"Kurama!" Yusuke shouted.

Kurama gasped as Genbu's tail cut across his stomach. He landed on his knees with one arm covering the bleeding wound while the other supported his weight.

"He slid his tail right through rock!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"And nailed Kurama!" Kuwabara finished.

Sayomi clenched her fists by her side and bit back a growl. He's losing a lot of blood! If I don't heal it soon, it'll cost him!

She glanced at Hiei and noticed his tense expression. He looks nervous... That can't be good.

"As you now realize, this entire room is an extension of myself!" Genbu pulled his tail out of the floor and smiled. "You have no hope of escape!"

"Kurama, say something!" Yusuke yelled. "Anything!"

Kurama carefully lowered his arm to check the damage and smiled up at them. "It's okay. I've had worse… as you know. Genbu just caught me off guard, is all."

Sayomi noticed Hiei's dark scowl in her peripheral. That's right... Hiei stabbed him in the stomach with the Conjuring Blade. Is he still recovering from that?

"Put on the tough act if you like, but I'm just getting started." Genbu started melting into the floor. "Heh heh."

"Gack!" Kuwabara and the others watched with a mix of fear and surprise. "Now his whole body's sinking into the floor!"

"He's totally gone!" Yusuke's voice echoed around the empty chamber.

"And no telling where he'll come out!" Kuwabara tried to search for the beast's aura.

Sayomi shifted to infrared vision, but she only saw cold stone. I guess a demon made of rock wouldn't be warm-blooded.

Kurama shifted his eyes around the room, searching for the slightest shift in the rocks.

"Boo!" Genbu launched out from the floor behind him.

"Another sneak attack!" Kurama turned and the demon's tail shot out towards his back.

"He's gettin' it from both sides!" Kuwabara warned.

Kurama jumped and twisted out of the way as Genbu's hand smashed into the floor and his tail hit air. The red-head flipped and landed in a kneeling position while the beast chuckled and melted back into the floor.

"There he goes again!" Yusuke yelled angrily.

"No fair, creepoid!" Kuwabara pointed accusingly.

"You expect him to fight fair?" Sayomi growled.

"You won't win just by dodging, Demon Thief!" Genbu rushed him from behind again.

Kurama jumped out of the demon's reach. "You have a point."

He landed on one knee and reached into his hair. He held up a red rose in full bloom and smiled. "It's time I gave as well as got."

"A rose?!" Yusuke yelled in disbelief. "Kurama, are you crazy?!"

"Just watch," Sayomi told him.

"This isn't just any rose…" Kurama waved the flower in the air and petals spilled around the room as the stem grew into a long thorn-covered vine. "It's my Rose Whip!"

Yusuke blinked awkwardly. "The room smells… nice. What's going on?"

Kuwabara tried to keep a straight face. "Dare I say it… flower power?"

"I wish you hadn't said it," Sayomi muttered.

"Heh heh… fool." Genbu's voice echoed around the room. "How will you wield that whip against someone who can strike at you from anywhere?"

Kurama closed his eyes and smiled. "Guess we'll find out. Ready when you are."

"Interesting…!" Genbu bellowed. "I'll cut you to ribbons with one slash!"

Sayomi and the others tensed as they waited for the next strike. She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her palms. Coward…

Kurama snapped his eyes open. "Ah! Up there!"

"What?!" Genbu's eyes widened as he was caught reaching out from the ceiling. "How did you know?!"

"Heh! I smelled your aura," Kurama answered. "Now that the air's been purified by the scent of roses, it's easy to pinpoint your putrid stench."

"He's got him!" Hiei exclaimed. "The thorns on that whip cut through steel like a hot knife through butter!"

"Thorn Whip Lash!" Kurama dashed forward and slashed the beast into sections. He landed on his feet as Genbu's parts crashed behind him.

Sayomi sighed in relief and let herself relax. There were small red indentions where her nails dug into her palms. Now I can patch him up and we can move on.

"Stellar!" Yusuke cheered. "He dismembered Genbu with one whip crack!"

"That guy wasn't so tough after all!" Kuwabara grinned and pumped his fist.

"You dolt," Hiei cut in. "Kurama made it look easy, but you'd have been dead at Genbu's first strike."

Kuwabara made an about-face turn and leaned down to glare at the short thief. "Why d'you keep torquein' me every time you open your yap?!" He pointed at himself. "Listen, I placed third in the competition to choose Master Genkai's successor!"

Sayomi smirked and said, "You earned that bronze medal, Kuwabara. It only cost you some broken bones and a mangled body."

"You're not helping, Sayomi!" Kuwabara snapped.

"I should care?" Hiei sounded bored and unimpressed.

"Knock it off, you three," Yusuke scolded through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, we still have to…" Kurama cut himself off and closed his eyes resolutely. "We're not done here."

"Huh?!" Yusuke looked at his teammate seriously. They all turned to watch as Genbu's body parts started to move.

The rocks crackled as Genbu reassembled himself. Then he picked up his head and snapped it back into place. "As you see, I find being sliced to pieces no more than a moment's inconvenience!"

"Granite-Butt put himself back together!" Kuwabara cringed in horror and disgust. "He's… unkillable!"

He's wrong… Sayomi glared at the beast and focused on keeping her breathing calm and slow. There's no such thing as unkillable.

"Oh, that's nothing. Watch this!" Genbu leaned forward and launched parts of his body towards Kurama, scraping across the red-head's wounded stomach. "Exploding Rock! Take that, Thief!"

"Whoa!" Kurama cracked his whip, slicing Genbu into smaller pieces.

"That pulverized 'im!" Yusuke pumped his fist excitedly.

"Nuthin' but gravel now…" Kuwabara sighed in relief.

"Heh." Genbu smirked as he pulled himself back together again. "Heh heh. As I said, a mere inconvenience."

Yusuke grimaced and broke into a nervous sweat. "Even that didn't do it! Kurama can't win!"

Sayomi glared at the beast and growled. "He has to have a weakness! He might be hard to kill, but that doesn't mean it's impossible!"

Genbu glared at the red-head. "You bore me, twerp – die! Exploding Rock!"

"Again?!" Kurama jumped to avoid a direct hit, but his arms and legs were cut along the way. When his stomach throbbed, he landed in a crouch and wrapped his arm over the wound. "Unh!"

Genbu started to assemble himself again. "Still breathing, but clearly no fight left."

"Heh… Heh heh…" Kurama started to laugh despite his pain. "Heh heh heh."

"Ha ha! Has fear snapped your mind?!" Genbu taunted. "Well, then, I'll put you out of your misery!"

Yusuke and Kuwabara gasped in shock while Hiei's eyes widened. Sayomi bit her lip to keep from laughing and Kurama's smile persisted.

"Guh…?!" Genbu grunted and blinked a few times. "He… He's upside down…?! What's going on?!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"Yusuke and Kuwabara cried as they pointed and laughed hysterically. Sayomi clutched her ribs and laughed with them, unable to hold it in.

Genbu stood in the middle of the chamber with one arm sprouting from his back while his tail popped out from two different places on his right side. His head hung upside down between his legs. "Hyi! It's gone! Where is it?! Where's my-"

"Looking for this?" Kurama held a stone with a pulsing red aura in his hand.

"Gaah!" Genbu shouted fearfully.

Kurama held up the stone and said, "I figure this is your control core, the part that keeps all the pieces of your body organized. You made it look like any other piece of you, but I saw the glint as it emitted energy. Part of my success as a thief, you see, is that I'm good at finding what's hidden."

"W-wait!" Genbu pleaded. "Don't hurt it!"

"Well, now…" Kurama flung the stone in the air and split it down the middle with a crack of his whip.

"Gaah!" Genbu exploded and shattered into pebbles and dust.

"You did it!" Yusuke cheered. "And just what he deserved!"

"Unh…!" Kurama slumped down to his knee and winced.

"Kurama!" Yusuke ran up to his friend with the others close behind.

Hiei looked down at the wounds he collected. "Genbu was a formidable opponent. Kurama won't be able to go on…"

"No problem!" Yusuke grinned and jerked his thumb at himself. "Leave the rest to us!"

"Yeah," Kuwabara agreed. "I'll work the next creepoid over!"

Sayomi walked up to Kurama and knelt down beside him. She extended her hands and let her dark aura spread over his stomach in cool waves. "I can't heal all of your wounds, but I can stop the worst of the bleeding."

When she finished, he stood up carefully and smiled at her. "Thank you, Sayomi. I appreciate your services."

Sayomi stood up and shook her head. "I don't know if you're really the legendary Fox Demon, but right now you don't seem like a bad guy. If Yusuke trusts you, then I can give you a chance, too."

"Alright guys! Let's climb some stairs!" Yusuke led Kuwabara and Kurama up the stairs.

Sayomi stood back with her arms crossed and glared at Hiei. He mirrored her glare with his hands in his pockets. Neither of them moved.

"Why aren't you going up?" she asked.

"Why aren't you?" he countered.

"You think I can trust you behind my back?"

"You trust Kurama."

"Kurama didn't threaten Yusuke at the start of the mission."

His eyes narrowed. "What is your connection with the detective?"

She tilted her head to the side and arched her brow. "Why do you want to know?"

"You weren't around before. I don't know what kind of demon you are or why you submit yourself to him, but if you're another Underworld dog –"

"I don't work for them." Sayomi cut him off sharply and her dark eyes narrowed dangerously.

He smirked. "Did I touch a nerve?"

"Just stop targeting Yusuke." She started walking towards the stairs.

"But I can target you," Hiei said as she passed.

She stopped behind him. A cold chill ran through her body when she heard the predatory tone in his voice. "You'll have to if you want to get to him."

"I'll keep that in mind." He walked past her and up the stairs.

She watched his retreating back and took a deep breath before following him up. Can't let him see that he scares me.

"About time you guys showed up," Yusuke said at the top of the stairs. "We were worried you two were gonna fight each other."

"Maybe after the Four Beasts are dead," Sayomi muttered darkly.

"Is that a challenge?" Hiei asked.

"Okay, guys, I was just kidding," Yusuke said with a sigh. He started walking down the corridor and turned to the red-head. "How ya doin', Kurama?"

"Not bad. I'm still on my feet." He smiled and glanced behind him. "Sayomi's healing abilities are quite resourceful. I'm in her debt."

Sayomi nodded at Kurama then looked down at the floor. It feels weird having someone actually thank me instead of scold or yell at me.

"You won't be much good in a fight, though." Hiei interjected. "Without you, the three of us will have to deal with what's ahead."

"Three? I hope that includes me," Sayomi said with a venomous glare at the thief.

He didn't bother looking at her. "You're best on the sidelines for mending the wounded. Let the fighters handle the actual fighting."

Sayomi was about to tell him off when Kuwabara said, "Don't sweat it! I'll take the next guy!"

"Hah!" Yusuke laughed. "You almost fainted at the sight of the first guy!"

Kuwabara ground his teeth and yelled, "Shut up! I just wasn't ready!"

He held up his hand and it started glowing with a golden orange light. "I wasn't sittin' around while you were off training with Master Genkai, y'know. Through trial and error, I figured out how to conjure my Reiki Sword using only my bare hand."

The light extended to the full length of a sword. "See?"

"Not bad…" Hiei looked at the sword, unimpressed. "Not quite the dead weight I took you for."

Kuwabara turned and grabbed him by the shawl around his neck. "You want a taste of this?!"

"Get a grip, guy," Yusuke warned with annoyance.

"Sure, man. No sweat." Kuwabara let go of Hiei and tried to look calm and cool. "My research didn't stop there, y'know."

He narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth. "Check it out! Sword, extend!"

Sayomi and Yusuke watched as Kuwabara raised the sword and the blade shot up through the ceiling above them. Yusuke's eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. "Whoa! From a sword to a spear!"

Kuwabara grinned proudly. "Heh heh—I can extend or retract it at will!" He extinguished his sword and jerked his thumb at himself. "That first bruiser caught me off guard, but I'm ready for anything now. Bring it on, I say!"

Sayomi smiled up at the boy. "You've made some quick improvements. You didn't even need a teacher to force you." She looked over at Yusuke. "Maybe he can teach you a few things."

Yusuke glared down at her and growled, "Shut up, Sai! Nobody asked for your opinion."

Sayomi tilted her head slightly and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you say I was too quiet? You shouldn't be so indecisive, Yusuke."

Kuwabara brought a hand to his head and closed his eyes. He started swaying on his feet and mumbled, "Ummf... Dizzy… Slinging all that aura around…"

Yusuke turned his frustrated glare on his rival and growled through clenched teeth. "Save any other tricks for the fight, then!"

"Rroooarrrr!"

Everyone braced themselves as the hallway shook around them and chunks of the castle started to crumble.

"What?" Kuwabara started trembling and sweating nervously. "What was that?! It sounds… otherworldly!"

Sayomi sighed. "We are in the Demon Plane."

"Byakko. That's his roar," Kurama identified. "Sounds like he's in a foul mood."

"Let's go!" Yusuke ran down the hall with the others close behind. He followed the beast's roar and led them up a spiral staircase. "This way!

"Whoa!" Yusuke and Kuwabara stared with wide eyes and their jaws dropped when they reached the top.

A narrow bridge stretched to a big round platform before connecting to the tower on the other side. Standing on the tower was the second beast, a large bipedal white tiger with green stripes and a long green mane. He wore a leopard-pattern fur tunic with matching leg warmers and his long tail swayed behind him like a thick rope.

"I can't believe I had to get off my butt to deal with pesky little fleas like you!" Byakko's bloodshot eyes glared at them hatefully. "You defeated Genbu, but don't let that go to your heads. He was only an underling!"

"He's enormous!" Yusuke reeled, gawking at the beast. "A 10-footer at least!"

Kuwabara trembled next to Yusuke. "This… this wasn't the deal."

Sayomi slid a glance in his direction. "What deal are you talking about?"

Byakko ignored them and clenched his clawed hands. "Holed up here in this depressing castle, no succulent human flesh upon which to sup… It makes one quite irritable. And now the Underworld sends two puny humans, a pair of traitors, and a woman to fight us! What an insult!"

"Hey!" Sayomi yelled in offense. I'm tired of people judging me just because I'm a girl!

"Listen, worms!" Byakko flexed his arms as he curled them to his chest."I gulp down humans by the six-pack! Hiei! Kurama! I'll shred you and feed you to the rotten scamps!"

"Urk!" Yusuke grunted as he steadied his balance. "What a grating voice! Feels like it's gouging my innards!"

"Well, I've had enough of his bull."

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke watched his classmate step forward.

"You're going to take him alone?" Hiei asked. "I thought that was all talk."

"Duh!" Kuwabara held up his fist and glared down at the thief. "One-on-one! That's street fightin', pal!"

"You're trembling from eagerness, then?" Yusuke asked.

Kuwabara pounded his fist into his open palm. "What I say I'm gonna do, I do!"

Yusuke narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth. "You can't back out now, y'mean!"

"Nut's to you, Urameshi! Just watch!" Kuwabara shouted back, already half way across the bridge.

Byakko narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Huh?! One human coming towards me – alone?! Hrnn… Heh… Heh heh…

"Heh heh heh, wah ha ha ha!" The beast broke into a fit of laughter, cupping his chin in his hand. "Was this the Underworld's plan – to make me die laughing?!"

"Cut that out!" Kuwabara made it to the large platform and pointed up at Byakko. "We'll see who laughs after you haul your tuckus down here!"

"Heh heh… I'll pass." Byakko closed his eyes and smirked, reaching up to pluck a few hairs from his mane. "No need to put myself out." Then, he blew them towards the arena. "There you go!"

Midway through the air, the strands morphed into four hungry quadrupedal beasts with sharp teeth and claws. Five red eyes gleamed from their green fur and a pair of horns jutted out from their heads.

Kuwabara froze as they landed around him. "He turned his fur into… into these things?!"

"My Doppelganger Beasts!" Byakko introduced. "They'll slowly tear you to pieces! Even after death, you will regret your foolish attempt to confront me!"

"Yaaah!" Kuwabara yelled as a screeching beast lunged at him head-on. "Rrg!" He dodged to the side, but it scratched him across the chest as it passed. "Ow!"

He stumbled back to his feet and manifested his sword. "Yah hah!"

Byakko smirked and pointed down at the human. "You summon a Reiki blade? Such impudence! That pitiful thing will be useless against four beasts at once!"

As the beasts pounced, Kuwabara gripped his sword with both hands and held his ground. He tightened his grip and lunged to attack. "Hii-ya!"

The beasts dodged Kuwabara's strikes and circled around to scratch him from both sides. "Gyaah!"

"I've never seen such pathetic sword skills. Those beasts will nail him good in a matter of moments," Hiei said as Yusuke watched helplessly.

"There's too many of them…" Sayomi muttered.

"Gruuh… Unh!" Kuwabara's body shook as he forced himself back to his feet. Then he ran back to the beasts and started swinging his sword again.

"Is he trying to kill himself?!" Sayomi couldn't look away from his suicidal tactics.

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke shouted. "Switch off with me! My Shotgun Blast's better for taking out multiple targets! You're an infighter! You're not made for this!"

"Ha ha ha!" Byakko laughed. "Don't be so polite. Why don't you all jump in at once? You runts shouldn't have tried to fight me in the first place!"

"Stay put, guys!" Kuwabara shouted defiantly. "I ain't tagging out until Fuzzyfangs faces me himself! You hear me, Urameshi? Try anything, and I'll kill you first!"

"Still haven't learned your lesson, eh?" Byakko perched his foot on the tower's border wall and rested his arm on his leg. He pointed down and said, "Beasts, rip off his limbs, one by one! Leave me the torso and head for my supper!"

"Yipes!" Kuwabara dodged a beast before it could sink its claws into him. "Bad doggie! These arms are freshly healed! I ain't losin' 'em now!"

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke called. "Don't be a jackass! Switch with me! Your sword's not enough to take these things out! Kuwabara!"

Kuwabara looked across the narrow bridge at Yusuke. "Hey! I just got an idea!"

"Eh?" Byakko watched as the boy ran back across the bridge towards the others. He clenched his fist eagerly and said, "Ha ha! Lost your nerve?! Flee back to your companions, then! But it's no use! The beasts will devour you all!"

"Run run run!" Kuwabara ran across the bridge with the beasts chasing after him. Then he stopped halfway and turned to face them. "Nerve? Ya wanna see nerve?!"

Sayomi and the boys watched him with a mix of fear, shock, and curiosity. What's he doing?!

"Sword, grow!" Kuwabara thrust his sword forward and the blade extended, piercing through all four beasts.

"What?!" Byakko's jaw dropped.

"Hah!" Kuwabara grinned. "They fell for it! I lured your pets over this narrow bridge just so I could skewer them!"

"Smart boy!" Byakko commended. "But that hardly amounts to a death blow! And look!" He pointed down at them. "They're still hungry!"

"Urk?!" Kuwabara reeled as the beasts resumed their hunt.

"Waaaah haaaah!" He ran back towards his friends with the beasts following close behind, still chained through the sword. They stepped out of his way as he hooked one end of his sword into the wall and circled around. "Heee hoo!"

He tied the ends of his sword together and said, "There! How's that?!"

Sayomi smiled as the beasts ran around the tower in a screeching circle. He's pretty resourceful in a pinch.

"Hah!" Kuwabara stood back to catch his breath. "Monster Beastie Shish kebabs on the hoof!"

"He fused Reiki end to end. That's absurd," Hiei said in disbelief.

"You're just annoyed that you didn't think of it first." Sayomi crossed her arms and sighed. Then she tilted her head slightly and asked, "What's a shish kebab?"

"Not a very palatable dish, but I'll take it," Yusuke joked, keeping a safe distance from the beasts.

"Nyyyarrr!" Byakko growled and clenched his fists as his aura flared around him. "Heh… You should've let the beasts kill you, human."

"C'mon, whatchoo really got?!" Kuwabara pointed up at Byakko and said, "Haul your butt down here, furball! It's your turn!"

Byakko flexed his arms and yelled at the top of his lungs. The beast's voice shook the castle and chunks of stone fell to the forests below. "Now you've made me very, very mad!"