Chapter Two – Massacre

Yusuke huffed as they landed. He rolled his shoulder and muttered, "Damn that brat."

Kurama shook his head beside him, saying, "I believe it would have been better for us to search the shrine she lived on first. We would have, at least, known what the girl looked like, instead of searching for this energy."

Kuwabara growled, "I don't like this! Locking up an innocent girl just because some stupid demon decided it wanted to take over her body? It's not right!"

"Hn," softly echoed from Hiei's throat. He did not really care what they did with the girl's soul, as long as he knew the demon would not be coming into the Ningenkai. He would not have his sister's life put in danger, not when he could stop it, and he was more than willing to give up one little girl's soul to keep Yukina safe.

Green eyes shifted over the hybrid, knowing full well what he was thinking. Kurama decided that because he knew, he decided to think over the information they had already been given. He wondered how Koenma knew what had happened in the magic filled well the girl had used, considering magic was often a fickle thing to toy with. Of course, the demi-god might have formed the spell and placed it, but there was a chance that he could be wrong about what had happened inside of it.

"Well, what are we waitin' for?" Yusuke complained. "We can't stand here all day! We've got a girl to find!"

Kuwabara's protests fell silent, knowing that they would have to subdue the girl as Koenma had commanded. He might not like the idea of Koenma condemning an innocent girl's soul to an eternity of isolation with a highly powerful, dangerous demon, but he could not stand the thought of the demon destroying so many lives. It would not be right to let the girl go free if she were becoming the demon, since the demon would kill a lot of people. Best to save lives then the demon that wanted to take them.

"I believe you're right, Yusuke," Kurama sighed. "It would be best to search for the girl, since she could have traveled quite some distance now. We have a better chance of finding the energy the demon gives off by moving, instead of waiting for her to cross our path."

"Right," Yusuke nodded. "Lets go!"

They moved forward, walking at a decent pace since it made no sense to go rushing off in search of something that they had yet to detect. Hiei flitted through the trees while the others took the convenient path that had been worn down by so many walking the same line. He moved further and further ahead of them, yet always kept their energy within sensing distance, knowing that the fools would complain if he seemed to disappear.

The scenery was disgustingly similar the entire way through the large forest Botan had dropped them in, much to Yusuke's annoyance. His mood dampened a bit more with each minute that went by, catching the attention of the others—even Kuwabara, who muttered to himself about the mission and his code. He began to walk more stiffly within an hour's time, scowling in every direction that he could, sick of the forest and the silence that had fell over them.

The hot sun did not make the situation any better. The forest cast shadows this way and that, but the hot sun blazed with a vengeance. It almost seemed to mock them, laughing silently while they were forced underneath its heat, even amongst the shade of the trees.

"Fuck," Yusuke grumbled, "why is it so hot here?"

"This area of the Makai is known for its warm climate," Kurama replied.

Yusuke scowled, not exactly pleased that someone had actually answered him. He had meant for the question to be rhetorical, which Kurama probably knew, but the damn avatar had to answer him. Almost like he was trying to break the ice and once more bring their spirits up. But, Yusuke's mood could not be helped, because he was hot, angry, and sick of searching for something that just did not seem to be anywhere near them.

It could take forever to search everywhere for the chick they were supposed to find. Yusuke knew that. However, he also knew that Keiko was waiting for him to kick some demon butt and return home to her. He did not have time to play cat and mouse with an eight hundred year old demon that decided it wanted to be free.

Hiei fell back into step with them, a slight scowl on his face. The Jagan was open and blazing upon his forehead, clearly showing that he was searching far and wide for the energy. From his face, though, it was clear that he was not getting anything that might be even remotely similar to what Koenma had described in a few short sentences.

Another hour went by, the forest finally left behind as they moved onto a larger path. The sun was still as relentless as ever, and Kurama and Hiei instantly noticed the first signs of fatigue that began to show in Kuwabara. Being the only full human on the team, it was natural that he would begin to tire first, but they did not question him when he continued forward. They knew him, and knew that he would be determined to find the girl and prove to Koenma that she was not a lost cause.

However, as the sun finally began to descend some time later—their course only deterred a few times by roaming, hungry demons—they finally came to a stop in order to rest. Hiei snorted from his tree, finding the rest to be useless, but Kuwabara and Kurama were grateful for the chance to rest. After all, they were both human in body and the human body could only take so much before it would need to gain nourishment and reenergize.

Turning his head up, Yusuke blinked at the position of the sun. He had transformed in order to keep fatigue and instinct driven demons at bay. He growled after a moment, crossing his arms when he realized that they had basically wasted an entire day only walking. Walking with no results.

"Yusuke?" Kurama asked. Though he had conversing with Youko and Hiei, he took notice of the completely darkened mood that Yusuke dove into. His eyes watched him, even while he shrugged off the jacket that was becoming increasingly bothersome underneath the continuous sunlight. His body was only human, after all, since he refused to give control to Youko at the moment.

Not when they were after a girl that, judging from the appearance of her family, would be fairly good looking, if not beautiful. Youko could not be trusted in control while underneath such circumstances. The consequences of the actions he would probably take were not something that Kurama wished to deal with afterward.

'I'm hurt to know you think so lowly of me, Red,' Youko muttered in his mind.

Kurama did not pay much attention to Youko, though, as Yusuke finally exploded.

"Fuck!" Yusuke shouted. "I can't believe Koenma sent us on this stupid mission! He should have searched and found out where in the hell this stupid chick is before sending us out! But no, he has to think that the world is completely coming to an end! Well, damn it, I don't see anything falling apart and I certainly don't feel a god damn energy that could end up destroying both the Makai and the Ningenkai!"

Hiei had smirked when he heard the first words leave the detective's mouth, but the smirk quickly fell from his face. His attention turned away, as he laid his hand on his warded arm. Underneath the dragon became restless quite suddenly, trying to break free of the warding he had placed over it. The irritation that the dragon felt was not uncommon, but there was some underlying tone that caught Hiei's curiosity and held it.

"Urameshi, I don't think—" Kuwabara was not able to finish.

"Shut up, Kuwabara!" Yusuke continued his rant. "I was on a date with Keiko when that brat called for me! He could have waited an hour or two! I mean, come on, how hard should it be to find the most powerful energy that should be here! And the darkest, if his information is correct for once in his god damn life! Plus, if this is so catastrophic, shouldn't his daddy be the one doing this stupid hunt and capture crap! I'm sure a big god like himself could easily take control of an eight hundred year old demon with a grudge against the world!"

"Yusuke," Kurama sighed. "There will be other times for you to spend time with Keiko once this is over. We will simply continue to search until we finally come across this energy, subdue the girl, and return home. There is no need to begin pushing blame upon everyone."

'That's only if we make it home in one piece, though,' Youko chuckled. 'A demon with a grudge that's been building for eight hundred years isn't going to be easy to take down, Red. Especially if it figures out that it can use both its powers and the powers of the body it is now in possession of.'

Now is not the time, Youko, Kurama replied softly.

Yusuke's shoulders slumped, while he grumbled beneath his breath. He said, "You're right. But, damn it, the least he could have done was find this stupid girl before sending us out to get her."

"Yes, that would have been quite helpful," Kurama nodded. He looked into the trees, his eyes curious when he noticed that Hiei had turned his attention away from the entire conversation. That in itself was strange, considering he usually liked to poke fun at them when they decided to say something that he deemed stupid.

The Jagan opened fully, the once cracked eye blazing with a malevolent purple light as it returned to searching. Hiei struggled with it for a good few moments, before he finally pulled it back under his control. The Jagan seemed to hiss at him, wanting only to search once more, and Hiei was not happy with the sudden lack of control he was beginning to have over his body. It was not often it happened, and he had no doubt that there was something out there that had caught the interest of both powerful entities.

"Maybe we should call it a day," Yusuke grumbled. He went to knell on the ground, wanting to destroy the perfect look that the ground beneath him seemed to have. It was not fair that it could seem so perfect while he was down and out.

"No," Hiei called. "We will continue forward."

They all looked up into the tree he stood in, curious.

Finally, Kuwabara called out, "Who made you the boss, shrimp?"

"Hn," Hiei replied. "If you will not move forward, I will. It is your choice, human."

"Hiei," Kurama called to catch his attention. The hybrid turned to him. "Why is it that you want to move forward so badly now?"

Hiei appeared almost reluctant to tell them, before he finally spoke. "Something within the area has caught the attention of both the Jagan and the dragon. Whatever it is, it is powerful. However, the distance makes it hard to determine what it is exactly."

"It could be the girl," Kurama whispered.

Kuwabara, having heard him, crossed his arms. He muttered, "Fighting a girl. That is so against my code."

Hiei growled, "Suck it up, human."

Kuwabara turned to glare into the tree he stood in. "You want to come down here and say that to my face?" he asked angrily. His tone made it clear that the heat of the day had indeed been getting to his head as well.

Hiei turned away from him, calling back, "If I had wanted to hear an insult from you, I would have given you one." Then, without another word, he bound forward through the trees. He knew that the others would begin following him shortly with the knowledge that both of the dragon and the Jagan were interested in something nearby.

Though, he also knew that it could be much farther than he expected.

"Why that little…" Kuwabara snarled.

Kurama laid a hand on his shoulder, saying, "Now is not the time, Kuwabara. If both the Jagan and the dragon are acting out of character, it is clearly something to investigate. Even if it isn't the girl, it will be nice to know what could make such a thing happen and make sure that it does not happen in the future."

"Yeah," Yusuke rolled his shoulders back, "'cause we don't want short-stuff to lose control of those things."

"Fine," Kuwabara said in defeat.

They went to follow him.

Within the trees, Hiei easily leapt from branch to branch. His mind focused on the pull that the Jagan was beginning to force upon him, trying to break free of his hold in order to seek out whatever it had found. The dragon, too, was wriggling against the wards on his arm. It also wished to seek out whatever had called to them, and Hiei wanted to know what was powerful enough to gain the attention of the dragon and the Jagan.

What had caught their attention?

The Jagan became more action, dragging itself away from the control he had latched onto it with. The eye peered deeply into the mind of many demons he crossed, making him more irritated than he already was. The evil eye was managing to break away from his hold slowly, but steadily, and he wanted to know what had enough power that the Jagan would use so much energy to seek it out.

Information and memories drifted over the surface of his mind, and he barely managed to block it out. The Jagan dismissed it all, casting it aside when it realized that it had not found what it wanted. And, in anger, the eye damaged quite a few of the minds it pried its way into. If it found nothing, the demon was hurt for not providing it with what it wanted. The eye had no remorse for them.

Black fire scorched up his arm, destroying the wards that he used to keep the dragon from trying to disobey him. He had taken complete control over it quite some time ago, yet the dragon disregarded his attempt to keep it from rising from his arm. So, after a few moments, the black dragon began to rise into the air around him. The head swayed back and forth, eyes blazing, and a roar escaped the mouth when it realized he had yet to come upon whatever it searched for.

Abruptly, the landscape changed before him. Hiei stopped for only a moment, casting his gaze across the rocky terrain. It was nothing special. It was an annoyance, though, for he knew the elevation would begin to drastically increase until he found himself in the frozen north. There were many places for other demons to lay in ambush, and the current distraction of the Jagan was keeping him from detecting them immediately.

A mistake like that could get a demon killed.

The dragon rose higher into the air during his short stop. The black beast roared again, and seemed to wait for him to move forward once more. Hiei found that even stranger than it trying to gain freedom to search, for it was not known as a docile creature. It wanted death and destruction, yet it swam through the air with no intent of trying such at the moment.

While he picked up pace once more, Yusuke managed to clear the last line of trees. Kurama soon followed behind him, and he heard Kuwabara running a good distance behind him. Yusuke stopped to wait, making sure to keep Hiei within sensing range, and glanced around the area. He knew they were heading north, but he had realized that they had cleared so much area in the short few hours they had been in the Makai.

Yusuke glanced behind him, noting Kurama's strange look. His eyes caught sight of Kuwabara running through the trees, and wondered if he would be able to handle the frozen lands up north. He had never been subjected to them, and the cold was sure to become quite troublesome for his human body. It would be a test, really. A test to see whether or not Kuwabara would have to stay behind or they split up, because he was not going to put him into a deadly situation.

Kuwabara finally came through the trees, leaning over to catch his breath. It had been awhile since he had had to try and keep up with the inhuman speed his friends had. He was actually quite proud of himself, though, because he had been slacking on his training a little. "H-Hey, Urameshi. Where's Hiei?"

"Up ahead," Kurama answered.

"O-oh," Kuwabara huffed.

Yusuke frowned a little, a tiny shiver racing through his body. "Hey, Kuwabara!"

Kuwabara did not answer. His eyes widened a little bit, while he straightened himself out of his bent position. He was not sure if he had felt anything, but something screamed at him that he had. Something in the area was not right, and Kuwabara stretched out his senses in search of it.

Yusuke glanced behind him, yelling, "Kuwabara! I have a question!"

Kuwabara did not hear him, though. A strange sense of peace washed over him, and his body relaxed against the pure energy that flooded through his system. His eyes began to close slowly. He felt the need to sleep in the comfort that the energy brought him. Yet he shook himself awake a few times, wondering what in the world could create such a pure energy. He had never felt anything like it, and he was not about to fall asleep when he did not know what it was.

Yusuke narrowed his eyes, when Kuwabara suddenly paled.

Kuwabara cried out, when the pure energy was suddenly ripped away from him. It was replaced with something so evil that he almost went to his knees. The purity drained away within seconds, leaving only a silent message of bloodshed, pain, and death. A message that made his chest twist painfully, while his head began to panic at the feeling.

"Kuwabara?" Kurama asked in concern.

"Did you feel that?" Kuwabara asked quietly.

"Feel what?" Yusuke asked. His eyes narrowed, while he looked in the direction Kuwabara was staring. From the look on his face, Yusuke guessed that he had sensed something on a level that none of them could pick up. His senses were probably going into overdrive, stunning him in place, while some high level of spiritual energy bombarded him.

'Red… the air is heavy with the scent of blood.'

Kurama sniffed a little, allowing Youko's energy to flood through him and increase his sense of smell. The heavy metallic scent wafted into his nose, causing him to frown, and he turned his head in the direction it was coming from. He was not surprised that it was from the east—the same direction Hiei had disappeared to.

Yusuke glanced between them, not liking the fact that no one was giving him an answer. First Kuwabara got silent, and now Kurama was silent, too. Not only did it freak him out, but he also wanted to hit both of them for making him worry so much. So, he yelled, "Will somebody tell me what's going on?"

Kuwabara shook himself, blinking rapidly. "I felt—" he paused. "It felt like there was some type of purity in the air, and then it was taken over by something so awful that I can't even begin to describe it."

Yusuke nodded, before giving a sharp glance toward Kurama.

Sighing, the avatar said, "There is a strong scent of blood in the air. It is increasing from what I can tell, which only means that there is a large battle going on somewhere ahead of us."

"So," Kuwabara looked concerned, "Hiei just ran into a fight?"

"It appears so," Kurama replied.

"Well, we better go help him then, shouldn't we?" Yusuke grinned. Finally, something to keep his mind off the fact that they would probably wander for some time before they found the girl they were looking for. "No reason to let him get all the action!"

"Yusuke," Kuwabara's voice stopped him in his tracks. "I think that the girl we're looking for is in that direction."

"Huh?" Yusuke asked.

"Yes, all the signs appear to point to it." Kurama pondered for a moment. He was not given long, however, before the hybrid appeared on the edge of a large rock once more. He was staring down at them, a slight sneer on his face, and Kurama wondered what had brought him back.

"There is a female up ahead," Hiei stated. He was not happy with that fact. True, he was positive the female was the one they were seeking, but to have the dragon and the Jagan fight him so because of one was unheard of. Especially since they should wish to destroy her, not seek her out for whatever reason they had.

Yusuke whooped, flinging his fist into the air. "What are we waitin' for then? We've got a girl to catch!"

"Yusuke," Kurama called his attention. "It is best to think over the situation before we run into it blindly."

Kuwabara was quiet, while he said, "We should go that way. That energy wants to feed and grow, but it's so sad. Like it's silently crying out for someone to help it. I felt it for only a second, but the girl is still in there. She wants us to help her. She doesn't want to kill like she is being forced to."

They watched, as Kuwabara's face relaxed once more. A feeling of tranquility washed over him, leaving him in a state of peace once more. Only seconds later it was ripped away, the sadness of the pure energy sinking into his soul as the evil took control. He grimaced at the energy, hating it for what it was, and wanting to help the girl that was trapped underneath.

Kurama sighed, before asking, "Hiei. How many demons would you say this female has killed?"

"They are located in a ravine up ahead," Hiei replied, "and it is filled with bodies."

Kuwabara shiver a little at the knowledge.

Kurama frowned. That was not a good thing. If the demon was already beginning to feed its appetite for death, then it would not be long before it fell into a blood rage. It would be even harder to capture it then, even if it was contained within the body of a human girl.

"Well," Yusuke growled a little, "we can't just sit here thinking about every possibility. I say we go and nab ourselves a possessed bitch and get the hell out of here! Then we can drop her off at Koenma's and return to our lives, instead of wandering all over the place lookin' for her!"

Kurama went to speak.

Yusuke, however, had already begun to move. He headed east, knowing that a fight waited for him. Even if they ended up only finding a female demon, at least he could kick some demon ass. Either way, he won. On one hand he would get to return to Keiko earlier than she would expect, and on the other hand he would get to release some of the tension in his body. Both were good in his book, though he would rather go without having to hear the yelling later.

Hiei sped by him, and Kurama soon caught up at a quick pace. The avatar did not look pleased with his decision, but Yusuke really did not care. He was going to get some action, whether Kurama liked it or not. Though, as he sniffed the air, he wondered if he should revert back to his human form or not. The scent of blood was becoming overpowering, and he wanted to gag after a moment. Instead, he wrinkled his nose and tried to think of more pleasing smells while they left Kuwabara in the dust.

Hiei's eyes scanned the area quickly. He had not approached the ravine the first time, having felt the struggle the dragon and Jagan first put up. The fury that they fought with had disturbed him to the point that he decided to return to the others and tell them what he knew.

Not only that, but the tugging had caused his instincts to rise as the scent of blood filled his nose. The fact that there had been a female only increased the struggle for control. They demanded that he partake in the bloodshed, the desire for death, and then show the female that he could overpower her. The many others had died, but he was dominant. It forced him to hold them tighter, for he was not controlled by his instincts, and he was not going to rut with a female because there was a heavy scent of blood in the air.

Besides, for all he knew, the female could be the ugliest bitch in the Makai.

Knowing the others were following behind him, Hiei ran until the high cliff that surrounded the ravine stopped him abruptly. His eyes quickly moved over the large area, spotting the many bodies that had been ripped apart and left to bleed out. They were all demon for obvious reasons, and only a few appeared to have been killed recently enough for him to watch the life fade out of them. However, despite the large amount of death, there was still a fight going on.

An intelligent demon was commanding the lower class, ordering them to attack the female that stood not far away. Three of them rushed forth, and the female merely swung her arm out. A whip grazed along the ground, slipping up to slice the throats of her opponents. Another slash and they slide apart, the pieces hitting the ground, allowing it to soak up the blood. The action on the female's part only caused the intelligent, upper class demon to growl.

"Trash." The female's voice was soft, pleasant, and it was surprising to hear it from someone covered in blood. Hiei's eyes narrowed, though, for the dragon gave another roar when it heard the sound, and began to circle in the sky.

A heavy energy was settled in the air. It was so evil that Hiei had no doubt that the female was the one they were looking for. It was so tainted, so black, that it leaked from her skin and gave her a slightly darker appearance. And it was clear that she was possessed from the deep magenta eyes that stared out from beneath the cloak of black that surrounded her.

"Attack!" the commander ordered. Hiei did not understand why he did not go after the female himself. From his appearance and energy, it was clear that he was at least an A-class demon. Probably higher if he was suppressing most of it. Yet he sent out minions to do his dirty work, and none of them seemed to have gotten even a scratch on the girl.

A thick wave of purity filled the area, stunning Hiei for a moment.

The Jagan blazed with energy.

The female moved, disappearing and reappearing within seconds. Her hand shot out, digging deep into the side of the demon standing there, and he exploded into dust within the next moment. A whip formed from her other hand, slicing up to decapitate another demon. It moved with grace through the air, sliding around her body to gut the demon that had tried to attack her from behind. The contents of the demon's stomach and entrails slid to the ground before the body, and it twitched for a good few moments.

Another two came at her from both sides, ordered to try another tactic by their leader. She leapt into the air with ease, escaping the claws of one demon while she used his shoulder as a springboard. Her whip shot out, slicing apart one demon's head, and whipping around to cut the other in half. She did not seem to mind that when she landed she was standing in their blood, nor did she appear to notice the third demon that came rushing at her.

At least, he had assumed such, until her hand shot out and a jet of black liquid sprayed the demon in the face. The demon screeched, while it was eaten alive by the black ooze.

Yusuke and Kurama arrived when she knocked another to the ground, leaning over to rip the demon's throat out with her fangs. She reared her head back afterward, roaring into the sky, and Hiei felt the dragon struggling with him a little more at the action. Clearly, the dragon liked the sound, and it wanted to obtain it. So, he forced a bit more of his control over it, determined to beat it down.

The leader snarled under his breath, clearly agitated, before he snapped at four of the remaining demons surrounding him. They were sent to work easily enough, and rushed the girl together. Her head snapped up, her magenta eyes gleaming beneath the layer of darkness, and a wave of purification leapt from her body toward the four fools. They did not seem to notice, or did not care for their lives, and raced straight into the energy, turning themselves to dust.

The female rose, a smug smirk appearing on her lips and causing the leader to stiffen considerably. Hiei's eyes narrowed at the way she moved, for she appeared to be in more control than Koenma had made it seem. The main factor was the extreme rage that she could not overcome, which probably blocked the girl's ability to take complete control of her body. He could see it clearly, so he was positive Kurama could, since an eight hundred year old demon bent on death and destruction would not show such intelligence.

His eyebrow twitched as he thought of something else. Koenma might be concerned that his little project had gone wrong, but he was sure the brat also wanted to make sure he did not have to deal with the swarm of souls that would be coming to him. The ferry girls were probably already having a ball with all the souls that had taken flight from the area, and the mighty ruler was probably pouting in his office.

A deep growl cut through the air as Kuwabara arrived, panting. The leader had shouted something that Hiei, in his musing, had not caught, and the female now appeared to be done with her little game. It became clear when she made her move, charging forward, causing the lower class demon she had targeted to raise its weapon. However, she confused them when she roughly slammed her foot into the ground, a move that could have twisted her ankle, and swerved off toward another demon.

Her whip shot out, slicing the demon apart before it had a chance to think. Blood splattered into the air around them, distracting the second demon, and giving her the chance to rip her claws through its face. The demon screeched for only a few seconds before its body turned to dust. She was not done, though, for her hand was outstretched, and a layer of black liquid slapped a third demon in the face. It died screaming.

Yusuke scowled, turning to him, "Damn it! She's almost killed them all. You could have mentioned that. At least then I wouldn't have gotten excited over the thought of actually fighting!"

"You might get your fight yet, Yusuke," Kurama stated softly. He was analyzing the situation quietly, and allowing the spirit fox inside of him to do the same. Things did not look good, considering the demon was learning too quickly to be normal. It had already figured out that it could use the girl's abilities of purification, and it made its moves wisely. The facts were twisting another possibility in his mind, since he was not sure if what had possessed the girl was the same demon that had fought Midoriko or not.

Kuwabara stiffened a little more, as he watched the girl shove her blood covered hands through the chest of another demon in her way. She used the falling body to heighten her speed, but the leader was quick. He drew his twin swords at high speeds, managing to slice the girl's shirt open just below her breasts. Her decency was barely kept in tact, but when she moved again Kuwabara blushed a little at how close her body was to being revealed.

She retreated a distance, taking no notice of the lower class demons surrounding her from all sides. The black cloud surrounding her pulsed, while her eyes remained locked on the leader. He was her prey. She clearly was not going to let him get away. So, it was no surprise when twin whips appeared from her fingertips, and she began to rapidly spin on one foot.

The whips quickly created a dome effect at the high speed, cutting through every piece of flesh they encountered. The remaining lower class demons were not able to escape, each of them dying as horror flashed across their face. In the mass chaos, the leader was trapped, and the whips took advantage of his weakness. Unable to escape, caught in the terror, the leader, despite his speed, was quickly sliced to ribbons within the dome.

She began to laugh afterward, softly in the beginning, and the sound pierced into Hiei's brain. He snarled under his breath, catching Kurama's attention, as the dragon gave a cry. It was then that the girl took notice of them, and Hiei cursed the dragon and the Jagan for disobeying him. Especially when the dragon struggled away from his control, lowering itself underneath the clouds, and heading straight for the female.

"What the hell?" Kuwabara complained. "Short-stuff! Do something! You can't let that dragon eat her!"

"I do not believe that is its intention," Kurama replied, noticing the flash in Hiei's eyes.

And he was right. The dragon stood regal and proud upon the ground, and gave an awesome roar while presenting itself. Then, after a few moments, it lowered its head until it was nearly touching the female, and opened its jaws. Almost instantly the excess energy that surrounded her began to pull away and entered the dragon. The female made no move to stop it, even when the dragon finally stepped away from her and took to the skies.

Surprisingly, the dragon returned to him. He shivered slightly at the burn that snaked up his arm when it settled there. The dragon had been appeased, but the foreign energy did not take lightly to him when it first settled.

'Strange, she does not see Hiei as a threat.'

Don't you mean she doesn't see the dragon as a threat? Kurama asked, curious.

'No. Didn't you notice that the bastard grimaced when the dragon came back to him? Her energy attacked him, but settled down after a few moments. Clearly, she does not see him as a threat,' Youko replied smugly.

"Are we going to go down there?" Kuwabara asked. He was still not sure what to think about the energy that leaked from the girl. One moment she radiated purity and kindness, and the next she felt like the evilest being on the planet. Yet the sadness—the sadness was what really weakened him, because he did not know what he could do to help her.

"Of course we are!" Yusuke yelled. He was going to go down there whether Kuwabara wanted to or not. He was itching for a fight, and he was going to get one. Koenma might not like it when he brings in the possessed girl a little banged up, but he could get over it.

"Idiot," Hiei muttered. He moved before the fool could retort, leaping from the cliff into the ravine. He landed in a crouched position, before rising, keeping his eyes trained on the female in the center. He knew he would have to stay on guard, even if the dragon and the Jagan wanted to connect with her. He would be a fool not to.

He took a single step forward when the others landed, watching the female for any sign of hostility. She showed none, but Hiei did not take that as a sign to move forward without hesitation. In fact, he moved slower, allowing the others to keep up with him at a slow walk. She did give a snort, though, when Kuwabara nearly tripped halfway to her, making Hiei wondered if it was from annoyance or amusement.

Her rage seemed to be under control, making Hiei debate what Koenma had told them. He could still feel it, but it was so subtle that it was clear she had suppressed it with ease. How she could control such a strong bloodlust was beyond him. It was clearly bubbling underneath her skin, ready to pop, yet she held it under her thumb like it was nothing. It almost seemed impossible for her to suddenly contain such fury, yet she did, and Hiei respected her for that.

After a moment, she chuckled. They paused in their approach, each lost in thought and keeping a trained eye on the female before them. Her eyes told them all they needed to know, though. The massacre had ended, but the real fight had just begun. She had been waiting for something that could fight her properly, and they could give her that.

KibaSin: The first three chapters of my newest Hiei/Kagome story! I'm so happy that I managed to keep it to myself this long, since I wanted so badly to finish my Sesshoumaru/Kagome story "Unexpected". I finally got my butt into gear and wrote it out today, so now I can post this! Though, I'm still debating on how the next chapter is going to play out in the end, so it might take me a little while to get that part out.

Thanks for reading so far!

Kiba