Hello hello! Reviews are always appreciated! I thank everyone deeply who has reviewed, followed, or favorited, even viewed! It really means a lot! :)

As promised, I am going to start including the Poll Story summaries in my A/Ns. I think this one is one of my favorites thus far, I adore the feel of it; here is the summary for: Ghosts of Our Past.

Summary: The Kiikimono are an ancient, powerful species of demon whose true whereabouts are unknown; as the Makai is threatened with a new war, three former comrades must band together in an attempt to find an old ally turned enemy of one who could help them locate the secretive race that could save all 3 worlds; but as they venture closer to their goal, long kept secrets, old lies and dark pasts threaten to tear them apart.

Time Period: Post Series.

Fun Fact: The Kiikimono are based off of Shizen from 'Card Reader Tales & Tongues' :P Helpful old woman, she is.

Chapter 24: Kill Switch

Kurama emerald eyes widened in the darkness, a deep chill quaking it's way through his momentarily paralyzed body as he directed a cautious glance towards the fire demon, "Can you feel that?" He questioned quietly, beginning to dig the map out of his back pocket clumsily.

"Hurry up, before it stops," Hiei commanded sternly as he came to a halting stop above, leaping from a tree to the fox's side; it was unmistakably Kira's energy.

Yusuke gave a large shudder, the hair along his body standing on end as Kurama hastily slammed the map to the grass, "What is that…?" He spoke shakily; if something was big enough for him to sense, it was normally bad.

Kuwabara had broken into a dampening sweat; his muscles trembling as he leaned against a tree for support, "That would be a big bad feely…" He murmured, grasping his own arms with his hands as he tried to fend the feeling of fear from his chest.

"It's Kira," Taryuu spoke hesitantly through gritted teeth. He knew she must be in distress to emit such a massive amount of energy in one blast, something was wrong with her. He watched as Kurama began backing away from the map, the fire demon crouched in front of it, shifting his crimson eyes between the horizon and the map before giving a decisive point to one of the double circled caves.

"It's this one," He was positive of this, there were absolutely no other possible caves in the area that was emitting this distinctive energy signature; the Jagan really did come in handy when he needed it most.

"Good job, the mangy little wolf!" Yusuke said excitedly as himself, Kuwabara and Taryuu began to head in the direction of the selected cavern, while Kurama and Hiei trailed behind them slightly, their expressions significantly more grim than the rest.

"It appears you may get your desired duty after all, fox," Hiei spoke coldly, making sure the trio ahead couldn't hear the exchange.

Kurama almost recoiled from the harsh statement, fixing his emerald eyes upon the grass as they walked. He wouldn't do it, he couldn't do it, not anymore. She was one of them now, and she was only in this situation because of him, "She's been pulled back before," He stated, more to convince himself than anything, "We'll just have to do it once more,"

Tobikuma chuckled deeply as he cleaned the remainder of fresh blood from his fingertips; everyone's blood had a different taste to it, especially the little ice demoness'; ice demon blood runs significantly colder than any other type, and he enjoyed the distinct difference it held, "Perhaps we pushed her a tad too far," His black eyes scanned the floor, a glistening layer of ice atop the sand. Kanami scrambled to her feet, quickly resuming her binds upon the bloodied woman before them. Her entire body was trembling from the way a certain pair of deep brown eyes glinted at her maliciously from where they were suspended, "I wouldn't suggest allowing your power to waiver a second time," Tobi smiled kindly, "She seems to have taken quite the liking to you, little psychic,"

Kanami looked at him with wide crystal eyes before returning her gaze to Kirazuki, another tremor raked her body with fear at the low growl that arose from her throat; everything about her current demeanor was predatory, but it was that look of pure murder in her chocolate eyes that frightened her the most, "Master.. What's happened to her..?"

"This is what we do," Tobi spoke almost condescendingly, as if it was common knowledge, "This is our bodies way of preserving us: our inner animal takes hold of everything we do to ensure our survival. As I have said before, we are truly, undeniably incredible creatures," His face was laced with admiration; a part of him wishing to unleash the wolf and put her to a true test, but he certainly knew better, especially the look in her eye as she traced every movement of Kanami, "Does her gaze make you uncomfortable, little psychic?"

Kanami nodded nervously, "She looks at me as if I am her prey.."

Tobikuma chuckled gently as he beckoned Tatsumi to him, using his talons to shred the bottom of her shirt into a fine strip; he paced his way behind the wolf, his foot kicking the remains of her tattered tail that lay on the ground. With one swift motion, he looped the strip of fabric around her head, fending off her thrashing and pressing his knee into the empty socket that once housed her tail. He worked quickly in tying the strip at the back of her head, across her burning chocolate eyes, "Is that better?" He questioned as he withdrew his presence.

Kanami nodded yet again, "Will she go back..?" She asked slowly; she was growing quite tired. She didn't know exactly how long they had been down here, but concealing all 4 of them and binding the wolf was quite taxing on her.

"Onccce the threat has diminissshed," Tatsumi hissed as she approached Kira, raising a single scaled hand with the desire of stroking the wolf's face, but when her fingers grazed her cheek she was instead met with a vicious snap of her jaws.

Tobikuma took hold of Sumi's arm, gently pulling her away from Kira, "And that threat is us," He began to trail a circle around Kira's hanging figure, "Take heed, sisters. We may be a formidable enemy as we are; but when we are as she is now, we are truly Apex predators,"

"Let's go get our dog back!" Yusuke grinned with determination from the caves opening. This was the one, and they were almost home. And Keiko wouldn't kill him when he got back.

"Yusuke," Kurama called before he began to enter, "Before we go…" He paused, trying to think of how he could possibly explain what they may face beyond that entrance, "Do you recall when Kira tried to kill Hiei, back in the Ningenkai before we departed to Genkai's?"

Yusuke snickered slightly, "Which time?" He taunted, not quite picking up on the severity of the fox's words.

"The kill switch…" Taryuu muttered with widened deep navy eyes as he stared into the depths of the cave, which almost instantly split into 3 separate paths just beyond its entrance, "I had a feeling…"

"Wait, what's that?" Kuwabara asked from where he stood beside Yusuke. They were definitely in the right place; although the energy signatures were still masked, he definitely had a bad case of 'the creeps', and it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"I've only had it happen to me once.. It's like our survival mode," Taryuu explained grimly, "We just.. We lose control of everything: our mind, our body.. We fight to survive until everything in our way is dead, or we die trying.. But she was in this state when she tried to kill the fire demon?" He questioned curiously towards Kurama. In his own experience, and any others he knew of, he had never seen an instance where the desired target wasn't neutralized.

Kurama nodded in confirmation, "She was brought out of it, but yes. She explained herself what had happened,"

"Huh," Taryuu chuckled gently, his deep eyes gazing at the back of Hiei, "Must have a soft spot for the little guy,"

"You think she's already fighting in there?" Yusuke asked solemnly as he stared into the cave.

"Kanami is still blocking their traces, so I would presume she isn't," Kurama rationalized as he began to walk into the cave, the rest beginning to follow behind him, "Kuwabara, can you tell which path we should take?" He and the others may have been able to feel the ominous air, but their orange-haired friend had always had a knack for pinpointing it.

Kuwabara's eyes darted between the three separate pathways, trying to sort through the heavy atmosphere. He straightened his spine as he stared directly into the darkness, he was positive, "Dead ahead, you guys,"

"Master, Mistress…" Kanami's haunting baby blue eyes opened, shifting them slowly to the side, "I believe we have guests approaching," She spoke cautiously, "One is our dragon brother.."

"Ahh," Tobikuma chuckled, gently clapping his clawed hands together, "It appears the Detective and friends have come for you after all, little Kirazuki," He stroked a single hand through Kira's long hair, disregarding the feral growl as he turned his eyes towards Kanami, "Beckon our hoards, little psychic,"

Kanami winced, timidly glancing towards the eagle, "Master.. It's been several days since I last rested… I.. I don't know if I have the strength to keep her and summon them…"

"Hm," Tobi debated only momentarily, continuing to pet the wolf's hair, "She seems subdued enough for now, beckon the hoards," He said casually, waving his hand in the air with a careless sigh.

Kanami's jaw clenched - Kira could easily snap the simple restraints, the majority of what was holding her was her own power. It may have been easy for the eagle to make such a call - he wasn't the one she clearly wanted to pursue. But an order was an order among Tobikuma and Tatsumi, and the psychic reluctantly dropped her bindings, reclosing her eyes, her entire body beginning to emanate a purple aura as she called to the reinforcements.

"How much longer do you think?" Yusuke grumbled, his legs growing tired from all the walking and his eyes growing sore from the strain of the darkness, at this point he was beyond ready for the normalcy of Ningenkai life, and they were so close to it.

"Shut it, Urameshi," Kuwabara retorted; the air within the cave was almost strangling him. He could tell they were close, and he could see a bend up ahead of them - he had a feeling that right beyond that bend was exactly what they were looking for. Yusuke could tell by his response that Kuwabara was troubled - part of him wanted to be able to feel what he felt, but perhaps it was a blessing he didn't have such a high awareness.

Kurama jaw tightened as an ominous presence seemed to rise up from behind them, "They've summoned the rest of the demons," He spoke almost cryptically, glancing towards his comrades cautiously.

Taryuu nodded stiffly, sensing them as they entered the far entrance; they were still quite some distance away, but Kanami wasn't even trying to hide them anymore, and that meant she knew they were there, "Kira first," Several heads nodded to this statement.

"I believe our goal lies just beyond this bend," Kurama feet slowed down subconsciously, "Before we go any further, we must all be on the same page,"

Hiei gritted his teeth together in irritation; they didn't have time for this nonsense, there was a hoard of demons heading their way, and they needed to get to the cavern before them, "We go in and kill them, that seems simple enough,"

Kurama shot him a cold look, his impatience would surely be the death of him someday, "It's obvious they are restraining Kira in some way. Whomever has the first opportunity to get to her and pull her back, do so, regardless of who. And then get her out of the area immediately, I highly doubt from the blast that she's in any condition to fight with us,"

"Don't release her unless she's back to normal," Taryuu warned darkly, his brows knitting with a glare ahead, "We'll have a whole different kind of enemy to deal with,"

"And save the psychic for me," Hiei smirked, he had wanted nothing more than to behead that little traitor from the moment they had realized her treachery.

Kurama nodded with a small chuckle, "Fair enough," He conceded as they finally rounded the bend, his emerald eyes squinting as they strained against the new welcoming glow of firelight.

Kuwabara's blood seemed to run cold as he gazed down into the massive cavern: Tobikuma and Tatsumi stood against the far wall, both had smug smiles that he wanted nothing more than to wipe from their faces. Kanami sat cross legged upon the dirt floor, her eyes closed with concentration, a pulsing lavender dome of protection surrounding her body; and in front of her hung Kira, who's ears shifted gently in their direction as they entered the area. His heart began to pound in his ears, "Those bastards…" Yusuke's jaw dropped, his deep brown eyes widening as they traced the little wolf: He was positive her silky crimson dress had been white when she had left.

Hiei followed their line of vision until they finally set on Kira, a fire welling in the pit of his stomach which he tried to subdue as he calculated the damage: Both ankles, both wrists, both hips, her shoulder had been skinned, her tail lay useless on the floor and various other wounds graced her abdomen, arms, legs and back; they were lucky she hadn't simply bled to death. It was likely only due to her being an ice demon - because their blood ran significantly colder than any other, it also meant it generally coagulated faster and seeped from the body slower. He was attempting, with much effort, to thwart off his own rage; he knew a clear head needed to prevail.

"Welcome to our den, Detective and company," Tobikuma continued to smile confidently, "Unfortunately our little Dark Moon won't be able to join you in your demise," His black eyes shifted to view behind them, his smile only growing, "I hope you don't mind, but we've taken the liberty of inviting some friends to play with you instead,"

Hiei's jaw tightened, one hand clenching at his side as the other found the hilt of his blade; the hoard had caught up with them quicker than anticipated. His gaze shifted towards the others, "We fight from the cavern,"

Kurama narrowed his eyes, nodding to this statement as the group simultaneously jumped from the entrance, although Kuwabara landed quite awkwardly due to his ankle, "They do not intend to fight us at the same time as the followers. Take them out first, and then we can deal with the three," He instructed as he pulled a rose from his hair, giving it a violent lash as it extended into his signature Rose Whip.

"Got it," Kuwabara and Yusuke said in unison, while Taryuu simply nodded, holding his hands out in front of him as his palms began to glow a simple blue.

They waited and they watched as the hoard began to pour through the entrance, hundreds running down the pathway, hundreds jumping from the ledge, and hundreds falling clumsily from it, landing awkwardly in ways Kurama was positive would break their bones; and they were all headed straight for them in a frenzy.

Yusuke held his hand out in front of him, the opposite hand finding it's way to his wrist to hold it steady as his pointer finger began to glow a faint blue, "Let's do this! Spirit Gun!" He released the massive blast forward, and all hell broke loose.

"Spirit Sword!" Kuwabara shouted, charging forward with determination into the hoard, ducking and slashing as he went.

Kurama smiled faintly as Hiei seemed to disappear into thin air, the telltale various screams and trails of blood splatter giving away his location; he nodded firmly and began slicing away.

They quickly found that, although they were no much more difficult than brainless, Cultivated Humans they had faced in the past, the sheer quantity of demons was beginning to push them back further into the cave. Hiei noticed, just as quickly, that the hoard showed absolutely no interest in the hanging form of Kira. They moved around her as if she wasn't there at all, 'Of course, the psychic controls them..' He realized, his eyes narrowing as he began to cut his way towards where she was bound. There was a chance he could at least free her, and then deal with the bloodthirsty wolf on his own - he had done it once before, after all.

"Hiei!" Kurama shouted out through the crowd, clearly seeing his targeted intention, his teeth gritting together as he ducked and slashed away, "Do not release her!" As she was now, their safety couldn't be guaranteed, no ones could. His emerald eyes narrowed as the fire demon cautiously approached the chains and stood before Kira, "Hiei!" He had to snap him out of it before he made this horrendous mistake.

Tatsumi's laugh began to echo through the cavern; taking twisted pleasure in the conflict from where she stood observing from next to Tobikuma, "Releassse her, ssswordsssman. Shhhe will dessstroy you and everyone in her wake,"

Hiei's jaw clenched as he cautiously tucked a single thumb under the makeshift blindfold; she did not thrash, nor lash out, but a low, feral rumble began to rise from her chest, her teeth bearing while the scrap of shirt fell uselessly to the ground below; her violent brown eyes following the motion of his hand as it fell back to his side. He began to calculate his chances to himself mentally: she was normally faster than him, but her hips were injured and both ankles were torn - but could the pain be felt in this state? He unsheathed his blade slowly, allowing the tip to drop down to her ankle shackle - he knew she could break the bonds without Kanami holding them, so why wasn't she? She was showing restraint, despite her currently empty state, and that was enough of a sign for him.

"Hiei, don't!" Kurama shouted as the fire demon gave a quick twist of the cold metal, shattering one of the restraints. There was no way the five of them could take on the entire demon hoard, the three masterminds, and potentially Kira at the same time. He may have handled it before, but not with the potential of so much collateral damage. His stomach knotted into itself as Hiei brought his blade down to the second ankle shackle, 'Hiei, please be reasonable!'

'Worry about your own battle, fox.' He scoffed, proceeding to break the second; Kira's feet shifted against the dirt floor, her toes digging into the loose sand beneath her. In just a few seconds, a few swift movements, her hands twisted around the chains at her wrists, the muscles in her arms contracted, and a spiral of light blue energy surged up the chains, freezing them in solid ice before they broke with a shattering snap, and she was gone; but Hiei was quick to give chase.

"Get her out as soon as you can!" Kurama yelled, slashing through a group of the reptilians as he neared Tobikuma, who stood observing the chaos in amusement; it made his blood boil.

'She's targeting our enemy,' Hiei debated to himself as he tried to catch up with her, she was busy slicing away the heads of the lizard demons in her path, using small ice daggers or her claws as she went. Perhaps she did maintain a certain level of clarity. 'She needs to return before the wrong person crosses her path,' He decided, latching his hand into the back of her dresses collar and giving it a rough yank, causing her to fly backwards. Another growl passed through her lips as a glowing fist collided with his chest; had he been any other mixture of demon, he was positive the solid blow would have frozen his entire body, "Kira!" He scolded as he grasped the injured wrist that had just connected with him; but she quickly brought her foot upwards, connecting it with the side of his head. Although his vision was clouding from the swift kick, his free hand latched onto her ankle, giving it a hard yank which buckled her grounded leg, but instead of simply allowing herself to fall to the ground, she quickly swept leg across his ankles; she was going to take him down with her, and then he would be in her grasp.

Whether a brief moment of fates inter tangled web, or by some strange coincidence, the instant her back collided against the sand a familiar pained scream pierced the air, echoing around the dome-like cave. As Hiei crashed to the ground atop the currently bloodthirsty Kira, his head instinctively snapped towards his comrades cry, his eyes setting on Yusuke, whose shoulder had been impaled by one of the reptiles sharp claws, "Yusuke!"

Hiei's eyes widened with surprise, that was certainly not his voice that had called out to the Detective, his gaze shifted to the ice demoness under him; her neck was bent at a strange angle, her brown eyes wide with panic as they searched through the hoard of demons for a sight of Yusuke. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion - that was much easier than expected, "Kira," He snapped.

Kira blinked a few times, curiously adjusting her eyes upwards until they met crimson, "Oh," She spoke briefly before wincing, partially from the aching she suddenly realized was radiating through her entire body, partially from the uncomfortable amount of warmth from the fire demon, and partially due to sheer embarrassment, "Hello,"

Hiei let out a sigh that sounded strangely like a small chuckle as he shook his head; a surge of relief spreading through him, so much so he almost forgot for a moment that they were currently locked in battle, "'Oh'?" He mocked in return with a smirk.

Kira stared at him cautiously for a few moments before a grin spread onto her face; she was back, and everyone was here. There had been several moments in the past few days where she would have welcomed death's touch with open arms, hopeless and lost in her own pain; but a strange feeling now welled in her chest - they had come for her after all, "Thank you," She finally smiled, her arms shooting upwards around his neck.

Hiei grunted as he was roughly yanked downwards, quickly planting his hands on the ground to avoid his face crashing into the dirt, "Hiei, get her out of here!" Kurama's voice broke through the chaos. He nodded dutifully, securing an arm around her lower back and lifting the pair of them from the floor.

"What?" Kira protested as they headed in a flicker towards the exit, "No," Her brown eyes widened; she didn't want to be taken elsewhere, she wanted to stay and fight; she began struggling against his grasp as he travelled through the archway of the cave, "Let me go!"

"You've lost your mind," Hiei muttered through gritted teeth, tightening his grip on the flailing ice demoness and rounding the bend, she was absolutely in no shape to fight a battle as this. He would deliver her to safety and return for the psychics head, "Have you seen yourself?!"

"Exactly!" Kira shouted, delivering enough of a knee to his solar plexus that she could escape, but she was quickly slammed into one of the stone walls, kicking up a fair amount of sand with a hand on either side of her head, "I need to!" She ducked under one of his arms, disappearing towards the arched entrance, but Hiei was quick to recapture the wolf.

"You're acting like a child!" He yelled in irritation, struggling to keep a hold on her arms while simultaneously avoiding her wounds.

"Please," Kira pleaded with a sudden calm, perhaps she could reason with him instead, "This was my own fault, I want to help you and the others. This is the entire reason I was sent here, you have to let me do my job,"

Hiei scoffed, he would not be so easily persuaded, "No," He said firmly, roughly yanking her arm over his shoulder as he turned so she was on his back, but she was quick to dig both of heels into the small of his back and kick, separating the two, before she took off back towards the cavern, her hands beginning to glow as she went. He grit his teeth together as he attempted to catch up with her, "Stop being so stubborn, Mutt!"

Kira couldn't help the unceremonious grin that tugged at the corners of her mouth; she knew she was going to beat him there, she had also realized she somehow missed this bickering, "It's what I do!" She shouted over her shoulder as she crested the archway; pausing only for a moment to take in the scene before she jumped from the pathway, "This is my fight too!"

Kurama's eyes widened as he saw the glow of her hands while she fell, "Guard yourselves!"

Keep an eye out for 'Lone Wolf' 'Chapter 25: A Reason to Fight'!

-B.J.