Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.

Recap: Kuronue finds Tsukino in the cave and brings her back to the hideout where Kurama gives her the choice to leave for Spirit World or complete the mission. She chooses to remain and after a short talk with Kuronue retires for the night. Kuronue then talks with Kurama about the possibility of Tsukino being Mikiku before he too goes to rest.

I'll Show You What I Can Be
Chapter Twenty-Two
Trapped

Out of Trouble… For Five Minutes

I couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour when the sounds of unfamiliar footsteps awoke me. Almost silently the sound moved around the room I was in. When I was conscious enough to separate the echoes from the original cause, I realized that the footsteps had stopped. Above my head, it seemed almost as if there was an oppressive silence and I held my breath, listening.

Seconds passed and static popping in my ears was the only noise I heard. Illogical fear started to grow in my mind as I sucked in tiny breaths of air. Had I imagined the footsteps or was there someone in the room watching me? The thought caused a fresh wave of terror to wash over me.

Almost hyperventilating from the small gasps of air I was taking in, I forced myself to conceal my aura as Yusuke and Kuwabara had taught me. If it was Kurama in the room, he wouldn't be able to see me and would believe I had fallen back to sleep unless he used his nose. Then I was toast. I knew that Kuronue had said that Kurama wasn't interested in that sort of thing, and even I had to admit that that situation would be out of character for him. Nevertheless, the dark had placed me back in the same mind state I had been while trapped under the Sinning Tree's influence (minus the Kuro Shi's affects). I was terrified, weak, in pain, blind, and just waiting for someone to grab me.

Silently, I forced myself out of the bed and towards the door. Once my back was pressed against the door, I readied to summon my energy to create my Shiro attack. The stabbing pain in my chest and the sudden pressure on my body quickly stopped my preparations. In my fear, I had forgotten about the fact that my genes were killing me. Now the dark and silence terrified me even more because there was nothing I could do to dispel it. Even opening the door was a risk. If Kurama had locked it after he entered then my opening it would alert him to my presence. I stood there for a minute before I managed to get a grip on reality. Sooner or later the attacker was going to make it to the bed and notice that I wasn't in it. Once it noticed that I wasn't in the bed, it would search the room, eventually finding me.

I forced myself to grab onto the doorknob and quickly opened it and silently creeped through, locking the door behind me. Hands still on the door, I silently hoped that the soft light from the plants in the main room hadn't alerted the attacker to my leaving the room. It felt like a lifetime passed but the room was still silent. Nothing moved. Maybe it was all in my head. Slowly, my muscles started to unknot and my sighed deeply. Relief washed over me so strongly that I actually felt safe for a moment.

"What are you doing?"

If I hadn't been concealing my aura, I'm willing to bet that I could have created a blast of light bright enough to light up a whole city. Of course that would have happened after I had a heart attack. Even a voice at normal volume probably would have killed me but my hearing had increased the volume by a fifty decibels. Relief completely gone now, I turned to reply to the person who just about killed me. My words died in my throat when the lights suddenly turned on, blinding me. I blinked and noticed that Kurama was standing before me. Thankfully he was wearing a shirt so I didn't have to wonder if my heart was beating erratically because of my mini-heart attack or my curse. However, talking with Kurama was not high on my list of to-dos so I looked over to the couches where Kuronue was sleeping, hoping that he would wake up. He didn't.

Kurama noticed where I was looking and muttered, "If I sleep like a rock, he sleeps like a mountain."

Now unable to count on Kuronue for protection, I turned my attention to Kurama. "Why are you still awake?" I asked. It appeared as if I had returned back to my old stand-by of promising to listen but not promising to be helpful. Oddly enough, instead of feeling immature about my behaviour, I felt better. Over the course of the trip, I felt as if I was slowly losing my sense of self and being replaced by someone who acted as others (Kurama) wanted her to act.

Kurama seemed to notice as well and motioned towards the kitchen with his hand. Surprisingly, he seemed to have a small smile on his face or maybe it was the lighting. "I was on my way to the kitchen to get a drink when I noticed you over by your door. I hope that doesn't mean Kuronue's been keeping demonic hybrids in his room."

I shook my head and tried not to get dragged into his mood. He was in far too good of a mood to not have a reason for it considering how I had refused to return to Spirit World. As a precaution, I took a step away from him and bumped my left arm against the door. A small stabbing pain went up it causing me to grab it and feel a wetness cover my hands in a red liquid. I heard rather than saw Kurama move towards me, and tried to wave him off. "I'm fine."

Kurama was silent and the small smile that might have been on his face disappeared as he moved towards the kitchen. "I'll get the first aid kit."

I nodded even though I knew he couldn't see me and followed him. He sat me down at the table and disappeared into the bathroom. A minute later he remerged with a small box with traditional Human World bandages and bottles of what I assumed to be plant mixtures. Silently, he handed me the box and went over to the sink, probably to get himself something to drink as I could hear the tap running. While he did that, I cut myself some bandages and went to work trying to place them on my arm. Fortunately, it was on my lower arm so it was easier to see and wrap. Kurama moved back towards the table just as I finished putting the leftover material back into the box, and silently, I waited for the questions that were sure to follow.

Day Hundred-Fifteen

As I finish making tea from a recipe Yusuke had found in a Spirit World cookbook, I silently look over towards the table. It appears that Tsukino has just finished wrapping her arm, but she does not intend to return to her room. Pouring the tea into two mugs, I walk back over to the table and place one in front of her. Slightly amused by her attempts to appear uninterested as she studies the mug out of the corner of her eye, I explain about the recipe Yusuke had found.

"Apparently, it is able to calm violent auras," I murmur before taking a sip of the tea and regretting it. The tea itself does not taste bad, but its aftertaste causes me to reconsider taking a second sip. Fortunately, Tsukino does not notice as she asks, "Why would I have a violent aura?"

I struggle to take another sip. "Hiei has already informed me of your knowing about your genes' self-destruction."

Tsukino was in the act of taking hold of her cup when I replied and is now glaring at me over the rim of her cup. "Why didn't you warn me that if I used my energy I would be killing myself?"

"Would you have believed me?"

She is silent and swallows some of the liquid in her cup. Seconds afterwards she grimaces but says nothing as she takes another sip.

Once again I ask her why she was creeping out of her room, but she is silent and continues to drink. After every sip, I can feel her aura calming, and the stress on her body weakening. Perhaps this tea will at least allow us to gain time to search for a more permanent solution to her genetic problem.

"It is possible that someone could be walking over the roof of the lair?" she asks, as she finishes her drink. Her aura now fully calmed.

I shake my head. "Above the lair there are only demon-eating plants and traps. Any demon who steps foot in the area would be quickly eaten before they touch the ground."

She nods and starts to take a sip out of her cup only to pause. From the angle I am sitting at I can tell that there is no more tea in her cup. However, she has not made any move to return to her room. I drink the last of my own tea and add, "Why do you ask?"

Tsukino is silent before she says, "I thought that I heard something walking around in the room where I was sleeping, and I thought that maybe they had entered through the roof."

I frown and move to my feet. "There is a possibility of rain dripping through the roof and making noises like footsteps, but with your hearing as it is now, you would be able to tell the difference, correct?"

She nods, and I walk towards the door to Kuronue's room. "So that means that either you were dreaming or somehow something got past Kuronue."

Tsukino frowns a bit as she moves to stand as well. "But I thought that Kuronue sleeps like a mountain."

"Only if there isn't danger around. As soon as he senses danger he wakes up instantly. However," I retrace my steps and grab the silver whistle that hangs on a hook over the sink, "it would be wise to have other means of waking him just in case."

We both move towards the door and silently I unlock the door and enter. The first thing that strikes me is the smell. Instantly, I take a step back and try to regain control of my gag reflex as I hold my nose shut. Tsukino does not seem to notice the smell as she enters the room behind me and stares at me oddly as I try not to throw up.

"Are you alright?" she asks after a moment.

I reply quickly and just as quickly regret. Opening my mouth only caused me to want to throw up more.

Tsukino continues to stare at me oddly before noticing a soccer ball sized sphere over in the corner of the room. She goes to pick it up, but I stop her as I slowly get used to the smell in the room. "Unless you know what that object is, I would not recommend picking it up. Kuronue and I stole many items over the years, most of which were cursed in some way."

She rolls her eyes and pokes the red sphere with her shoe causing it to roll a bit. "So it's not only girls that you show stupidity with," she mutters thinking that I cannot hear.

I decide not to question her but instead reach for the whistle. Just as I'm able about to blow into it, Kuronue falls off the couch. He stands up and looks towards us as he rubs his head, which he most likely landed on.

"You know if you guys are going to do that you could at least do it in your own room and let me have mine back, Kurama," he says as he stretches. "That's the third time that I've fallen off the couch."

"Congratulations," I reply as I put the whistle into my pocket. "Kuronue, could you kindly tell us what you left in your room for millenniums that caused this horrible smell?"

Kuronue frowns and walks over to the room before backing up and coughing. "Damn, that smells worse than grand-bat's feet!" he exclaims with a grin. "Must be hell for you fox-boy. Why don't you indulge in a more pleasurable scent your own room? Perhaps of another person?"

To my immeasurable relief, Tsukino shows no signs of embarrassment and appears to not understand Kuronue's not so subtle implication. Sadly, Kuronue notices this and starts to make more suggestions.

"Tsukino-chan, why don't you help Kurama out? I'm sure that one of your-"

Turning my back completely to Tsukino, I glare at Kuronue and demand to know the cause of the foul odour.

To my pleasure, Kuronue almost cowers at the sight of my glare and says that he has no idea what could cause a smell like that. "The first thing I did when I got back here was clean," he explains. "If anything was going to smell that bad, then I would have spotted it then."

Annoyed, I rub my eyes and try to figure out what could have caused such a stench. It was familiar to me, but I wasn't sure where I had smelt it before. Tsukino's scent had mixed with it, changing it slightly, and making it harder for me to recognize. There also appears to be another scent mixed with it but it is too strong for me to tell.

As I try to figure out what's happening, Kuronue turns to Tsukino and says, "How come you aren't on the ground retching? I thought that all your senses had been heightened."

She shakes her head and says, "Only my hearing has been affected."

Kuronue frowns. "Still though, a smell like that would make the dead rise from the grave."

She shrugs. "I don't really know. I didn't notice it when I first woke up, and honestly, I don't see why you two are making such a big deal of it. It doesn't smell that bad."

"You probably don't have a sharp nose then."

"I can smell as well as a human if that's what you mean."

He nods with a grin. "That explains that then. Humans tend to miss this smell often. Probably just smells like some sort of sugary sweetness to you right?"

She nods. "Isn't that what it smells like to you too?"

"Only a thousand times stronger. I'm amazed fox-boy didn't pass out from it. Back in the old days, demon hunters used some sort of stink bombs that smelt like this to hunt down demons with strong noses. The demons would pass out and then zap, you're dead."

"What did the bombs look like?" I ask as I give up trying to remember why the scent was so familiar. By now the scents are too mixed for me to accurately guess what caused them.

"Usually small spheres, about this big." Kuronue moves his hands so that they are only a yen's length apart. "Usually white but sometimes they were coloured. At least that's what grand-bat said. By the time I came around, Spirit World and the Shinbo were taking care of demons in Human World so they weren't using the old methods anymore."

Tsukino nods and looks over to the odd sphere we had spotted in Kuronue's room. "Like that?" she asks as she points towards it.

Kuronue shakes his head. "Too big. Besides no one know how to make them anymore."

I frown. "Didn't you use one on me during a heist?"

"My great grand-bat passed that down and besides, how I was supposed what it was doing to do? I thought it was just going to explode and knock out the guards."

I shake my head. "So what is that sphere in your room? I don't recall ever seeing it before."

Kuronue shrugs. "Neither have I. I thought Tsukino-chan had brought it with her."

Tsukino silently shakes her head before looking back at the sphere. "So we have no idea how this got in here?"

Neither Kuronue nor I reply as we enter the room. Once again we are assaulted by the stench, and I quickly cover my nose. "Whatever the sphere is, the smell is coming from it."

"Think it's got a motion sensor on it?" Kuronue asks.

"Most likely."

"Does that mean it will attack us if we try to pick it up?"

"Possibly."

Tsukino joins us in the room, and the sphere lets out another burst of scent. "How did get in here? I didn't have any bags with me when I came in here."

Kuronue and I both scan the ceiling for signs of weakness.

"There's a small hole there," Kuronue says as he points to a spot over by the far wall, "but it's too small for that thing."

"Unless it wasn't originally this big," I reply. Suddenly, the sphere grows to at least double its size and lets out a burst of poisonous-smelling air. The world suddenly seems to tip on its side, and I close my eyes. When I open them, I slowly realize that I'm on the floor with Tsukino shaking my shoulder. She lets out a sigh and mutters, "Thank goodness," once again forgetting my sensitive hearing.

Feeling unusually drained, I murmur, "Where's Kuronue?"

"Still knocked out," she replies. "After the sphere grew both of you passed out. Then it shrunk again and disappeared through the hole in the ceiling. You started to transform back into your human form again as well."

I frowned. "How did you wake me up then?" At that moment, I notice the small cuts appearing on her arms. Before she can hide them, I grab her wrists and move her arms so I can see them. "You shouldn't have done that," I mutter, feeling more of my human emotions, such as worry and fear, growing stronger and warding off the numbness that accompanies my demon form.

Tsukino wrenches her arms out of my grasp and looks over to where Kuronue is snoring. "How will we wake him up?"

Once again I reach for the whistle and blow into it causing a high frequency noise to echo off the walls. Kuronue quickly awakes but is slow to rise and even slower to understand what had occurred when Tsukino explains. Eventually, his mind returns to its normal speed and he asks, "So now what? Whoever made that ball thing probably thinks that we are knocked out and on their way down here."

I nod. "Judging by how none of us are able to battle and win, the wisest option is to retreat. Is the back exit still in working order?"

Kuronue grins. "It is if you have the key."

Without a further reply, I help Tsukino to her feet as she is starting to feel the effects of the third stage once again. She starts to follow Kuronue to the storeroom where the back exit is located but quickly finds herself having problems walking. It appears as though her arms are not the only limbs affected by her method of waking me.

Silently, I move behind her and gather her in my arms before continuing after Kuronue who looks over his shoulder with a grin. I pointedly ignore him and try to ignore the small whimpers Tsukino is making as her pain increases. At the first available moment, I'll have to make her more of that tea, as it is the only thing that seems to work on her aura at this time.

We reach the back door within seconds but are surprised to find it blocked instead of locked. Standing in our way are Yasu and Amaterasu, both looking livid. Thankfully, we spot them before they spot us. We duck behind a tower of crates filled with spare weapons and wait for the demons to pass us. Tsukino's aura calms enough for her to hide it, and she slips out of my arms before moving to get a better look of our enemies. Reluctantly, Kuronue and I allow her to do so as she is smaller than we are and blends in better since none of her clothing reflects the light of the glowing orb Yasu and Amaterasu are using. Tsukino crawls back to where Kuronue and I are sitting and sits next to me as we wait for the raccoons to move. It is only because of how close she is to me that I notice that her aura is starting to worsen and rebel against Tsukino's attempts to keep it contained.

I turn to Kuronue and motion with my hands that I will use myself as bait so that he can get Tsukino to safety. After Kuronue nods, I also hand him the recipe for the tea so that he will be able to help Tsukino if I am unable to meet with them as soon as I wish. Trying to keep as low to the ground and as silent as possible, I move towards the edge of the crate and am about to make a dash to the other side of the room when Tsukino grabs my arm. Milliseconds later, Yasu and Amaterasu dash towards the living area of the lair. If Tsukino hadn't stopped me, I probably would have run into the two demons. I turn to ask Tsukino how she knew that Yasu and Amaterasu were going to move, but before I can, she points to a mirror on the ground. It is now reflecting the image of an open back exit.

However, we make no move towards the door. Amaterasu is a master of illusions. We have no way of knowing whether the demons we saw run towards the living area were illusions or flesh and blood. With no other choice, we wait. After a minute, another group of Yasu and Amaterasu run pass us but we still do not more. Finally, the two raccoons appear between two crates and start to walk towards us, carefully looking down the hallways created by the piled crates.

Once again I motion to Kuronue with my hands as Yasu and Amaterasu move closer to our hiding place. It takes a moment for him to understand, but once he does, he is quick to act. Carefully, he gets onto his stomach and reaches towards the mirror. Painstakingly, he slides the mirror out of Yasu and Amaterasu's view before pocketing it. Meanwhile, I grab Tsukino around the waist and climb up the side of the crate, timing my movements to match the raccoon's footsteps.

Kuronue joins us and we watch from on top the crates as the raccoons draw closer and closer to us. Yasu pauses and sniffs the air as they stand before the crate we sit upon. Despite myself, I cannot help but feel the thrill of avoiding capture as he passes us by. They disappear into the living area, but we still do not move until we are sure that flesh and blood passed us and not illusions. Even then we are still cautious. Kuronue flies over the area before landing in front of the door and looking out. Once we are sure the only threats are in our living room, I motion for Tsukino to follow Kuronue. She does so and I jump down from the crates before running towards the door myself.

Carefully, we walk down the tunnel, keeping an eye out for any traps we had forgotten about. Thankfully, it appears that Yasu and Amaterasu had sent off most of the traps as they entered making the trip easier. However, I find myself far from ease as I constantly listen for signs of a threat. Kuronue feels the same way as he constantly looks over his shoulder for danger. Unfortunately, our suspicions are not without reason. Moments after we enter a cavern Tsukino spots a small sphere rolling down a tunnel towards us. Moving out of instinct more than anything, I push Tsukino out of the way and shield her when the sphere grows to boulder-sized as it enters the cavern and explodes. Within seconds, the whole room smells of eggs, and the air feels heavy in our lungs.

Only by Kuronue tripping and finding the air closer to the ground breathable do we manage to escape without passing out. As we crawl up the tunnel, we eventually reach breathable air and are able to stand again. Knowing that the boulder was a signal, we move faster up the tunnel and try to consider any other exits we could take that would allow us the advantage over our hunters. Neither Kuronue nor I can think of one so we continue on our way.

We are half-way down the tunnel when another trap not created by Kuronue and I is triggered. As we pass through another cavern, Kuronue abruptly stops and stares at the tunnel before us. Tsukino and I both pause as well, wondering what has caused Kuronue to act in such a way when he lunges towards me. In one hand he carries a sword that he aims to attacks me with, and with the other hand he throws his chained scythe towards Tsukino.

She dodges easily and stares at Kuronue as he throws his scythe at her once again while trying to skewer me at the same time.

"Kuronue-kun!" she shouts as she dodges again. "Stop it!"

Her pleads fall on deaf ears as he continues to try to fight a battle on two fronts. I can clearly see that she is tiring at a faster rate than normal and realize that unless I can disarm Kuronue soon, he could do something he would regret. Using some of the little spirit energy I have, I create a sword from the Binding Vine to parry Kuronue's attacks. Jumping back from a blow, I position myself in front of Tsukino and block Kuronue's incoming attacks.

Behind me I can hear Tsukino panting as she struggles to inhale, and I hope that her genes aren't the reason for her exhaustion. Kuronue seems to have no such thoughts though as he recklessly aims blow after blow towards us. Eventually though, he will make some form of mistake, and we will be able to counterattack then.

His scythe almost manages to get past my sword, but at the last moment, I swat the blade away causing it to cut into a pillar of stone instead. Kuronue glares at me before abandoning his weapon and charging towards me with his sword. I easily ward off his blows until he purposely allows me to cut into his arm. Despite my demonic nature, I felt shock and pulled my blade back. Instantly, I regret it as Kuronue ducks around me and grabs Tsukino. He places the blade at her throat and grins at me with no reason in his eyes.

"Put down the weapon," he declares.

I hesitate and he moves the sword from Tsukino's neck to her side and cuts in. I lay the weapon on the ground, carefully watching him. Somehow Yasu and Amaterasu managed to gain control over Kuronue, and if we don't figure out a way to stop him, he may actually kill Tsukino.

Kuronue nods in amusement and moves the blade back to Tsukino's throat as he watches me. "Such a shame that Mikiku isn't here to see you act so noble over another batty-cat. The only time she ever had a knife at her throat you just sat there and laughed."

I say nothing because I cannot say anything.

He doesn't seem to notice though and moves his free hand as if he was shaking off dust. "You wouldn't have cared if she had died would you?" Instead of his tone changing into anger as it usually would have, Kuronue continues to speak smugly. "She was just fun for the moment."

Originally, I had believed that he was being controlled, but I wasn't sure if he was fully under control or if his anger was being manipulated. Now I am sure that Kuronue is being controlled rather than manipulated. If he were manipulated, Kuronue would have attacked me in anger by now rather than speaking so smugly. "You know if that is true or not," I reply.

Kuronue nods and looks down towards Tsukino before moving his hands towards her clothing. "Ah," he says as he turns his attention to me. "No moving."

I hadn't realized that I had taken a step forward.

The thing controlling Kuronue turns its attention back to Tsukino but leaves her clothing alone. Instead it grows claws and holds them threateningly over her stomach. "I could kill her right now, but where would the fun be with that? She's a very fun girl you know. A lot more fun than Mikiku, isn't she, Kurama?"

Despite my efforts, a small growl escapes my throat in reply.

"What was that?"

I do not reply. Tsukino, taking advantage of Kuronue's attention being displaced, slides down to the ground and tries to get away from him. Her wounds make her slow, and before she can escape, Kuronue grabs her arm.

"It looks as though I won't be able to play as long," Kuronue mutters before throwing Tsukino towards the far side of the cave. She hits the wall and slides down. Seeing Kuronue starting to lunge towards her, I move as well. However, I barely have moved before a wall grows from the ground, blocking my view of Tsukino. Instantly, I destroy the wall with the use of my plants, but Tsukino is nowhere to be seen.

In carefully controlled movements, I turn my attention towards Kuronue and calmly ask, "Where. Is. She?"

A/N: I think Kurama will have a hard time convincing anyone other than himself that he doesn't greatly care for Tsukino now. If the hostage situation doesn't say it all, then please give me more ideas to help him with. Anyways, sorry for the long wait, couldn't find the time or the mood to write. Getting the house kitten friendly is a lot of work. I'm finding all these staples in the floors I never noticed before.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and will continue to enjoy. See ya!

-D101