Golden Vixen-AAAAH! I haven't been on the net in a while, at least not to check my review box. I wanted to answer your question; Kurama thought he knew who Gabi was, but he's really confused. She's bitterly in denial; though she is now 100 sure she is a youko inside.

However, her heart does not belong to Kurama. She's a stubborn girl who never submits and won't give in to what Kurama thinks. He has to win back her heart if he ever wants to be with her again, but because they have turned away from each other out of grief, fear, and anger, that won't be so simple.

Please forgive me for neglecting my reviewers. >T.T( )

Chapter 24

Phobetor

"If that guy was so easy, then we should be home by sunrise!" the carrot top declared.

Kurama shook his head, "If we have learned anything from our past battles, its that groups of monsters put the weakest in front. They only get harder from here."

"You're so negative," Kuwabara chided.

The second floor to the temple was walled in with no windows. Oil lamps hung from movable stands around the perimeter of the room, but failed to light more than a few inches around the flames. Not a sound was heard in the room; the Tantei could hear each other breathing. Gabriel strode up to the nearest lamp and hurled it into the center of the room. As the oil splashed across the floor, the flame ignited it and illuminated the room for a few seconds as the oil burned up. A figure stood inches away from the fire, the flames making his eyes glow. When the oil burned up, the darkness swallowed him up again.

They took defensive stances when a low rumbling was heard. It grew slowly until a crack sounded. The smooth marble floor began to shatter from the center of the floor and expanded outward. The floor ripped open beneath them, letting an amber light show through, and they jumped to either side of the rift. Kurama landed on the brittle edge, which broke from beneath him. He fell, with nothing to grab onto, but the hand that seized the front of his sur-coat and yanked him back onto solid ground.

The relief that flooded his mind turned cold when he saw the green-clad girl in front of him. He didn't even look at her face when he walked away from her. "The least you could do is say 'thank you.'" She said to his retreating back.

From the center of the glowing crevices, tongues of fire lapped the edges, and a column of rock jutted out into the air. Phobetor, dressed in a gray pair of pants, boots and a light robe, knelt on the jagged stone. "So you have felled my brother in service. I suspected you would have. I trust you know of the Master's plan to rule the worlds?"

"Nah, we're selling girl-scout cookies!" Yusuke said. The offending character stood, brushing back his robe to put his hand on his hip and reveal his bare chest. The threads of his alternating environment hung in his other fist. With an amused chuckle, he raised an eyebrow, "Which of you will it be to perish in the fire first?"

Kurama stepped forward, "I will fight you, but I do not intend on being the one who falls."

Phobetor chuckled again, fingering the silver dream-threads, "The most horrible things have happened with the best of intentions, Kurama. Let's see," he paused to stare at the floor in thought. "Ah, yes, the most interesting thing to do is for you to fight against your element. Being a plant manipulator…flames it is then! Come, I beg you, do battle with the elements of fire." The chasm of fire grew, pushing them back against the walls, with only a few feet of leeway. A platform erupted from the burning hole, welcoming Kurama to the fire. Phobetor's platform leveled with the ground the Tantei stood on and spread into a great arena. He let the threads fall and disappear into nothing as Kurama floated towards him.

"I will not make the same mistake Phobetor made and have my power turned against me." The mage said as tongues of fire lapped at his body and formed a flickering suit of armor. "I will be the fire, and the fire will be me."

Kurama drew his rose whip with the grace of having done many times before in the past. He cracked the whip and attempted to pierce the fiery armor surrounding his foe. With a flick his hand, Phobetor sliced through the offending vine and let the remainder of the plant shrivel in the heat. Withdrawing his burnt flower, Kurama drew another seed he seldom used. The death tree grew like an explosion and attacked. The hungry mouths dripping acid saliva lunged for the fiery body, but as soon as they touched him, they curled in the heat and died. The whole tree was reduced to ashes in seconds, nearly burning Kurama's hand before he redrew the seed.

"Come over and play Kurama, all of your toys seem to keep breaking." The figure taunted, letting the flames dance merrily.

Kurama frowned and thought for a moment, remaining where he was. Phobetor, who was not as patient as he sounded, decided not to dawdle. He charged and struck out at the redhead with fiery fists. Kurama leapt away and began dodging a torrent of hand-to-hand attacks. He landed a single blow on his shoulder, hurling the redhead across the arena. The fox rolled on the ground and straightened himself, glaring at his opponent, ignoring the painful welt on his arm.

"Oh joy, this will be much more interesting now that he's angry." Phobetor said, grinning. Kurama charged, putting his hands up and casting a wave of fireproof thorns at the fiery man. Skidding to a halt, he watched in disbelief as a wall of solid carbon deflected them; the remains of his other plants gathered in a sturdy wall of ash. He started running again, towards his foe and threw a handful of seeds at the wall. They took root in the ash and grew, shattering the wall with their thread-like roots. Phobetor's shield fell in a flurry flowers, mocking him with their lovely scent.

'Wait,' Kurama thought, 'if the wall can be pierced by so small a thing, then his armor should have the same weakness.' Without a further thought, he attacked the stunned Phobetor with his bare hand; he plunged his right hand into the fires and struck his chest. He succeeded in his plan to force a death seed plant into his skin, but he had not thought about his hand.

Though it was small enough to pierce the armor, the shield was not made of normal fire, where the coolest point is the center of the flame, but rather it was a solid wall of heat and… well Kurama would never be able to use his hand again. They both screamed in pain as Phobetor died and Kurama's hand was scarred beyond recognition. His flesh, tendons, muscles, and bones melted together in a mess attached to his arm. The fires around him disappeared and the floor closed again just in time for his friends to sprint over to him. He screamed in unbearable agony, tears pouring down his cheeks, with his arm cradling his hand.

His cries stopped as a cool hand touched his face; a tangible feeling of relief washed through his veins and he closed his eyes tiredly, coping with the shock. The hand retracted and touched what was left of his hand. A single tone filled the air, a perfect note singing the badness away. The pain stopped immediately and a tingle spread through his limbs. His cells came to life and in seconds, the tingle stopped and he opened his eyes. His eyes grew wide as he stretched out his hand, good as new.

The other three members of the team gaped in amazement as Gabriel repaired the seemingly lost limb with a single touch. Her aura was glowing around her as she used her healing powers to first, eliminate his pain and calm him, and make his cells reproduce and reshape his hand. Her voice was her tool to channel her energy to him. Of course, he was still splattered his own blood, but it was not a detail that he was currently directing his attention to. He saw a faint line flicker around her ears, like a shadow, but made of light, and he thought he saw… animal ears? 'That can't be right, it must be a stray strand of her aura discharging or something.'

She took her hand off him and stood, turning her back on him. "Get up," she ordered in an icy voice, "We still have work to do." The dazed males followed obediently up the steps on the opposite side of the room, keeping their distance from the cold, but regal female. Phobetor was still alive; gasping for breath on the floor as the roots of the plant slowly pierced his lungs. Gabriel approached him and knelt, pulling him up, "How can we get the Rods away from Morpheus? Tell me and I can ease your passing." She asked, her manner softening.

"Never. You can't touch him; -gasp- Master has many shields."

"Tell me how to get past them, he cannot be allowed to have the Rods any longer; the universe will tear itself apart!"

"And what will you do once you get through to him?" he laughed, spraying more blood onto the floor, "I've watched you fight before, you don't have the guts to kill; its against your stupid human principles to kill another pers-"

A shot rippled through the night.

The contents of his skull splattered on the ground behind him and his body fell backwards. Gabriel lowered her firearm and walked over his body coldly. "Rest in peace," she said with a venomous sincerity.