Hey guys! Guess what! I'm updating! HECK YES! Haha. It seems that my extreme writer's block has been replaced with 'must write more now' syndrome! Anyhow, I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter and thanks to neko kitkat and Lonely Fox for reviewing and huggles to the rest of you too! Ok, let's get this show on the road!

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Closing Scene of Chapter 9

Youko Kurama was still looking down at his two fallen friends, until Yusuke's voice called to him.

"Don't worry, it's going to be okay." The detective reached a hand out to the fox, who hadn't even realized he had fallen to his knees.

The kitsune took it, unthinking.

"Idiot."

Kurama's eyes widened at his friend, and then chastised himself silently for being such a fool.

The spirit detective smirked as he tightened his hold on the kitsune's hand. He then pulled the fox over his head and launched him into the stands.

After landing on his back with a large amount of force, the kitsune opened his eyes and sat up slowly. Kurama took a few minutes to regain his bearings, and he tried to stand up but coughed up blood and fell back to the ground, exhausted from his many wounds. He looked up to see the spirit detective sneering in his face.

This betrayal hurt the fox the most. Yusuke was the first person to sympathize with him when he told the young teen that his mother was dying, and willing to die for him after only meeting him hours before. Although he never said it out loud, Yusuke, though brash, was one of the kindest people that he knew.

Tears formed in Kurama's amber eyes as he looked at the detective. "Why Yusuke? What have I done to deserve this betrayal from all of you?"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Meanwhile…

Yusuke, Genkai, and Yukina were frantically waiting for the Taiya Weed to boil, which seemed to take longer due to their dire circumstances.

"Hiei could boil this in a moment….hold on…where is Hiei anyways?" The ice maiden and her teacher seemed to just notice that the fire demon was missing.

Yusuke averted his gaze to the floor. "He's infected with another poison too. He said that I needed to get the Taiya Weed to Kurama and that his was not as bad as fox-boy's."

"And you just left him there! In a weakened condition and in Makai no less?" Genkai was not happy with her student.

"Relax Grandma. Hiei said that there was a safe place nearby, I think he mumbled something about one of Kurama's dens."

Genkai sighed. "I suppose one of the fox's dens would be the safest place in Makai, but as soon as this antidote is administered to Kurama, I'm sending you and maybe Kuwabara to go get him."

After what seemed like an eternity, the Taiya Weed had reached the desired consistency, and Yukina placed it in a bowl so the fox could drink it, as it had the consistency of runny oatmeal.

"Now the rest is up to Kurama, I somehow don't think this will be as easy as we hoped."

"Good thing you're so cheery, Grandma."

The three entered 'Kurama's Room' and sat down next to him.

"Yusuke, I think you should be the one to administer the antidote, he knows you the best out of the three of us, he should trust you the most."

The teen nodded and put one arm under the redhead's shoulder intending to life up his friend so that he could swallow. However as soon as Yusuke made contact with Kurama's back, the kitsune let out a pain-filled hiss. From the fox's position the spirit detective was able to see a magnitude of bruising covering his fiend's back.

"Damn it Kurama, why does this have to happen to you?" The chocolate-eyed teen wasn't really expecting a response, until a weak voice met his ears.

"W-why?"

"Why what Kurama?" Yusuke was confused.

"Why…did you betray me Yus-Yusuke?"

The detective's heart nearly broke in two at those words. "I would never betray you Kurama, I don't know what this poison is making you see, but you have to believe me."

With that, the teen hoisted up the fox and pressed the bowl to the kitsune's lips, attempting to make him drink the antidote. But Kurama merely closed his mouth tighter and attempted weakly to squirm away from Yusuke's touch.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"You want to know what you did to make me do this to you?" Yusuke merely smirked. "You were born."

Kurama suddenly found himself unable to move.

"You were born, fox. You killed innocents, you killed your teammates; I'm the spirit detective. It's my job to get rid of monsters like you. I'm not the bad guy here, you are."

A bowl appeared in the detective's hand. "And now, it's your turn. A fiery death for one of a shameful past. Don't worry, you won't be dead for hours yet, but you'll wish you were in minutes."

The fox struggled violently against his invisible restraints, but it was to no avail, he was fastened tight.

Yusuke merely laughed cruelly at his 'friend's' plight. "It's your turn to suffer fox. Prepare for the end, but it will not come quick enough to you."

The fox had a plan. If he could keep the detective talking long enough, maybe he could still find a way to escape.

"I've never heard of such a poison before." He hoped the detective would take the bait and gloat, wasting time.

He was successful.

"Oh really. It's a lovely concoction of mine. As soon as it hits your mouth, it burns like fire, reaching every cell, every fiber of your being, until you die….five hours later. But enough chat, I see through your ploy fox, and it won't work. Have fun in hell."

The spirit detective started towards the restrained demon, started towards the restrained demon, bowl in hand.

Kurama was not going without a fight, he arched his back, bucking like a stallion, but Yusuke quickly put an end to that with his other fist.

"Don't do this."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Don't do this."

Yusuke's heart this time didn't just break, it shattered. For a moment he actually considered not giving Kurama the antidote.

"Stop it Yusuke." Genkai's sharp voice brought the detective back to his senses. "You won't help him by stopping now."

The spirit detective snapped out of his reverie and nodded, hating himself for having to force his friend's lips oven with the rim of the bowl. After a few moments he succeeded.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Yusuke forced the demon's mouth open, but the fox was not finished fighting yet. He snapped his teeth at the teen biting his hand.

"Ack! Stupid demon. You are going to get yours kitsune."

Kurama was not pleased when his 'friend' took his left hand and jerked the fox's mouth open and poured the liquid inside.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Ow! He bit me; I can't believe he did that."

After a few more gentle ministrations the teen was able to get the kitsune's mouth open and eased the Taiya Weed substance down Kurama's throat.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The 'poison' burnt like fire. The fox's world spun, making him feel dizzy and weak. His entire being was filled with white-hot agony as he tried to focus on breathing, but after a while even that became too much.

He prayed for the end to come, to put an end to his suffering. His friends had either betrayed him or were dead; what else did he have to live for?

Slowly Kurama's world turned black and he felt no more.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The real Kurama slumped in Yusuke's hold.

"I'm glad that's over."

Yukina checked the redhead's wounded side to see if the antidote had actually worked. She was ecstatic to see that the wounds had finally stopped bleeding. She attempted to heal them, and was even more pleased when she found that they closed up easily under her touch.

She was less than happy when she reached his shoulder. No matter how much she tried, it would not heal. The same occurred for the bruises on his face and back.

"It appears that the wounds that his mind inflicted will have to heal the old fashioned way. But, I don't think he'll be waking up for a while, the poor guy must be exhausted."

The three smiled down at their friend, feeling that the worst was over.

Kuwabara startled them out of their happy silence with a, "Hey, where's shorty!"

Yusuke started.

"Oh crap, I gotta get back there. He might be in more trouble. Hey Kuwabara, let's go."

"Go where? What's going on? I thought we were supposed to be taking care of Kurama."

"Kurama is fine now that we have gotten the Rasputine out of his system. Hiei is of your concern now. We'll take care of the fox."

"Uhhh okay."

Kuwabara followed Yusuke as he ran out the door.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Two Hours Later

'Accursed poison!'

Hiei was definitely feeling the weakest he had ever felt. The toxin in his system was robbing him of strength and he did not have the means to replace any of it.

'Where is that detective, it can't of taken him this long to get back to the fox, and he didn't see why he would stay at Genkai's temple unless—unless something was terribly wrong.'

The fire demon started to worry about the kitsune.

"Curse this weakness! I need to get back to Ningenkai now!"

A scuffle outside caught his attention. He could hear faint voices over the thrashing of the plants.

"Stupid effing plants! How are we supposed to get to Hiei if we can't get past these things?"

The fire demon summoned the last of his strength and made his way towards the exit, knowing that the plants would not harm him.

"Hey, look who it is, our favorite three-eyed demon."

"Hn."

The fire koorime swayed as he walked and nearly collapsed, but caught himself on a nearby tree.

"Please tell me you know the antidote for the stuff you're poisoned with."

"Hn. Yes, but I don't think you're going to like it."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

See how nice I am. I update as quickly as ever and there's no big cliffie! I expect nice reviews from all of you . Well it seems that Kurama's all cured but he might not be so happy to see his friends when all is said and done. And what about Hiei? How is he supposed to slay a dragon in this state, lucky for him he's got Yusuke and Kuwabara with him. But not lucky for him, I'm writing the story, meaning lots of angst still to come!

Hugs,

MM

P.S. Sorry for all of the switching back and forth, but I wanted you all to see both sides of the story. You know, how Yusuke and Kurama experienced it.