My footsteps echoed throughout the corridor as I walked. The silence, besides my footfalls, was disturbing. It was quiet, otherwise. Too quiet for my liking. My knuckles were throbbing, my Ghost Blades ready to materialize, signaling something wrong. Unlike at the Tournament, when my abilities were still redeveloping, they had throbbed due to my lack of control and intense emotion, but now... I glanced at my hands. They tingled... in warning. Something was definitely going to happen. And chances were... That it would end up with even more dead. Damn... I let the blades materialize beneath my skin, ready to shoot through at a moment's notice.

There was a reason that I was loud, and that was because I hated suspense. I hated silence. I hated stealth. True, I could utilize those skills, but only when I had to. I hated waiting for a target to become relaxed enough for a easy kill. I preferred a fight, I preferred how it was at the Tournament. Clear-cut rules, all the way to the bitter end, full out to the death fighting. How I managed to become a Shidosha, I will never know, considering this fact. But, I suppose, that was because of my all around superior skills, and no, I am not bragging. Okay... Maybe a little, but it is the truth. Nothing more, nothing less. I can be deadly quiet, if I need to, I can blend into the shadows like no other, I could remain completely silent, with my breathing so quiet that it could not be picked up by a security system. I could remain in a small, cramped spot for hours, waiting, completely alert and ready to finish the assignment. At least... I could as Yurei'ha. Yusuke Urameshi, on the other hand, was loud, obnoxious and slightly, okay, completely, arrogant. I could back my attitude in a fight, and I was the best street brawler at home, and not to mention the captain of the winning team at this year's Dark Tournament, I beat Toguro, for crying out loud. And he had been on the winning team... For what, fifty years now? Okay, I'll get to the point, I kick ass and a lot of other people know this. I kick even more ass now that I can use my former Shidosha abilities as well as my more newly acquired ones, i.e. the various Spirit Energy techniques, so why they wish to put their lives on the line to get a crack at me, when I'm this high-strung and will not hesitate to kill, it is beyond me.

I glanced around, my hand straying towards my new samurai blade, my fingers resting on the hilt. Damn... I sighed. Well... Now or never...

My eyes narrowing, the yurei-ha shot from my hands, followed quickly by shuriken. There was a hiss of pain as my follower got hit with a throwing star and barely avoided the other projectiles. I raised an eyebrow. Well, at least this would be more entertaining than the other Shidosha. That fight had been frankly disappointing. My attacker's cloak fell off. If I had not put on the completely aloof and nonchalant expression that I wore during my assassination jobs, I would have fallen over in shock.

I paused a moment, trying to recollect my thoughts. "Nike...?" Named after the Greek spirit of victory, companion to the goddess Athena, the boy was Kumo's apprentice. I suspected, from the spider tattoo on his shoulder.

"Yurei'ha." He spat out my name. I didn't bat an eyelid.

"What do you want...?" I asked, leaning against the wall, the picture of indifference.

He glared at me. I paused, my mask slipping for a second. Nike was... crying? Yes... I glanced at his fists... And trembling as well, probably from fury, judging from his expression. I glanced at him, slightly confused. The Nike I remembered was a cool little bastard that had the skill and talent to become one of the Shidosha. Nothing riled him, nothing got past him. He never showed any emotion, and was unwavering loyal, and very intelligent, a perfect hitokiri in those respects. But... The one thing that made him undesirable as an assassin was the fact that he had compassion. He was an orphan, I had trained him a little myself before I left the Kyokai. He was one of the children assassins, and was one of the best. But he refused jobs in which the target had children. Or a wife. Luckily for him, the politicians he was sent after had neither.

"Why... WHY DID YOU KILL HIM, YUREI'HA!" He shouted, tears streaming, unchecked, down his face. "WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO US!" My mask completely fell.

"You mean Kumo...?" I asked, my voice breaking slightly.

He nodded, tears still falling. "I don't want to believe it's you... But Kangae, even the Shujin said it was!"

"WHAT!" I stared at him... Kangae... That bastard. I might have known he would pull this.

Flash back

"Yurei'ha!" I glanced behind me as Doku slowly walked after me. He only ran if his life, or one of his comrades, depended on it.

"Yeah?" I asked, turning around and grinning.

"It's about Kangae." I raised an eyebrow. My whole team had been functioning very well for the past few months and I was concerned for my comrade, if anything involved him.

"What about him? Is he ill or something...?" I asked, worried.

"No..." Doku's eyes bore into mine. "Yusuke," Uh-oh. He only called me by my birth name if it was important. "He... I don't know. But I have a bad feeling about him." And we both knew his bad feelings were never wrong. "Just... Be careful, okay, kit?" He asked, squatting so we were eye level.

"Aren't I always?" I asked, grinning.

He glared at me, though I could see the corner of his lip twitch as he tried not to smile. "Yurei'ha..." He growled half threateningly half playfully.

I smirked. "Relax. I will." I gave him a half-wave as I turned and left...

End Flashback

It all made sense... How else would the target have known that we were going to assassinate him? And while Kangae was gone, we were attacked. He must've tipped them off, and had the others killed. But he hadn't counted on me surviving, but he apparently had grown somewhat attached to me, so instead of killing me himself, he wiped my memories, so it would look like he was trying to protect me, but in reality, he was just getting rid of me. My eyes widened. The Shujin position, he wanted it, and I was quite possibly the next candidate for it,

"So with me out of the picture..." I whispered my final thought aloud.

"I could become Shujin." I whipped around at the sound of Kangae's voice, quickly moving in front of Nike.

"You BASTARD!" I hissed.

He shrugged, a small smirk on his lips. "True..." He laughed.

I sensed Nike shiver behind me. Chikusho! I inwardly cursed. I couldn't fight him and protect Nike at the same time. "Nike... Run!" I shouted as I saw Kangae rush us and Nike's footsteps echoed off the corridor's walls. I glared at that betraying bastard. Just as his knife was about to stab right into the kid's heart, I moved in front of him again, the knife slicing straight through my left hand. Grabbing the hilt with my hand, I pulled it out of his grasp and kicked him in the stomach, sending him back. "Get out of here!" I shouted after Nike's retreating back. "AND GET BACK UP!"

Nike ran, tears streaming as he ran, the sounds of the battle raging behind him faded as he flew down the corridor, searching for help. He had been such an idiot! Yurei'ha would never leave her comrades behind, or kill them,. He had doubted her, and it was going to cost her. And perhaps him as well. He blinked once to clear his mind, and gritted his teeth. He would find back up, he would help her. It was the least he could do for doubting her. He increased his speed as he ran towards the strongest of the demonic auras, which all happened to be in one room, about a dozen strong demons in all. And if they would not help her...

His eyes flashed crimson.

He would make them, even if it killed him.

We both leapt back, his knife still in my hand. I eyed him cautiously. Kangae was a master of mental manipulation. He could control someone without them even realizing it, and if they did, it was too late. He used their own minds against them. He was completely confident in his abilities, and could tear down his opponents just by talking to them. He was one of the best in interrogation and torture at the Kyokai, and that was saying something. He could have comrades, who had trained together, and nearly died together, fight each other to the death. He could turn the bitterest enemies into the closest friends. His full name was "mind controller" depending on how you translated it. That was how he got his name, using hypnotism, strategy, and wit. He was deadly, in every way imaginable. I could beat him, if I didn't let him get to me. But... That was his specialty. I had to end this, and quickly, before he could make me doubt myself... But the trouble is... The knife...

I pulled the said weapon from my hand, and examined it. Kuso... One of Kangae's concoctions was coated onto the blade. Probably a relaxant or hallucinogen. Tossing the knife to the side, I grabbed one of my own and tore the wounds on my hand open even further, creating a free flow of blood. Hopefully it would wash out most of the drugs. If not, I was probably as good as done for.

Hiei leaned against the conference room's walls, glaring at the door, just wishing Yusuke would enter and grin, saying, "Sorry I took so long." Then glance at Koenma and grin sheepishly, "I think you need to get another clean up team of ogres to the southwest wing."

He punched the wall in frustration, growling and muttering curses under his breath. What the hell was taking so long!

His question was answered when a boy, probably not even eleven, rushed into the room. Judging from the aura, human.

He glanced around, almost frantically, and made a bee line straight for Hiei, shocking the said demon. "Please! You've got to help! My sensei, she's in danger!"

"What's her name?" Hiei asked, abruptly grabbing the boy's shirt. He had a sinking feeling he knew who it was.

"Yurei'ha!" He somehow managed to cough. "She's fighting the Shujin, and I don't think she can fight him much longer!"

Hiei, just as quickly as he had grabbed the boy, dropped him. "Dammit Yusuke!" He snarled as he ran out of the room, almost everyone, including Nike, on his heels.

I didn't know how long we were fighting, but it felt like an eternity. I had managed to get most of the drugs out of my system thanks to opening the wounds even more, but some had remained, and I could feel it taking effect. My movements were becoming slower, sluggish, resulting in getting more of the relaxant in my system every time he managed to draw blood and get the knife into the wound. Damn it... I thought as I felt the knife stab right into my stomach. Sorry, Hiei... I tried... Damn it! I'm not going down like this!

I forced myself to stand, breathing heavily, trying to clear my vision. No good. I closed my eyes and decided to use my hearing, if it would do any good. I heard thunderous footsteps behind me and opened my eyes, Nike, and... My eyes widened. HIEI! I saw Kangae smirk and grab a throwing knife. No... Those idiots...

"LOOK OUT!" I shouted, adrenaline pushing the heaviness out of my limbs. I threw myself in front of the boy as the blade hit me, just below the heart.

I coughed, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth. I grinned weakly at Nike. "You okay... kid?" I asked as my vision began to fade very quickly.

"Yeah..." He uttered, probably in shock. I smirked slightly, then fell back, feeling the last remnants of my vision vanish.

"Good."

"YUSUKE!" Hiei shouted as he caught her. He glared up at the smirking demon in front of him and tenderly laid her to the ground, letting his hand brush over her lips ever so slightly. He unsheathed his katana, eyes shining like burning blood. "You will die for that." He hissed.

The other's smirk widened. "I highly doubt that."

Touya raised a hand for his Shards of Winter, Jin's glare could've made Toguro run for cover as he raised his arm parallel from the ground for a Tornado Fist. Chu shifted so the ball of energy in his hand was easily created.

"We'll see." Kurama snarled as he pulled out his rose whip.

With a wild cry, Hiei charged, to be easily repelled. What the hell!

I was floating... In darkness.

"What's going on...?" I asked the blackness as I, seemingly, fell.

"You died." I turned around, as soon as I felt like I could.

I stared as I came to face with... Me. Okay, I grant that the reflection had white wild hair, demonic markings, and yellow eyes, but it was still me.

"And... Let me guess... You are my demonic blood...?"

The demonic me nodded and held out a hand. "Our friends, and mates, are fighting for their lives. Your human blood is worthless now... Will you accept me? If you do, you can fight." I looked at those fierce, bloodthirsty yellow eyes. A Battle Demon... Was that what I wanted to become...? Did I even have a choice...?

"I accept."

Shidosha: leader of hitokiri

Hitokiri: assassins

Yurei'ha: Ghost Blade, Yusuke's hitokiri name

Yurei-ha: The name of the blades that materialize between Yusuke's knuckles, called this because they disappear once they hit their target and are the same blue color of her Spirit Energy, making it appear surreal and unearthly.

Shuriken: throwing stars

Kumo: spider

Kyokai: guild

Kangae: "thoughts" or "mind"

Shujin: Leader, of all hitokiri

Doku: poison

Chikusho: damn it

Kuso: shit

Sensei: teacher

Sorry it took me so long to update. I have had writer's block and my parent's have left the country and dumped me at my grand parents, and I am not exactly used to the kind of computer they have, so it took me a little while to adjust to it. But, here is the update, and I will send thanks you's and comment on your reviews when I get home, in about... five days. I might manage beforehand. In the mean time, I will try to update again, but no guarantees! I have to get my summer reading done among other things, so if I don't update for another week or so, please don't get too upset. I'm trying here. Plus I am sort of getting to the end of my original design for this series, but don't worry, it will continue for a little while longer. Who knows, I might get a few new ideas... And I will try to make the next update a little longer, maybe not as long as this one, but... I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry again for the delays. I can't help these things, after all, I'm only fifteen... I can't help it if my parents decide to go on vacation... I have no say in these matters.