Thanks guys for reviewing, and- oh my gosh….. I HAVE OVER 100 REVIEWS! Thank you guys so much! This is gonna have some Cougar in it so here we go! (Oh and there's a small spoiler in here if you haven't seen the last few eps)

Chapter 12- Partners

Mimori's eyes shimmered a bit. "Motto…. So it wasn't just a dream… he really did say those things….." her heart was filled with happiness, it was almost too much for her to bear. She thought on this for a minute until the battle began. The ground disappeared and Kazuma's arm transformed while Zetsuei was summoned. Kanami stared in wonder at Kazuma's transformation.

"Kazu-Kun….?" She looked at his arm and looked at Zetsuei. "What are they going to do?"

"They're going to battle…" Cougar said with one of his rare and serious faces.

"Battle?" Kanami repeated, and Cougar nodded his head. "No! Why is Kazu-Kun going to battle him? Are they going to get hurt?"

"Of course they are! That's what it is to do battle…" Cougar said, staring at the two.

"Are you ready!" Kazuma said while grinning.

"Ready when you are!" Zetsuei charged at Kazuma, but he jumped out of the way. Kazuma hit Zetsuei's back , and right after he did so Zetsuei grabbed him with his extensions. He forced him to the ground, and smoke covered the area. Kazuma got up, brushing the debris off of his shirt and pants. Zetsuei attacked him through the smoke, and while Zetsuei was hitting him, Kazuma decided to strike.

"SHOCKING FIRST BULLET!" He hit Zetsuei in the face, causing the mask that covered half of his face to crack. Kazuma grinned and Zetsuei punched him, causing his mouth to bleed. He smeared his blood on his face and glared at Ryuhou, who simply smirked. "I'll wipe that smug look right off your face!" Ignoring Zetsuei, Kazuma ran towards Ryuhou at full speed. He jumped in the air and was about to punch him until Zetsuei intervened. The wind swirled around them as Kazuma still tried to get through Zetsuei to Ryuhou. The wind made a mini sandstorm and everyone was having a hard time seeing. Everyone except for Cougar, that is, for he put on his pink sunglasses and pulled his bang out from under it, smiling the entire time.

"This is getting interesting…" he smirked as he watched Kazuma and Ryuhou fight. Kanami and Mimori couldn't see what was happening but Cougar saw everything perfectly. Every time Kazuma would get a punch in Ryuhou would come back with one that was even better and vise versa. They had stopped using their Alters because they both felt more satisfaction doing it the way that non Alters would. They would hit each other, grunting every time because of the amount of force that they were putting into each blow. Then they would grin smugly at the sight of their opponent losing blood. Ryuhou's knuckles were bleeding, and Kazuma had a bloody head from where he had head-butted Ryuhou. Kanami had dug her face into Mimori's stomach saying that she couldn't watch them anymore. Just then, a gang of Native Alters appeared, and they all grinned broadly.

"Well well, what do we have here?"

"Looks like a couple of idiots to me, coming into our territory like this."

"I say we teach them a lesson," one said, cracking his knuckles.

"Are these friends of yours?" Ryuhou said angrily to Kazuma.

"Do I look like I would hang around weaklings like them?"

"Well, you know what they say, 'Birds of a feather stick together', right?"

"Hey shut up! I'm stronger than you are!" Kazuma was getting angry.

"Tell ya what!" Another Alter User said, "If you leave us the two pretty girls, you 3 can leave quietly!" This got Kazuma, Ryuhou, and Cougar angry.

"NO ONE WILL TOUCH MY MINORI!"

"MIMORI!" Ryuhou corrected him.

"If you dare touch Kanami I will never forgive you! I will make sure that you die painfully and slowly!"

"Oh, that sounds like a threat! Well, we can't have any of that now, can we?" One of the men extended his hand, and the particles around him disappeared and an archeress appeared, her bow extended and her beautiful pink hair flowing in the wind. The others summoned their Alters as well; one of them had control over the ground, another one could form a fog, one was able to use sound as a weapon, and there were a few others that hadn't yet released their Alter power yet. All Ryuhou knew was that he and Kazuma barely had enough energy to summon their Alters again, much less summon their more powerful forms. "If you won't give them to us, then we'll take them ourselves!"

"Over my dead body!" the three of them said. Kazuma and Ryuhou forced themselves to summon their Alter powers, and Cougar's legs transformed.

"SHOCKING FIRST BULLET!" he shouted as he kicked one of the Alters in the stomach. The Alter looked surprised, but then he grinned. Grabbing Cougar's legs using vines that were coming out of his body, he shocked Cougar for as long as he could until Kazuma stepped in.

He knocked the Alter away from Cougar, who got up limply. "Geez, you never change do you!" Kazuma demanded. Cougar simply grinned as he scratched the back of his head. Kazuma rolled his eyes and sighed. "Just get up and keep fighting, if you can that is."

"OH I CAN!" Cougar got up quickly and ran head on into the Alter. Kicking him into the side of a small nearby mountain, the Alter was knocked out. There were still more to go, however, and one of the Alter's friends was angry. He made the ground shake and move, and ended up tearing the ground in half: and Mimori and Kanami were right in the middle of it. Mimori and Kanami staggered and swayed, trying to keep their balance as the earth shook, but to no avail. Just as they were about to fall, Mimori felt strong hands catch her. "I've got you!" Cougar said as he winked at her.

"Thank you Cougar!" Mimori smiled. She looked at Ryuhou, who was busy in battle. She saw one of the Alters try to come up from behind, but there wasn't really anything that could surprise Ryuhou. He smirked and turned around and had Zetsuei attack the man. Blood came pouring out of the man's stomach, and his pupils were dilated.

"Yah yah! Don't look so smug!" Kazuma said in an annoyed voice.

Another Alter looked at Mimori and Kanami and grinned. 'What can I do…' he thought maniacally. The Alter's shadow began moving and dragged Cougar, who was still holding Mimori and Kanami, halfway into the ground, successfully stopping Cougar in his tracks.

"Run for it Minori!" Cougar shouted.

Kanami tried to help Mimori run, but Kanami wasn't very strong or fast, and Mimori was too weak to run. Another Alter grabbed a sword and jumped into the air, lunging for the girls. "I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!"

This REALLY got Ryuhou and Kazuma's attention! They both turned around and, leaving their current Alter, both kicked the crap out of the guy who had just made that statement. Kazuma pulled him up by the hair and gave him a dangerously wicked smile. "If you dare touch Kanami, you won't have fingers to touch with anymore. Got it?" The Alter nodded quickly, then smiled just as vilely as Kazuma had.

"You should really pay attention, bakas!" Ryuhou and Kazuma turned around quickly to see what he was talking about. They had completely forgotten about the leader with the archeress as his Alter. She had already shot an arrow at him, and as soon as it got within range of them, the arrow exploded, causing dust to go flying everywhere. Both of them were stunned and fell backwards. Ryuhou coughed up blood while Kazuma looked madder than ever. Both of their shirts had been torn; Kazuma was now wearing a sleeveless shirt, while the buttons on the top of Ryuhou's HOLY uniform had been broken and the long sleeved shirt had been ripped to shreds. It fell off with ease, revealing a black muscle shirt.

The archeress shot once more, but this time Ryuhou and Kazuma stationed themselves behind a rock. The rock blew up and formed many smaller rocks which hit Kazuma and Ryuhou in the arms and face. Again she pulled back an arrow, and this time there was nowhere for them to shelter themselves. Just as the arrow was about to hit, a familiar cry was heard.

"SHOCKING FIRST BULLET!" Ryuhou looked to see how Kazuma had gotten somewhere else so quickly, but when he looked beside him he saw that Kazuma was still beside him, staring hard at where the shout had emitted. Ryuhou looked over there as well to find that it was none other than Cougar. He had kicked the archeress, and the arrow, which resulted in it blowing up on him. His HOLY uniform, like Ryuhou's, had been torn and ripped, and the top had likewise fallen off to reveal a white tank top. The top of his eyelid was bleeding, and the other eye was drooping. Blood was flowing silently down his neck, and he glared at the archeress. "Don't you dare touch my Minori!"

"Cougar!" Kazuma yelled. "Get them out of here now!" Cougar nodded and once again grabbed the girls.

"Do you honestly think that you'll get away so easily!" The Alter laughed, and the archeress drew her arrow back. She aimed and shot straight for them, but Ryuhou and Kazuma weren't going to allow that. Zetsuei used his tentacles to get close enough to the arrow to where it would blow up before it reached them. He was injured, but it was only minor.

"Hurry up Cougar!" Kazuma said, anger rising in his voice.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay and help?" Cougar asked.

"Just go! Me and that idiot over there have this covered!"

Cougar nodded and turned around and, before leaving, said softly, "Good luck…otouto-kun." He ran off without another word, carrying both of the girls with him.

Kazuma was relieved when they left, he didn't have to worry about Kanami or Mimori anymore. Ryuhou seemed relieved too, but wasn't as open about it as Kazuma was. Ryuhou and Kazuma hid behind another rock and looked at each other with serious looks on their faces.

"So how do we do this?"

"I don't know," Ryuhou said as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. "Either way it looks like we don't stand a chance if we try to do this separately…."

"What are you saying!" Kazuma demanded with a very confused look on his face.

"I'm saying that it's best if we……. If we………" He gulped as he was preparing to finish his sentence.

"You know what?" Kazuma asked. "Don't even finish it, I don't ever wanna hear that sentence come from your mouth or mine. But I suppose we have to do…. that…. If we're gonna beat these guys…." He grunted as he held out his hand carelessly. "the P-word?"

Ryuhou just as reluctantly shook his hand and rolled his eyes. "The P-word…." He muttered. "Only temporarily though! And don't think this changes anything!"

"I was about to say the same to you! Well then, shall we?"

"One…" Ryuhou said.

"Two…" Kazuma continued.

"THREE!" they both finished as they ran out from behind the rock. The archeress had her arrow pointed directly at Kazuma and fired. Zetsuei again used his tentacles to stop the arrow. Another Alter began to fight them; the same one that used his shadow to stop Cougar earlier. He grabbed Zetsuei and pulled him halfway into the ground.

Kazuma got mad and punched the ground that was surrounding Zetsuei, allowing him to break free. "Don't you even think about beating Ryuhou!" Kazuma said defensively. "That's MY job!"

"We'll beat whoever we want, whenever we want!"

"You know…" Kazuma glared at the Alter Users while giving them the same dangerousy wicked smile he had previously given them., "It's Alters like you that are the reason that the stupid HOLY branch was formed in the first place! Now not only are you making yourselves suffer, but innocent families and Alter Users in the Lost Ground as well! It's people like you that disgust me… and you know what… it's people like YOU that I wanna kick the crap out of!" He jumped towards the lead Alter User, and, after transforming his Alter, Hit him as hard as he could in the stomach. A mixture of spit and blood flew from his mouth, and he fell onto his back, unable to breathe. The archeress disappeared, and, while the few Alters that were left stared in wonder at Kazuma, Ryuhou decided to use Zetsuei's tentacles to squeeze the breath out of each of them to make them pass out. All of the Alter powers disappeared, and Ryuhou and Kazuma took a few moments to admire a job well done.

Kazuma smiled proudly for a few moments, until he saw one more Alter behind Ryuhou. "RYUHOU!"

Ryuhou turned around, but he was a minute too late. The Alter had begun his attack. He let out a high pitched sound, and Kazuma and Ryuhou fell to their knees, clamping their hands over their ears.

'It hurts…' they both thought, 'It hurts so much!'

Meanwhile, Kanami suddenly clutched her heart, then was having trouble deciding whether to clutched her heart or cover her ears.

"What's wrong, Kanami?' Mimori asked.

"So much pain!" She said. "It hurts, so much… My ears hurt so much!"

'Ryuhou…' Mimori thought. She gripped her hand around her necklace and closed her eyes. 'Ryuhou… are you okay? Ryuhou…. Please hear me…. Ryuhou…. RYUHOU!'

Ryuhou's eyes widened, and a memory played in his mind…

Mimori and Ryuhou had gone to their favorite spot in his back yard, a spot that none of the adults could reach. Ryuhou tried to summon Zetsuei, but nothing that he could do worked. Ryuhou sat down sadly and angrily.

"I can't do it," He said, stroking his hand through his hair in an aggravated way.

"Don't say that!" Mimori said, running and sitting next to him. "You can do anything! You're Ryuhou! You're an Alter User!"

"I don't want to be an Alter User… I hate this…. I can't even control it!"

"Don't say that!" Mimori said in a determined way. "You're lucky to be an Alter User! Something like that is rare, I'm sure if you tried one more time-"

"But I'm tired of trying!" Ryuhou sighed. "Nothing I try is working!" Mimori smiled and walked over to him. Kneeling down to him, she took off her necklace and put it in his hands.

"Then use this to help you," she said. Ryuhou looked at it for a moment, then smiled smally and accepted it. He held it and looked at it, and felt his heart beating faster. He smiled when he looked at it, and looked at Mimori. Mimori blushed a little, and her eyes widened. Ryuhou's heart seemed to stop when she blushed, and immediately he closed his eyes in contentment and the land around him disappeared. Zetsuei appeared seconds later, and Ryuhou gave the necklace back to Mimori. Although he had given it back, his heart was still beating very fast.For a while he wasn't sure if his heart was ever going to go back to normal…

As Ryuhou thought of this, his heart began beating faster. It was getting harder for him to breathe, partially because of the pain, but mostly because of that memory. 'Mimori…' He thought with a determined look on his face, 'Let me borrow your necklace again…' He closed his eyes and saw the image of her necklace. He was concentrating so hard on the image that when he opened his eyes he saw a faint trace of the image. "Zetsuei!" He shouted. Zetsuei used his extensions in order to cover the Alter's mouth.

Kazuma and Ryuhou grinned at each other and both grabbed his shirt. Their hands were covered in their own blood, so the Alter's shirt was now stained with Kazuma and Ryuhou's blood. Their ears were still bleeding, but it wasn't as bad now. With a few last punches from the both of them, his nose began bleeding and the Alter passed out. Both of them carelessly let him go and began breathing hard and holding their sides.

"Had those two girls…." Kazuma said with one breath, "…not been here…"

"Then we could've… fought harder.. from the beginning…" Ryuhou finished. With a few more breaths, the two of them passed out.

'Miri…' Ryuhou thought softly before closing his eyes.

'Kana…mi…' Kazuma thought before he too drifted off to sleep. Their bangs were sweaty, making the tips of their bangs sharp, and their bangs were in their eyes as they slept. They had blood stains all over their bodies, and the blood had stopped flowing out of their ears as they took a well-deserved rest.

Well, there it is! Gomen! Sorry it took so long, I'm going to start updating a lot more! Ja!