The clash of metal against metal rang loud through the meadows, and as the two weapons struck against one another; their wielders leapt backward, beginning to tire from their constant attempts to out-do each other.

Taisei: That'salright, Kenyusa; but you can do better.

Kenyusa: I don't see you over here fighting him, Taisei.

Taisei: Well, Kenyusa; I'm not the one who needs to get stronger. Now move, female.Put all of your energy into your attacks, Hiei. You have to match her hit-for-hit, if you want to learn each other's patterns of movement.

Hiei: Fine.

He twirled his sword in his hand, making it so that the bladed side was now facing Kenyusa. Placing his hand against the dull side, he positioned himself to take her blow. She did much the same, but prepared to strike, and a smile crossed her face.

Kenyusa: You wanna play rough, huh? Alright, then-no more games.

She used speed equal to his own, but he anticipated such an attack, and blocked, holding her at an arm's distance as she tried to push him backward. The blades of their swords grated, creating something of a screech, but it was ignored as they had their focus on something completely different: the other's eyes. Kenyusa's green eyes locked onto Hiei's red ones, but she never eased her strength against him-he also refused to cut back on the power. Neither blinked, and their gazes never faltered, but a silent agreement was made none the less, and both leapt backward at the same time. They sheathed their swords and continued to face off, but now, they were more interested in testing the other's strength, rather than just sparring.

Hiei: You are strong, true; but your strength pales in comparison to mine.

Kenyusa: Well, Hiei, let's just let your body do the talking, hm?

Hiei: Hn.

It was now his turn to lunge. He sent a punch at her, which he knew she could easily block, but it was just a test-he wasn't going to give her his all just yet. She put up an arm, and stopped his punch cold, but the block left her stomach vulnerable; she never had been good with multiple moves at once. Instead, to keep him from hitting her, Kenyusa sent her own attack at his gut. She heard him give a tisking sound as he blocked her, but with the arm that he had initially attacked with, he threw down her block and backed away from her a step or two. She didn't know why he had put the distance between them until she felt a tingling trickle slipping down her cheek; reaching up to touch it, she found that it was blood, and looked at him confusedly-When had he attacked?

Kenyusa: How did you-

Hiei: If you can't see an attack coming, be careful when you block. It may be better to take a hit and then give another, than to block twice only to get hurt despite your action. It's called common sense-maybe you should try and get some.

In a blink, he was behind her, and from this position, grabbed her by the throat. He wouldn't choke her, but he would see what she would do in the situation-though, he already had a good clue of the action she would take, which is why he stood more to the side. Kenyusa felt Hiei's position from his energy, and elbowed him in the ribs to make him let go. He appeared before her again, looking at her with some unreadable expression-she hated it when she couldn't read him.

Kenyusa: What? Did I do something wrong? (She heard Hiei snort slightly at the question.) I guess not. Even though you don't play fair.

Taisei: Alright-Alright. That's enough for now; don't go killing each other on the first day. (Both Hiei and Kenyusa gave him a dirty side-glance, but he shrugged them off.) Hey, I'm giving you a break. Be thankful-I could do what Sesshoumaru would to you.

Kenyusa: Speaking of Sesshoumaru, where is he, anyway? (She also sat in the grass to relax, followed by Hiei, who did the same.)

Hiei: Hm. Come to think of it, he never came back, did he?

Taisei: Nope. And its starting to worry me-he's never done that before…But I guess its because he's going through some things now…

Kenyusa: Things? What kinds of things?

Taisei: Oh, you know-emotional things.

Hiei: He has emotions? You'd never guess…

Taisei: Yes, and he usually makes a good habit of keeping them hidden, but lately…With the dragons wanting to rage war and all, its like his past is coming back to haunt him.

Kenyusa: But I don't understand. What happened in his past to make the dragons want to fight against him?

Taisei: To be honest, I wasn't there. I was here, in the lesser areas of the Demon World. But I can say that the demons didn't always inhibit this place; aside from that, I really don't know what went on.

Hiei: Whatever it was, its got the dragons pissed…

Taisei: Oh, yes. They were quite upset at how things went on.

Kenyusa: I think I heard some of the elders of our world talking about it when I was really young. They said it had something to do with humans. Do you know about that?

Taisei: Now, that part, I overheard Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha arguing about once. The demons didn't always live here, like I said. They lived in the human's world, but that was a long while ago…Seems they had something to do with how demons all came here, but exactly how demons like my cousin got here is a mystery to me.

Kenyusa: Gee, you look more like twins or something... But, Taisei, there is one more question I've got…Do you know anything about these Gemstones the Dragons are after?

Taisei: Sorry. I don't know anything about those.

Hiei: But I do. Koenma just got finished showing us a documentary on them. The dragons are after them because they want to call the Ancient Dragons. I'm not sure for what, but I do know that they were scattered a long time ago, when the different realms and worlds were first created.

Kenyusa: Really? Wow…amazing…And all this time, I thought they'd just be random rocks that somehow got a power of an element…Or, you know; something stupid like that.

Taisei: Aren't you a dragon, Kenyusa?

Kenyusa: Yeah.

Taisei: Then do you know anything about Kuro and that whole mess?

Kenyusa: Aside from a lot of contradicting rumors, I don't know anything. They've never talked about it directly.

Taisei: I thought as much…Do you know where the others might have gone?

Kenyusa: You mean, where Kuwabara is held? I have no clue-everything's kinda shady there…But I do know that they've probably run into interference by now.

Yusuke: Kenta, you've led us around the same path twelve times. I know you're not lost, so what are you trying to pull?

Kenta: Oh, its not the same path-Everything just looks the same here, that's all.

Kurama: You lie. The scent of deceit is all over you.

Kenta: I-I- I don't know what you're talking about, Kurama. (Not much sooner than he said this, a loud, hissing roar echoed through the air. )

Yusuke: (getting ready to defend) I must wonder, why it is that I think you DO know what he's talking about...

Kurama: Oh, my…(draws his rose whip) It would seem as though we're surrounded. ( Kurama watched as Kenta's aura flared suddenly, engulfing him in a golden light. The aura of the dragon's eyes flared red, and he laughed-but another voice was blended with his own.)

Kenta: Yes, fox, it would seem that you are. Oh, but don't worry-you shouldn't live long enough to trouble your minds with it. Good luck…(He laughed again, and disappeared within his aura, leaving Kurama and Yusuke, literally, in the middle of nowhere. The loud hiss sounded again, and in the distance, they both saw several large, dark shadows drawing close to them. Yusuke had no clue as to what they were-Kurama recognized their scent.)

Kurama: Raptor Dragons…

Yusuke:Say what?

Kurama: Do you remember the creature that Hiei morphed into at the Dark Tournament?

Yusuke: Yeah;You mean that he was one of these things!

Kurama: Yes, so be cautious with your attack; we already know the damage they can do when they battle.

They now stood back-to-back, waiting for the dragons to come into close sight, but the monsters they saw looked nothing like what Hiei had…At least, not in color. True, they were all black in basic coloring, but each of them had stripes going horizontally along their backs like lightning bolts of an electric-blue hue. With eyes of either lavender or lime green, and claws of gold with extremely large fangs and sharp teeth of white, they were nothing to play around with. However, the real problem was the fact that there were literally hundreds moving toward them, and not one was smaller than twelve feet tall, and twenty feet long from head to tail tip. Each and every dragon had a murderous look in its eyes, and none of the glistening fangs looked appealing.

Yusuke: Okay, let's get them, before they get us.

Kurama: Uh, Yusuke-

He wasn't listening. Kurama just shook his head as Yusuke powered his energy and tried in vain to destroy several at once with his Shot Gun technique. Instead of falling from the blasts, the dragons that he had hit only became angrier at the two-the attack itself was deflected by the thick scales on their bodies, and evaporated on contact.

Yusuke: Damn…

Kurama: I thought as much. We aren't dealing with amateurs, Yusuke. No doubt they knew you were going to try that.

Yusuke: Okay, so we have to fight them one-on-one, I guess.

Kurama: I'd suppose. They're obviously stalling for time on whatever it is they're trying to do.

Yusuke: Well then, we'll have to figure that out after we're done fighting them. (he and Kurama leapt apart as one of the dragons made a lunge for them. From the impact it made on the ground with its claws, they both knew they would have to use extreme caution with this fight.) Just hang in there, Kuwabara. We're coming for you; just you wait and see…

The room developed slowly as his blurred vision cleared; though he couldn't tell where he was exactly, he did know that it felt damp, was dark, and he was laying on a very hard surface. Blinking rapidly, he tried to look around, but found that he couldn't really move any part of his body. A snorting sound reached his ears, and his eyes traveled upward, and right into a pair of golden-crimson orbs. The eyes above his own disappeared, and he felt himself being lifted up by the back of his shirt-he would have fought against it, but his hands were chained too tightly behind his back for his arms to move. A clawed finger poked him in the chest a couple of times, but it stopped as a voice from a far corner of the room reached their ears.

"My god; leave it alone. It's just a human."

"Well, yeah, but it's been so long since I've seen one up close-"

"So what? They're all the same, so drop it."

Kuwabara: I'm not an "it." The name's Kuwabara, and put me down! (the hand let go, and he hit the ground rather roughly.) You didn't have to drop me…

"Oh, sorry 'bout that." Even in the dim lighting, Kuwabara could tell thatthemale hadturned his head in the direction of the other voice, and the man walked toward the other, his hand raised as though he was about to snap his fingers. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty, can I shed some light on the subject?"

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes." He snapped his fingers, and the torches on the wall flared, casting the room into a golden-red light. "Now, what to do about you…Ah, I got it. Now, be really still, and you won't lose a hand." Kuwabara really had no time to react as a loud clang sounded from behind him, and the chains on his wrists were sliced apart. Rubbing his wrists to get the circulation back to his hands, Kuwabara got back to his feet, and turned around to face the two males behind him. His eyes widened as he saw the appearance of the one who had freed him.

Kuwabara: Whoa! You look just like Hiei does now!

The man he spoke of was about Kuwabara's height, and indeed, looked just like Hiei now did. His hair was long and ebony, but tied back behind him, in a ponytail that started midway down his back. His eyes were slightly smaller however, and were red, though they had more of a golden tint to them, rather than brown. His skin was much more pale, nearly white, and he seemed much more friendly than Hiei did. He wore black clothes, looking much like a kimono-styled shirt and regular pants; the sash around his waist was a deep burgundy, and hung down rather long in the front, like Kuwabara remembered seeing Sesshoumaru's.

"Hiei…Hiei…That name sounds so familiar…Well, I can assure you that I'm not him. My name is Ku-Kijou. Kijou. My name is Kijou."

Kuwabara: Kijou, huh? Okay, then who's the other guy?

Kijou: His name is Satsu. He doesn't like strangers.

Satsu: No, I don't like humans.

He walked from the shadowed corner he had been hidden in, and instantly, Kuwabara got the instinct to back away from him. He was huge, and obviously a demon. His skin was a pale brown, and on that skin, there were several jagged, black stripes like those of a tiger. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but his pants were a bright white-surprising since he was being kept in a dungeon. He also wore a sash that hung down long in the front, and it was of a dark, emerald green, much like the long hair on his head. He had eyes like a cat, and they were no doubt a bright, flashing gold-the tips of his fangs hung from beneath his upper lip, and though his claws were retracted, Kuwabara knew they were there. Satsu also had a long tan tail like the tiger-demon he was, and it bore the same stripes that his arms and back did. As for his face, he had the black markings in the center of his forehead, but the green bangs in his face, which looked much like Sesshoumaru's, hid much of it.

Kuwabara: Satsu, huh? It kinda fits…

Satsu: Really now? (he lifted a hand, palm up, and produced his claws, which were long, sharp, and definitely looked like they could slice through Kuwabara in an instant.) I thought so, too…

Kijou: Now, Satsu…Don't go scaring him. He probably doesn't want any trouble from us, so just leave him be.

Kuwabara: All I wanna do, is find a way outta here.

Kijou: Well, sorry, but you won't be finding that. You can't break through these walls, or the security outside them, even if your life depends on it; and even though I'm sure it might, you can't leave.

Kuwabara: Well then…(he walked over and sat up against the wall) I guess I'd better get some sleep then. I'm gonna need rest if I'm gonna do the un-doable.

Satsu: Stupid humans…You'll kill yourself before you even make a scratch on that door. You think I would have been down here for the long time I have If there was a way to get out?

Kuwabara: Maybe you can't, but I'm getting outta here. If the guys aren't here by morning, I'm outta here one way or another.

Kijou: I like your attitude, but you'd better sleep on that before you do something foolish. I like your first idea better, and after you rest up, we'll see about getting you out of this dungeon...

Well, that's the end of one chapter, and when I can sneak back on, I'll update the rest. I'm so sorry for not updating for so long, but things happen...AOL is kinda acting up again, but don't fret-I haven't forgotten the story, and surprise, surprise: i'm working on another for a new friend of mine...He's a co-writer, though.