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Life is not something to take lightly

It is not something to be toyed with,

But something to be protected,

Something to be cherished, and loved-

To be placed near the heart.

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"Umph," Botan grunted as her body hit something hard- she heard another form land only three feet away from her, so she rolled over to see who it might be- it was Jorge and not far from him was Lena and Ayame's unconscious forms. As she took in her surroundings it became clear to her that she was no longer in Reikai, and for that matter Ningenkai, for neither land was a rugged as this one. Streaks of lightning forked across the foreign pink sky, but no thunder followed. The stench of death, one that Hiei had talked so fondly about, wafted about on the subtle wind causing Botan to choke and sputter involuntarily. There was no doubt in her mind as to where they were- Makai.

"Jorge?" She called out meekly as she unsteadily got to her feet.

"Botan? Botan! You're okay!" The blue ogre jumped up from his precarious position no more than half a foot away from a cliff ledge, one of many in the surrounding area, and rushed over to the blue haired girl.

"Oh Kami-sama, how did this happen?" She moaned falling back to her knees tiredly. There was a groan from her right and she looked over to see Lena sitting up, and Ayame stir before sitting bolt upright.

"Where are we?" they asked simultaneously.

"The portal, we didn't activate it correctly did we?" Lena groaned brushing a stray strand of indigo hair behind her ear.

"We're not in Reikai anymore, nor did we transport to Ningenkai, so that leaves only one place, correct?" Ayame asked looking over at Botan for confirmation, she nodded.

"I've been to the Makai with Yuusuke a couple of times, so I know for a fact that's where we are," Botan explained solemnly. There was a moment of silence, suddenly broken by a loud sob.

"He could have- why didn't he…? How could he?" Botan cried pulling her knees up to her chest in an almost protective gesture. She sat like that, crying, for over twenty minutes while the other three watched helplessly. Botan was usually the strong one, having gone through much more than they had, so seeing her so distraught truly worried them.

"Botan, Hun, please stop crying," Lena begged as she put a comforting hand on the sobbing Guide's shoulder. "I know it's hard, we all miss him, but we can't hang around here, it's too dangerous."

"I know, but I'm too…" Botan managed to say weakly before falling over sideways sound asleep. The indigo-haired girl sighed, and would have laughed if the situation wasn't so grim.

"Oh dear, this isn't good," Lena muttered crouching down beside the cerulean haired woman tiredly. "If she's going to sleep, I suppose we need to stay here."

"Is that safe?" Ayame asked also taking a seat on the rock-hard ground.

"I could always stand watch," Jorge pointed out helpfully. Lena and Ayame smiled at him gratefully, before deciding that sleep would be best, and they curled up close to Botan.

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But without even realizing,

We tear the writhing soul of our enemy

Away from its still breathing body-

Away from it unaccomplished goals-

Devoid of all feeling, even remorse

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"EEEEEEEEEIIIAAAAA!" Botan jumped up from her curled position on the ground startled by the sudden scream, but the sight before her made her answer in similar fashion. Jorge lay in a mangled heap on the ground only five feet away from her, Lena was in a similar state, and Ayame was teetering on the edge of a cliff, trying desperately to get away from the taller, red-skinned youkai in front of her,

"Ah, the pretty one's awake, Sir," A husky, masculine voice said from behind the cerulean haired girl. She jerked around to face the owner of the voice, and if it were under different circumstances, she would have swooned- he was gorgeous! Long, snow-white hair was clasped at the nape of his neck in a loose ponytail, and bright, narrow green eyes looked at her lustfully from underneath a mass of wild bangs. Pale, slender fingers snaked their way around her waist and lifted her with ease from the ground.

"What are you doing? Put me down!" Botan cried struggling against his strong hold- but it was to no avail for the man had more strength than she would ever possess. There was another shriek as Ayame tumbled over the edge of the cliff, the red skinned youkai laughing the whole while. "AYAME!"

"Shut up, bitch." A third voice said just before everything went black.

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We don't pay heed to this enemy

We don't hear their cries of agony,

But when life is taken from us,

We yell at the Heavens for their unfairness.

And shake the 'peoples' fist of rage and Justice

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"Spirit gun!" Yuusuke cried hitting the SDF officer in front of him square in the face. Five minutes previous, the whole Spirit World Defense Force had popped up on Shizuru's doorstep, accusing the two other occupants, Hiei and Yuusuke, for the murder of Koenma. This on its own had angered the two, but when they were 'forced' to 'subdue' the brunette when she came to their defense, Yuusuke had lost it.

The man rose to his feet shakily, only to be cut down by Hiei's flaming katana. Apathy was the only emotion felt by the two as they watched him fall; he was the last of the officers, the strongest of the squad, but he was still weak and he stood no chance against the two youkai.

"Hiei?"

"What?"

"What's Makai really like?"

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How is it that we are so numb-?

So uncaring so cold-

To the suffering around us,

But when we experience it,

We show great amount of grief?

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"Why are we doing this?" Yuusuke asked as he and Hiei exited the Makai equivalent of a tattoo parlor. He was examining the design that had just been etched into the skin of his right hand so painfully just minutes before. It was a black, five-point star with dark thorny vines interwoven around a red-gem-headed dagger plunged through the star at a slight angle, red-ink blood dripped elegantly from the pointed tip- it was there as a reminder of his new occupation.

"Assassins in Makai have a unique emblems that belongs only to them," Hiei explained as he also examined the twin crest on his right hand. "This will forever be the mark of Kokushibyou and Kageboushi."

Yuusuke smiled sadly, but that quickly changed into a devilish smirk as he bent over and kissed the shorter demon fully on the lips. Hiei's already large eyes widened to twice their size before Yuusuke pulled away, still smiling.

"Aishiteru Kokushi-chama," he purred, almost teasingly.

"Don't call me that," Hiei muttered with a blush.

"Aw, are you blushing?" The chocolate-eyed boy teased. Hiei growled and Yuusuke soon found himself pressed roughly against the ground, all the while laughing.

"Come on, I was just messin' with ya. Now, don't you have something to say to me?"

"No," Hiei snapped before pressing his lips against Yuusuke's in a passionate kiss. "I don't need to.

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Our lives are hypocritical twisters-

They change direction, opinions so carelessly

They are nothing, completely worthless,

And maybe that is why we can,

So easily take the possession that aren't ours.

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"Come here, Yanagi, I've gotta customer for you," Yoshimitsu, the grey-skinned owner of a Makai inn/bar/whorehouse in the middle of Western country. The blue-headed girl by the name of Yanagi turned around on her heel to face the man; her face was bright red with anger, and embarrassment.

"To hell with the customer!" She snarled, her bright violet eyes flashed dangerously. She let out a yelp as the youki rings around her wrist pulsed painfully.

"You are under my control girl, so you will do as I say!" Yoshimitsu growled back. "And you better smile this time, you ungrateful wench." The squat demon was once again referring to the night that the poor girl had been enslaved, while everyone that had been with her was murdered. The girl was still at a loss as to why she should be grateful; she had lost her freedom that night, which was nothing to be happy about.

"Besides, it's Yuki. You like him- don't you?" Yanagi's glare softened and a light blush crept across her cheeks. Yuki-kun was the snowy-haired, green-eyed beauty that had protected her during that awful night- he was also her best customer.

"Where is he?"

"In your usual room, you better behave yourself Yanagi- I'm warning you!"

"Yeah, Yeah," Yanagi replied as she pushed her way through the throng of oni, and Youkai crowded around the large stage that connected the inn and bar together. She ran up the musty staircase and down the hall, coming to a halt in front of the room at the end of the corridor. She rapped her knuckles against it and waited calmly for a reply.

"Come in." She smiled at his quiet voice and pushed the door open.

"Hey Yuki," she bowed before taking a seat beside the man on the king sized bed.

"Hello Botan," he replied putting an arm around her waist. "Did Yoshimitsu change the outfits again?" Botan blushed and looked down at her lap, embarrassed. She was dressed in loose gypsy like clothing that was see-through at the torso and passed mid-thigh.

"Oh don't be that way, I like it," he cooed pulling her closer to him, and planting a kiss on her neck. The girl's blush deepened and she moved deeper into the embrace.

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At least, the world is filled to the brim,

With people who think this way,

Our lives are not worth nothing,

They are worth everything,

And should not be ours to take,

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14 years later

"Kokushi- chama!" Kageboushi (Yuusuke) called out, shattering the peaceful night's silence. A tall willow-like tree, to the boy's left, blocked the light of the full moon, covering the parched ground below in wispy shadows. A dark hump uncurled from its resting place between two large branches and took the shape of what looked like a young boy, but the figure had long since passed his adolescent years.

"I thought I told you not to call me that," Kokushibyou (Hiei) growled jumping down from his branch to stand before his taller partner.

"So? I like the name, it's cute," Kage taunted, his large chocolate brown eyes glittered mirthfully, a great contrast to Hiei's narrow, crimson ones.

"It's degrading." Hiei shot back irritably.

"Well I think it's cute, but anyways guess who's coming to the local inn tomorrow night…" One look at his companion's eyes told Hiei exactly who it was, though he decided to play idiot so that Yuusuke could have his fun.

"Who?"

"Kurio Bara! And guess what? I got tickets!" Yuusuke then pulled two slips of paper dramatically from the sleeve of his black jumpsuit-- that mirrored the shorter man's almost perfectly. Hiei's eyes widened in surprise, and he let his mouth drop open, though only for a second.
"And how did you get those?"

"Well, we kinda have a last minute assignment that has to be taken care of tonight. This is just part of the payment."

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So why do we take this precious gift

From those all around us?

So why do we kill so easily

With our own bloodied hands?

And what gives us this divine right to judge?

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Ayumi grinned as she peaked through the musty, red curtains that separated the stage from the backstage. The crowd was the largest she had seen since she and Shuuichi-kun had relocated to Makai, and she was absolutely thrilled. One other thing that excited her was that there was an actual stage with microphones and lights, something they hadn't had the luck of running into.

"Hey, Shuuichi-kun! Look at this crowd!" She called out running back to the bathroom-turned-dressing room where her singing partner sat half-heartedly brushing out his long red, silver streaked hair. He looked up and raised an eyebrow at the girl's wide grin that made her green eyes sparkle.

"Is it really that large?" The boy asked setting down his brush and swirling on his chair slightly so that he was now facing the carrot topped Ayumi. She nodded excitedly and tugged him from his seat.

"I didn't expect such a crowd, especially here of all places! Come look!"

"I don't have a choice do I?" Kurama asked with a sigh, the girl shook her head vigorously and pulled the much taller boy towards the antique curtains. Immediately Kurama's sensitive fox ears twitched as they were filled with the mixture of the odd form of music blasting from old speakers and the loud conversations being held before him. Ayumi had been right though, it was a very large crowd, especially for that part of Makai.

"See? It's huge! I haven't seen a crowd this large since Kyoto!" Kurama laughed and pulled the girl back into their dressing room.

"Now you need to get ready, then we can go out and give them a show they'll never forget." Ayumi nodded and pecked Kurama on the cheek before ushering him out of the room so that she could change.

When she left Kurama's smile faded and he sighed deeply. He hated being here, he hated singing, and he hated being under the control of a Kyuuketsuki-youkai, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't bring himself to leave. He wanted to so badly, he wanted to see his friends again, he wanted to be free- but so long as he was with Ayumi that wasn't an option. To bad the kitsune didn't know who all was in the inn that night…

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We ask these questions with

A strongly burning curiosity-

A flame of everlasting sorrow and confusion-

But in our soul we know that no matter

How hard we try we will never know.

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I actually wasn't going to end it here, but I couldn't write this without making it the end- so here it is, I've finally completed it and I hope you enjoyed it, because I surely enjoyed writing it! Also I kept telling myself I wouldn't kill off Shizuru, but how would I pull that one off? Also the Yuki guy isn't extremely important, and if you read To Meet Again you'll notice he wasn't in it.

But in other news- if you have a challenge for me, I will gladly accept it, especially if it is shonen-ai related, or maybe even shoujo-ai, I've never written shoujo-ai before… But I'll write anything you want me to, except for lemons, I just don't do lemons- limes maybe, but not lemons.

So please tell me how you liked it, please! And please send me challenges!

Now I would like to thank my most loyal bunch of reviewers

KyoHana, kit-kit, and SnakeDude100

Thanks guys for sticking with me!

With love,

Catie-brie