Keep going Kuwabara! You can handle the intense situation! It's this or watch your friends die before your eyes. And the last time that happened you ripped apart a major important barrier.
A hysterical sob tore from him as he brushed the last of the rocks from Hiei's face. Tears burned his eyes and blurred his limited vision as he saw the tremendous breath Hiei took the moment fresh air washed over his newly exposed face. Kuwabara felt back onto his butt, relief rocking through him.
"Holy Hell, Shortstuff," Kuwabara said in a shaky voice, "You can't go scaring me like that."
Kuwabara's head snapped up to stare intently at Hiei's form as the rocks resting on the man's stomach shifted from movement. Hiei's eyes opened a fraction, red glistening from beneath downcast eyelashes. "Oaf," he breathed through barely parted lips.
A hoarse laugh choked Kuwabara. If Hiei was insulting him, then he was just fine. Riding on a second wind, Kuwabara helped Hiei move off the rest of the rocks.
"Welcome back from the Dead," Kuwabara said cheekily. He and Hiei grasped hands and Kuwabara pulled the shorter man into a sitting position.
Hiei scoffed. "It will take more than a toss through the air to bring me down. Or do you think me weak, human?"
"Never."
For a moment the two sat staring at each other, consumed by the feeling of connectedness they rarely shared. The feeling was surreal and the sheer oddity of it lulled them into a state of calm and serenity. The fact that both were still alive had them drowning in a sense of total right. In the next second the harsh reality of their Hellish mission slammed into them and knocked them to the ground, Yusuke's beaten form landing heavily on top of them.
Kuwabara grunted as Yusuke ground is elbow right against the gash on his temple in his shaky attempt to regain his feet. At this point he was ignoring the constant cry of his ribs in favor of throwing his weight into roughly shoving Yusuke's bulky form off himself and Hiei. Something about Hiei's smaller frame had Kuwabara panicking about how much he could physically bear and if the sudden combine weight of Yusuke and himself would have crossed that limit. Granted Kuwabara could remember Hiei holding his own weight at the Gate of Betrayal. Worry still chewed his ass as he carefully helped Hiei sit back up then turned to glare at Yusuke.
"Hate to break your lovefest, but we're getting our asses kicked! If you haven't noticed, we're being swatted left and right like we're freakin' flies!"
"It's all shit!" yelled the worn down demon thrashing about. Kuwabara spied Kurama clinging to a spot on its back it couldn't reach. Though the demon's hide was sleek and ridiculously hard to penetrate, Kurama had embedded a plant with razor sharp thorns into its body using the weak point he and Hiei had made. Several steely vines wrapped securely around the length of one of his arms. Crimson locks clung to the sweat pouring down his face as he pushed his flagging energies into working the remaining vines throughout the massive creature's nervous system. If he could just connect to the most vital parts he could take down the rampaging nutcase with a single command. "It's all trash, filth! Demons, humans, Gods; they all deserve Death! And I will deliver every single being onto Her!"
Kuwabara watched in horror as the demon flopped onto it back, grinding Kurama into the unforgiving ground and knocking him out cold. Beside him he felt Hiei unsteadily gaining his feet while Yusuke tensed in outrage, both their energies spiking slightly. His own energies sparked but failed to flare into a full flame let alone the roaring wildfire that was needed to finish the mission.
In his unconsciousness Kurama's figure slipped down far enough for the demon to grab him up in hand and yank him free from its body. Kurama's head lolled over the demon's clenched fingers, vibrant red obscuring the wide eyed gaze of his three teammates leaping to his rescue. With a mighty roar that dangerously shook the cliffs they stood atop, the demon charged to meet with his assailants head on, carelessly flinging Kurama's limp body behind him.
"Kurama!" Kuwabara yelled in terror. He saw it all in slow motion, watching as Kurama rose in a graceful arch in the air, long hair flying wildly all around him. As if a hook was caught on his shirt between his shoulder blades, Kurama began to fall backwards, right off the edge of the cliff into the depths of a raging body of water teeming with demonic creatures Kuwabara couldn't even imagine.
Just as the tips of Kurama's shoes disappeared over the edge, Yusuke, Hiei and Kuwabara collided with the Hell bent demon. Or more Yusuke and Hiei started trading blows with the demon. Kuwabara didn't pause as he flashed past the fighting trio. His goal was the cliff and below. His feet pounded into the ground, spitting up bits of rocks as he funneled energy into his gait.
The strength his energies gave him had his muscles eating up the distance to the cliff. Kuwabara didn't falter in his stride as the lip of the cliff sprung up.
It was free fall from there.
Wind rushed him, drowning out the sound of the fight above him. It was a long stretch between the cliff top and the water level. Kuwabara could easily see Kurama's flamboyant hair crashing into the water below. Within seconds, he was swallowed from Kuwabara's view by the hungry sea. The depths were a dark purple instead of the blue-green on the human planes. Speeding toward the surface, Kuwabara hoped that was the only dissimilarity between the two.
