This chapter was Beta read by akasoeki.

Chapter Eleven: Genbu, The Stone Golem

The woman was strange. Hiei had sensed her in the same moment he dismissed her as unimportant, when the Detective started talking. Human females held little interest for him.

Still, she was peculiar. The Detective went to introduce her and the humans had noticed there was something unusual about their companion. No one had questioned or bothered to explain her abnormalities or her sudden attack on the stone, but Hiei could sense from the tension in their bodies and the questions in their eyes that this was not a normal occurrence. After her familiar had spoken, he assumed it was a witch thing.

She had long black hair and pale skin mottled by snowflake sized brown dots. He hadn't known human skin came in leopard print. Her eyes were the most exotic feature though, strangely shaped and two toned. That didn't seem human. They were a common shade of hazel, but instead of a black pupil there were fiery red starbursts in the center. Aside from her eyes, the most unique feature on her face was a pretty painful looking red scar that slashed across her forehead. It glinted dully in the poor light. He could tell from her scent and spirit energy that although she was unique among them, she was still human. The spirit detective must pick his friends based on their oddities.

When her color clashing gaze flickered over to him, he felt the weight of something along with it. It took him a minute of examining it with his senses, but when the Detective spoke again and her attention wavered, he realized it was literally her awareness settling over whatever she looked at. The power behind her gaze was yet another oddity.

There were other things to think about and focus on and the demon really didn't have any interest in her, but he was observant and there were other things he noticed with growing irritation. Something about him amused her, there was a quirk to her lips. Sometimes she'd laugh or chuckle at inappropriate moments that had nothing to do with her. But she never showed other signs of disrespect and didn't try to be overly familiar with him, so he ignored her and focused on the current task.

It irritated him that this human woman had sensed the approaching demon first, but she'd alerted the group in an appropriate way and Kurama was able to figure out what was approaching from there. When the ceiling fell and she instantly summoned a barrier, it occurred to him that she might be less useless than other humans. Still annoying and weak, but perhaps less useless.

He'd felt her awareness flare out beyond the walls, even as she focused on keeping her barrier from collapsing under the intense weight. Moment's later she'd summoned a lightning spell as if the concentration to multitask on such a high level was child's play. At the time he'd been too focused on holding up the wall of stone (they all were) and yelling at that red headed fool to contemplate her actions, but later on he realized that she used her brain on a higher level than her two companions and had been searching for all viable routes of escape.

He could sense her sending a message to Yusuke, but without focusing on it, he didn't know its meaning. And then after Yusuke had explained his plan, she'd told him to be careful. What he couldn't figure out was why she cared or thought her request would have any effect on his normal actions.

He was just about to pull the lever when her words made sense. Her danger sense was unnaturally developed if she could sense it from all the way back there. Hiei was not about to risk falling into the trap just to save them, now he had to find out what it was and counteract it. Just as he'd decided his course of action, he felt her settle around him like an unseen breeze. It irritated him on principle, but he would have done the same if their positions were reversed. After the boulder fell, her attention spread out like a mist and he lost perception of it.

The group had been just about to leave the room when he'd noticed the woman was now reading from a damned book. The words were out of his mouth before he even considered whether or not he cared enough to know, "What are you doing, woman?"

"You got to send your message," her words were absent minded as she drew strange symbols on the wall in blood. "Now I get to send mine," she seemed quite pleased with her finished work and flashed him a smirk. There was blood smeared over her bottom lip and her tongue dragged over it unconsciously before she snapped her fingers and activated the spell. It destroyed that annoying mechanism. There was a gleam in her eyes quite similar to the one he felt after a satisfying kill.

"Not to rain on your parade, but how are we gonna get out now?" The Detective's whining would be mistaken as agitation by the average person.

She had an exasperated look as she answered him, "Brat please, you know I can teleport..."

That was a handy bit of information, but more importantly, why hadn't she? Kurama voiced the question before he could, "If that's true, Sarai-san, why didn't you just teleport to the lever or to safety?"

She looked insulted for a second, but didn't respond in the overly emotional way her companions would have. Instead her countenance iced over into an empty polite smile, eerily similar to Kurama's own. "There were less drastic options available," and with that she strode past the group and began to walk further into the castle, effectively cutting off that line of conversation.

The Detective laughed, "Well, you pissed her off."

"I didn't mean to," Kurama was somewhere in between irritated, confused, and apologetic.

"Eh, don't worry about it. She never stays mad for long," the human was stretching his arms as he walked forward.

The group walked along in silence for a few minutes before the woman came to a stop ahead of them. The Detective stilled, "Sense something ahead?"

The woman had a bland, unconcerned expression as she turned back and leaned on the wall, but she didn't answer. A split second later a high pitched, rapid paced beeping noise sounded from the Detective's pocket. "Its the communication mirror that I got from Botan."

The woman drew nearer, examining the device with her senses as the Detective used it. As the idiot boys talked to the blue haired girl, she seemed to lose interest after a minute and leaned back against the wall again, for all intents and purposes, dozing off. That weird little cat just perched on her shoulder, glaring at everyone in turn, but resting it's molten gaze on him the longest.

When the conversation came to an end everyone continued onward in silence, though this time the woman didn't foolishly stray so far ahead.

When Kurama asked his question, my line of thought split off into several directions at once. The most irritating of which was, Did he just ask why I didn't betray the group? That infuriated me and I slipped back into old habits, hiding my emotions and stuffing them away somewhere safe. I answered him vaguely and turned away because echoes of old memories were bearing down on me like the weight of our first test. Memories from a time when I had still lived with my parents. When words like "betrayer" and "cursed child" and "demon" were thrown at me like shards of glass.

After Yusuke's conversation with Botan, the boy seemed lost in thought and I instinctively sent my senses out further, not wanting anything to sneak up on us while he focused on some internal debate.

"Kurama, what do you know about these four Saint Beasts?" He finally asked. A small part of my attention stayed with them in order to hear what the red headed demon had to say, but the larger portion strayed out into the distance around us.

It was ominous, the passage ahead. The feeling grew stronger from the room it lead to, its doors were covered in heavy shadows that only my senses could pierce. I couldn't read the energy well, it was located in the stones of the room, which aside from the strange energy anomaly didn't seem any different from the less ominous ones under my feet. Without thinking about it, the tip of my tongue brushed against the wound I'd made on my inner lip, nudging at the abused flesh just enough for a tiny taste of copper to leak through. I used it to heighten and focus my senses while keeping them masked.

"Lets just say," Kurama finished, "that when you see their bodies you'll be very surprised." I froze.

But it wasn't his words that sent shock ringing through my senses. Feedback from the room had made clear what was hiding in wait. Fear and instinct started pushing out pieces of the barrier equation, it didn't fully form around me without true focus, but a blue mist lit up my aura in the same moment this deep, gravely voice boomed at us from ahead, "Terrified, isn't that more like it?"

"Who said that?" Kuwabara gasped.

Menacing laughter bounced off of all the walls around us, "Ah, there is a door behind you. Please, take it." The demon was waiting inside for us. I could feel him clearly with my senses empowered by the blood.

Yusuke threw open the door, "Ladies first..." I think he forgot there actually was a lady in the group until I walked forward, because he rolled his eyes, "Uh...I didn't-"

I flicked my gaze at him in a way that clearly expressed "Shut up you dimwit" and the others followed after me. My senses were locked onto the demon hiding in the shadows. He was massive, seemingly made of rock with stalactite hair and a thick, segmented section of boulders on his back like a shell. He was like a cross between a turtle and a scorpion. The thing was ugly. That must be Genbu, the golem. Byakko was tense, his fur puffed out, and while he didn't say anything, I felt him confirm my guess as he gripped the fabric of my hoodie.

We stopped as a group near the first stone column. There was a metal grated sconce bolted to it with a handful of torches blazing inside. Yusuke grabbed one and tossed it to the dark edges of the room, revealing the first Saint Beast to them for the first time. "Welcome trespassers..." his eyes glowed yellow.

"Ah...okay, I'm surprised!" Kuwabara managed.

"I am Genbu of the Four Saint Beasts. Do you have a request before you die?" He was crouched over as he stared us down.

"Yeah," Yusuke began, "Tell me how a beast is a Saint, I'm lost..." That made me smirk. Kid was always asking dumb questions at the best times.

The golem ignored his question, "This staircase is the only way up to the tower. You can either defeat me and go up on your own, or be dragged there once you stop breathing." His tail waved through the air before punching a large crater into the ground to emphasize his words. "Why don't you all attack me at once? Then the last one left won't feel lonely."

"Ah, how are we supposed to fight against a talking rock!" Kuwabara was highly agitated as he spoke to Yusuke.

"I will fight him," Kurama's voice was soft as he took a few steps forward.

"Are you sure?" Yusuke questioned.

"It would be ill advised for all of us to attack without first discerning what his power is..." he turned back to all of us, "Besides, I can hardly let Hiei get all the credit for this mission now, can I?"

"Good luck, Kurama!" He paused looking back at me for just a moment and then nodding before walking out into the open area of the room.

"You want to die one by one? I can do that too." He sounded pleased.

"Yusuke..." I paused until I had the boy's attention. "Takara has entries on the Saint Beasts. Ugly here showed up before I had a chance to mention it."

"Great, what do they say?" I could tell he wanted the information to share with Kurama.

"I got the short, condensed version when I was reading before I told Botan I was coming-"

"Oh, that's what you were doing..." he interrupted.

"Yes, anyways, it's too dangerous for me to sit down and read in the middle of a fight like this, but when Kurama finishes this guy I'll take a look and see what I can find out."

"Speaking of which..." Yusuke called out so Kurama could hear as well, "Wouldn't it be better to try and attack him as a group anyways?"

"Obviously you are underestimating Kurama." Hiei spoke. I turned to look at him, his expression was unconcerned as he watched his red headed companion approach the rock beast. "Do you know why I chose him to be my partner? To avoid fighting him myself." His gaze flared hotly in my sense, red eyes burning. "Watch. He's more cutthroat than I am when it comes to battle. And unbelievably precise."

"I don't know guys, he's still a talking rock..." Kuwabara's response made me chuckle.

"Come on Kuwabara, Hiei doesn't seem like the type to spread praise around lightly...and, in case you've forgotten you've got a white mage in your party," I looked pointedly at his arms, which only half a year ago I'd pieced back together from a crippled, blindingly painful mess.

"Oh yeah," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Wait you're a white mage?"

I face palmed, I thought the kid would catch the video game reference. "It was a joke..."

"Sir," Kurama's polite voice brought our conversation to a close, "The first move is yours..."

Waiting for the first strike had always been the part I hated. You knew it was coming, the warning was in the air, in your opponents eyes, and you could almost taste the blood in your mouth before the blow actually landed.

When I was younger and hadn't quite understood my awareness and how it worked I ended up provoking many confrontations. I could feel dangerous intent and took it as a direct attack, rather than a possible outcome. I plainly showed my distaste for the darkness around me and in return it tried to beat the defiance out of me.

Over a decade later and I could still remember the look in a monster's eyes. It haunted my dreams, it plagued the edges of my senses in dire times like this. It glittered darkly from the rock golem's eyes as he decided how to kill the red headed demon that faced him. That brutal, cold blooded glee that spoke of bloody promises and pain. I knew that look and I hated waiting for them to act on it.

I'd let my senses stray too far into memory, so I was startled when Yusuke suddenly yelled, "Hey, stone man's doing something freaky with his tail!" He was pointing and my senses flashed outward again to analyze.

The golem's tail was sinking into the stone without damaging it. They simply merged and once the beast had merged with the stone, my senses were muffled. I had to taste blood again before I was able to tell that he was lifting his wickedly sharp stone barb out of a section of floor behind Kurama. The bastard was going to try and skewer him from behind. "Behind you!" I leaned forward as I yelled.

The tail shot out of the ground, Kurama had twisted and seen it. He was in the air dodging, but the sharp edge of the barb had sliced through the skin of his midsection. There was a tear in his pink school uniform and blood started seeping slowly from the wound. Senses heightened as they were, I watched the feedback from the redhead's body and started pulling up the proper equation for a single shot healing spell just in case.

The golem laughed, "Thanks to my body's structure, I can become one with any type of rock." He watched Kurama crouched on the ground in pain in much the same way a cat watches a mouse its planning to torture to death. "With a little rearranging, I can make any stone my tail."

"Uh, we're in trouble," Kuwabara grunted.

"And since this whole chamber is made of stone, I have you surrounded." He was wagging his tail in the air almost like a snake as he crouched. "Theres nowhere to run!"

Kurama was holding his midsection, wincing in pain as he staggered to his feet. Kuwabara seemed to be freaking out a little at the other redhead's condition, but it was Yusuke who spoke, "Oh man, now he's wounded..."

"Maybe we should help..." Kuwabara suggested.

Kurama looked back, and that's when I noticed the sly gleam in his eyes. "There is no need," he said, "I've been hurt, but he will not take me by surprise again." Something in the air, some subtle shift in what I was able to sense from him, set me at ease.

"Hah, wait until you see the full extent of my power," the golem admonished. "Then you won't be so confident." His terrible booming laughter echoed off the walls as his legs slowly started sinking into the floor. Down and down he went until he was fully merged with the stone.

I bit my lip a little, to heighten my senses, but it didn't work this time. Fully entrenched in the stone as he was, I couldn't sense him beyond a vague area. I froze. I'd never actually been blind before and I really didn't like it. All around, the only noises were the quiet breaths the group took and the snapping of the fire from the torches around the room. It was like being stalked by a shark in the unfathomable darkness of the ocean.

"He could be anywhere," Yusuke said as he looked around.

"I can't even sense Genbu's energy..." Kuwabara continued.

"Me either..." I admitted. It didn't escape my attention that Hiei was the only one of us not freaking out. I could sense him just standing calmly behind us and he slowly looked around, something about it made me feel better.

I didn't have time to think about it because the rock golem jumped up and out of the ground, aiming another attack for Kurama's back. This time, however, Kurama was ready and dodged away. As Kurama dodged through the air, Genbu's tail came streaking towards his back, just as his fist flew forward. The rock beast was attacking from both sides now.

Kurama deftly twisted in the air around both attacks and landed out of harm's way in a move that was quite impressive. Before he'd landed, though, the golem had already sunk back into the ground, leaving only a bit of disturbed rubble where he'd been. The room went quiet again.

The next time Genbu popped out of the ground, he went straight for Kurama's face, but the redhead jumped backwards, twisting like a gymnast, and evaded once more. Once again, the golem sunk into the ground. It registered on two different levels for me. "I just learned two things..."

"What's that?" Yusuke questioned.

"One, Kurama is freaking cool. Two, Genbu is a freaking pussy."

Kuwabara looked at me like I kicked a puppy. I don't think he was expecting such a crass word to come out of my mouth. My face was carefully blank to show just how much I cared. Yusuke laughed and slapped me on the back. It was him who taught me the word, after all.

Genbu's laugh surrounded the chamber again. "You'll never defeat me by just running away."

"Isn't that what he's doing?" I whispered to no one in particular.

"Yes, Genbu," Kurama's voice was as calm as ever, "I think you're right." That sly look was back. I was expecting him to make some super cool attack or something, but instead he flicked his long hair out and pulled a rose from underneath his silky, crimson locks.

This absolutely flabbergasted the boys, "A-a flower?" Yusuke actually stuttered.

"Uh, if he's trying to win the beast over, I don't think that's a good idea," that little gem was Kuwabara's and it made me break into a fit of giggles that had tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. Ugly and Kurama sitting in a tree? Even Hiei chuckled softly.

"Its no ordinary flower..." Kurama's energy focused on the plant. The petals started floating through the air and he flung it out suddenly, "Rose Whip!" The petals were stripped off and carried through the air currents. The thorny stem lengthened into a vine whip which cracked resoundingly before settling again.

As rose petals fell all around us Kuwabara stiffened, "It smells girly. I don't think I like it."

"Oh sure," Yusuke mocked, "I guess he should be a tough guy like you and be obsessed with kittens..."

I turned in a circle slowly, watching the petals fall like an eerie crimson rain. Byakko hopped down onto the floor and started pouncing at petals as they came down. He didn't stray far and kept between me and Hiei at the back of the group. "I think its lovely..."

"Yeah, but you're a girl." Kuwabara, stating the obvious. I just rolled my eyes and faced the fight again.

Kurama was looking around, watching, waiting, for Genbu to reappear and make his attack. I actually felt his awareness spark just before the golem attacked and his whip was already singing through the air as Genbu shot down from the ceiling.

"Its over..." Hiei had moved closer. He was now standing between Yusuke and I. "The thorns on Kurama's whip can slice through any substance, including solid stone."

I couldn't follow Kurama's movements with my eyes, they were that fast, but I'd seen them with my mind. He made multiple lashes with his rose whip, cutting the stone beast into chunks as he passed by. "Ah...How did you find me?"

"Your smell. After filling the room with the rose's sweet aroma your putrid odor was easy for me to find." Kurama had that same, polite and pleased smile on his face. I couldn't help but laugh once at his response.

"Well that's no fair. Why is it none of my fights can end that quick," Yusuke whined.

"You beat him in one blow! Now that's what I call a whip!" Kuwabara was excited.

"You idiots," Hiei of course, "It only looked easy because Kurama was the one fighting. If you had fought, you would have died in under a minute."

I think Hiei's power might actually be pissing Kuwabara off with absolutely no effort. "Why does everything you say make me wanna bash your face in!" The boy growled.

Byakko raced up my body and nuzzled my face as I tried to keep my laughter at bay, something about watching those two bicker was quickly making it impossible for me to keep my composure.

Yusuke was just heading to the door when Kurama and I tensed at the same time, the laughter dying in my throat. "It seems my fight is not over," the red headed demon spoke.

The pieces of Genbu's body started rocking on the ground before they shot right back together. He started laughing as he reassembled before our eyes. "Hahaha, who's beaten? Not me." He leered menacingly at Kurama, "You can disassemble me all you like. I'll come back together every time."

He stood up on his legs, "Actually, it makes for a very nice attack!" With that, his hands detached from his body and shot forward, along with some segments from his arms and his head. They were flying towards Kurama. With several flicks of his whip, Kurama turned the flying boulders into rubble.

"Right in the head!" Yusuke cheered. "Let's see him come back from that!"

But Genbu's pieces never landed. They floated up and started reassembling as he laughed that terrible, grating noise. He had formed behind Kurama. "Want to try again?" He mocked.

"Let's end this," he offered, "How would you like to be stoned to death?!" He shot his hands and face forward again in the same attack. I was starting to notice how very repetitive this guy was. He might have some pretty ballin' powers, but he wasn't smart enough to utilize them to a tactical advantage over Kurama, who was turning out to be quite the tactician. I guess that was working in our favor, though, so I'm not complaining.

Kurama sent his whip flying around, cutting the golem to pebbles to keep from getting hit. As soon as the red headed demon touched the ground, the pieces of Genbu's attacks came flying back towards him. He turned to face the flying cloud of rocks allowing several to hit his body instead of moving out of the way. I couldn't tell what his plan was, but my fist clenched in anxiety when I saw him fall to his knees after the golem had passed him, new scrapes on his skin and tears on his clothing.

"You're not even fighting back now. Those blows must have made you insane." Genbu decided.

Kurama started chuckling and turned back. My eyes widened in shock. This was the check mate. I could feel it in his energy now.

"Yes, I'm sure of it," the rock golem continued, "now you're laughing at nothing."

I didn't even pretend that I could hold back the raucous laughter bubbling up inside of me. I actually turned my back on them, hiding the maniacal gleam in my eyes, somewhat embarrassed. Genbu had finally reassembled...only his head was on his crotch and his limbs were all in the wrong places, and it was clear that it was not on purpose. I was trembling with glee at the ridiculous sight it made.

At least I wasn't alone, Kuwabara and Yusuke were laughing even louder and more obnoxiously than I was, "HAHAHA! Oh come on, I've heard of brass balls before, but come on!" Yusuke crowed.

"Yeah, I'd like to see him use a toilet!" Kuwabara giggled.

"Just when I thought he couldn't get any uglier..." I snickered.

"Ah! What did you do to me?!" Genbu was not pleased.

Kurama went on to explain that he stole the equivalent to the hypothalamus portion of the golem's brain, the part that regulates all the functions of your body, including the process of reassembling him. He'd sensed the energy signature it gave off when the rocks passed by in their attack. I couldn't really concentrate on his words as much as I would have liked to, I was really trying to get my breathing back in order and stop acting like a giggling jackass.

Byakko nipped my ear, quite hard, and the pain helped clear my head. I assumed that some of the intensity had been a release of nervous energy brought on by the fear I'd experienced during the fight. Get ready, the kitten hissed, you have work to do.

"Oh yeah..." I went to grab Takara from my bag as Genbu demanded Kurama give his missing piece back.

"Farewell..." Kurama said, before tossing it into the air and slicing it in half with his whip.

There was an explosion of yellow light from the golem. I raised Takara up just in time and as the energy washed over us I felt a new pulse within the sigil. Nothing else happened, no spirit was reborn, but when I looked the gem that represented North was gleaming a lively, glittering black. It worked, Byakko said, I can feel him. You'll be able to feel him, too, after you call him for the first time.

I didn't have time to think about it. At that moment, Kurama collapsed to the ground. Everyone trotted over to him. He had his arm around his original wound. "If Kurama is injured we're going to have some problems..." Hiei warned.

"I'm sorry, Yusuke..." The demon looked apologetic.

"Here, let me..." I knelt in front of him. His green eyes settled on me curiously. I focused my awareness around him, "Uh...I'm just going to scan your injury, okay?" It seemed polite to ask.

He seemed wary, but Yusuke laughed, "Don't worry, she knows what she's doing."

Kurama relaxed fractionally, but still seemed a bit tense. He did nod his assent, however, so I placed my palm over his chest and shut my eyes. The cut wasn't bad, which I'd already known. There hadn't been enough blood, but the hardness of the golem's tail had damaged his ribs.

There were little fractures running throughout a few of them. What's more is I could sense Kurama's vitality. I'd never scanned a demon this closely before and it was strange and fascinating to see just how much tougher he was than an average human, how much quicker he would naturally heal. They were just made of stronger stuff it seemed. I felt Kurama relax more as he became familiar with my energy and it's non-hostile nature.

"This isn't bad. I can fix this." I opened an eye. He nodded once more, interpreting the question in my eyes. I didn't want to take liberties. With his approval I pulled forth a healing spell and made little adjustments to the equation so that he got just want he needed while I rationed my energy. It would work to quicken his own fast healing to heal the bone fractures, while completely knitting his collection of scrapes and soothing away the bruises.

"Sorry about earlier..." his words were very soft, quiet and meant for me alone. I would have missed them all together if I weren't so focused on him at the moment. "I didn't mean to offend you." My focus was too narrowed for me to tell what he did, but I felt his hand brush gently against my hair. I cracked an eye open to see he'd pulled a rose petal from my hair.

It took me several seconds to figure out what the hell he was talking about. When I did I felt ashamed. I hadn't really been mad at him exactly and I didn't know that it had shown on my face. I didn't speak back, instead I just gave him an impression as I let the fully formed healing spell washed over him in a green glow. Don't worry about it. My fault.

Kurama didn't respond either, I could feel him analyzing the spell as it wrapped around him and knitted his injuries back together. His eyes were closed and there was the faintest smile on his mouth, "That is...refreshing. I feel like all my energy is restored."

I stood and backed away, grinning at him hesitantly when he opened his eyes. "Thank you, Sarai-san." I just nodded at his words, my grin curling into a smile.

As he got up and dusted himself off, I started to re-wrap Takara before I remembered I was supposed to be checking out the other Saint Beasts.

Yusuke saw and walked over, "Alright, lets see what the magic book has to say..."

A/N: Honestly, I've been waiting to see what everyone thinks of chapters 10 and 11. A lot of cool stuff happened and we got to see the story from a few new points of view. I'm also super excited for next week's chapter. It starts off with our first Ancestral Diary Entry via Kurenai Nakamura.

Please review and let me know how you feel

about the recent plot developments!