Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Chapter 4

Realizing they could cover three times as much ground, Yuusuke decided that his group would split up and look for Youko. Hiei was standing on a tall building, trying to find the fox demon's aura. Feeling a strong surge of energy, he focused his Jagan Eye in that direction, looking for the source. It took him a few minutes to pinpoint it exactly and he was surprised by what he saw in his mind's eye. Two of Genkai's psychics were on the ground, either unconscious or dead, and Genkai herself looked more than a little worn. She appeared to be healing one of the humans on the ground. The ningen was covered in blood and the twisted remains of vines were smoldering on the ground near him. Kaito, Hiei remembered, smiling at what the fox demon had done to the teenager. Still a little upset at losing his soul temporarily to the ningen, Hiei was delighted to see him hurt. It's a pity Youko couldn't finish him before Genkai got a chance to heal him. He'll probably wake thinking it was only a nightmare. Very unfortunate, indeed, he thought.

Regretfully leaving the scene behind, the koorime continued searching for Youko. Finding him without too much difficulty, Hiei was a little surprised at the state the kitsune was in. He was running away from Genkai and the others, cradling his left arm to his body. Although he wasn't stumbling over tree roots or rocks, he was definitely lacking his usual grace and speed. He looked exhausted. Hiei watched as the kitsune winced, putting a hand to his head, his expression a mixture of irritation and pain. The expression changed to a malevolent smile and Hiei abruptly realized he was missing an internal conversation.

Hoping Youko was too preoccupied to notice, the koorime focused on the kitsune's mind, trying to inconspicuously force his way in. He heard Youko's voice echo in his mind. I will break you, Suuichi Minamino... by killing Shiori.

Hiei broke the connection, having found out what he needed to know. /Yuusuke, where are you?/ he asked telepathically. He could feel the human's surprise in his mind.

/Hiei? Uh, I'm at Kurama's school. Why?/

Hiei shook his head. Why does he think Youko would return to a human school? he wondered, briefly, running to meet the detective. /I found out where Youko is headed./

~*~

Youko paused as the house came into sight. The car in the driveway indicated that Shiori was home and the light in the backyard implied she was in the back. Youko smiled as he neared his victim.

Please, Youko-- I beg of you, leave Shiori alone! I will never fight against you again, you can return to Makai and do whatever you wish, just please-- don't harm my mother! Suuichi pleaded, desperately.

Youko chuckled, his laughter dark and cruel. You would willingly-- happily, even --give up your freedom, your very life, just so this woman can continue on with her meaningless existence? Pathetic, the kitsune said, scornfully. Your emotions make you weak, Suuichi, and since we share the same body, that weakness extends to me as well. I have worked hard and eliminated all weaknesses-- or, at least, I thought I had. But don't worry; that is a mistake I intend to correct shortly.

Youko continued on, ignoring Suuichi as he walked along the side of the house. The backyard came into view, faintly lit by a single porch light. Shiori was on a ladder, replacing the bulb on the other side of the porch. She had her back to the fox demon.

Youko staggered as Suuichi launched a vicious mental attack. Leave her alone! Suuichi yelled.

Youko fought back just as ruthlessly while his determined strides carried him over to the ladder. Sensing someone watching her, Shiori looked to the side, coming face to face with Youko. She gasped in surprise, dropping the light bulb. The delicate glass orb shattered when it hit the ground. Words failed her as she took in the amber eyes, fox ears and tail of the beautiful creature standing before her. Stunning as he was, there was a predatory look in his eye that caused her to shudder involuntarily. She didn't know what this creature of legends wanted with her, but she was relatively sure that she wasn't going to like it.

Youko stared into her eyes, smelling her fear as clearly as he saw it in her eyes. He winced again as Suuichi's assaults continued to lash out across his mind. "Suuichi is a decent fighter, but he has one weakness that I intend to exploit-- a love for his human mother. After I kill you, he will have nothing left to fight for. It will be easy to destroy him," he said, flexing his claws menacingly. His words didn't quite have the desired affect.

Shiori's eyes hardened and she returned Youko's glare without flinching. "Don't you dare harm my boy!" she said, her voice threatening.

Suuichi pummeled Youko's mind almost frantically, desperately trying to save his mother. She has done nothing to you-- I WILL NOT LET YOU HARM HER!!!

Youko was barely able to counter Suuichi's strikes, trying to understand why the humans were acting this way. It just didn't make sense. Emotions make you vulnerable. Caring for someone is a weakness that can and will destroy you. This has been proven, time and again. Why, then, are Suuichi's attacks stronger than I've ever felt before? I can barely withstand them! And Shiori! She screams and jumps on a chair when she sees a mouse, but she's not even flinching when faced with a demon such as I. I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not! Youko thought, incredulously, staring at Shiori in something akin to disbelief.

She continued to hold his glaze, unblinking. "I don't care what you do with me, but Suuichi is of no concern of yours. I'm asking you, please-- do not harm Suuichi!"

Youko closed his eyes, smiling slightly. I see. They each fear for the other's safety and that fear gives them strength and courage that they don't usually possess.

Suuichi paused in his attack, feeling a change in his demon counterpart.

Do you understand now? Kurama asked.

Youko opened his eyes, looking back at Shiori. "Perhaps I was wrong," he said, relinquishing control back to Kurama.

Kurama-- now in control of the body although he was still in his demon form --reached up to remove a seed from his hair. I'm going to use dream flower pollen, to erase her memory, he said, pulling the seed from his hair. Suuichi didn't object, so he started to grow it when he realized a demon was quickly approaching them. Replacing the seed in his hair, Kurama stood protectively in front of Shiori as a wolf demon came into view. He had a long scar on the left side of his face and was playing with a slender leaf on a cord around his neck.

"We meet again, Youko Kurama."

Kurama searched his memory, but came up with a blank. "Should I recognize you?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest. It was obvious this was only a low level demon, but the fight with Genkai and her psychics, as well as the repeated mental battles between Suuichi and Youko, had taken their toll. Kurama was exhausted and he wasn't sure if he could win this fight.

Shiori looked back and forth between the two demons, not sure what was going on. Hoping this was just some twisted nightmare, she decided to see how it played out, watching from her perch on the ladder.

The wolf demon spoke again. "It is no surprise that you don't remember me, seeing as you thought I was dead after our last encounter. It was actually one of the last places you robbed in the Makai. You had come to steal from my personal treasury. You were able to plow through my guards easily, and we fought. You managed to give me this scar," the demon gestured to his cheek, "and, after a long, hard battle, I am loathe to admit that you did win. You stabbed your blade through my heart, pinning me to the floor. You left me for dead, and I should have died, but your sword had an interesting affect on me. Had it been a metal sword, I have no doubt my life would have ended that night. However, you can't help but rely on your plants for your weapons."

The wolf demon smiled, holding up the leaf around his neck. "This was the blade meant to kill me. It should have ended my life, but it healed me, instead. Your plants have no affect on me-- this will be the end of you!"

As he began powering up an energy blast, Kurama jumped to the side, hoping to draw the battle away from Shiori. The wolf demon didn't so much as look at the woman, firing at Kurama. The kitsune dodged every attack, landing lightly on his feet and smiling superiorly. "You'll have to do better than that to defeat me," Kurama said, desperately trying to control his breathing. His fatigue was difficult to hide and he knew he wouldn't be able to dodge many more attacks. He hoped to anger the demon enough to make a mistake.

Kurama continued smiling as the demon glared at him. Glancing down at the leaf around the wolf demon's neck, Kurama recognized it as aceras. The kitsune thought back to the only time he had used aceras in battle and began to laugh, quietly at first, but gradually growing in volume.

The wolf demon narrowed his eyes in anger. "What's so funny?!" he demanded.

"I remember our fight, although I would hardly qualify the two strikes it took to defeat you as a 'long and hard battle,' as you so dramatically put it," he explained, still chuckling softly.

"So what! The point is, you can't hurt me with your plants! I'm immune to them! And since you don't use anything but plants, you can't beat me!" he yelled, grinning triumphantly.

Kurama continued to laugh. "I think you should know that our 'fight,' and I'm using that term very loosely, was the only time I ever used an aceras plant in battle. I hadn't had time to study it before the heist, so I was unaware of its remarkable attributes."

"What do you mean," the wolf demon asked, a little worried by Kurama's still laughing tone.

"What I mean, is that it wasn't until later that I discovered the aceras plant has astonishing healing properties, which is the reason you are standing here today."

"You're just trying to trick me! If I'm not invulnerable to your plants, then why don't you try and attack me with them! Or is the little kitsune scared of the big bad wolf demon?" he challenged, throwing several energy blasts at Kurama.

I'm surrounded by morons. I would love to let one of my plants devour him, but I'm not sure if I have sufficient energy to control it once it has been grown. However, if I don't do something fast, it won't matter anymore, Kurama thought, narrowly avoiding another blast. His blood ran cold as he heard a woman's scream from behind him.

Spinning on his heel, Kurama fearfully looked behind him. The ladder that had been supporting Shiori was in pieces and the human was on the ground a few feet away. She wasn't moving.

MOTHER!!! Suuichi screamed.

Kurama cried out in pain, falling to his knees as the wolf demon took advantage of his distraction and hit him in the back with an energy blast.

"The great Youko Kurama, allowing himself to be distracted by the death of a human. You really have gotten weak since I saw you last," his opponent sneered.

Kurama forced himself to his feet, turning to face the demon. His amber eyes glared at the wolf, the anger and hatred in his gaze causing the weaker demon to take an involuntary step back before he realized what he was doing. When Kurama spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper, his low voice betraying nothing of the emotions inside him. "You may believe I'm not as strong as before, but I have acquired priorities to protect." Kurama glanced at his fallen mother out of the corner of his eye. "I would be glad to show you what those new priorities can make me do."

With Youko's cold, calculating mind and Suuichi's rage induced power boost, Kurama was once again in control of this fight. Pulling a seed from his hair, he grew it in his hand, red branches shooting out in every direction, some wrapping around his arm while the others stretched forward, trying to reach the wolf demon in front of him. "Each branch has a mouth, and each mouth on the branch is filled with saliva that can melt your bones in under a minute, though the pain will make every second seem like an eternity to you."

The wolf demon blanched, his eyes widening in fear as Kurama approached him. Noticing this, the kitsune smiled, maliciously. "What is the matter? I thought you believed yourself to be immune to my plants. Or, have you realized that the death tree is actually dangerous, whereas the aceras was not?"

Not giving the wolf time to respond or even react, Kurama relaxed his restraints, allowing the death tree to attack.

As soon as the demon's body had been devoured, Kurama changed the death tree back into a seed, replacing it in his hair. He wasted no time in rushing to Shiori's side, relieved beyond measure to discover she had only hit her head when she fell.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Kurama quickly directed all the plant life to return to how it was before. He rearranged the dirt that had been displaced by the fight, re-growing the grass over it, and re-grew all the flowers in the flowerbeds. The ladder was irreparable, so he took the seed of an oak tree, growing the branches in the form of a ladder, smooth and bereft of any bark. He would have to replace it before his mother noticed the difference, but it would do for now. He worked quickly, trying to erase all evidence of abnormal events before Shiori woke up.

He finished re-forming the yard and surveyed his work, looking for any misplaced plant that could give him away. He was shaking from exhaustion, and acutely felt the loss of his energy. He turned, hearing a soft moan from his mother. Shifting back into his human form, Kurama knelt beside Shiori, lifting her head onto his lap. She opened her eyes, gazing around, blurrily, finally landing on Kurama's face. "How do you feel, mother?" he asked, quietly so as to not irritate the headache she undoubtedly had.

She blinked, trying to remember what had happened. It all came back to her in a rush and she grabbed Suuichi's left arm, her eyes widening. "Suuichi! You have to get away from here-- there's some sort of demon after you!"

Kurama bit his lip to keep from crying out at the pain caused by her tight grip on his injured arm. He managed to smile, reassuringly. "Mother, that's nonsense. You fell off the ladder and hit your head while you were trying to replace that broken light bulb. You know there are no such things as demons," he said, soothingly, easing her hand off his arm.

"Don't you see the yard--" she stopped, looking around the yard, remembering the destroyed scene in her mind. "But-- it was destroyed! I saw it--" she began.

Kurama shushed her, putting his finger to her lips. "It's all right, mother. It was just a dream. It's late and I think you need to get some rest," he said, helping her stand and guiding her inside.

She allowed him to pull her to her room, putting a hand to her head. "It was so real..." she murmured.

Kurama looked at the bump on her head. "It doesn't look too bad, but I'm sure it will be tender for a few days. I'll go get you something to help with the pain," he said, walking down to the kitchen. He supported himself by leaning against the wall as he walked, thankful Shiori was too preoccupied to notice his fatigue.

Pouring a glass of water, he removed a seed from his hair. He grew it to a flower, leaning heavily against the counter, and sprinkled some of the pollen into the water. He replaced the seed in his hair, taking a few deep breaths before pushing off the counter and returning to his mother's room.

"Here, drink this," he said, pushing the glass into her hands.

She did as she was told, not noticing the odd taste in the water. Suddenly feeling tired, she lay back on her bed. "Suuichi?" she asked, fighting to remain conscious.

"Yes, mother?" he replied, pulling the blanket over her.

"I'm glad you're all right," she said, her eyes falling shut as she fell asleep.

"I glad you're all right, as well, mother," Kurama whispered. He leaned forward, kissing her forehead before exiting the room. He stumbled in the hallway, stopping to lean against the wall until he could continue again. He entered the bathroom, using antibiotics and bandages to wrap his injured arm. Some of his plants would speed up the healing process, but he didn't have the energy needed to grow them. After he had finished, he staggered back out into the hallway, thankful his room wasn't that far from the bathroom. At last making it to his room, Kurama collapsed on his bed, sighing contentedly as he was finally able to surrender himself to the darkness.

To Be Continued