Author note: many many thanks to aninha daya for leaving me a comment!
oxoxoxoxoxo
(3rd person POV)
Hiei walked in silence, still stunned at what had just happened: Yusuke had been his enemy barely less than eight months ago. Why then had he placed such trust in him now? And why had the foolish human boy looked so genuinely happy to see him in the first place, greeting him like they were old friends? That made no sense. "A penny for your thoughts", Sayuri said, falling into step with him. He shot her a sidelong glance, there was another thing he wondered about, "You said you trust me". She nodded, "And I do". "Why? Don't you know who I am and what I've done?".
She let out a musical laugh at that, amusement shining in her lovely copper-colored eyes, "Do you know whom you're talking to? You've made quite a name for yourself, no arguing on that, but Rara and I are basically flesh-and-blood bogeymen to all demonkind and our own reputation of cruelty and ruthlessness is enough to give nightmares to even the most powerful bastards out there. Besides you've just proven that you are loyal to your allies, something which puts you on a much higher level on the trustworthy scale than the two of us combined, given our past track record on that. So yes, I trust you completely", she concluded with a warm smile.
He stopped dead in his tracks, dumbstruck by her words and the truth behind them: Sayuri knew who he was and what he had done and still, she accepted him. More than that, she trusted him and if the way she had rushed to him when she thought the boulder had squished him to a bloody pulp was any indication, she even worried about his safety, though he couldn't for the life of him understand why: he was imiko, the cursed child nobody wanted. He didn't deserve her trust, nor her concern.
His mouth opened of its own accord to tell her that, but luckily for him, a shrill sound came from behind him and he whirled around, reflexively gripping the hilt of his sword. He relaxed as Yusuke took a round and slim object from a pocket and opened it. "What's that?", Kuwabara asked curiously. "It's a communicator Botan gave me before sending us here", the black-haired boy replied.
"Hi Yusuke, here's Botan from Human World, can you hear me? Over", the reaper's cheerful voice filled the corridor and Sayuri rolled her eyes. "Is she always that annoyingly chirpy?", she whispered to Hiei and the fire demon nodded, suppressing a grin. "Unfortunately so". "Damn". "Yeah, I hear you, Botan. How's it going there?". "The situation is under control here: the Demon World parasites controlled by Suzaku's flute can only take hold of depressed adult minds and I think there's not that many of them around, so for the moment I'm managing", she said. "I hope you're right, but keep your eyes open anyway, okay?", he told her.
"Of course! By the way, I've just knocked down another of those things sent by Demon World…". "Behind you!", he shouted, then cringed as the sound of metal against bone came from the communicator and echoed in the corridor, "Shit". "Don't worry, they're not that dangerous. What worries me are those damned insects: I've been squishing them all day, but I've only managed to get fifteen of them", she admitted and from her tone, she must be pouting. "Useless girl", Sayuri muttered under her breath.
"Fifteen out of some thousands?", it seemed like Yusuke agreed with the sentiment, if his frown was any indication, "That's not very reassuring!". "When they possess someone, they make their host attack me, it's annoying and it makes me waste time!". "Yeah, I bet. We'll try and find that damned flute as soon as possible". "Be careful, though. I'll see you later, over". Yusuke closed the communicator and they resumed walking in silence.
After a while, he stopped and spoke up, "Hey, Kurama, do you happen to know something about the Four Saint Beasts? I've come here in all haste and didn't really have time to ask about their powers or techniques". Kurama stopped as well and shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I'm just as in the dark as you are", he said. "Well, I do know something", his sister intervened, all eyes turning to her, "But I'll tell you only if you move your legs, I refuse to spend more time than strictly necessary in this stinky place", she added and at her side, Hiei nodded.
Urameshi smirked, "Okay, boss", he joked, following her, "So, what do you know?". "Genbu is a big asshole made of rock, from what I've heard he has some sort of earth-related power…". "You will come to regret your insult, girl", a male gruff voice cut her off and they all tensed, looking around but seeing nobody. "Show yourself, cowardly sissy!", she shouted, hoping to rile him up enough that he would make a stupid mistake. "Open the door and you'll see me".
They noticed a wide bronze door at the end of the corridor and without a second thought, Yusuke and Kazuma ran to it and pushed it open. Behind it was a room completely made of stone, from the floor to the pillars to the ceiling and it seemed to be empty. "Hey, sucker, come out!", the vixen shouted again, "What's wrong, are you afraid of me?". "Yuyu, stop it…", her brother half-heartedly tried to shush her, knowing full well that is was a fruitless effort.
The ground shook and a figure emerged from the darkness at the end of the room: it was a rock demon, likely ten feet tall, with rocky spikes atop its head and shoulders, bulky arms and a three feet long scorpion-like tail that flicked behind him, "I am Genbu, one of the Four Saint Beasts. It will be a pleasure to crush you all…Starting with you, girl", he added, pointing at Sayuri. She smirked and stepped forward, looking happier than her brother had seen her in a while, her tail flipping back and forth and her ears twitching excitedly, "Bring it on, sucker: you're going to have your rocky ass handed and force-fed to you".
Yusuke's eyebrows reached his hairline and he let out a low whistle, impressed, "Wow! Kurama, your sister has guts!". The fox demon facepalmed, "Oh dear…". Kuwabara gaped at him, eyes wide with shock and disbelief, "Hey, Kurama, aren't you going to stop her?". "Believe me, it would be a very bad idea to try and do that: I know my sister". Genbu laughed, "You are amusing, thinking you can defeat me. But I think you're underestimating me: you will die here, girl and you will be screaming in pain before I'm finished with you".
Hiei chuckled quietly at that, causing both humans to look at him. "What's so funny, shorty? We can't let a woman take on that monster!", Kazuma exclaimed, outraged. "It seems like you are underestimating Sayuri's true strength", the fire demon said. "What do you mean?". "I mean that she is her brother's sister". "That she is", Kurama nodded, a proud smile curving his lips as he regarded his little sister getting into position before Genbu, "Back when I was still my old self, she and I were the most fearsome criminals in Demon World and nobody dared to cross us. Yuyu is strong, stronger than me now and should she lose her temper, this could become extremely messy. I hope you don't have a weak stomach".
Genbu let out a booming laugh and his tail seemed to melt into the floor, until it disappeared completely. After a moment, Sayuri sensed some movement behind herself and quickly jumped up in the air, twirling on her axis right as Genbu's tail sped towards her chest in the futile attempt to impale her. She dodged with ease and landed gracefully on her feet, "Is that the best you can do with that flabby appendage of yours? How pitiful", she taunted, "I haven't had a decent partner in the last fifty years and from the looks of it, you definitely lack both the equipment and the skills to satisfy my needs". Her brother froze at that lewd comment, his cheeks turning pink, while Urameshi and Kuwabara snickered.
Genbu growled, incensed, "Flabby, eh? Now I'll show you what I can do!", he snapped, his entire body merging with the floor and when it was completely gone, his voice came from everywhere at once, "I can become one with every rock and move freely inside it…". "The only thing you could ever hope to be inside of", she cut him off with a smirk, causing the humans to laugh harder and even Hiei could not keep a small grin from turning the corners of his lips upward. A growl came from right above her head and her smirk widened as she dodged his furious yet uncoordinated attack, then she lashed out with her left hand, a spiked vine sprouting from her sleeve and wrapping around Genbu's body until he was completely trapped.
"What…?". "Surprise!", she jumped back a few feet and tugged on the vine, the spikes slicing through her opponent like a hot knife through butter and cutting him into a thousand pieces. Yusuke cheered, "Ah, you were great, Sayuri! You killed him in one hit!". Kuwabara nodded, "Impressive, though if she managed to defeat him, then that monster was not as strong as he looked". Hiei scoffed, "Idiot. If she defeated him so easily, it's simply because she's Yoko Sayuri. Had it been you in her place, you'd be long dead". "Watch your tongue! You're really getting on my nerves, shorty!", the ginger-haired boy growled. "So what?".
"Listen, I just happened to place third in Master Genkai's fighting tournament. The only ones who beat me were Urameshi and an evil monster!". "As if I'd care", the fire demon deadpanned and Sayuri laughed at their banter. "I'm afraid that won't be enough to impress him, Kazuma", she said, "When you've lived in our homeworld and faced what the likes of us have, it takes a lot to make an impression. Don't take it personally", she added and Kuwabara calmed down immediately, shooting her a goofy smile. "Okay".
"Let's…Oh, come on!", she rolled her eyes and looked at the pieces of Genbu…And just like that, the pieces molded back together to reform his body and the rock monster laughed at them, "Surprised, eh? I'm not only able to reassemble myself, I can also use my pieces as bullets", he said, "Let me show you!". "Stay back!", the vixen ordered to the males, rushing forward and using the spiked vine wrapped around her left arm as though it were a sword, cutting through every body part that was shot at her.
No matter how many times she dismembered him though, Genbu kept on reassembling and splitting to attack her, forcing her to jump and spin and twirl in the air like a drunken butterfly to avoid being hit. She managed to avoid most of them, but a few still hit her at every round and her body was soon littered with cuts, bruises and scratches, until one of the stones composing his body attracted her attention: it was small and glowed with a scarlet pulsating light. Her full lips curved in a dangerous grin as she waited for him to launch his next attack, then she just stood with her arms open and kept her eyes trained on that stone, grabbing it in the blink of an eye.
Genbu reformed behind her with a triumphant laugh as she turned to face him. "Why didn't you try to dodge my attack, girl? You understood that it's useless to fight back, didn't you? Don't worry, I'll make you death quick…Hey, wait, why are you upside down?", he blinked, puzzled. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes and mouth agape: he had reassembled more or less flawlessly, yes, except for a small, insignificant detail…
His head was now lodged upside down.
Between his legs.
Yusuke and Kazuma doubled over with laughter at that sight. "I've heard of brass balls before, but, come on!", the former commented. "Now his head is really in the right place!", the latter added, nearly out of breath from laughing. "Wait, did you take my…", Genbu began and she took the glowing stone out from behind her back. "You mean this? Well, yes, I stole it. I'm a thief after all", she shrugged, mischief sparkling in her copper eyes, "This new look suits you by the way. Very macho. I'm sure it will do wonders to impress the ladies".
By now the two humans were practically rolling on the floor holding their stomach, Kurama was in equal parts amused and exasperated and even Hiei was desperately trying to hide his mirth behind a scowl. "Well, time to end this charade", Sayuri said, sobering, then she used one of her leech-plants to absorb all of Genbu's demonic power and life-force through the stone, draining him completely and causing his body to disintegrate in a pile of dust, "Pity, though: I really longed for a worthy opponent". Yusuke picked himself up off the floor and shot her a cocky grin, "Hey, if that's what you want, maybe we could spar after we're finished here", he proposed and she arched an eyebrow, looking him over.
"Your spirit energy is pretty strong, I see. But strong enough to take on me? I don't think so, not yet anyway", she shook her head, smiling, "Tell you what: if you manage to defeat Suzaku, I'll happily take you up on that offer. Deal?". "Deal. I'll hold you to it, fox girl", he replied, lightly poking her sternum with his index finger and she clutched her chest. "Ooooww! You hit meeeee!", she whined dramatically and they shared a laugh, "Let's go, there's three more of them waiting for us to kick their asses". "I'm right behind you".
Kurama was stunned: he had never seen his sister get along so well with someone except from himself, Kuronue and more recently Hiei and yet, she appeared to genuinely like both Urameshi and Kuwabara, the fact that they were humans not seeming to bother her in the slightest. She had even allowed Yusuke to call her 'fox girl', something which would have normally angered her to the point of violence. A slow smile lightened up his face as he watched her climb the staircase with the boys, "My little sister has really grown up, if she can befriend two humans", he murmured proudly.
"Tsk! She has been alone for fifteen years, with only your corpse to keep her company!", Hiei snapped, "She is so desperate and lonely that she would be willing to befriend even an ogre!". The fox demon flinched, guilt washing over him as he turned to look at his friend, "How do you know?". Hiei hesitated, "I heard rumors", he said evasively, "You shouldn't have left her, Kurama", he concluded, walking forward at a brisk pace. Kurama watched him go and then followed him, feeling as though he had just been punched in the face. He remained silent for the rest of the climb.