian for what he was doing. He'd, respectively, let Hiei take care of the other one.

Hiei shrugged his shoulders as he ran past Kurama and started to jump from tree-top to tree-top, looking for any sign of a fight or struggle. Kurama was running beneath him trying to pinpoint exactly where he could feel the energies.

Hiei this way! Hiei heard Kurama yell in his head. Hiei looked down from the trees and spotted Kurama running up a hill towards one of the cliff's edges; he followed Kurama to a clearing obviously made recently.

Kurama's ears perked up as he heard voices. He grabbed Hiei by his shirt and made him hide behind a tree with him. Hiei glared at him, but he ignored it. Instead, he nodded towards the clearing where four people were barely visible.

"Long time no see," Jase remarked as Yumi turned to face him. He smiled his infamous smile.

"Shouldn't you be in Hell where you belong?" she asked, the venomous sarcasm clearly noted in her voice. She sheathed her mystic weapon in its sheath; she didn't want Jase to try and take it back, not that he could. He tried it once before and got a nasty scar...

Jase laughed at her wit. "Oh, how I miss your attitude!" he mocked. "Come on; you really don't believe we'd be defeated that easily, did you?"

"Pretty much, ya."

"Yumi?" she turned to find her sister barely standing. Ignoring Jase and Adrian—Adrian had a hard time moving anyway—she ran to her sister, helping her up. Aya smiled, a weak smile, as Yumi tried to heal her wounds. Aya's eyes widened mirroring Jase's attack for Yumi.

Without hesitation, Yumi threw her sister to the ground as she bolted into the air to dodge the assault. Adrian ran over to Aya—Jase had healed what wounds he could already. Yumi noticed he was better now, to fight that is. Yumi landed a-top a branch of a nearby tree not yet destroyed. She tried to jump back over to her sister, and rip Adrian's throat out, when she was blocked by an energy blast of fire directed towards her. She nimbly dodged and landed on the ground facing Jase who stood between her and Adrian.

"Your fight is with me now," he hissed. Yumi's eyes narrowed, lit with rage that would kill anybody else who gazed into them. She screamed as she gathered her energy around her; a blazing, white fire lit with her own corona of energy devoured her; her eyes turned stark whiteand her veins coursed with raw energy as she screamed. The few remaining trees were incinerated then coated with ice by the shear force of the energy.

Hiei and Kurama maneuvered to another hiding place as their tree was melted and coated with the ice in an instant. Kurama maneuvered so that he was closer to Aya and Hiei Yumi.
Jase's lips peeled back in a snarl as he chanted a protection spell, his brother doing the same. Aya, however, was unaffected by the blistering heat then bone-chilling ice radiating from her sister. She smiled to herself; finally, they would have to die. Unless...Oh no! Aya panicked. If they attacked her together using the right spells...Everyone has a weakness, even Yumi.

As soon as the massive energy bomb faded, Jase wasted no time in preparing another attack. He shot out two yellow beams of lightening, then, several of the same attacks in quick succession. Yumi dodged them all as she de-materialized into the shadows and re-materialized behind Jase. She spun kicked, but he dodged the blow and blocked the next onslaught of punches and kicks.

Yumi jumped back, baring her fangs and elongating her already-sharp claws. What in the heck! He never used to be that quick! She thought to herself. Even Adrian is a little stronger...They must've been planning this all along. First with an illusion of dying and now this! But why? What could they want from Aya and me? We ARE strong demons, but there are others out there—if few in number—who are also S-class. Her thoughts were interrupted by Jase's next attack.

Thunder rumbled in the sky as electricity sparked near the battlefield. Lightening bolts flashed, illuminating the black void-like sky, shooting from the ground and sky alike, directed at Yumi. She flipped backwards a couple of times, dodging the blows as if they were nothing; then, tiring of the game, simply flicked them aside with an attack of her own.

She floated in the sky as she gathered energy. Dark blue dragons with a sheath of swirling purple energy erupted form the ground in front of her, devouring the lightening all around. As soon as the lightening was devoured and digested, the dragons spit out the attack, back to Jase, with even more energy than before. He gritted his teeth as he prepared to block it.

Hiei's eyes widened, bewildered, as did Kurama's. They never knew to what extent Yumi's power was and if Yumi was this powerful, Aya must be close. Hiei was impressed as was Kurama, but Kurama was becoming increasingly worried about Aya who looked on the verge of fainting, probably from blood loss and pain he figured.

Hiei noticed that Kurama was on edge, nearly ready to bound out and take Aya. He couldn't have that; not with what was going on. They had toget some answers and see how their enemy fought, even if they had to wait for awhile. Besides, Yumi seemed to be handling the situation fairly well and they would step in if it started to go down hill, he'd make sure of that—not that Yumi would even need the help. He grinned to himself and cringed as the dragon blasted the lightening back at Jase. Noted: never ever make her this angry...he thought.

Yumi looked down at her handy work—dust surrounded the area in a twenty foot diameter. The blast had shaken the earth as though there had been an earthquake, opening a deep chasm of darkness and nearly splitting half of the cliff off. She floated back on the ground as the dust cleared and walked over to Jase's body sprawled on the ground. Blood trickled from his ear and the cut on his lip. His clothes were smoking and his shirt nearly burned all off, even some limbs were missing. She kicked him in the side—hard—catapulting him another several yards away. Satisfied, she walked over to her sister and helped her up.

"Sorry it took so long-!" she was interrupted by someone grabbing her arms forcing her in a locked position. "What!" She quickly looked over her shoulder to find Adrian's grinning face. He picked her up and forced her away from Aya.

"Now, now, we can't have you healing your sister just yet..." he grunted as Yumi made a desperate attempt to elbow his face. "Ugh. Jase, I never did understand exactly how you put up with this wench." Yumi stopped struggling as she heard Jase's cackle of laughter. She looked over to where his body should've been. It was gone.

"Another illusion," she hissed as Adrian turned her to face Jase. He was silently applauding when she finally saw him.

"Good job Yumi! You figured it out!" he laughed a sinister laugh making chills dance along her spine. She grinned to herself as she noticed Jase's condition.

"Seems that the illusion wasn't that far off," she snickered. Jase's clothes were burned—his shirt practically mere threads—and he did have many gruesome cuts and bruises and his skin was badly burned on his arms. His lip was bleeding and there was blood seeping from an ugly wound on his head.

Yumi continued to laugh at his physical state when he grabbed her chin and smiled at her evilly. He slapped her in the face until her lip was split open and it stayed that way.

"Better." he mumbled as he began to heal his own wounds using her energy. Yumi stared in shock—they had NOT been able to do that before. Nearly powerless, she reverted back into her human form.

"What in the--"

"Hell?" he finished for her. He grinned. "Yes, these new amulets we found," Adrian looked at him with raised eyebrows. Jase rolled his eyes. "Fine, these new amulets that ADRIAN stole, seems to protect us from the two of you, and other powerful demons, as well as allowing us to cast illusions." Yumi's face was expressionless. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing any fear or hear exasperation or fear in her voice.

His expression turned grim as he kicked her in the stomach. She gasped as the wind was knocked out of her. The direct hit made her spit up a little blood as well—Jase was clearly amused by the 'improvement'. "You might not be an easy target, but you sure bleed well the last I remember." Yumi cringed as he drew out a knife, a very familiar knife. "I got a few cuts; it's only fair that you get some too," he snickered as he slashed her in the stomach. He smiled as the blood gushed out gathering in a pool around her feet and staining her new dress.

Now! Yumi thought to herself as she twisted her leg behind Adrian's—ignoring the pain wrenching in her gut—turned, kicked him in the groin, and flipped him onto Jase. Jase recovered quicker than his brother, who was on the ground holding himself; Jase's fingers moved and twisted in haste as he incanted a spell.

Yumi was about to go in for another blow until she stopped mid-attack, frozen in place caught in Jase's spell. "Crap!" she yelled in frustration. "You stupid wizard, as soon as I get free I'll rip your throat out and--"

Jase laughed. "And what? Whoa, deja vu. This sounds utterly familiar..."

Yumi snarled, again baring her fangs despite the fact she was now in her human form. "Curse you! Putting a spell on my back, torturing me, my sister... Heh, I'll kill you though, in due time."

Jase smiled. "Yeah, right, you've tried to kill me before and you just"—he punch into her gut. "keep"—he kicked her in the neck. "messing"—he rounded with another kick. "up"—he finished with a bone shattering punch to the head. Yumi's ears rung as she shook her head clearing her vision of the blurriness.

She spit out blood as she laughed at him. "Heh, so what? If I fail again, then I know someone who'll really get the job done. And trust me; HE WILL NOT LET ME DOWN!" she yelled in his face. Jase grimaced as he slapped her again.

"WHO HIEI?" Jase yelled. "I don't see him here now! Where is then? He doesn't love you like I do!" Jase hissed. Yumi's eyes narrowed; her eyes starting to glisten with held back tears.

"Heh, like you? YOU two beat us. YOU two raped us. YOU two are crazy bastards!" she rebuked. Her voice shook with rage as she growled and gritted her teeth in frustration and anger.

Hiei wished he had not heard what he just did. He shook with rage that swelled up in great tides. He was about ready to go and kill Jase when Kurama appeared next to him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Not yet," Kurama whispered.

"If not now then WHEN!" he hissed back, anger flaming in his crimson eyes. Kurama gritted his teeth.

"I don't like to watch it either, but we must wait for the opportune moment! We still need to learn why they're after them." Hiei's glare darkened as he turned back around, forced to watch the terrible scene unfold. Claw marks could be seen in the dirt as he dug his nails in the earth.

"How can THINGS like you two even fathom love," she spat. Jase growled as he hit her hard in the jaw. She could taste the blood gush out in waves as she spit it out along with a broken tooth.

"In case you didn't know I do love you!" he hissed. "It hurts me when I have to hurt you!"

Yumi laughed. "You know, you guys have a funny way of showing that!" Jase grimaced.

"Well, if you two didn't heed our warnings when you wouldn't agree to help us, we wouldn't have had to do this to you!"

"Yeah right, as if we'd help you 'Rule the worlds' or whatever nonsense you two have come up with since then. Why are we so important! There are plenty of others out there who would love to kill every human on the planet and rule ya know!" She shouted spitting blood and saliva onto his face. He quickly wiped it awayand slapped her in the face.

"You don't understand! You two are the keys!" he yelled then, as if he were the one who was being beaten, paled three times his normal shade.

"Brother! You idiot, you've said too much. Just take care of her already!" Adrian hissed at his brother. Jase glared at him, regaining his nerve. His sinister grin returned as he looked back towards Yumi and sighed.

"He's right, I've got to hurry up and cast the binding spell on you..." he said softly, stroking her hair. Yumi's eyes widened. "You will love me like you used to in due time..."

"Heh whatever, I'd never love you. I love another and it is not—and I repeat—never will be YOU!" Suddenly, he yanked her hair back and bent down, kissing her on the lips passionately.

YUCK! Get off of me! Yumi screamed in her head trying to blow him back telekinetically. Crap! Curse those amulets...Wait a minute, what the--! My energy! HE'S draining my energy! She felt her knees weaken under his weight as her power was slowly drained from her.

At the same time, Adrian had walked over to Aya who was still a bit dazed. The whip did great in stripping most of the power from her, but Adrian liked his brother's idea better. He stepped up to Aya, grabbing her by the hair as he pulled her up.

"How 'bout a kiss darling?" he sneered as he pulled her chin to his face. Aya's hand gripped around the remnants of her rose even tighter.

"Kurama..." she muttered.

"What was that?" Adrian asked grinning wolfishly in his thought of the oncoming kiss. Aya blinked her eyes; she turned her face toward Adrian's staring him in the eyes.

"Kurama." she said, clearly this time. Adrian's grin faded and was replaced by a grimace.

"NEVER SAY THAT NAME!" he growled as he punched her in the head then, kicked her for good measure.

"NO!" Hiei and Kurama bellowed.

Kurama seemed to transform into a darker version of his self as he flew from the tree like a freight train heading straight for a collision course with his intended victim: Adrian.

Hiei's Jagan eye glowed as dark, purple lightening cracked around him; his dragon of the darkness flame scar burned on his skin as though he had stuck his arm in a fire. He growled in rage as he vanished running with god-like speed; he unsheathed his katana which burned withblack embers…

Yumi could feel bile in her throat that threatened to come up if she kissed him any longer. Besides, she was on the verge of collapsing if it weren't for Jase holding her. Her prayers were answered when out of nowhere Jase was hurled fifty feet into the air. Without any support she started to fall backwards when, suddenly, she felt strong arms holding, no, hugging her.

"Sorry I'm late." Hiei smiled sweetly.

Yumi smiled back then stopped as she gestured for Hiei to let her go. He was glad he did when she threw up. "Heh, I feel better now..." Yumi joked making Hiei smirk.

"You've lost all your energy in the midst of battle, and yet you still joke," he sighed.

"Might...as...well." she coughed. "If I die I die...it'll only make the trip a little shorter. Heh…" Hiei cocked his eyebrow and lied her down as he turned back to Jase who, by now, was landed on the ground posed for battle.

Adrian was about to beat Aya even more when out of the corner of his eye he saw a rush of dark gray heading his way. He hurriedly ran over to the edge of the cliff; there, he threw Aya over towards the edge. He suddenly had the wind knocked out of him; he opened his eyes to find a growling Yoko Kurama holding him by the neck; claws dug into the sides threatening to go deeper into his juggler vein. He also noticed with terror that Kurama had his other hand through his own gut. No wonder I'm spitting up blood he thought grimly.

Kurama yanked his left hand free from Adrian's gut and held it above his heart; his claws sharpened themselves getting ready to plunge his gory hand in for the kill.

"Now...now... let's not be... so hasty," he chuckled difficultly.

"Give me good reason," the dark Yoko Kurama growled.

"You could kill me or save the girl..." Adrian nodded to Aya who was hovering in the air over the edge of the cliff. Kurama could hear the vile waves crash against the cliff, eager to drag her under its deadly tides. With a laugh, Adrian broke the connection sending Aya plundering down the cliff.

Kurama regained his senses as he turned back into his normal Kitsune-self. He let go of Adrian and dived off the cliff going after Aya.

Hiei's burning red gaze locked into Jase's cobalt eyes. Hiei wasted no time in vanishing and reappearing in front of Jase, slashing him across the chest with his sword. Jase staggered backwards and managed to dodge the next couple of blows until Hiei got even madder and split into multiple selves; they all slashed at Jase with their swords, each hitting their intended marks. Soon, in a matter of seconds, Jase was covered with new gashes and cuts from head to toe.

Hiei stopped in front of Jase and licked his blade. "Hmmm...How do I finish you? Do I make it quick? No." he paused to laugh in Jase's face. "No! You wouldn't like that! Hah! I almost forgot. You like torture don't you?" Hiei took two more steps towards Jase making Jase take two steps back. Jase looked worried at his impending doom; he looked to his brother for help to notice that he was slowly getting up from the ground; blood dropped in pools around him and Jase could see a hole through his brother's stomach. Adrian held out his hand and beckoned for his brother to come. He growled as he turned to Hiei.

"I'm sorry friend, but I'll have to cancel this date." He ran to his brother who still had his hand held out. Jase took it and they both disappeared in a wisp of smoke.

"Damn, they got away," Hiei mumbled angrily. He ran back over to Yumi to check on her. She was barely awake let alone alive. He picked her up cradling her to his chest. "I'm so sorry," he whispered as he kissed her on the forehead.

Kurama was battling the tides, among other creatures, until he finally got to Aya. He swam at her ignoring the little creatures gnawing at his legs. When he finally got to her he charged an energy soar beam and shot it out of the water. The shear energy and heat radiating from it had cleared and evaporated a lot of the water.

He quickly jumped to the banks cradling Aya to him. He laid her on the beach as he checked her pulse. He sighed in relief as he felt it there, but only barely. He felt her head and noticed that she had a fever. He also took in her dress—more like rags now, barely covering anything. He reverted back into his old self and took off his jacket. He laid it on top of her when he noticed her palm gripped tightly around something. With difficulty, he pried it open to find what used to be the rose he gave to Aya a while back. I'll take care of this later...he thought as he slipped the remains in his pocket. He looked Aya over one more time making sure she was alright; well what could be alright considering her condition. Satisfied, he picked her up as gently as he could before softly kissing her on the lips, waking her up.

"Kurama?" she whispered.

"I'm here Aya," he said softly. He couldn't stand to see her like this. He looked up to see Hiei walking over, protectively cradling Yumi close to him.

"Ready to go home?" Hiei asked; Kurama nodded as they walked back the way they had come.

Ta da! Here it is my readers and reviewers! Now remember to review A LOT! I gave you two chapters, so review extra, okay? Even those of you who read and don't review, I comandeth you to review this time dammit! ...forgive me for that. I'm actually quite gratfulto those of you who review,but still review please. Smiles and waves