Here's the next chappie. And I'm pretty sure this one isn't a cliffy...or is it? R&R!

Chapter 20: Unfortunate End

"Father!" Not a second later the blades fell. There was a blast of light that blinded them all. "Hiei!" Yoko yelled from somewhere in the room. The light wore away and was replaced by a cloud of dust. Hiei looked around for the kitsune, but was distracted by a loud rumbling sound. A glance up to the roof proved his suspicions. The place was coming down.

"Kurama! We have to get out of here. The place is going to cave-in." the apparition yelled to his friend when he caught sight of him. Yoko tore his eyes from where Kuronue had been. He couldn't save Kuronue, but he'd be damned if he couldn't save Kurenai, too. He turned his head towards said girl. Kurenai was still staring at where her father had been. She was in shock and had gone limp in Hiei's arms. The rumbling became louder making the kitsune look above the couple. "Hiei! Move!"

The apparition was able to pick up Kurenai and make it to Yoko before a stone spike plummeted from the roof. It exploded on contact with the ground where Hiei and Kurenai had been standing. More rocks continued to fall after the initial one. Both men searched the room, but there was no sign of Rumaru. "There's no time to look for him. Let's go." stated Yoko.

By now Kurenai had recovered from her state of shock. She heard Yoko and Hiei talking about leaving. 'We can't leave. Father is still here. And that bastard is still alive.' she thought. As they began to run to the exit, Kurenai became more aware of her surroundings. "No," she murmured, but the men didn't hear her. Desperate for their attention, Kurenai gripped Hiei's shirt and pulled on it. The apparition looked down at her without slowing his pace. "Stop. We have to help him. Please." the koomori pleaded.

Hiei didn't know what to say. They couldn't go back, but he wasn't going to tell her that her father was dead either. She had gone through that pain once before and it was even worse this time. Kurenai had seen the elder koomori die. Saying nothing, Hiei only held the girl tighter. Just with that single gesture, the koomori knew they weren't going back.

Fighting against her emotions, Kurenai squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, they were right near the exit. The bat demon squirmed in her love's arms. "What are you doing?" Hiei asked irritated. He and the kitsune stopped to try to get the girl to stop. "Put me down." ordered Kurenai. Hiei was going to protest, but the determination in Kurenai's eyes silenced him. Reluctantly he let her stand on her own feet. She looked each male in the eye then sprinted out of the cave and up the stairs. Hiei and Yoko followed.

The three of them rushed out of the tree and continued to run until the sound of the collapsed hideout could be heard. They came to a halt outside of the forest. Yoko and Hiei looked back, but the koomori kept her eyes on the ground in front of her. Her body ached all over, her arm throbbed from the deep bruise, and her wings were sore from the rocks as she fled the cave.

She felt her godfather's clawed hand on her shoulder, and turned to face him. "He fought well. And he risked his life to save mine." stated Kurenai. With a look of sympathy, Yoko nodded. "Is that how it was the first time he was killed?" The kitsune sighed. "Yes. Kuronue used his last breath telling me to runaway." It took him a second to realize that that was exactly what he told the demon god who disguised himself as Kuronue. Yoko was surprised to see a smile on Kurenai's lips. "I'm proud of him." the koomori said answering her godfather's curiosity.

That smile didn't last long. Like a reoccuring nightmare, the repulsing sound of a certain lightening demon's voice echoed in Kurenai's head. The girl hissed and frantically looked around. She spotted the demon standing on a boulder off to the right. Instinctively, Kurenai armed herself with the scythe at her waist. "Do you have a death wish, asshole?" shouted Kurenai. Her companions gawked at her in disbelief. This man just killed her father and she was acting as if he were the school bully.

"Oh, of course not. It's quite the opposite, you see." Rumaru crossed his arms and shifted his weight to the other leg. "I have a proposition for you, my dear Kurenai." Hiei moved forward, but the koomori held out her arm to stop him. "No. He's mine." she told him. Walking forward, Kurenai tightened her grip on the blade. She stopped a few yards away from the boudler. "And what would this proposition be, Rumaru?"

The demon smiled wickedly at the young woman. "Since I have now completed my revenge against your dead father, I wish to improve my status here in Makai. In order to do that, I need some help. This is my offer to you, become my right-hand-man, or woman in this case." Kurenai had held on to a false smile during Rumaru's explanation, but inside her anger was boiling over. How could he have the nerve to ask something like that of her?

"I'll tell you what. I will let you have a personal insight into what I think about your offer." With a quick hand, Kurenai's sharp scythe was headed right for Rumaru's chest. The demon slapped the blade aside effortlessly. Using the momentu, from Rumaru's push, the koomori spun around, allowing the chain to pul the blade in a 360 degree spin. It redirected it's target to Rumaru's neck.

The lightening demon thought this a move a child would make. He took a step back to evade the weapon, but he soon realized his mistake. Gone unnoticed was an extra foot of chain that Kurenai had wrapped around her wrist. The blade went past the head of it's victim, and with a jerk on the chain, came back towards Kurenai. Rumaru screamed as the scythe buried itself halfway through his neck. His eyes looked at Kurenai in amazement. Then he fell to the ground, rolling off the boulder, dead.

Not only was Rumaru amazed at the skillfull handling of the blade and chain, but the kitsune and fire apparition were, too. Kurenai walked over to the body and pulled the weapon free of the neck. She wiped it clean using Rumaru's cape. When she turned to return to her friend's sides, the sound of clapping could be heard from behind the men. They all turned and saw something they couldn't believe. Or more like someone.

The demon was leaning against a tree and applauding Kurenai's kill. "Well done. You've come a long way since last I saw you use that scythe." he said smiling at the girl. He pushed away from the tree, walked past Yoko and Hiei, and stopped in front of the young koomori. Kurenai couldn't help but smile back. "I learned from the best." she said. Not able to stand it any longer, Kurenai lunged at her father.

Kuronue held her tight. "It's over. Rumaru can never harm you or anyone else again." he said reassuringly. Kurenai shook her head againsthis chest. As she remembered everything that Rumaru had done, she began to panic. She pulled away from Kuronue, and turned to the other two men. "How's Sanzo?" she asked, worried about her brother figure. Yoko gently smiled. "He's awake. The doctors said he would make a full recovery. And Botan informed us that Sanzo is well on his way."

This information pleased Kurenai. Her mind was at ease, but only for a moment. "Wait. Since Rumaru's dead," She turned back to her father. "...you have to leave again, don't you?" Kuronue sighed. He cupped Kurenai's face in his hands. "Let's not think about that right now. First we must get you home." he told her. She forced a smile, but was crushed under the facade. "Okay."