Hiei's telepathic communication

Kurama's telepathic communication

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho!

Chapter 11: Strength to Protect

Kurama POV

At Genkai's temple, the entire gang is discussing Botan's absence. Everyone sat around the tea table while Shu-chan is resting on the couch, and Hiei claimed his usual spot in the corner; I initiated the discussion.

"As of recent, all we know is that this piece of paper with a peony on it is related to Botan's absence."

"Really?" asked Kuwabara.

"According to Yukina, Botan had blamed herself for Shu-chan's injury and…"

"Wait!" Yusuke interrupted, "who's Shu-chan?"

"Shu-chan is the injured puppy on the couch behind you. As I was saying earlier, Botan had blamed herself for this incident, and her inability to protect those she cared about. Also, there is a blood-stained fingerprint on this paper and the only messages written here are the words 'like my gift' and a drawing. Judging from your previous reactions, I assume that this message held no meaning to anyone from our group; however Botan left after seeing this message, which meant that she recognized or understood the message."

"Kurama, you're saying that if Botan understood this message and no one else," replied Keiko. "then whoever sent the message was targeting her?"

"That is my suspicion."

"Wait, you're saying this was a trap?" Yusuke asked.

"Yes, also Keiko, when you visited the mall with Botan yesterday, did anything unusual happen?"

"We had a great time, but Botan did seem a bit distant. I just figured that she was still depressed and upset, so I didn't ask her. Why'd you ask, Kurama?"

"When I met Botan on my way to school today, she mentioned her suspicion that she was being followed yesterday; however, when she discovered Shu-chan, she immediately dismissed her previous suspicion."

"Yesterday, she was always behind us, but why hadn't she said anything to us about being followed?" Keiko asked with a sad tone.

"I'm certain Botan did not want to frighten you, especially when it was only a feeling she had. However, her suspicion of being followed, Shu-chan's injury, a mysterious message, and Botan's disappearance all proves that someone is or had been targeting Botan."

Yukina held both her hands to her heart and asked softly, "Kurama-san, will Botan be fine?" She eyes were glistening, nearly tear-filled.

"Don't worry my sweet, I'll find Botan," Kuwabara assured. "I'm a man of his words."

I barely heard Hiei's low grumble in the corner.

"You mean that bastard." Yusuke asked irritably grinding his teeth.

I knew who Yusuke was referring to and who I'm suspicious of, "You are correct, Kuraki has not given up yet."

"How can we find that asshole then?" Yusuke's expression was darkly coated with anger, hatred and a thirst for blood.

"We could use Hi Kitsune!" I was interrupted before I could finish my sentence.

What is it, Hiei?

That baka onna. That was the last thing I heard before Hiei disappeared from Genkai's temple. 'It seems Hiei was one step ahead of me.'

"Yusuke, Kuwabara, let's go! We've found her." I immediately stood up and made a hasty exit.

"Hey! Where'd the shrimp go?" Kuwabara shouted

"Why are you still sitting there moron, let's go." Yusuke snapped.

"Where are we going, I thought we were supposed to find Botan?"

"Idiot, you're deaf and stupid. They've already found her with Hiei's jagan."

"Oh…hey, I'm not stupid! Wait up Urameshi!"

'Hiei sounded strangely irritated, and he offered assistance before being asked. Something is amiss.' Hiei, what's bothering you?

The onna's energy is fading.

You've located Botan.

Five miles east within Genkai's forest.

We should arrive there in five minutes.

That baka might not have five minutes.

Hiei flashed and disappeared. Hiei's tone was laced with a hint of anger, 'Strange, why does Hiei always seems unusually rash when Botan's in danger? Perhaps, I'm overanalyzing, never mind that; Botan's life is in danger. Hold on Botan.'

Botan's POV

It feels like I'm drowning in an ocean of sand. I can't breath, my mouth's dry, and my head is throbbing painfully like it's about to explode. Am I dreaming again or am I about to die. It's too dark to see anything, and I can't move, it feels like I'm being bound to the ground by invisible clamps. I heard echoes…voices…I think. They were all around, but I couldn't see. Are they part of my imagination? I heard a blade unsheathe, then the throbbing stopped, and the pressure on my chest lessened. I felt something…or someone shaking my shoulders. Oo…an…o…an…it echoed. Who is it? Oo…tan…o…tan…ake…p…it said. Do I know you? Bo…tan…wake…up. I've heard this voice somewhere before. Botan, wake up. I know this voice. My eyelids slowly lifted open. I blinked once, visions still hazy, twice, trying to focus, a third time.

"Ku…(cough, cough)…ra…ma?" (cough, cough, cough)

"Botan, are you okay?" 'Such a gentle, caring voice.'

"I'm (cough) fine Kurama." I replied. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" 'I feel safe with him around.'

"I remember visiting Yukina after work, saw Shu-chan, a piece of pap…Kuraki!" I jumped. My eyes darted around, finally noticing Kuraki and Hiei locked in a starring contest.

"Aww…my dear imouto, I thought you missed our otou-san and okaa-san. I just wanted you to have a happy reunion. Is it so wrong that your nii-san wanted to help you?"

I glared daggers at Kuraki. "Shut up! You are not my nii-san!" I tried to sound angry, but my throat was still dry, so my words came out frail and weak.

"As touching as this is, I'm not interested in your personal affairs." Hiei said. Kuraki has gotten on Hiei's nerves, and no one messes with Hiei and gets away with it.

"Aww…does our little dark demon want some attention too?" Kuraki cooed, then his eyes turned emotionless and a smirk spread on his face. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. You robbed me of my prey!" Kuraki shouted and disappeared.

He reappeared on Hiei's left, shooting out his fist, which nearly collided with Hiei's stomach if he didn't leap back the second before it came in contact. Hiei raced forward with his katana on the side, he got near Kuraki and made a horizontal slash, but Kuraki dodged the blade and disappeared. Kuraki reappeared behind Hiei with another punch, which Hiei nearly escaped with a few clipped strands of hair. Then Kuraki surprised him with a face close confrontation, Hiei hadn't fully recovered from the earlier leap, and was caught off guard. Kuraki's punch to his chest sent him hurdling toward a tree a good distance away. This flash, flash, and crash all happened within a millisecond; I didn't even know how I was able to follow their movements. 'If Kuraki is faster than Hiei, and Hiei is the fastest demon I know. This is bad, very bad.'

"Hiei!" I heard Yusuke's surprised shout and turn to see Yusuke and Kuwabara running toward us. I saw Yusuke's eyes targeting Kuraki, who remained still with his signature smirk dancing on his lips. Yusuke charged up his spirit gun and fired. Kuraki remained still and confident, when the spirit gun was about one foot away from making contact with his body, Kuraki bent his elbow back and launched a punch at the spirit gun square in the center and sent it back toward Yusuke. Yusuke jumped out of the way, barely dodging it but… "Kuwabara!" Yusuke's scream was deaf to his ears as Kuwabara absorbed the shot to his stomach and flew backwards, crashing through three trees before stopping at a fourth. I felt my heart race as I witnessed Kuwabara being blown away.

"You bastard!" Yusuke was beyond furious. He ran toward Kuraki, punching and kicking continuously, but none hit its target.

Kuraki was easily dodging every punch and kick sent his way, "Aww…you can't blame me, it was your spirit gun that hit him." Kuraki's smirk widen, "You did nothing wrong, you only tried to save yourself, so who cares if your friend dies."

"Ahhh! Shut the hell up!" Yusuke continued to punch and kick furiously, and Kuraki continued to dodge.

"Can't you do any better than this, detective? I'm getting bored; here, let me ease your misery." Kuraki dodged Yusuke's fist to his face, bent down and leap upwards with an uppercut that sent Yusuke flying upward. He then disappeared and reappeared in front of Yusuke, sending ten consecutive, speedy punches to his stomach, causing Yusuke to crash diagonally downward, sliding a few feet after he fell. With Yusuke down, I felt numerous needles, pricking at my heart.

Kuraki was still in midair, and then a dark shadow appeared beside him. It seems that as I was concentrating on Yusuke's fallen form, Hiei had gotten up and continued to pursue the fight. I glanced beside me only to find that Kurama was not there anymore, but he's not in the fight with Kuraki either. Hiei and Kuraki fazed in and out with Hiei trying to slice Kuraki up, but Kuraki was mostly dodging the attacks; however, he did caught Hiei's blade once. 'Wait! Caught? Why didn't I see any blood?' Hiei's last attack caused Kuraki to leap backwards, suddenly Kurama's rose whip appeared out of nowhere, aiming toward Kuraki's right, he barely dodged the surprise attack, escaping with a paper-cut thin graze on his right cheek, drawing a drop of blood that started to trickle down his cheek. Kuraki lifted his hand up and lightly felt the wound with his fingers, removed his hand and stared at the tiny amount of blood on his fingers. Just then Kurama appeared beside Hiei, and observed Kuraki's reaction. When I focused on Kuraki my eyes widened, and I felt the tingling, prickling feeling of fear. His smirk turned into a frown, but that wasn't what scared me; it was his eyes. He had that same amused, yet bloodlust flame dancing within his eyes as he did in the past when he took my life. The moment I recognized that look, Kuraki had already leapt at Hiei and Kurama, causing them to split and start their own attacks. 'Kurama…' To my surprise, Kuraki went after Hiei with a side sweep, tripping him then, punching him several times, creating a crater on the ground with Hiei as the center piece. Both Hiei and Kurama seemed surprised as well, which meant that Kurama was aiming to be the target, but his plan backfired. Looking at Hiei's limp form and blood flowing from the side of his lips, I felt my heart clinch and ache. Kuraki didn't waste anytime to charge after his next target, Kurama. I watched intently, while mentally recalling the forms of my fallen friends. 'I promised myself that I'd protect them, but I'm so powerless. Why am I always the one to be rescued? Why can't I help the ones I love? Why?' I only took my mind off the fight for two seconds and Kurama had already been beaten with scars and bruises, lying limply on the ground. I saw Kuraki appear beside Kurama's fallen form and lifted him up by his flaming red hair. Kurama's brows furrowed, and Kuraki smirked with an amusement look in his eyes, "I always save the best for last," Kuraki whispered. Seeing Kurama's position, it felt as if my heart had been stabbed and watched as it bled continuously until it was withered dry.

My feet started to move as images of my friends' seemingly lifeless bodies seeped into my mind: Kuwabara slumped against a tree, Yusuke's crumpled form on the ground, Hiei's beaten figure in a crater, and Kurama's life at Kuraki's mercy. As I opened my eyes, I was face to face with Kuraki, close enough to where he could attack me and I wouldn't be able to escape, but far enough that he couldn't just reach out and grab me without dropping Kurama. "Let him go!" 'Why can't I protect them?

"I don't think so; he's mine to play with now. You might have escaped me dear imouto, but the exchange for your temporary life, is everyone you care about." Kuraki said, nearly chiming with entertainment.

"Wasn't I your target, now let him go!" I spat, anger boiling within my veins. 'Why must so many get hurt for my sake?'

"You are right, but wrong. As I clarified earlier, I live upon my pleasures of your sorrow, and right now I am fulfilling my life's goal. You are suffering, dear imouto."

"Why…" I breathed out, seemingly locked within my own mind. 'I never wanted this. I wanted to be helpful.'

"Such a foolish question for I had just stated my reason."

I heard Kurama gasp for breath. 'I wanted to be strong.'

"Aww…my little imouto is scared speechless."

Kurama's breathing was shallow, but still there. 'Strong enough to confront my fears.'

"As much as I love to stick around, I have lost interest in this game."

I heard Kurama cough once. 'Strong enough…'

"This is the end my dear imouto."

I looked up and he coughed a second time. 'Strong enough to protect…'

"Game over."

A third cough that spurted out blood. 'Strong enough to protect him.'

Kurama's POV

My eyelids felt heavy, my body is painfully weak, but I heard Botan's voice talking, speaking with someone…Kuraki. I was bounded by my hair. I attempted to speak only to have a coughing fit and sputter blood. I felt a burst of spirit energy, strong but unlike that of Kuraki's. I slowly lifted my eyes open and caught a glance of Botan's azure locks, but as soon as I laid my eyes on it, it disappeared. The pressure on my hair lessened and gravity took its effect as my body dropped limply to the ground. I heard footsteps moving closer to me, but my body refused to move. Someone's gentle hands turned me over and I was met with glowing pink orbs and azure locks. She blinked once and the glow was gone. Then the world around me turned to black.

Later

I woke up to the sight of a violet red sky. 'It is already dusk.' I sat up, but oddly I did not feel any pains or aches. 'Odd, I'm certain this wasn't all a dream.' I stood up and noticed the collapsed trees and disturbed land, the aftermath of a great battle. I glanced around and saw Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara, but Botan was missing. I walked over to Hiei and shook him awake.

"Hands off kitsune."

"I see you are healthy with no apparent bruises. We should check on Yusuke and Kuwabara."

"Hn," Hiei walked over and knocked Yusuke and Kuwabara over their heads.

"Hey!" Both Yusuke and Kuwabara shouted.

"The idiot and the detective are fine."

"Hey, weren't we fighting with that Kuraki guy?" Kuwabara asked.

"That bastard, asshole, son of a b, wait! Why don't I feel like shit? And why doesn't anyone look like crap?" Yusuke asked.

"I'm not certain either."

"Then where's Botan?" Yusuke asked worriedly.

"There!" I heard Kuwabara shout and I traced Kuwabara's extended finger and found that it was directed behind me. I turned around and saw Botan's figure leaning against a tree not too far from where I had awoken from, yet I failed to notice her. 'How could I have possible missed her?' I hurried toward Botan, shook her shoulders, but she didn't respond. Judging from the rise and fall of her chest, she is still breathing. I reached out to touch her hand, but it felt like ice. I immediately cradled her in my arms and dashed off toward Genkai's temple. 'Hold on Botan, hold on…'

Scene change
When the group and I returned to the temple, there were questions of concern, but Botan's health is main priority. Genkai noticed my concern and told Keiko that we all needed our rest and questions will be answered tomorrow. I placed Botan on the futon in the guest room and left her in Yukina's care. Moments later Yukina came out.

"How is Botan doing?"

"Don't worry Kurama-san, Botan was not wounded. She lost a great amount of spirit energy and just needs some rest. Are you injured, Kurama-san?"

"No, I am fine."

"Thank you for bringing Botan back." I looked up at Yukina to see her sincere smile.

"Kitsune, what happened?" Hiei had made his presence known once Yukina exited the room.

"I'm not certain. I did sense a burst of energy and saw Botan's eyes adorn a pink glow before I fell unconscious. However, my lessen senses at that moment could have affected my judgment."

"Did you sense another presence there?"

"No, just a different spirit energy, I suppose you didn't sense anything abnormal either."

"Hn, the onna might have answers."

"Perhaps, but she needs her rest."

"She could be your weakness."

"Are you not reminding yourself that? You were impatient, care to explain Hiei." Hiei responded with his usual 'hn' and disappeared.

"Ningenkai had softened us," I whispered into the night, "but I do not believe it is a weakness."

As a cloud pass by and engulfed the crescent moon a shadow stood atop a tree within Genkai's temple. His eyes narrowed as he ran his fingers across the tiny scar on his face and touched the bloody, claw-shaped wound that embellished his back. "I have a score to settle with you and your friends, my dear imouto." As the cloud move across and revealed the luminous crescent moon again, the shadow disappeared.
Sorry for the delayed update, but finals were crazy. Sorry for repeatedly injuring Botan, there was always a reason. I know there are some mysteries, but it will come to light soon. I hope I didn't mess up Kurama's character. And sorry about the battle scene: one, my cousin said that it would be better to not make it too detailed and let the readers imagine the fight itself, two, I'm trying to hint that Kuraki is powerful, three, I'm just not very good with fights, especiall when I don't really know how to fight with bare hands or with a weapon. Oh, and if you do read my author's note, please help me out. I wanted to create a character for another story, so could you give me your opinion, would you like aqua (like Yukina's hair) or violet as an eye color? I'm sorry I had to end this chapter here, but if I didn't this one chapter would be pretty long, don't worry as long as I update right. Thanks for your patience.

MiaHime