Hello everyone! I hope you all are doing well! Here is another chapter for Forbidden Love. I tried to make it long to appease the masses, since I probably won't post for a week or two. Thank you again to those who have kept up with this story. I apologize if this one is a bit dry in the beginning. I've been having a hard time finding my inspiration. Moving to a new place where you don't know anyone is stressful, but I will improve. :) I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. I only own Selina, Takashi, Takeo, Ryo, and Mariko. There's not much else to say, so enjoy!

Chapter 17: Dumb and Dumber

The boys and girl took off down the corridor, just in time to miss being squashed by the now collapsed stone ceiling. Selina ran up another spiraling staircase, the boys hot on her heels. They emerged out of the stairwell onto a giant stone platform. They were met with the sight of a small cylindrical tower, perhaps twenty feet in height, connecting to another giant one that most likely housed the other beasts. Upon the small stone tower stood their next opponent.

"Tiger."

The dark almost sensual lilt of Hiei's voice so close to her, sent tingles up and down Selina's spine. The woman looked to her right to find the demon standing beside her. He caught her gaze and Selina felt the heat bloom on her cheeks. 'Hell's bells, no man's voice should sound that sexy. And this is totally the wrong time to be fantasizing about him.' She mentally shook herself and looked back at Byako. He was indeed a tiger, a huge bipedal overly buffed white tiger with a green mane and tail tuft. The feline was wearing some kind of caveman clothing. His loincloth was very short and she was surprised, but glad, that his bits and pieces weren't dangling in view.

The tiger snarled at them, slamming the ground with his tail. That brought Selina's attention to his bottom canines, which were longer than any of his other teeth. She caught herself from hissing and baring her own fangs at him in warning. Everyone bent his or her knees in a defensive stance, except for Kuwabara who couldn't seem to stop staring at Byako in horror.

"Intruders will pay for coming this far into my territory!" Byako roared to emphasize his point.

"It's huge!" whined Kuwabara who stood to the right of Hiei.

"It's a pity they don't have him in a zoo," Yusuke said glaring at the feline demon.

Selina snorted. "Could you imagine the size of his litter box?"

Hiei smirked. "I'll go."

"Back off!" Kuwabara clenched his fists while turning to the short demon. "Didn't I say I'd take the next one?" With that said the boy started stomping across the stone floor like a stubborn child. Byako growled and Kuwabara halted in his tracks with a yelp. Selina shook her head.

"Don't think you're dominant because you tore apart Genbu. He was weak! He could talk to the demons in the city by prowling through the castle walls. That's why we didn't kill him ourselves." Byako brought up a hand, curling his fingers into a fist, probably imagining throttling the deceased stone golem. "But I'm a real beast. I have been caged in this place for too long, without prey, without bones, without blood! Until now. Humans! I will rip you apart and eat you myself!" He snarled.

"Gee, that's nice," replied Yusuke in his usual sarcastic voice.

Kuwabara took a couple steps back, glancing behind him. "Uh guys, he thinks Selina is hu…"

A chorus of "Shut up fool!" and "Quiet Kuwabara!" were heard from the three remaining males. Selina was relieved the guys had silenced him, but was surprised to hear the two demons join her partner in protecting her identity. She glanced to her right to see a death glare on Hiei's face, and a frown on the fox's. Poor Kuwabara was shocked and confused as to why everyone had just yelled at him

"Remember what we were conversing about earlier Kuwabara? Selina's energy." Kurama gave the boy a pointed look.

"Oh. Sorry!" Kuwabara glanced at the hybrid female with regret. She nodded at him.

"Hiei! Kurama!" The two males tensed as Byako called out to them with his unpleasant gravelly voice. "I'll feed your bodies to the Fugaki!" The tiger threw back his head and roared again.

A tremor shook the platform as it had done to the hall they'd previously traversed. Slowly, parts of the stone around them started breaking apart. Selina gasped as she felt the stone start to give away beneath her. She leapt backwards onto solid rock, squeaking as her back came up against a hard chest. An arm snaked its way around her waist, physically lifting her off the ground. She was swung away from the edge of the fallen platform and then shoved close to the wall of the spiraling tower they had exited. Selina caught herself and spun around to see Hiei glaring back at her.

The rumbling had finally stopped. "Thanks," Selina whispered.

"You're pathetically clumsy onna."

A hiss escaped the woman's lips as she glared at the demon. "Jerk!"

Hiei "Hn"ed and turned to ignore her.

Selina rolled her eyes. 'He protects me then insults me. Asshole. Why the hell am I attracted to him again?' Her thoughts were broken when she noticed just how much of the platform had fallen. A large chunk had been destroyed, leaving a thin stone bridge as the only way to reach what was left of their plateau.

"Apparently this guy likes breaking things with the sound of his voice," Yusuke muttered.

"Thank Kami he doesn't sing opera," Selina smirked at Yusuke, who returned it.

"It's a long trip to the ground. I'll send you all there with my roar unless you come and fight me. Of course your weak bodies will be crushed either way."

The hybrid female crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed at the tiger's arrogance.

"That monster thinks he so tough!" the tall idiot yelled.

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke grabbed his friend's shoulder trying to halt his intent to attack the demon.

"Step off!" The boy shoved Yusuke into Kurama.

"Damnit," whispered the punk, annoyed by the tall teen's stubbornness.

"You really think you can beat him?" Hiei looked at the weak human with doubt. The most the boy could do was become a tasty distraction for the hungry tiger, while he, Yusuke, and the onna attacked him.

"Well of course half-pint," the teen said in irritation, sweat dripping off his brow. "In fact, I'm not scared at all." Kuwabara struck his manly pose.

Selina raised an eyebrow. "So I guess your legs are shaking because you're excited." And indeed the teen was trembling.

"I'm just scared of heights Selina!" With that Kuwabara squared his shoulders and started forward.

"This isn't the time to pretend you're tough," Yusuke muttered through clenched teeth.

"Leave me alone Urameshi!" With tense hunched shoulders Kuwabara proceeded once more to stomp towards the tiger on steroids.

"You don't think you can overpower me with just one human, do you?" Byako was baring his teeth in a silent snarl, his upper lip twitching. His eyes were wide-open, pupils narrowed. He was one pissed kitty.

"Let's fight Byako monster!" Kuwabara called out to his enemy, fist raised in the air.

To everyone's surprise the tiger started laughing. "Oh please, I can't stay angry if you make me laugh."

"I'm serious! Come down here so I can knock your lights out!"

"Stop it! I could tear you into little pieces with just the hairs on my mane." The large feline was too smug.

"Oh really!" was all the articulate teen could respond with.

Byako pulled out a few forest green strands from the top of his head, blowing on them, causing them to glow and float towards Kuwabara. Out of nowhere four mutant cats, the same color as their maker's mane, dropped down onto the stone floor in front of the orange haired boy. They were hideous. A pair of horns sat atop their head curving downward, their eyes were bug eyed and lidless, and their maws were all sharp fangs and lipless.

Selina tensed at the sight. "This isn't going to be pretty," she muttered. The other three males had similar looks of dread or doubt.

"These beasts are but a small part of myself. Like me they are hungry, and you are the perfect meat. They don't like sharing, so you might feel a little tug of war." As if on cue one of the mini beasts leapt at their intended prey, slashing him across the chest with razor-like talons.

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke yelled. Selina's nose twitched when the scent of blood blew by on the breeze.

"The cuts aren't too deep. He was lucky this time, though I don't know for how much longer." The three males looked at their smallest companion. Her two fists were clenched, a frown upon her face, as she sniffed the air. She caught their gazes and nodded to confirm her words were true.

Grunting in pain Kuwabara stood up off the ground, holding his chest. "That was a freebie. Spirit Sword!" he bellowed.

For once Byako looked a little shocked. He hadn't been expecting this turn of events. "Ah so you can use your spirit energy as a weapon. Very impressive," he sneered," but I'm afraid it won't aid in your survival for very long!"

Kuwabara started swinging his sword at the mutated felines as they pounced on him. Again their claws wounded him. The group tensed, knowing their teammate was in trouble. They could only watch as the beasts repeatedly leapt at him from all sides, making it near impossible for the boy to defend himself.

"Get your back against the wall!" Yusuke shouted at his friend. The teen ignored him, slashing his sword at the creatures, only to have them bound away.

"He has no strategy. He's just swinging his sword with the grace of a flyswatter. That's no way to survive!" The fire demon sneered with disdain.

"You forget Hiei, he's only had this power for six months. You can't expect him to be a master swordsman like you," Selina said with a frown at the male beside her. Hiei gave her a weird look, then his expression changed to a dry glare.

"Then he shouldn't be here."

Selina couldn't say much to that, because she kind of agreed with him. 'He's just a kid,' she thought, inwardly cringing whenever the boy got hurt. 'He shouldn't have to go through this, at least not alone.' Anger started creeping through her veins, as Kuwabara yelped and fell to one knee. She may not have been as close to him as she was to Yusuke, but she still felt protective over him. 'Just a kid,' she growled in her mind.

Selina gasped as all four of the monsters descended on the fallen boy.

"Kuwabara!" She and Yusuke bellowed.

"Let me take them instead," Yusuke shouted, "I know you wanna fight this one but they're way too many of those things to swing a sword at. My shotgun blast just makes more sense okay? C'mon Kuwabara!"

"We have to do something Yusuke! They're going to shred him to bits!" Selina said anxiously as the mutant cats continued their attacks on the poor boy.

"If you're going to take the time to switch you might as well all fight me at once. After all, nothing brings me more pleasure than a big group kill!" Byako chuckled maliciously

"Ok Kuwabara, I don't care if you agree or not. I'm coming in to help!"

"Stay right there! I'm not asking for help and if you come up here I swear I'll turn this sword on you! I'm no wimp Urameshi, and I'm not stopping unless Byako comes down and kills me himself!"

"Don't say that!" Selina said shocked at the boy's stubbornness.

"Ah if that's your choice of death then fine. Beasts, you may now tear off his arms and legs and divide them amongst yourselves, but leave the body for me so I can finish him!"

Kuwabara turn and ran back towards the bridge. "Sorry monsters but Genkai just fixed these arms and I'm not breaking them again!" He wasn't fast enough to dodge a couple hits from the jumping felines.

Yusuke surged forward, taking the two demons and hybrid by surprise. Selina went to follow her partner on reflex but was blocked by an arm clothed in magenta. The fox shook his head at her questioning look. She growled under breath but stayed between the two demons, watching as Yusuke ran to the middle of the bridge.

"Hey don't die for being stubborn you dope! Let me take over! There's no way you can beat all four of those things by swinging your sword around. Think about it!" Yusuke yelled at his dumb teammate.

Kuwabara looked back, actually using his brain. "He's right!" The boy turned on his heels and sprinted for the bridge once more.

Byako guffawed. "After all that he finally has the sense to flee, but it's too late now. Beasts! Chase him to his friends and kill them all!"

"There you see. In the end the fool runs away." Hiei stated smugly.

"He won't make it," Kurama murmured.

"Don't worry, I'll go as soon as he screams for help."

The four watched as the beasts chased down Kuwabara, almost close enough for Yusuke to intervene.

"Ha you know you can't escape," the tiger taunted.

To the shock of everyone, the teen stopped in mid run and pivoted back towards the monsters chasing him. "Who said anything about escaping? Sword get longer!" The cats were nearly upon him. "Eat this!" Kuwabara impaled the beasts with his elongated sword, immediately halting them on the bridge.

Selina's eyes widened in surprise, her jaw slightly open. The other guys were wearing similar expressions.

"It's true I couldn't win by swinging my sword, but I could win by stabbing it after I got all four of these suckers lined up. Heh heh."

"Nice one Kuwabara!" Yusuke chuckled.

Selina let out a huge sigh of relief and grinned. "That was awesome."

"Hn, yes he actually did something clever." The short demon smirked.

"Watch it Hiei, no use getting jealous on me just 'cause I'm good!"

Selina snickered at the taunting tone in the boy's voice. The cloaked male turned his famous glare on the female beside him. She smirked at him in return. Over her shoulder Hiei could see Kurama was watching them with an amused glint in his eye.

"Well what are you going to do now?" Yusuke pointed at the beasts still stuck on the spirit sword.

"I don't know, some sort of monster shish kabob now," Kuwabara laughed like an idiot.

Byako scoffed. "Those beasts are still a part of me and even though they're chained up doesn't mean they can't chase you down. They just need more energy!" The tiger snarled. His creations glowed red as they fed upon their master's offering.

Kuwabara turned tail and ran back towards his companions, the beasts still following behind him. The others tensed and made room for the teen to run past. Selina would have laughed at the ridiculous sight, had Kuwabara's health not been in jeopardy.

"Do you think he knows it's a circle?" Hiei commented.

"He can't be that stupid?" Selina murmured to the male beside her. Kuwabara ended up making his way around the whole tower, extending some of his energy around the opposite side to meet up and latch the rope of spirit energy together.

"You just twist and seal!" The boy grinned and turned towards his companions. Selina glanced at the other guys and burst out laughing at the hilarious looks of disbelief on their faces. Her reaction received dry looks.

"That's a little move I like to call the spirit sword monster beast donut!" Kuwabara puffed out his chest in pride.

"Idiot," the fire demon sounded exasperated.

"I think monster beast donut is a perfect name," Kurama responded.

Yusuke chuckled and turned towards their large hairy enemy. "Excuse me sir, I don't like this one. You got chocolate with sprinkles?"

"Or old fashioned glaze," Selina dramatically sighed," damnit, now I really want a donut. A round of donuts on me after we wipe the floor with these morons!"

"I'll hold you to it!" Yusuke smirked.

Byako growled low in his throat. "My own prey mocks me. I will not tolerate that!"

Kuwabara's confidence seemed to grow as he turned and glared at his feline opponent. "Heh, you best get ready to tolerate a lot more you poor excuse for a cat!"

"Ouch," Selina snickered.

"Burn," Yusuke grinned.

"My own prey. I cannot allow this disgrace to continue." Byako did what he was good at and roared. Unlike the other times a bolt of lightening shot down from the sky and obliterated the small tower they'd exited from.

Selina gasped and stepped back, shivering at the static from the attack as it raised goose bumps along her skin. The group turned to face the feline demon.

"Tear up the castle however you want. It doesn't change the fact that your little monsters are beat and you're about to be next," Kuwabara smirked and started strutting across the stone bridge once more.

Byako threw his fist into the tower's parapet. "Stupid human," he snarled, "I am the white tiger Byako, one of the Four Saint Beasts and the greatest predator to have ever lived!"

"Yeah yeah, I think you said that already. And I'm Kuwabara, so let's go!"

With that, a long battle ensued. It seemed the carrot top was winning due to all the slashes he'd rained down on Byako. However, the boy grew fatigued while the tiger increased in size. Kurama, smart as always, deduced that Byako was stealing Kuwabara's energy. Selina, Yusuke, and the fox looked on with dread, fearing for their friend who by all accounts should have lost. Kuwabara shocked them all with a brief bout of intelligence and emptied all of his spirit energy, and then some, into the Saint Beast. Byako's body, even with the extra pounds gained from all the spirit energy, was not large enough to contain it all.

"Looks like it worked," Kuwabara's words were forced, due to the loss of his energy.

"What worked?" Byako actually sounded anxious. Though, if someone's body was vibrating as hard as his was, they'd feel fear as well.

The boy pushed himself off the floor to sit back on his heels, a grin plastered on his face. "It's like my sister always says, 'It's not good to eat too much food in one sitting.'"

"Sister huh? That explains a lot." Yusuke said with a chuckle. Everyone watched as Byako glowed with the increasing energy. All the contained energy caused Byako to explode and the floor beneath him to fracture. The tiger fell off the plateau and to his assumed death.

"Kitty overboard!" Selina grinned and high-fived her partner.

"The amount of spirit energy Kuwabara transferred created a force that was more than Byako's body could contain," stated the smart fox.

"Sounds like an awful case of gas if you ask me!" Yusuke crossed his arms and laughed.

"You'd know Yu."

"Hey!"

"Quiet Urameshi!" Kuwabara still sat on his heels, wafting the air towards his face and breathing in deeply. "I'm trying to concentrate here ok? I have to breathe in the guy's fumes. It's filled with my spirit energy."

Selina made a disgusted face at him. The rest of the team walked up to their worn out comrade.

"Actually, your energy returned automatically."

"Oh, well, eh, you can never be too sure," Kuwabara said in response to Kurama's information. Selina stood with her arms crossed and raised an eyebrow at the boy. She wondered about his intelligence sometimes.

Yusuke fisted his hands in pockets, smirking. "Hey, I don't know why you're still on the ground Kuwabara. I haven't even broken a sweat."

Selina glanced to her right at Hiei and Kurama, rolling her eyes at them with a small grin. Amusement shone in the fox demon's eyes' and Hiei looked irritated.

"Very funny Urameshi. You're taking the next one."

A familiar ringing sound caught their attention. Yusuke took his purple comm. out of his pocket and flipped it open. Selina went to stand beside him so she could see the screen. Botan appeared on the screen, her eyebrows furrowed. She was frustrated, that much they could tell.

"Selina, Yusuke, this is Botan, do you copy?"

"Sure."

"We're here Botan," Selina said, trying to make up for her partner's bored greeting.

Kuwabara eyes got wide and a grin appeared on his mug. "Hey! Tell her I say hi!"

Selina shook her head, amused at the lovesick look on his face. The guy was incorrigible.

"How are things in Maze Castle? Please tell me you've defeated three out of the four Saint Beasts by now?"

Yusuke gave her an incredulous look. "What? Are you crazy Botan? We've barely beaten two. These guys aren't easy."

"I understand Yusuke, but that's not fast enough. The city is losing its grip. The mayor declared a riot alert thinking these people are just insane. So far the police detained most of those taken over by the Makai, but it won't be long before the police are infected as well."

Selina spoke before Yusuke could make a smartass comment. "We're going as fast as we can Botan. We'll worry about the Beasts, you worry about killing those insects."

"Easier said than done Selina. Have you contacted Mari yet?"

Selina sighed and shook her head. "No, I've been a bit distracted. I'll call her as soon as I can." Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Kuwabara now standing up behind Yusuke, peaking over his shoulder with his idiot grin.

"Alright, I'll talk to you both soon."

Kuwabara grabbed the comm. from Yusuke. "Uh see ya later Botan!" His face fell.

"She hung up," said Yusuke swiping the comm. back and tucking it back into the pockets of his jumpsuit. He narrowed his eyes at his rival. "Stupid, you can't be too injured if you're still flirting."

Selina giggled. "Tell me Kuwabara, do you hit on every girl you see?"

A slight blush appeared on the boy's cheeks'. "No, just the pretty ones."

She smirked at Yusuke. "Are all teenage boys like him?"

"Well ya, you should know that. I'm sure Kuwabara hasn't been the first guy to hit on you," Yusuke said, raising an eyebrow, confusion in his eyes.

"Umm, well to tell you the truth you guys are the first males I've spent a lot of time with that weren't family."

"What! How the hell is that possible?"

Selina took a step back at Yusuke's outburst. He, as well as the others, looked surprised. Even Hiei had an eyebrow raised. A dry laugh escaped her lips as she glanced at the ground.

"My brother and Sensei are extremely overprotective."

"No shit!" Yusuke looked perturbed.

"You have a brother?" Kuwabara came up to stand beside Yusuke, inspecting her like she was a species he'd never seen before. Well technically, that was true, but she wasn't going to elaborate on that.

"Not by blood. He basically raised me, so he's the closest thing I have to a brother."

"So you've never been around guys your own age?" Yusuke crossed his arms, a weird look on his face that Selina couldn't place. She felt a bit wary, wondering where he was going with this line of questioning.

"Um, no?"

"So you've never been kissed?"

Heat exploded on Selina's cheeks and her eyes widened. It was silent for a moment as it took all her control not to look at a certain demon. She could say for certain, she'd never been so mortified in her life. Frustration and humiliation made her tense and glare at her naïve partner.

"What the fuck kind of question is that!" She yelled, clenching her fists into a tight ball and stalking up to the boy.

"What?" Yusuke yelled back, "It's just a question!"

"Why does it matter if I've been kissed or not?"

"I'm just saying, you're seventeen…"

"Eighteen actually. My birthday just passed." Selina spoke in a calm voice, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh really? Happy Birthday." Yusuke mirrored the pose and tone of voice.

"Thanks."

"So you're eighteen…"

"Kami Yusuke! Shut up! Have you ever been kissed?"

"Yeah!" The two were back in each other's faces, their fists balled at their sides.

"You were half dead, that doesn't count!"

"She was still kissing me when I woke up! It counts!"

"No it doesn't!"

"Yes it does!"

The three other members of the team that had seemingly been forgotten for the moment watched the bipolar argument with different levels of shock on their faces. Kuwabara was completely lost. All he'd understood was that Selina hadn't been kissed and Yusuke had. Kurama's eyes widened a bit as he realized why Selina fought Yusuke so vehemently. A wicked glint flashed in his eyes as he stared at his fellow demon out of the corner of his vision. The fire demon's face was utterly blank. Kurama's keen eyes observed the other signs he failed to hide. Hiei's body was as tight as a bowstring, his jaw clenched so hard Kurama could hear his teeth grinding. The fox knew he'd come to the same epiphany.

The two quarreling teens halted their yelling match when the stone beneath their feet began to shudder. A low grumbling sound drummed in their ears, slowly increasing in volume. Shocked familiarity crossed all their faces as the loud roar of their assumed dead enemy resonated in the air.

"Don't, tell me." Yusuke shared an uneasy glance with his partner. All the anger from their recent argument was immediately forgotten.

"He's alive." The soft tenor of Kurama's voice did nothing to alleviate their apprehension.

Selina gasped as the ground began to fracture, thin veins slithering around them.

"Hurry, it's collapsing!"

Selina didn't need to be told twice. She sprinted for the tower where once Byako had stood, making sure the guys were right behind her. Once they were mere yards away from their destination, Selina crouched and with all her strength pushed off the ground. Her hands gripped the parapets, and using the momentum of her jump, she pulled herself up and vaulted over to land on the top of the tower. There was a flash of black and then Hiei was standing beside her.

She panted a bit and her body shivered, adrenaline still coursing through her veins. Selina made the mistake of looking at the demon beside her. Blood red irises locked onto her pale blue ones. For a moment, every sound faded into the background, and all her attention was on the black-haired man not two yards away from her. His eyes were intense, searching hers, looking for an answer to a question she didn't know.

Her lips parted on a silent gasp as pleasant tingles raced down her spine, to settle in her stomach. She'd felt this way before, wanted to deny its existence. Desire. She desired Hiei with a growing intensity the longer she was in his presence. No, she couldn't, wouldn't give in. Selina knew if she let herself fall for him, the landing would be fatal.

"Selina!"

Reality collided with her senses, causing her to close her eyes and break their gaze. She took in a deep breath and turned around, opening her eyes to see the boys had made it up the stairwell safely. Yusuke and Kurama flanked her sides, and she was grateful for this. Hiei stood beside Yusuke, and Kuwabara beside the short demon. The five of them gazed over the side of the tower. They were so high up; Selina could barely see the bottom. It made her stomach churn.

The roaring had subsided a bit and morphed into a booming laugh. The companions turned to look at the large open stone archway leading into the main tower.

"So human, you've proven to be worthy prey."

"Aren't you…dead yet?" Kuwabara stared down the hallway with no fear.

"Ha! I'm very much alive! And to reward your strength, I'm inviting you into my lair, my room of hell." The tiger's bass voice sounded more menacing when it was amplified by the perfect acoustics of the solid walls.

"What if we say no?" Kurama sent a cold glare in the direction of their enemy.

"You don't want to say no," Byako said, his laugh laced with malice.

"Just lead the way Byako. I'll go wherever you want." Kuwabara stood tall, brimming with confidence.

Selina rolled her eyes and murmured under her breath. "I hope the devil knows how to tango, 'cause we're about to dance."

I skipped part of Kuwabara's fight only because it started to get a bit boring to write. I love that kid but some of his fights just drag on unnecessarily. Comments are always welcomed! Until next time!