It didn't take them long to find the others once they were out of the pseudo space – and Sensui with them. It looked like he'd been giving them something of a hard time though.

"I'm sorry I got delayed. Traffic was a bitch," Yusuke said when they were close enough. "But I'm back, and I'm ready to finish this!"

Puu landed, and they all disembarked.

"Impossible," Sensui said.

"Is that him?" Hiei asked, staring.

"But how?" Kurama asked, his eyes darting to Kagome. He knew she'd promised to try, but he hadn't been sure he believed her.

"Some friends you are," Yusuke said, walking up to them, a pouting scowl on his face and his demon energy rippling gently over his form. "Ditching a guy when he's down and then hogging the bad guy all to yourselves. I gotta admit I'm disappointed in you jerks, but did you honestly think I'd just lie there and let you fight my battles for me? Gimme a break!"

"Urameshi! But you were – well you were definitely dead, I swear it! Your heart stopped beating, I double-checked!"

"And Kagome said she didn't have any more miracles up her sleeves," Kuarma added.

"Yeah, no, I can't explain that. In fact, my ticker's still not ticking. I guess I should be worried, huh?" Yusuke asked, touching where Kagome had healed the wound on his chest.

Kagome smiled as she saw understanding dawn on the faces of the three demons. Shippo, Kurama and Hiei all chuckled before real laughter escaped them, and they had to hold their sides as they sat there laughing at the boy. Yusuke chuckled as well.

"You'll get used to that," Kurama assured him, having calmed down first. "You see demon hearts don't beat in the conventional human sense," he said.

"Demon?" Kuwabara demanded.

"Yes demon," Koenma answered, walking up.

"I keep hopin' I'll wake up soon," the large carrot top said.

"It's no dream. Yusuke has had dormant blood inside him. Mazoku blood, which would explain a few things, I'd say," Koenma said, almost snapping now that the shock had worn off.

"Give him a break, Koenma. You know Yusuke's alright, being a half-breed isn't going to make any difference to his personality," Kagome said, waving off the junior god's peevishness.

"I still don't get how you knew about this and didn't tell anyone!" Koenma said, turning on her, frustration written across his face as clearly as the 'Jr' on his forehead.

"But I did!" Kagome answered with a bright smile. "Way back when I met Yusuke on the boat, remember? I said, 'one doosey of a surprise, and I'm not spoiling it,' remember? You should have looked it up."

"Yeah, leave Kagome alone," Shippo added.

"I'm still confused," Kuwabara said.

"Funny story," Yusuke said. "One of my ancestors was this 'Mazoku' guy, so when I died I was able to come back, but like him."

Kuwabara went pale and flinched back. "So you are a demon!"

"Transmigration, the atavism of the Mazoku," Sensui said, amazed.

"That's correct," Koenma said, frowning.

"I had no idea you were one of us, Yusuke. How does it feel to be so superior now?" Hiei asked.

"Honestly? I don't feel all that different," Yusuke answered. "I mean, I haven't sprouted horns or extra eyes yet. But I do have this sudden burning desire to tear this guy to pieces," he said, looking from his body up to Sensui.

"Good laugh, I'd say. Let me see if I can do an impersonation of Koto," Kagome said, grinning and winking at Shippo, who hadn't gone to the Dark Tournament, but rather stayed to protect the shrine, and just watched them on television. "In this corner, protecting the entire Human World, it's the half-demon Yusuke Urameshi! And in this corner, advocating the complete destruction of the human race, it's the ex-spirit detective and total nut-job of a human, Shinobu Sensui!"

"So how about it Sensui? Ready to feed some worms?" Yusuke called over.

"Hey, don't forget about us," Shippo objected, standing up, his energy flaring around him.

"Back off Yusuke," Hiei said as he stood. "We're in the middle of something, and I've suddenly discovered my second wind." Hiei's energy also grew suddenly.

"No you three, I will take him," Kurama countered, his energies likewise increasing.

"What is this, a prom date dispute?" Yusuke asked. "I mean I'm sure Sensui's flattered by the popularity and all, but this is my damn fight. I hate to say it Kuwabara, but you're the only one acting sane."

"That grin doesn't look very normal to me," Kagome commented wryly, observing that the aura surrounding him was also stronger than before.

"I'm ready! And better than ever!" Kuwabara said, jumping to his feet and clenching his fist. "So stand back. I'll kick his butt myself!"

"You do realise he'll be kicking back," Hiei said flatly, unimpressed with the human.

"Yeah, and after him, you're next!"

"There won't be a next."

"Just shut up!"

A chuckle rippled through the group before Yusuke turned serious.

"I can sense how strong you've become, and I appreciate your help, but I have to finish this alone," he said quietly, his demon energy coating his skin in a mottled red glow. "You dig?"

They all nodded.

"Knock 'im dead, Yusuke Urameshi," Hiei said, his hand pointed like Yusuke's spirit gun. "But if you fail, know I've got your back."

"You've been watching too many of Souta's TV shows," Shippo said quietly.

"Hmph. You're the one who said I had to," Hiei retorted, his own voice just as low.

Yusuke nodded and turned from them, walking up to Sensui.

"Right, so you're all powered up again, but you are also still all battered about," Kagome said, running her critical brown eyes over the four who had been fighting against Sensui. "Kuwabara first, as the only human," she said, and proceeded to treat his injuries. From him she moved on to Shippo, who was probably least hurt of them due to the way he fought, then Hiei, despite his protests that he was fine. "Like hell," she growled and tugged what remained of his shirt off so that she could reach his injuries unimpeded. Kurama she saved for last, and took her time gently caressing the spirit fox's skin and rubbing his ears as she healed his wounds.

"If you're done makin' out now," Kuwabara said, "I think we'd better get out of the way."

~oOo~

A collection of hurricanes, whirl winds, tornadoes, whatever you want to call them, created by the power of the two fighters, forced the friends to back off. Just as the air-space was deemed safe and they were coming back, another sprang up.

"Hey, what's happened to him now?" Kuwabara asked. "I mean, is that really even him?"

"He's lost control," Kagome answered sadness lacing her voice.

"Lost control? What does that mean?" the boy asked.

"Is that like with InuYasha?" Shippo, transformed into a bird, turned to see Kagome and Kurama on his back, though he was only asking his mother.

"Yes," she answered. "His demon blood has taken control in order to preserve his life and win the fight."

"What are you talkin' about? And what's with that hair? It looks like he's been playing with an electric socket!" Kuwabara demanded.

"It appears that Yusuke's body has accepted the transformation that the Mazoku desired," Kurama said, answering Kuwabara's question, at least regarding Urameshi's new look.

"Did you see that! Sensui cracked a smile when he saw our creepy half-breed. He really is an arrogant creep isn't he?" Kuwabara observed.

"Pretty much, but that's not what Sensui's smiling about," Koenma answered. "He's undergone a profound transcendent metamorphosis."

"Spiritual awakening," Kagome translated shortly, before Kuwabara could ask what that meant.

"Back in the cave, his fighting was filled with such loathing, callousness, and self-hatred. He was so dark, even for a bad guy, but now that's gone," Koenma continued.

"Yes, as if he's suddenly come to terms with his place in the world," Kurama said, looking over Shippo's shoulder at the fight below. "Achieved some sort of balance."

"What a jerk," Kuwabara stated.

Then Yusuke went truly wild, and the weather with him.

"Unreal," Kazuma breathed in awe.

"Why can't they ever have this power at the start of cases?"

"Yusuke's ancestor must have been a formidable warrior. As a mere human, Sensui doesn't stand a chance of beating him," Hiei observed.

"Let's hope so," Koenma murmured.

"Out of the way dumb-ass!" Yusuke yelled suddenly, when his spirit gun was moments away from hitting Sensui.

"Looks like he's regained control," Kagome said. "Shippo, Puu, we'd better go down!"

"Right!" Shippo answered and began to descend. Puu followed behind.

~oOo~

"Whoever fired that shot, it wasn't me. I mean it was my body that did it, but it wasn't me in there when it happened, do you understand?" Yusuke said, still shaking Sensui, wanting him to wake up so that he could finish the fight for himself.

"Look Urameshi, I think you need some rest," Kuwabara said.

"Yes Yusuke," Kagome said gently, kneeling down opposite him, looking him straight in the eye. "I understand. I've seen it happen before, with another half-demon. I know you're unsatisfied, but he's not getting up in any kind of permanent way, so you're going to have to let him go." Never mind that she knew from personal experience of being possessed as well and had hurt InuYasha several times during those possessions. She tried to forget about those times except for when she was meditating on her spiritual and mental defences, so that it wouldn't happen again.

Sensui chose that moment to cough up some blood.

"He's not dead! Kurama, can you give him something to make him better?" Yusuke asked.

"I'm afraid I used up most of my energy in the fight against him, the most I can do now is ease his final pain," Kurama answered.

"What about you Kagome?" he said, turning back to the girl.

"Look buster, I appreciate you're torn up over this, but I've revived one kid today, healed you when you were dead – which is a lot harder than healing you when you're alive I might add – and then I healed those four when we got here!" Kagome snapped. "I'm good, but I'm not a bottomless pit of power!"

"Please!"

Kagome huffed a sigh. "I never could say 'no' to a hanyou," she grumbled, pulling out the jewel and holding it in her hands as she worked to heal Sensui's internal injuries and seal the bleeding wounds. How the jewel remained untainted when she used it's power for healing, Kagome could only guess as it being a selfless act of helping someone else, so the jewel remained pure.

"You needn't have bothered," Itsuki said, appearing through his own dimensional rift.

"Don't tell me -" Kuwabara gasped.

"Itsuki!" Yusuke said, standing.

"Please, just let Shinobu go," the demon said, stepping out of his small portal to stand by the dying body of the man he loved.

"If I'm gonna kill a human, even an evil one, it's at least got to be me pulling the trigger!" the boy insisted. "I'll never know it was me who made that choice!"

"Don't torture yourself, Shinobu had only half-a-month left to live anyway," Itsuki said, a quiet tear running down his face.

"Shinobu was suffering from a rare and terminal disease. Dr Kamiya confirmed that, though not even he could cure it. An ordinary person would have lost the fight a long time ago, but not Shinobu."

"Is this your idea of a joke?" Yusuke demanded. "Because if it is, it's not funny."

"He's telling the truth," Sensui rasped out, coughing slightly. "But I'm not making excuses for my loss," he continued, pulling his arms in to his body and raising himself up slightly on his elbows.

"Don't move," Kagome insisted, gently pushing him back down, though her eyes were hard. She was still healing him after all.

"Your final attack Yusuke, with it you proved to be much stronger than I," he said, laying back.

"But, that wasn't even my power! I had no control over my body! You and me, we're not finished yet! I need to know who's really stronger!" Yusuke insisted, getting down on his knees to look the fallen man in the eye.

"Trust me, consciousness exists on many levels. Part of you that was ready to make the choice must have taken control, but it was definitely you," Sensui answered, a small smile on his face. "A demon you who killed me."
"Dammit, you're not listening to me! It wasn't me! I can't be happy! I'll give you time to heal up, you take some painkillers now and we'll do it over!" Yusuke insisted, dragging the man up by his shirt.

"Less rough-handling now if you want him to last until later Yusuke," Kagome said, prying his hands from Sensui's shirt and lowering the man gently to the ground again.

"Only Yusuke would still want to fight a man after he's dead," Hiei commented flatly, embarrassed to know the detective. "Wake me when it's over," he added, going to sleep on his feet, only for Puu to catch him and deposit the demon on his soft feathered back.

"Don't just stand there Koenma, you've gotta have some powers that can bring him back!" Yusuke said.

"I did, but unfortunately they were stored in my pacifier which I drained empty in the cave trying to stop him. He's the author of his own fate once again."

Kagome stretched her arms and moved to healing Sensui's broken bones. There were rather a lot of them, and she had needed a moment to check her own power reserves before continuing to do anything else for the dying man.

"You know Urameshi, you dissolve the barriers between the humans and the demons in ways I could never have imagined. First demonised in a human's body, and then humanised in a demon's body. I feel at peace, and can now finally rest," Sensui said. "You are the justice I could never find. Great changes will come through you. Someday when you're lying in my position, you'll know a dying man's need for closure, but until then, thank you," and with that his eyes closed, his head falling to the side.

"Oh, I'll take you myself," Koenma said, stepping forward.

"I won't let you," Itsuki stated firmly. "Shinobu's dead. You got the end you desired, so don't you think he deserves the same?" he asked, clenching his fist and looking away from all of them, his grief and pain contained for now, where he could be seen. "He devoted the last ten years to refuting everything you believe in. He didn't live by your standards, and he certainly didn't want to die by them. So I won't let you take him to spirit world, for you to judge him in your way," Itsuki said, kneeling at Sensui's head. "See? Being defeated by the mazoku is exactly the cathartic jolt he needed to resolve his inner turmoil, and pay off his guilt. He finally conquered those six personalities and emerged as Shinobu. His original, untainted self. So in a way he's already been redeemed and doesn't need you to do it for him."

Itsuki used his energy to raise Sensui and caught him lovingly in his arms.

"Where will you take him?" Koenma asked.

"Somewhere his soul won't be subjected to the overbearing scorn and judgement of your kind," Itsuki answered, his dark portal opening behind him. "Where it will be safe from hypocritical administrators who train a boy to be a killer, and then hunt him down for being one as a man. You people do not deserve Shinobu's soul," Itsuki said fiercely. "Your spirit world will have to create another enemy so you can keep on fighting, as that is after all, what you do. But Shinobu and I grow weary of that, we are going to spend the rest of eternity together, in solitude, and in peace," Itsuki said, fading into the blackness that was his very own until he could barely be seen.

"He'll probably be hungry when he wakes up, so wherever you go, make sure there's food," Kagome said when the hole began to shrink away.

"WHAT!" Yusuke demanded.

"Lucky him, I started healing him before he was actually dead," Kagome commented, smiling wryly. "It just drained a lot of energy from both him and me so that he stayed alive. I wonder how he'll take waking up," she said, trying not to laugh. "Couldn't do anything about what was already killing him – that disease Itsuki talked about – but I think Sensui should get that full half-month."

"So, I didn't kill him?" Yusuke asked.

"If I hadn't been here, he would be dead," Kagome answered sharply. "It may be that as far as he's concerned, you did, but as for your moral dilemma of not knowing if you were strong enough to kill him? Yes, you are capable. Your willingness is something you're going to have to sort out yourself."

"Question Urameshi," Kuwabara said, changing the topic. "Don't you feel kinda weird?"
"Now that you mention it, something on my back has been makin' it itch," Yusuke said, pulling on some of his hair, then noticing the tattoos. "I must look like I've been playing around with an electric socket!"

"See now that's just what I said," Kuwabara said.

"Be glad it isn't white any more," Shippo quipped.

"That's just the physical resemblance to your ancestor rising to the surface Yusuke, though I'm beginning to believe that he may still be alive around here somewhere," Koenma explained.

"So it was probably him that turned me into his personal marionette."

"What makes you say that?" Kurama asked.

"Oh, it could have been the voice in my head, but you never know. I hear him talkin' in my head and when I came too, I'd just fired my spirit gun. Well, let's go!"

"Where this time?" Kagome asked.

"If my ancestor is here and still alive we have to find him!"

"Oh, come on Urameshi! We closed the case and saved the world, can't we at least take a nap?" Kuwabara asked.

Kagome shook her head absently, not refusing Kuwabara's request, but resigned with Yusuke's attitude. "It's important that all half-breeds know as much about their lineage as they can. I doubt that Yusuke is interested in another black-out with his demonic side overpowering him, robbing him of control while he wreaks havoc," she said quietly. However, she also doubted that Yusuke was really ready to go walking about in Demon World.

Shippo nodded, his face solemn. He had been terrified when that had happened to InuYasha. He knew that even Sesshoumaru had paused in momentary fear when confronted with such a powerful demon with absolutely no control.

"I'm not gonna rest until I get to the bottom of this!" Yusuke promised, slamming a fist into the palm of his other hand. "My ancestor got in the way of my fight, and I can't let him get away with that, no matter who he's related to. If you aren't with me, fine. I'll just stay and find him on my own."

"You know Yusuke, you may want to give this more thought," Koenma pointed out. "The SDF have no doubt been busy little beavers while we've been gone, damming up the tunnel on the human world's side. Now those toadies may be many things, but they are not inefficient. That hole will be filled in like a cavity within a matter of days."

"Wait a minute," Kuwabara said, "if the hole is sealed up then we, uh -"

"Won't ever be able to return to human world again," Koenma confirmed.

"You mean I'll never eat another double-cheese burger!"

"Among other things you'll never get to do again," Kagome said calmly. "Like see your sister, or your friends, or even your cat. Kurama's mother will have no idea what happened that he suddenly disappeared. Yusuke will probably never get to see Keiko again. I'll miss out on my little brother's next birthday, and my mother's home cooking. Mitari will think we have forgotten him, and Master Genkai will be forever lost as to the fate of her 'favourite dimwit'."

"You can go back to human world now," Koenma said, "or stay here in demon world forever, but you have to choose."

"Cue dramatic lightning," Kagome muttered as a bolt flashed through the sky.

"I'll give you a couple of minutes to think it over Yusuke," Koenma offered.

"Ha! I don't need it, I've already made up my mind," Yusuke said, turning away from his friends, fists clenched.

"What?" Koenma asked, shocked and concerned.

"Load up Puu, let's go back home," Yusuke said gently, smiling back at his friends.

~oOo~