A.N.: I just couldn't wait to finish this chapter! It's a little short, but it wanted to be written.

Chapter 14

"What the HELL is going on here? Why's his body standing?"

"It must be the Jagan. I have heard rumors of it in the Demon Planes. They say that it has a mind of it's own, and can take over weak-willed users."

"Hiei isn't weak-willed."

"No, he's not. But with his soul trapped in the Orb, there is nothing keeping the Jagan from fully taking over and using Hiei's body."

"Shit. So how do we stop it?"

"It would be great if your assistant has any suppression talismans." If this was any other situation, I would have laughed at the deadpan tone of voice he used. "Holy water works too, but it's harder to get. I'll see if I can distract him, you talk to Botan."

"Okay." I slowly started backing away, trying not to get noticed. Kurama took an aggressive step closer, trying to draw the attention to himself. It worked when the Jagan faced him fully, lifting Hiei's lip in a snarl. I bolted for the door, doing my best to ignore the sounds of combat and the flaring auras behind me. In seconds I was blinded by the sunlight outside.

"Yusuke?" Botan sat by the corner of the building, cradling Keiko's head in her lap. At least she was still out cold. Thank Koenma for small favors.

"Botan! The Jagan's taken over Hiei's body and Kurama needs suppression talismans. Do you have any?"

"Yes, but they're divine seals; I'm the only one who can use them."

"That's okay. Kurama and I will hold him still, you-" fire exploded from the door behind me, knocking me to the ground. Botan screamed. Every bit of fire I could see glowed with Hiei's aura, with veins of black working through the red. As fast as I could I scrambled to my feet. "Botan, get ready to use those seals!"

She said something but I wasn't paying any attention. I was too worried about Red, wondering if he could have survived that blast. Stepping back in that warehouse was like walking into an oven. Crates everywhere were burning, the walls were catching fire, and the air was thick with smoke and ash. Is this what it's like in Hell?

Red was still on his feet, but something wasn't right with the way he was standing. As I got closer, I realized what was wrong. The Jagan, through Hiei, had one hand through Kurama's stomach like he was trying to grab his spine. Red was more focused on holding the smaller demon still than pulling the hand out. Hiei's skin had turned green and large eyes had opened all over his body. That can't be good! I panicked and ran for them, one fist pulled back to strike. Honestly, I'm still a little surprised I managed to land a hit, knocking Hiei away from Red. The Jagan really didn't like that, and all the eyes focused on me. If I was a lesser person, I would have crapped myself right then.

"You okay, Red?" I kept my voice down and my eyes on Hiei. He grunted a "Fine.", but I knew he wasn't. "That's bullshit and you know it." Damn, now what? It's not like I had anything—Oh. Idea.

"Hey, how good is Hiei's hearing?"

"Exceptional. Why?"

"You're gonna want to cover your ears." I reached in my pocket and pulled out the Mystic Whistle, taking in as deep a breath as I could in the smoke. Here goes nothing.

With everything I had, I blew into that whistle. Hiei's spine arched and he fell to the floor, scrabbling at his ears and howling in pain. I don't blame him—the noise seemed to cut straight to my brain with the force of a rocket. I was running out of breath when Botan ran past me and slapped what looked like a talisman straight from an anime across the Jagan. The large eyes slowly started closing and the green fading from his skin, but it didn't look like enough. His hand was reaching away from his ears to the talisman, groping and trying to pull it away. The talisman itself started smoking. Botan whimpered and slapped a second one around his wrist. It too started smoking, and an odd groan came from the Jagan.

"Yusuke, they're not working! He's too strong!"

"Dammit!" I didn't want to do this, but it looks like I had no choice. I put the whistle back in my pocket and pulled out the Concentration Ring. "One shot." Making sure to gather as much energy as I could, I fired a Spirit Gun point blank at Hiei. That brought him back to normal. His body slumped on the floor, and Botan stuck two more talismans on him, just to be sure.

Just to be clear, the Concentration Ring really sucks. Yeah, it does give you a boost in power, but fuck does it leave you tired. Of course, a flaming piece of ceiling landing mere feet away reminded me that this wasn't the best place to rest. Botan whipped out her oar and slung Hiei's body over the handle, flying slowly for the exit. I staggered to my feet and helped Red to his. That wound of his didn't look good, so despite his protests and my tiredness, I gave him a piggy-back ride out.

Several warehouses away I caught up to Botan who was hovering over Keiko's sleeping body. I guess she must have moved her before coming to help me. "Yusuke, I've got to take Hiei to the Underworld before his Jagan breaks free of the seals."

"What about Kurama? He's got a hole the size of his fist in his stomach!"

"Perhaps I can help." Bloody fucking hell! Why does he keep sneaking up on me?

"Lord Koenma…"

"It's okay Botan. Just make sure Hiei gets to his cell. I can handle things here." She murmured a "Yes, sir," and flew off. Koenma turned to me. "Please put Kurama on the ground. I can't heal him if you're carrying him."

I wanted to say something, but I didn't want him to refuse to fix Kurama out of spite. Though it looks like Red was still awake, if only just.

"Please go easy on Hiei, Prince Koenma."

"And why should I do that? He's stolen from my father's vault, killed several of our guards, and tried to take over the Human World." Koenma's hands emitted a pale green glow that centered on Kurama's stomach. If I cared to watch, I could see the flesh slowly pulling itself together. I didn't, so I kept my eyes on Red's face.

"He's just trying to find his sister." And then he was asleep. Koenma 'hmmm'ed, looking thoughtful.

"That changes things." He muttered, almost too quietly for me to hear. We sat in silence for a few minutes, then Koenma was finished. He stood, though as a toddler it really wasn't much, and held out both hands. "I'll need the Orb and the Sword now."

"Oh, right." I pulled the Orb out of my pocket and found the Sword laying near Keiko. Koenma took both artifacts and vanished, leaving me to wonder how I was going to get both Keiko and Kurama home.

"Dammit, diaper-breath, now what do I do?"

"Urameshi!"

Who… "Kuwabara? Matsu? What are you guys doing here?"

"My sixth-sense went crazy about half an hour ago, and all I could think about was I had to get to you! What the hell happened here?"

"Uh…" I suddenly realized how I must have looked. Me and Kurama covered in blood and ash, Keiko out cold and me exhausted… "It's a long story. Can we go to your house, Kuwabara?"

"Eh, sure. Can you walk?"

"Yeah, but someone's gotta carry Red and Keiko."

As it turned out, Kuwabara was helping Matsu prepare for a match in a few days when Hiei kidnapped Keiko. I guess the amount of power the two of us were putting out was enough to be felt by every psychic in the city. I fed my friends the same bullshit as Keiko; that I was working for a detective agency and we had just nabbed a jewel thief. Shuichi was my partner for this case, since he knew the most about Hiei. Matsu bought it, but Kuwabara looked like he was gonna call me on my lie. I tilted my head to Matsu and he got the hint and kept his words to himself.

By the time we got to Kuwabara's house, Red had revived enough to wash off the ash without help. I used the shower after him, and Kuwabara was nice enough to lend us his clothes so we could get home. When Matsu left for a family dinner, Red and I told Kuwabara the truth. Mostly.

"So, the jewel thief was a demon?"

"Yup. He's what set your sixth-sense off. Don't worry, he's not evil. Just, determined."

"If you say so…"