Kurama looked from friend to friend.
Kitsune was crying openly, now. With great sorrow in her heart she drew her rosewhip.
" What's going on?" Kurama asked.
" Yeah guys, this is hardly a fair sparring match!" Yusuke said.
" Get out of here, unless you want to die as well!" Ryuno said coldly.
Hiei flinched, " Let's just get this over with."
Kurama drew his rosewhip, and he said, " My friends…I do not understand what is happening…."
" Your death is what's happening!" Ryuno said. With sudden speed she leaped at her Uncle, her qua-blades spinning. Kurama had his guard down, but still reacted in the nick of time. There was blood on his neck. A fraction of a second longer, and Kurama would have been dead.
Yusuke was looking really confused, " Ryuno, hey, that wasn't cool at all! We-"
Hiei looked at Yusuke, " I'm sorry."
Yusuke slumped to the ground. Not dead, but out for a while.
The others had mostly backed off, letting Ryuno do her job. Kurama was holding out on his own, but he was weakening. Ryuno's qua-blades were encased in flames, and with every whip stroke, she batted it away, and went in for a lunge, but Kurama's reflexes always saved him.
" We're not playing tag here, Uncle!" Ryuno said. Her eyes were alive, and Kitsune realized that The Dragon-demon was enjoying this-Killing her future husband. Not only that, she was prolonging his pain.
" We must go in." Hiei said," Yama must be watching us in this crucial hour. He would not want to see us standing by the sidelines, and just watching."
Kitsune mustered up an attempt at a smile, " We better hope Kuwabara don't show up."
Ryuno leaped in, and out, and there was blood on her swords. She was whispering to Kurama. To the mortal ear, her words would not have been perceptible, but Kitsune could hear every word.
" Why…." Kurama was dripping blood, and down on one knee.
" Because." Ryuno whispered, raising one of her blades to her mouth, and licking the fresh blood from it, " I hate you so much that I want to kill you. No-Killing you would not be enough for me. I want every particle in you to scream with the pain that I have had to endure. The pain that I have suffered on your bloody hands, fox."
Kurama looked at his niece, " Ryuno…I…He's making you do this. Yama is."
" NO, he's not…." Ryuno began tracing Kurama's back with her swords, as though contemplating the best way to kill him, " This is what I have wanted. This is what I have wanted for the longest time. To have you at my feet, ready to die."
"What do you want?" Kurama whispered, hands clenching.
" Other than you dead?" Ryuno said in an equally soft voice, " I want you to beg. I want you to beg to me for your worthless Foxling life. Then I won't kill you. Your humiliation is all I need. I don't need to fulfill this prophecy. It's not even me that trivial rhyme talks about. I'm just here to kill."
And guess who was listening to all of this?
Kitsune had her eyes half shut in pure anger, and her hands were clenched. She could feel claws growing. Fox claws. She could feel marks upon her face. The marks of the fox.
" Are you hearing this?" Kitsune breathed to Hiei, " Are you hearing this?"
" I am." Hiei said, " We were fools to not listen to you, Kit, and to listen to Ryu."
Kitsune felt her anger rise to a boiling pitch as Ryuno drew her swords back for the killing blow.
" FOR DRAGON TEARS AND FOXBLOOD!" Kitsune screamed, launching herself as Ryuno.
" I hate jungles. I hate bugs. I HATE THE GREAT OUTDOORS!" Kurai said with the 'passion of a thousand burning suns'. (Kazoua)
Koenma decided to ignore this comment (He had heard it enough from Kurai), and pushed back the vegetation of the vast Amazon jungle. Koori, Kitsune's full ice demon half sister helped Lord Koenma as they pushed on through the jungle. " Stop complaining, Kurai." Koori said, sounding as she always did, cool, calm, and collected.
Kurai (Kurama's younger sister) put her hands on her hips, " Look, Koori. Just because this is the eight millionth time I've said that-"
"Stop it, you two!" Koenma said wearily, " Our phase of the mission must go as well as Kitsune's. To do that, we must stick together, and follow Yama's orders directly."
Kurai rolled her eyes, "Wow, I never thought I'd hear you say THAT one!"
Koenma, Kurai, and Koori were in the South American Jungle, searching for the temple of Dragon Tears. They were on orders from Yama to find this place, and bring back any information that they would find useful as to the terms of the Dragon Tear and Foxblood Prophecy. With this sort of Mission, all of them knew that playing as double agents was very risky. Koenma knew that anything that the three of the them would find would immediately have to be handed over to Yama, or their game would be over.
Kurai seemed to be thinking along the same lines. It was only a few months after Her Darkling demon side had been destroyed, but she still had attitude. She looked around, and said, " Oh, fine then. Let's find your ruddy ole temple."
Koori pulled back a series of vines, and gasped.
Side note: Koori the calm gasping normally means that anyone other than Kurai or Koenma would be screaming in terror at this point.
The Dragon tear temple reared out of the jungle like a great cathedral. The three double agents stared in wonder at the amazing architecture.
" Queer!" Koori said, " What people built this?"
" A group of pacifist demons." Koenma said hollowly, " I hate this place. Many human sacrifices were made. Only we can find it, since we have demon blood in our veins."
"Great." Kurai kicked a skull, then froze.
" What is it?" Koori whispered.
Kurai brushed some dust and grime away from an onyx slab encrypted on the statue of a beautiful Dragon.
" What is it?" Koenma repeated. Black fire was spreading slowly across Kurai as she stood there, looking at the words written on the stone. Kurai stood there like a human torch, blazing away. Koenma and Koori knew that when this happens, Kurai was under great emotional stress.
" Kurai…." Koori was genuinely concerned.
" STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Kurai yelled, sounding for a moment like her Darkling demon side.
Koenma and Koori traded glances.
" It must be something to do with what is on that stone." Koori said.
The Fire intensified around Kurai, and she turned to face them.
" Kurai…."
" Please." She whispered, " Stay away."
The fire began to die, and Kurai began to sway.
" We were all wrong." Kurai said in her voice, soft as death, " We were all fools. We thought…The Dragon…The Fox…"
Koori realized she was holding her breath.
" I'm The Dragon." Kurai said, " And Kitsune is the fox. We were all fools. Ryuno isn't the Dragon. She's been playing us all along. All she wants is Kurama dead….We were all fools. We have to get to…the village. Before it's to…. before. It's…."
Koori caught Kurai as she fainted. She glanced at Koenma.
" OH dear." Koenma said, " I think we have a problem."
End of Chapter Two. If you still don't get it, ask me, and I will go against my creed, and tell you the entire plot.