Title: Trust
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.
Author's Notes: This needs more editing. I know it does, but every time I attempt to read through it I get distracted, so I'm just going to post it. Bad author.
Chapter 2 - Strategy
Soft blue flames licked at the bodies and the smell of burning flesh rose in the air. There was one demon left, a blue, scaled creature with green hair, shrieking and speaking gibberish. The killer understood what he was saying. He wanted to plead for his life. He offered riches, power, anything the killer wanted!
Cold eyes stared the demon. "Spare you? I have done many horrible things in my life, but that would be one of the worst, as well as the stupidest."
There was no fire this time. Instead, sharp claws dug into hard skin and furiously rent flesh until the demon had reached the nucleus. With a few more sharp strokes, that was destroyed and the demon was dead, his entrails spilled upon the ground. The kitsune killer calmly bathed his paws with his tongue before tilting his head and staring back at the place he unfortunately called home. "I think it's my turn to feed the prisoner."
Leaving the cooling flesh there for others to find, Shippo was quick to get back to the castle, pausing only to clean himself up a bit more. The kitsune knew how sensitive humans were sometimes, and he didn't want to frighten the girl. The same way he kept Souta from him when he hunted like he just had. It was bad enough he couldn't kill the worst of them, but he made the others pay for that fact. The other demon collections of Makai that made evil plans, those that washed themselves in the darkest part of the darkness.
Kagome knew what he did sometimes. It had been her and Souta who kept him from only being the demon who hunted. Without them to believe he had good inside, even with Kagome seeing the darkness, he would be lost. Or possibly dead from attempting to kill the only two he knew he could not.
Sesshoumaru was S class now and he would protect Kagura. Shippo was, perhaps at the most, at the bottom of the S rank. More likely at the top of the A rank. Reikai ranks, but things seeped out eventually, especially to ones as influential as Sesshoumaru.
The kitsune growled at the guards outside the cell they had put the girl in and they moved aside. No words were exchanged. None needed to be. Even they could smell the air of death around him.
The tray of food waiting in the kitchens was too bland for his liking, but apparently humans liked the stuff. So, he went in with the tray and wrinkled his nose in disgust at what he saw. He would definitely have to do something about this. Sesshoumaru didn't care if she had the best room or the worst room as long as "the descendant" was alive when it was time. Shippo cared. He had been taught to care long ago, and retaught to care. This room needed fixing up.
The girl sat on the bed, huddled with her knees to her chest. A young woman really, maybe eighteen or nineteen human years. She didn't have Rin's beautiful hair, but she had her eyes. With a pain, Shippo remembered the young woman who had graced their lives so shortly.
The bed was barely that, more like a cot, and the floor was wet and grimy from being on a lower ground level of a castle. An hour of work with regular labor could have it fixed up. A few minutes with the right demons and it would be better than fixed up. But for now, she needed food.
When he came close, the girl shifted away and he smelled the spike of fear in her scent and saw the tremble of her shoulders. There were other smells, demon smells, on her clothes and parts of her body, but fortunately not all over. He would have to threaten people now. If they had dared to more the play a little, he would have killed them. Rin's legacy was not to be defiled. Especially when he could still smell the purity on her.
"I'm not going to hurt you. Or touch you, not like they did." He growled when she didn't moved, staring up at him with those familiar brown eyes, pleading that he wouldn't hurt her. "I'll make sure they don't do it again."
Apparently, the threat to the ones who had touched her worked. She unfolded slightly and he held the tray toward her. She took it and he sat back. "You're going to watch me eat?"
Ah, she could speak. Despite the generations, the confused question still sounded faintly of Rin. Or perhaps that was his imagination and longing getting the best of him. "I have to make sure you eat it all, and that you don't attempt to kill yourself with any of it, or make weapons from it."
"From this? How could you make weapons from this?" She seemed incredulous and Shippo's eyes showed dark amusement at her naiveté.
"I can thing of twenty-three ways off the top of my head. I can probably come with more as well." Her expression wrinkled and Shippo's amusement faded.
"I'm sorry we had to kidnap you. But Sesshoumaru needed one of Rin's descendants. I still know her smell even now. He would have killed Souta if I hadn't gotten you, you see. But, if we're lucky, he won't kill you when he's done with you." Shippo avoided her startled gaze as it sunk in again that he should be, in her eyes, one of the bad guys.
He didn't mention she'd never be free, and that even if Sesshoumaru did order against her death, she would wish he had killed her. Even Shippo wasn't quick enough if he wasn't nearby. When the ceremony began, he would be as far away as he could be, unless Kagome was back. She wouldn't be in time. She had no idea they were so close, that it was only days away. But, if he was lucky, he could sneak Souta out when it began.
"I just wanna go home." Oh. Shit. She was going to cry. Shippo's eyes widened again and he closed the distance between them hurriedly. "Don't do that. Please, don't do that."
The kitsune's hovered near but didn't touch. He used every ounce of skill to radiate soothing vibes that had the girl relaxing and he dared to pat her hand gently. He did no more, remembering what he had said before. "Don't cry. It won't do you any good. It never does, you see."
The girl's brown eyes darted to his in confusion and for a single instant he let another being see how trapped he was. Then his facade dropped into place and he bowed with old world grace as he backed out of the cell. "I will get this place fixed up for you."
"Wait! Don't go!" Desperate for the only contact she'd had in days, the girl sprang forward. "You have to watch me eat my food!"
She was grasping at straws. "I break rules when I want to."
"Please. It's... No one says anything. And they... They just look and touch and say nothing. Please, don't leave me alone here." Brown eyes, soft warm, brown eyes that reminded him of Rin, the girl who was his but never could be. Kohaku's, she was. But not this one.
His eyes darkened slightly as he stared at her before he closed his eyes to her, and her familiar-yet-not voice. He would try. She might have someone at home, and maybe someone had managed to get to her parents in time to save them. He would try.
He gave a single nod to her, confusing her but giving her hope before all she saw was his golden tail as he turned and left the cell. He wasn't surprised to see the only other human within miles outside waiting for him.
"We're helping her?"
They were already walking; the guards were out of hearing distance, presumably. "I'm helping her. You're helping yourself."
"Sesshoumaru will catch us." Souta 's brown eyes were regarding him calmly and Shippo's heart bled for the loss of innocence he sensed in the boy.
"He will catch me. You will take a route he does not know about. If I am not with you, he will only send a few demons. The rest will be after the girl and me. Kill the ones who come after you." Shippo went straight to the point. His gaze strayed from the boy who quivered in shock. The denial would be quick in coming.
"No! Either we both make it out or neither of us does! I'm not powerful; I'm just a kid! What help could I be if I make if I make it to Ningenkai and somehow find Kagome? You're the one she needs. You three can handle anything, even Sesshoumaru, I know you can!" Souta was scrabbling for reasons and his hands went out pleadingly for the kitsune. Shippo avoided his grasp. Not only to show his resolve, but because in his emotional turmoil Souta's purifying energy was flickering around those grasping hands.
"But if Sesshoumaru opens the room, we will not a lot more than ourselves. Especially since he has learned how to unseal... that one." He stopped suddenly and gripped the teenage human's shoulder, ignoring the burning sensation. "Look."
Souta forced himself to look ahead. There it was. The hallway opened into a round chamber and at the other end was a simple looking brown door. Sesshoumaru had once attempted to destroy the whole castle just to get into that room. It hadn't work. The whole thing was covered in blood magic. Rin's blood magic. She had told Sesshoumaru that only her blood could open it again. In a fit of rage that she had done such a thing against him, that his precious girl would disobey him and refuse to open it, he had acted instinctually.
Shippo had even been near them at the time, he and Kohaku both. They had been sparring. Once, their sparring had been more violent, before Rin had chosen. But then, with Kohaku and Rin's two tiny children looking on, playing with one of their older cousins, their sparring had been simple, even elegant. Shippo, despite the fact he had to see Rin with Kohaku, had been content. He had even been seeking Souten out and the two had been talking. None of the killer he would become was there. The potential was there, the youkai blood in his veins sometimes pounded so desperately that he had to leave his extended family to soothe it.
That day, with Rin's blood assaulting his nostrils, he had done the unthinkable. Kohaku had fallen by her side in grief. Shippo was youkai. Grief could come later for him. Revenge came first. He had thrown himself at a taiyoukai that had looked almost as grieved as Kohaku, and guilt was in his normally expressionless eyes. Shippo hadn't cared.
Shippo closed his eyes against the memories. In some ways, that fight he had forced Sesshoumaru to have had driven them both to become who they now were. Not that anything could have stopped them. Sesshoumaru was already slipping into the cold, beckoning darkness, and Kagura's whispers in his ear of control and power had urged him to slip further. Rin had tried to prevent Sesshoumaru from falling. Instead, her death had caused Sesshoumaru to plummet downward and for Shippo to slip into the shadows.
"That's the room," Souta whispered. It wasn't a question. There were bloodstains that had never been washed out on the floor. It was rare anyone had ever come here. Kagome had come here twice. The first time she had come to the spot Rin had died and screamed. Needless to say, Shippo was a bit wary of letting Souta walk any closer. He suspected their was a good reason Kagome had screamed and fainted, and if he was correct, he didn't want the boy who still clung to a few bits of innocence to step toward it.
It didn't matter what he felt. Souta was walking toward it anyway. "Souta. It is. You don't need to-"
"I think I do. You and Sis knew her, and are so pained by it, but I never met her. I need to see what she did." Souta actually skirted the red tinge of the floor and instead walked to the door, his hand outstretched. The door hummed at his touch and Shippo frozen. Souta froze as well. "That's... not the normal reaction."
Souta tried the doorknob. It wouldn't budge, but it didn't throw him to the other side of the room as Shippo had seen it do to many others. It was odd. Shippo didn't worry about it now, because Souta looked thoughtful and was coming back. Straight back. Without skirting the blood.
The protest died on Shippo's lips and he muttered, "Oh shit" as he saw the boy freeze. It was too late to stop the tortured scream that rose from Souta's body, but there was a russet blur and then Souta was writhing in the doorway, Shippo's hand over his mouth keeping the horrible noises from tearing out of him. Shippo held him for the few agonizing moments before the boy collapsed in his arms.
His steps were jerky and there must have been something in his eyes because everyone jumped out of his way. A few even ran in the opposite direction as he walked to put the boy to bed.
Only a few ever went to that spot. Kagome and Souta weren't the only ones to have a reaction, but there's was strongest. If they felt it that clearly when they weren't even of Rin's blood...
Shippo's imagination provided him a perfect vision of the young human female down in the cells screaming hoarsely as the one killing her in her imagination bled her in reality. She would kick and scream at something that didn't exist... but would also be all too real.
The kitsune left that castle and left a trail of agony in his wake. The dying screams of demons lit up the night, and it was hours before he returned, calm enough once again to come within smelling distance of that murdering scum. He would find a way to kill him. Even if it killed him in the process.
She could feel eyes on her again. Every time she went into the forest to mediate or even kill a couple of demons, eyes followed her. Mocking, challenging brown eyes. Eyes that only became angrier as she ignored them. Good. A little anger did a soul good.
Was she a challenge to him? Kagome didn't know. She just knew he seemed to be waiting for her to respond. Except, for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what she should be responding to. He hadn't said anything to her since the day she singed his fingers. Of course, that could be because she avoided them all like the plague and was even glaring at Kuronue these days. She just wanted to train as best she could, come up with a plan, and then rescue her baby brother and son while making sure Sesshoumaru's plan could never come into fruition.
She was training, and a lot. But then there was this boy who thought staring at her was a way of communication. So, finally fed up, she turned and stared back at him for a while. She had lasted about two days so far. He lasted a good thirty seconds. "What?"
She almost grinned at the snap in his voice. But she held it in, knowing he would take it the wrong way. But it was a bit funny, the way he twitched at her silent and blank gaze. "You were staring at me. I stared back."
"I was waiting," He said firmly. She raised an eyebrow, a gesture that indicated he should continue. At his confused stare she let her eyes roll in exasperation. "For?"
She almost did laugh as he looked shocked. What, did he think she was a mind reader? She should have laughed. It would have spoke of stability and sanity. Except she wasn't sure she had either of those right now and she was pretty sure laughing right now would end in her crying and Kuronue being relieved she could still cry. Dumb bat. He just missed her first crying session, that was all.
"We almost fought before. Don't you want to finish it?" Kagome stared and closed her eyes at the slightly hurt expression. She was not going to laugh. This was not funny. It wasn't. He wanted to fight her. She already knew who would win, and she was sure he did too. But she was something new. And... She was something dangerous. He wanted to make sure she knew he was in control.
Her good mood evaporated. Whether he was consciously thinking it or not, she was sure that's what it was. Everything was always about control. She opened her eyes and stared at him with carefully blank eyes. "I don't have any time or energy to waste. I need to train and come up with a plan. I don't see fighting you helping me with any of those. We both know you're stronger than me. There is no need to prove it, so drop the macho stuff, stop staring at me, and leave me alone."
Kagome winced. Maybe she had gone a bit far. His eyes were smoldering angrily now and Kagome hoped he didn't notice how white knuckled she'd gone suddenly.
"Excuse me? Why don't you fucking repeat that?" She was feeling stubborn. She was feeling irrationally stubborn and she knew she should look away and let him stand there glaring at her and not meet his gaze with her equally angry one.
"I'm sorry. I don't think I said what I meant." She took a breath and almost smiled at the spark of wariness in his eyes. "I meant to say I don't need any wannabe alpha males interrupting my training. Why don't you go find a wet-nurse to soothe your injured pride? I have more important things to do than fight you, and I don't want to waste any more breath on you."
She couldn't imagine why Kuronue thought she was a bit suicidal sometimes. But she had turned her back at the end of her rant and was proceeding to sit down and try to meditate anyway. The part of her wondering what the hell she had just done that for figured it would be less than a second before the toushin decided he was going to fight her anyway.
"Get up." She was wrong. It had been more than a second.
"No, I don't think I will." Kagome quivered a bit inwardly. She kept her expression smooth and her eyes closed calmly. She tried to think of calming things. A babbling brook. A recently destroyed demon. Kuronue ripping into her for being a moron. The last one wasn't calming, but it was normal, which could amount to the same thing.
Then there was a hand fisted in her shirt and she was being pulled up. Her eyes opened wide and she found herself looking into enraged chocolate eyes. "What the fuck is your problem? For someone who doesn't want to fight, you seem to be saying a lot of shit."
"Let me down please, and leave me alone." Somehow her voice managed not to shake as his ki rose. Strange mix, that, youki and reiki both. If she wasn't frightened she would have been fascinated.
"I don't think so. You..." he trailed off into incoherent rage and Kagome flinched. There was too much energy around her, but she didn't dare let her own swamp the area for fear he would take as an acceptance to his challenge and her cantankerous nature remained. She refused to give him that satisfaction.
She felt him shake her and couldn't help but clutch at his arm. That was going to make her dizzy. He was shouting and yelling again but her mind was unfocused. Souta... She couldn't help but think something was wrong with Souta.
"I think I'm dizzy," She muttered and the boy stopped to stare at her in disbelief. Thank kami. That at least helped her normal senses. Now if only he could tune down the youki, she'd be all set.
"Can I go back to meditating now?" She should have known not to push. But suddenly she was slammed into the ground and there was a boy looming over her now probably bruised body.
"NO! You're going to tell me what the hell your problem is and why you're here and who you two are so dead set on killing!" Had Kuronue told them all that? Or perhaps he was more perceptive than she gave him credit for. Now another puzzle piece fell into place. Besides the control issue, he was dying of curiosity.
"Don't know, safe haven, friends who betrayed us," Kagome muttered, half in a daze. She wasn't as surprised as she could have been when his ki flashed about her, but this time he wasn't holding her and she let a barrier form around her, sighing a bit in relief.
"Excuse me, but perhaps it would be better if you stepped away from the girl for a few moments, Yusuke." Both turned their heads, Kagome awkwardly, to see Kurama and an angry Kuronue standing to one side. They had been spending time in each other's company recently, and apparently they had been coming back from one of their talks to see the sort of fight that was going on.
Kuronue stomped forward when Yusuke stepped away warily. His right hand dropped down and Kagome dropped the shield hurriedly before she could hurt him and he pulled her up and dragged her off to the edge of the murky clearing she had been meditating in. Kurama stepped forward with a tight, grim expression on his face and folded his arms as he stared at Yusuke expectantly.
Kuronue stopped when Kagome yanked her arm from his grip. "Stop manhandling me Kuronue, I can walk by myself."
"You can apparently get in stupid trouble by yourself as well! What are you doing?" Kuronue's indigo eyes glared at her blue-gray ones and Kagome bit off her first reply and took a long, calming breath. Kuronue had not seen what happened. Kagome would not snap at him. She wouldn't. It would just be rude.
"I wasn't doing anything. Mister Temper there has been staring at me since we came here and he's the one who wanted to fight! He already knows I'd lose and I saw no reason to get into an useless fight that would only waste energy. Go tell him to leave me alone, but don't even try to blame me." Kagome felt her temper rise when Kuronue's accusing expression didn't change. "At least I'm trying to train and plan. What have you been doing, Kuronue? Talking to your little kitsune pal?"
"I don't suppose it ever occurred to you that they could help us?" Kuronue's cool voice snapped the last bit of calm on Kagome's mind and the bat stumbled back when the usually tightly controlled miko let power flood in waves from her.
"It's none of their business! NO! It didn't occur to me, because it's our fight! If we can't handle it, they can take the job over my dead body!" Kagome glared, trying to keep the frustrated tears out of her eyes. "My former friends, my enemies, my family. I won't have other people keeping me from my fights again. If you want to hang around, fine. I'll do it without you, bat!"
Kagome turned and stomped back an astonished kitsune and toushin who had found it impossible to miss the miko lighting up like a nuclear bomb. She was already by them and she was no longer looking when the guilt flashed across the majin's face and Kuronue closed his eyes regretfully. He knew he should have waited and given her hints first and approached it carefully. Sometimes, Kagome was a bit too emotional about things.
"Is there a reason she was on the ground when we came on the scene, Yusuke?" Kurama asked mildly after the miko had disappeared inside.
"She provoked me," The toushin muttered defensively. It was true in a roundabout way. It could also be said he had provoked her into provoking him. But Yusuke would never admit to that.
"So you weren't standing here and staring at her, willing her to get up and challenge you again? No one here is stupid enough to believe that. You're still angry that she even managed to singe your fingers a bit. Just let her be. They'll be going eventually, and I for one want to help them. But if her anger at you extends to me by default, even Kuronue's sway on her won't be enough." The kitsune stared intently at Yusuke.
"Why? Why do you want to help them?" Yusuke let his anger fade in exchange for feeling his curiosity rise. If Kurama wanted to fight with them, it must be something dangerous. The kitsune didn't just fight for anything.
"I want to find the one who had enough of something, whether compassion or curiosity,to save Kuronue and then later betray not only him, but all the morals and ethics those two thought their enemies held close. I also want to stop a possible threat to all the worlds before it has a chance to become that threat." Yusuke's surprise was evident.
"A threat to all three worlds? I thought this was all a revenge thing." Neither seemed to notice that the bat youkai was still there and had come close enough to hear their conversation.
"It is. The betrayal was not only of us, but also of someone else long ago. I never knew of the first, and it took Kagome much of the time to realize what was going on and what had happened. But Kurama is right. Sesshoumaru has become power hungry and if his plans succeeded, he will have the power to do whatever he wishes. And I doubt he'll use it for world peace. Perhaps to cut down all those he finds unworthy, but never for peace." The bat spoke with a quiet intensity and the two former teammates could feel the underlying hurt and hatred in his words.
"So? Why the fuck didn't you just ask us for help? We could take care of it no problem and its not like we'd be unwilling if this guy is as much of a powerful bastard as you say he is." Yusuke stuffed his hands into his pockets and cocked an eyebrow at the bat, feeling more relaxed without the miko there. Something about her just rubbed him the wrong way.
"Because Kagome's right. It's our fight first. I know she is, but... We'll probably die, and I don't want to see her die. She's young, and her life span could be so much longer. Especially... Well, it's just unfair. Sure, she and Sesshoumaru would probably kill each other if they're both at full power. Even if one comes out alive... they'd be torn down by anyone left over. You see, Sesshoumaru's people aren't loyal, just afraid, and power hungry themselves. But it's our problem. Our blame, and our guilt. We'll deal with it or die trying. You can pick up the pieces when we're gone if you want. It won't be any of our concern then, will it?"
Kuronue's shoulders were slumped and his wings were curled forward almost protectively. For the first time, Kurama could see his eyes looking vulnerable for once. Even for a five-century year old demon, Kuronue looked... tired. Kurama was at least twice his age, or part of him was, and he couldn't remember ever feeling as old as Kuronue seemed to feel.
"That's fucking stupid," Yusuke bit off bluntly. The bat switched an amused gaze to him. "Perhaps. Now excuse me, I think I'll go risk being purified by my best friend and see if even oden will calm her down now."
Both stared at the bat's back as he retreated before Yusuke's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Oden, huh?"
Sesshoumaru glanced down at the dead body of the newest bearer of bad news. Apparently no one had ever mentioned that quaint little "Don't shoot the messenger" saying to this demon. No one would have bothered Sesshoumaru with something so trivial.
"What is it this time?" The dog demon turned to Kagura with blank, narrowed eyes. They had become mates so long ago, but the feelings, if they had ever existed, had turned to ashes inside. Now there was only lust and the continued alliance between them. And the need he seemed to have to keep anyone who had known his precious traitor of an innocent daughter before she died.
"The kitsune and the boy are attempting to steal the girl from us. They've split up, obviously hoping I'll split my forces accordingly. I will not. Souta is no challenge. I will send a few low class demons after him. The rest will go after him. He may be powerful, but even numbers can get him down. And the wolf is with them. He is a match for the kitsune, if just barely." Sesshoumaru turned his gaze to a nearby open window and raised his nose slightly, his nostrils flaring. The scent was still in the air.
"Will you have him killed? It might be better. I don't trust the kitsune around any of our eventual heirs." Kagura was not at the correct angle to see the sneer on Sesshoumaru's face. They would never have heirs. He had made sure of that. They were still perfectly fertile... as long as they stopped eating the specially prepared food he had made for them. He wanted an heir eventually. But it would be a purebred dog demon from the strongest of the old lines he could find. His heirs wouldn't be from the daughter of a mongrel hanyou.
"No. Without Shippo, Souta will not be so accommodating. If the boy somehow escapes, then at least we still have one bargaining chip if she comes around. I will not have her interfering." Sesshoumaru wouldn't have anyone interfering. Once the room was open, they could all come. Every enemy he had could come swarming to him and every one would be nothing compared to his power.
"If you say so. I doubt she will. She does have some intelligence." Kagura glared coolly at her mate's back as she spoke. Her lips smiled almost sweetly, in a perverse and seductive way, but her eyes told another story. She knew by now what he did. How he regulated not only their relationship, but also any other she could have. She had managed to get pregnant once, but it was by another dog demon, not him. How he found out when she had done her best to cover her scent, she didn't know.
Ever since that thrice-damned human daughter-pet had died he sometimes seemed a heartless murderer, and sometimes insane with guilt. Now there was the obsession with the miko. She could not hope to touch them. When she was angry, her power was certainly formidable. Enough to kill Sesshoumaru perhaps. But she would never live past that. Why would anyone risk that?
"You forget, she does not always use that intelligence. Her emotions guide her all too often. She is uncontrolled, unpredictable, overemotional, and she lets those same emotions blind her. This makes her more dangerous than most of our demon opponents, and even other human ones. She is not out for power. She is out for revenge, and she is out to protect those she cares about. It may have been five hundred years, but surely you remember what happened to Naraku?" The slight smirk on his face told her he remembered it perfectly - and enjoyed the memory as well.
"I remember." The reply was cold and aloof and Kagura turned on her heel and almost left the room. She halted in the doorway and shot over her shoulder, "Not that it was in time. They both were still dead weren't they?"
Her exit was swift but it turned out she wasn't swift enough to outrun the smashing sound that was echoed by a growl as the desk Sesshoumaru had in that room promptly disintegrated under the dog demon's claws.
Please review you guys, I want to know what you think of all of this, and any guesses on things you have so I can see if it's too obvious or not obvious enough. Also, if anyone has questions that wouldn't make me give away to plot, feel free to review and ask the question and then ask me to e-mail the answer. Faster that way.
Thanks to Foxylilraven, Sukera, and Dark Inu Fan for reviewing.
inu.: If this was a story I was allowing people to be inserted in, you would know. And besides, you wouldn't want to be in this if you knew what I was going to do with this story. OCs are no different from the rest of the characters and can go through the same stress, hurt, and betrayals. So no, you can't.
Winged Knight: Obviously Kuronue realized it, but Kagome has some pretty strong opinions on the subject. And who doesn't train a bit over five hundred years? But Yusuke still would be stronger if it was simply Sesshoumaru as he is at this moment in time. Kagome didn't use much of a trick, more that she was just really angry. But Yusuke is being watchful of that now. Sort of. As for Kuronue, they never actually say what he is. Bat and raven are the most common. I go more for bat because of his wing shape and his ears. But, his name translates to a type of bird, crane of heron or something. I'm not sure where the raven comes from. Personally, if I assigned him a bird, I'd call him a magpie. Magpies are known as thieves. Ravens are either noble or evil symbolism wise. I have never yet found any actual proof toward either theory.