Hello again…

Oh and I've been forgetting: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Not as if you didn't know that, but whatever. Still, one question: If I owned it, why would Kurama or Hiei ever get hurt? Figure that out, will you?

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Toguro walked into the cell and looked around. Hiei was at the window, but there was no surprise there. The midget liked to look tall when he sat. Kurama was sitting against the wall, asleep, but in perfect posture all the same. Yusuke was slumped in the corner, chin touching his chest. The Allie girl was curled up on the stone floor, hugging herself. Ryu, the oh-so-pretty Ryu, looked to have fallen asleep standing up, and then fallen down at some point while she slept – she was almost exactly face first in the dirt, head in the middle of the ground. A faint snore emitting from her throat was the only reminder that she was alive. And Kage. Beautiful, terrified Kage. She was huddling in the corner, pressed up against the unforgiving stone of the cell wall. Didn't she understand that he wouldn't hurt her? That he had never hurt her, it was just those disgusting threads of humanity she clung to so dearly that dictated that because of his actions, he must be a monster. Didn't she understand that demons didn't live that way? Or, more importantly, that her species was even less "dignified" in ningen terms than demons? Didn't she know that he had behaved according to her law? Or at least, that he had adhered to the law of her people?

She really was a sight, pale skin surrounded by iridescent, flowing white hair with luminous streaks of ebony black separating it from the creamy skin of her face. Her full, black lips stood out below the small nose, but her eyes dominated the face, being at least three inches tall, gradating from the darkest black seen in Ningenkai, Reikai, or Makai, but not even showing the bottom of the eyes towards the lower lids, as the black faded away, leaving not a hint of irises or pupils. Her long lashes were framed by identical demon markings originating from her lower lids, running like curved tracks of tears down her cheeks, and stopping in points about an inch and a half lower. She had smudges of dirt all over, but she was still beautiful. There was no way to stop her beauty.

All this was thought in about half a second, as he already knew most of it, having noticed it over half a century ago. He had never forgotten.

Kage's thoughts, on the other hand, were a bit different. She picked out his faults as quickly and surely as he identified her beauty.

She quickly gave notice to the jutting collarbone, the protruding, bony neck surrounded by harsh muscles, and the impossibly large biceps. His arms were split into areas as though he were a cloth man sown together with balloons inside, which, had she not felt the harsh strength of his "balloons" first hand, she would believe her theory with the fervor of a dying person's will to believe that there is a weakness to the thing killing it. Not as though he had ever actually tried to kill her, but she remained cautious, never knowing what he would do next, therefore never letting down her guard. She saw his toes, wide, covered with gnarly toenails that were yellow and cracked toward the end. She saw his giant fingers, the fingers that may have known how to be gentle as a human, but as a demon, had lost that quality. Now they were used for brute force, for the "man's work" of brutality and killing, no majestic qualities were interlaced anymore with the short, stubby fingers.

She would have criticized him more, but he walked over with short, clipping steps on the stone floor, to Ryu. The unsuspecting demon had fallen asleep haphazardly in the middle of the floor, face down. It was so like Ryu that Kage would have laughed, had she not known where they were and what it would mean to them to be there. It was not good circumstances that she foresaw for the place they were in, nor for its inhabitants.

Slipping his hands into Ryu's glossy black hair, he grabbed her by the scalp and jerked her up.

Ryu cringed in pain as he dragged her out the door. Damn bastard wouldn't let go of her hair, he needed to let go, and dammit she wanted him to let go of her hair.

He pulled her out the door and slammed it, bolting it from the outside before he saw the shocked look on Kage's face. She was appalled that he would take the youngest member of their group.

A soft sound emitted from Kage's lips. "Ryu…" she whispered.

---------------------------------------------------In Yukina's Cell----------------------------------------

The door to Yukina's cell slammed. Yukina lifted her head, her azure hair stained red with blood pouring from a head wound. She also had a slash on her leg, but other than that, she was fine. Well, as fine as you can be when you're stuck in a dark, dank, cell, blood running everywhere, surrounded by criminals who wouldn't shrink from killing you, and you just learned that the brother you searched for all your life was right in front of your nose. Maybe she wasn't that all right after all.

Bui stepped in, muttering to himself about how he always had to do the dirty work.

"Girl. You're going to a different cell today, rejoice," he said in a voice that was filled with boredom and sarcasm.

The Koorime gasped lightly as he closed his giant hand around her delicate arm, pulling her roughly to her feet. Then, not letting her stand properly, she was dragged down the hall and to yet another rusty door. Bui lifted the bolt, pushed open the door, and shoved her in. He then slammed it shut and she could hear the deadbolt being slid into place. She stumbled forward and then fell to her knees, unable to put much weight at all on her injured leg. Looking up, she saw through her blue-green bangs an array of people, most she knew, and two she didn't.

Hiei sat on the windowsill. Apparently he had been staring expressionlessly over the city, but now he was looking at her in apparent shock and concern. A day before she would have wondered why the cold fire demon cared at all, but after the announcement that he was her brother, it was not that big a shock. Kurama was standing beside the door in his normal pose, staring at her as well and starting forward to help her up. Yusuke was sitting in the corner, and beside him was one of the girls she didn't know. Apparently she hadn't been here for long, for there was no wound on her, and her golden hair swung freely around her shoulders. She had tan skin and gold eyes, which made it hard to distinguish her emotion. The other unknown figure was hunched in the corner beside the door. Her eyes were disturbing, and it was quite odd that she had no color at all, however, what Yukina noticed most was that she was shaking. Out of all of them, she was the only one who didn't seem angry. Only scared. What did she know of these demons? What could she know?

Kurama approached her and held out a hand. "Yukina-san, are you all right?" he asked in his always caring voice.

"Yes, Kurama-san," she answered, weak.

Placing one hand around her shoulder and the other in her hand for support, he half-lifted, half-dragged the Koorime to the corner nearest the window. "I'm sorry, Yukina-san, but we can't use our spirit energy here. Otherwise I would heal you. For now, all I can do is ask Hiei for bandages. Hiei?" he asked, turning to the Voorime.

Hiei dug in his pocket and handed Kurama a bundle of bandages. Dutifully, Kurama went to work bandaging Yukina's wounds.

As soon as he finished, the door opened yet again, and an unconscious Ryu was slammed into the wall.

Yusuke stood up angrily. "Toguro! Why are you doing this? What did they do to you?" he practically growled.

"They became your friends. Now they suffer just as you made us suffer."

"So torture me! What do I care! But don't you fucking dare hurt my friends!"

"But that's the point. We are torturing you. All by hurting your friends. Will we ever hurt you? Oh, yes, and don't forget it. But first, we will whittle away on your friends. They're more fun, anyway."

At this point Kage looked up fearfully. "Toguro…You didn't…"

"No, not yet. She has to earn that."

Shaking, Kage buried her head beneath her knees and sat, quiet. Toguro pulled shut the door.

"Hiei, more bandages, please," said Kurama.

Hiei searched his pockets. A look of surprise crossed his face. "Sorry, fox. I'm out," he said quietly.

"Hiei! You can't be," said Kurama, annoyed. He slid an arm beneath Ryu's shoulders and another beneath her knees, and laid her out straight. "Well, I don't think she'll die from this. At least, we can hope," he sighed, and went back to his wall.

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Okay, I know its short, but I've had a lot of work from school lately, and I have to read the Hunchback of Notre Dame for my A.V.I.D. class, plus write an essay on the History of Haiku, and a short story at least four pages long for English, so I really don't have time. I'm sorry, I'll try to get the next one out as soon as possible, but I'm not really sure when that'll be. Oh, and if you're looking for something to read, my friend Kennamenna is writing a fic called lifestyles of the rich and famous (sporting the OCs from this story…), and Ryu Shoku has Fallen Through and something else I don't remember the name of. They're really good, please read. Kennamenna is good at updating – a lot better than me!

Sorry it's so short!

-Kage