Sakura: (sigh) second to last chapter. yell at me all you want, i know it is a sad end to the chapter, but at least i updated. happy now, forest:D anyways, for all of you who loved and reviewed... thank you. thank you so much for making this a moslty enjoyable experience. and for making sure i didn't quit! loves to all.

Chapter 18:

"That… makes no sense whatsoever!" Achiko complained as the news sunk in.

"It doesn't?" his smile was so cruel; it made Achiko's insides shiver.

"Sure, you look like the guy, but you're missing the tattoo… and you only look a little bit like him," Achiko said.

"My best skill, aside from ice, is possession." He hinted.

It was like she had been hit with a ton of bricks, "You… you possessed your own SON?"

"Something like that. He was going to die anyways- why let the body go to waste?" Ryu shook his head.

"You killed your own son to have revenge on my clan?" Achiko said, fairly calmly for her position.

"Simply? Yes." Ryu chuckled.

"Then for that, you will have to die." Achiko muttered, unsheathing her twin blades.

"Oh, I hoped you'd say that," Ryu grinned and snapped his fingers once more.

Atticus's eyes turned a chilly blue and she stepped forward towards Achiko. The wolf girl looked taken aback as her once-best-friend came towards her.

"I don't want to fight Atticus- I want to fight you, Ryu!" Achiko shouted angrily as Atticus continued towards her.

The fox girl made a move and Achiko ducked just in time as Atticus' leg swooped over her head. Achiko rolled backwards and hopped up, her weapons away.

She swore under her breath as she realized that she was, indeed, fighting Ryu. The coward was sacrificing her friend's body instead of his own.

Atticus/Ryu came at her again, claws extended. Achiko jumped high into the air as Atticus' claws punctured the air below her. Achiko landed behind the possessed girl and grabbed her arms. Atticus stepped hard on Achiko's bare feet, but the wolf girl ignored it and searched the back of her neck for just the right spot.

Atticus' claw scratched her cheek as Achiko muttered a spell and poked a pressure point in the back of Atticus' neck. The possessed fox girl fell to the ground, unable to move. Achiko watched as her icy eyes faded into black and with the overwhelming feeling of sorrow, she hardly heard movement behind her. It was only just in time that she moved as a sword split the flesh of her arm.

"Dirty bastard!" Achiko shouted and again unsheathed her blades to block a thrust from Ryu.

She mentally sighed, though. At least he's not using Maru's body.

But she had to keep her attention focused on him, had to avoid fatal wounds until he was dead. She rushed in to slash open his insides. He dodged and sliced back at Achiko, who dodged as well. They were pretty evenly matched- it would be a long, hard battle.

385347825-3478538497598-37289578347-27582347-5728

"You have got to be kidding me."

Kurama looked up into the dark Makai skies before turning to Yusuke, who had just spoken. Kurama watched as he looked around him to the map in his hands. Sighing, the fox boy snatched the map from Yusuke's hands and stared blankly at it.

"It would seem we have been sent through the wrong portal," Kurama said, more calmly than he felt, "According to the landscapes and the map, we are here," he pointed, "and are supposed to be here," he dragged his finger across the map to the silver-sharpied circle.

"At least we're in the right world," Kuwabara surmised.

Kurama nodded then looked toward Hiei, who was staring at the map in Kurama's hands. Kurama motioned towards the direction they were supposed to be going to and the four of them ran off to find their friend, the wolf girl.

6780362706571206785678023

Achiko fell to the ground, coughing up blood. She hastily wiped her mouth and stood up again, almost careening over at the pain in her ribs.

'Damn.' She thought, readying herself for another barrage of attacks. 'He's much stronger than I thought. But I need to kill him if I'm going to save Maru and Atticus,'

Ryu came at her, swinging his sword harshly. Achiko held steady and muttered something under her breath. It was a light healing spell to help her through the battle. Achiko jumped to the side at the last minute, narrowly missing Ryu's blade.

Ryu's vocal games had ceased- his concentration completely on killing her. He wanted her dead with all his heart. But it wasn't even Achiko he had harassed! She just happened to be of the same blood.

Achiko put away her blades a moment and ran low to the ground, closing in on Ryu's feet faster than sound. She put one hand and one foot on the ground, then kicked with all her might at his chin.

Ryu went flying backwards, hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes. Achiko jumped up, blades back at the ready, and stared at the fallen figure. He wasn't getting up.

A rustling in the tall grass behind her. Achiko spun, blades in a defensive position, and readied herself. But what she saw was something she could never have prepared herself for.

"H-Hiei?" she whispered into the wind as her black-cloaked samurai stared at her through bloodstained grass with bloodstained eyes.

His eyes widened and in a flash he was beside her, pushing her to the side as a sword split his flesh and settled into his stomach.

Hiei fell to the ground, blood leaking from his wound in great rivers. Achiko could do nothing but stare for a moment from her place, standing next to him. Her eyes narrowed and she muttered a spell of protection, a shield that locked her and Ryu into a confined space.

A small spell for healing for Hiei, and Achiko turned, glaring menacingly. She heard the others coming now, too. Their footsteps echoing in her head. She put out her hands and closed her eyes, a sharp wind billowing around her body.

Ryu stood quickly, his cracked ribs aching and his mind spinning. He cursed as he looked up to see Achiko, floating a little off the ground and covered in deep black tattoos. Each stroke meant something different, but all had to do with power.

He stepped back and pounded at the greenish barrier surrounding the two. Achiko's red eyes exploded in a flash of ruby light and her body glowed with a bloody aura. The voice that spoke was not her own.

Die, filthy human.

His eyes widened farther and he looked around, screaming. Achiko's hair streamed, growing longer and longer, and her hands began to make signs, motions that could only mean destruction.

Ryu suddenly began to gravitate towards Achiko, and she quickly snatched him up, holding his hair and lifting him up. She looked at him in a disgusted way before grabbing his hand with her free hand. She forced his fingers to move in the direction she wanted them to move and shouted:

"SHIRUI! Pack brother! I ask thee to do my will and seal this spell." She shouted to the wind.

Ryu had nearly fainted. Achiko ignored the shouts of her comrades outside the protection field, closed her eyes and shouted;

"Tsuin Takai Mortar Mori!"

A flash of light, and all suddenly went dark. She looked over and met eyes with Hiei before closing her eyes and falling heavily to the ground.

The moon howled and the wind whispered, settling over her body in the field. Ryu's body was nowhere to be seen. Hiei gasped as the sword in his gut shattered and disappeared. His wound healed, he rushed over to Achiko's body, phasing through the thin light that was once a barrier. Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara followed suit, eyes wide with worry.

Hiei's fingers swept across her neck, brushing away strands of her long hair, trying to find a pulse. His movements grew more and more frantic as he searched, his eyes widening more and more. Kurama took over and felt her neck for the pulse, but found none.

Kurama closed his eyes and mourned her death.

-----------------------------------

Only 19 chapters in this story- only one left to go. it'll be short, and sweet, i guess. thanks for stickin with me! - 3