Chapter 16 (Part 2)

GENKAI´S TEMPLE (PRESENT TIME):

Yusuke was taking a break from the 12 hour meditation that had taken a week in an isolated room in the temple. "Are we done already?" he asked to Genkai, who stood at the doorway. "I'm sick of meditating like a dedicated monk."

Genkai observed the teen as a doctor to his patient…"Are you feeling as your normal self?"

"Well, yeah. I haven't transformed into a demon lately."

"Good then. You are now in full control of your human self. I shall report this to Spirit World before we move on to the next phase of training."

"Care to tell me what we have been doing for the past month and a half?"

Genkai shrugged, looking rather reluctant to answer the question. "That is some answers that I cannot provide," she said indifferently.

"Aw come on, Granny!" Yusuke whined for the lack of answers. "Not you too! I'm dying to know what Koenma and everybody else is hiding from me!" he said his teacher was the last hope to find out the truth.

Genkai thought it was a good idea to provide a hint as at the same time she tried to remain as confidential as possible. She thought that it was not fair for Spirit World to hide information from Yusuke regarding his true origins. "All I can tell you is that you will find answers of your own on the Demon World. If that helps at least a little bit."

Feeling somewhat satisfied with the answer, Yusuke looked curious and perhaps interested. "The Demon World, huh?" he said thoughtfully, and he crossed his arms to his chest. "I might pay a visit one day then. I must meet with this guy who keeps calling himself as my father. The thing is my real father is a dead-beat asshole who left me and my mother a long time ago."

As much as Genkai wanted to keep hearing about her student's dysfunctional family, she needed to focus back on the pressing matter at hand: "Sad. Shall we officially begin training?"

"Do we really have to? I mean with turning me back to normal is good enough for training."

Genkai frowned at the smartass comment. It showed how much of a slacker Yusuke was that it was the reason to ensure strict discipline. "In order for you to be successful as my heir, you have to work hard and endure discipline. I don't want you to end up like her."

Yusuke was confused: "Like who, may I ask?"

"You probably never heard of her. I'm not sure what made me train her when I knew all along that it was a bad idea. I guess she sort of reminded me of my young self… She had a strong potential for spiritual awareness. She was a klutz and very inexperienced but a determined hard worker to learn her psychic powers. She even learned on her own Holy Judgment and Body Swap and Possession in three days: forbidden techniques from spirit realm. I advise her not to use her powers for the sake of the boy that she was in love with but for herself. In the end, her feelings and emotions costed her life."

"Wow. I feel bad for her…The guy probably never liked her back. Her death was kinda in vain," Yusuke made his opinion as if it was a recent episode of a dramatic soap opera that played on television.

Genkai agreed mentally with Yusuke. "Come on now. We have to start the real training because Koenma needs you back to take on your role."

Yusuke stood from the ground to stretch his arms. "I thought Shuichi or this Kurama person was doing a good job on taking my place since he has seniority."

"Unfortunately, Koenma will end his duties. It turns out that he got his memories back not too long ago as he is the human version of Youko Kurama."

Yusuke stopped his stretching in surprise. "That deceiving bastard was Youko Kurama the whole time? That means…"

"Once he is finished his last assigned mission with his demon partner, he will be arrested for all charges of the Three Sacred Artifacts theft."

Yusuke had a serious look on his face. He wondered then if Hiei will get a lighter punishment and become a free demon.

UNKNOWN LOCATION:

After leaving Meiou Junior High School, Hiei and Kurama appeared in midair in a field full of flowers and mountain scenery in an unknown location that was far away from the city. It was perfect to fight in isolation without any interfering or disturbances.

Hiei immediately approved this place. He wasted no more time in taking his black cloak off to do a series of stretching to his body in various ways. He was looking forward to test Kurama's real strength as a reborn human with powers of a demon.

Meanwhile, Kurama did nothing but to watch Hiei quietly...He was still reluctant to fight as he had a growing bad feeling on the inside. "We don't have to do this, you know?" he said peacefully, trying to avoid the fight. It hurts him on the inside to fight Hiei—they were a team. "I don't see how fighting against each other will solve anything."

Hiei looked up to Kurama with a frown: "Save your words for your last breath. I will not give you a slip," he replied in retort. "Fight me like a man!"

Kurama shook his head, to close his eyes and released a sigh…He could feel that they were being observed from a distance. The two of them should save their energies for this looming threat and-

Without waiting any further ado for his opponent to do something, Hiei got impatient that he ran with a fist to punch Kurama square in the face.

Kurama reacted by simply blocking the incoming fist with a raised hand. He grabbed the hand close to the wrist to grab Hiei and turn him around.

"We should stop this, Hiei! Please, you gotta listen to me to what I have to sa—!"

Hiei teleported without listening to the words to then reappear to land a kick under Kurama's chin.

Luckily, Kurama's stopped the kick from making contact that he decided to fight back the aggressive fire demon. He would at least subdue the other somehow.

Then, they exchanged kicks and punches at a rapid pace.

When it became rather dull for Hiei to do the same pattern of physical movements, he took out his sword and swung it as fast as a sonic boom.

As Kurama dodged successfully the rapid and sharp swings, he took out a seed from his hair and created the Leaf Sword to counterattack.

The two swords clashed on and on in different directions…

Hiei was getting impatient. He needed to come up with a new and unpredictable way to beat Kurama. It is like his own moves got read and Kurama already had his own strategy against it as it was vice versa for Kurama.

After a few minutes, Kurama needed to get away from Hiei as he felt a dark aura surrounding them. He took a good distance away to assess the situation while keeping his guard up. "What are you up to now?" he asked carefully. "I can feel this dark and unfamiliar energy growing within you."

Hiei chuckled at the red head's ingenuity. "Oh so you noticed? I got tired of using strategy since we are both strategists in battle, so I decided to end this the hard and easy way," he said with a smirk as his raised his left hand, which was getting engulfed in a dark flame.

Kurama was quiet as he slowly realized about the origins of this forbidden technique from Limbo. During his absence from Demon World, Hiei had prepared to wield this new power and he was not strong yet to use it at full force…Kurama took out another seed from his hair again and he kept in his right hand to transmit demonic energy.

The ego and stubbornness in Hiei grew every second and so it did the thirst to defeat Kurama. The dark flame in his raised left hand expanded as it was ready to do damage. "What's wrong? Ready to admit defeat?"

"You will be the one to be defeated as the outcome," Kurama said calmly despite the eminent danger from the black flame. He did his best to keep his emotion in check. There was much more to this: Hiei wanted him to look pathetic and to surrender because there were no real intentions to use the dark flame.

Hiei growled: that was not the answer he was expecting. Kurama refused to beg for his life unlike his previous other weak and pathetic victims. He got ready himself to unleash flames from Limbo!

Kurama charged forward at Hiei without giving it a second thought: 'now or never'. He was running the risk of getting burned along with Hiei or his chance of winning was slim to none.

Hiei chuckled at the fox demon's antics. "Oh but what a fool; running straight to my most dangerous attack. This will not end well. Dragon of the Darkness Flam-!"

"Take this!"

Hiei had gotten so full of himself that Kurama used the opportunity to attack close ranged with a semi open palm to strike the chest.

Hiei felt shock going through his body as something very small went through to his chest. He lost the balance of his feet that he fell to the ground without moving the limbs of his body. He struggled to move, and the dark flame depleted in his left hand.

"What did you do to me, you bastard!?" Hiei exclaimed as he winced.

Kurama stood in the same place to examine the effects of the plant. "I implanted a plant that should restrict you from further moving your body for 10 minutes," he explained.

Hiei realized something was wrong… "Fool! You put the wrong plant inside my body! It feels like is growing through my nervous system!

Hiei was right as Kurama could sense that the very same seed that he implanted was indeed growing and spreading slowly through the nervous system. It was the wrong plant! Kurama's eyes went wide that he rushed to kneel down in front of the fire demon's unresponsive body. He took a hand to try and feel a pulse. "Hiei, please listen to me and bear with me. I'm gonna fix this mess so let me help you, okay?"

Hiei opened his mouth to say something but he couldn't as he felt that Kurama used his own hands to gently place his head on his lap. Hiei raised his eyebrow at his enemy who had become a nurturing healer. "What are you doing? I was your enemy a minute ago."

"I never thought of you as a foe to begin with…I have to think of a remedy to take that life-threatening plant off your nervous system."

"You don't have to. Just kill me already. You won."

Kurama felt a pang in his heart upon hearing those words. His emotions were revealed: "No, Hiei…I must save your life. I feel very guilty of what I did to you…I was so stupid. I never meant to hurt you like this," he said with his eyes watered.

Hiei could feel droplets of tears falling on him… "You are…crying…?" he said as he could feel that the plant was affecting his voice.

Kurama couldn't help the tears flow freely as he sensed the plant consuming the fire demon like a poison. "I guess I am…I'm not as cold-hearted as everyone thinks," he said softly as his voice broke.

Kurama have grown soft in the Human World… Hiei thought as he slowly raised a hand to touch the flowing tears falling from the short red head's cheek. "Those… tears of yours… are different from… mine…" he said before closing his eyes.

Kurama hugged Hiei's body close to him. "Please forgive me. You will not die, Hiei. We have so much to catch on and we just barely meet each other again. I have to tell you how much you meant to me during your absence…because I have fallen in love with you and I never wanted to admit it because of my own selfishness during my past life. Please don't be the one to leave me this time," he cried silently.

"Kurama!"

Kurama looked up to see the ferry girl coming down from the skies in her oar.

Botan approached then to look at Hiei. She knelt to touch his forehead. "Hiei's only unconscious...He can end in a state of coma if that plant spreads at the Jagan eye. We must take him somewhere safe as we can think of a way to save him. I think he can still hear us."

Kurama nodded as he still held Hiei´s body in his arms. "Let me handle this. I believe that I can make the cure for him. Conventional medicine won't subdue the plant's manifestation, but I believe he needs spiritual energy as life support."

"I can definitely get you a supply of spiritual energy. Let's take him to the hotel."