Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or YuYu Hakusho. If you're reading this story on a site that ISN'T Fanfiction . net or Archive of Our Own, then someone stole this fanfic! Proof is seen on the time the story was published!

For the past few minutes, Souta and Yoshito eavesdropped on the conversation between Minamino and his male companion, and true to Yoshito's words, he looked like a thug, but his manner of speaking didn't coincide with it. The red-haired stranger had gifted him the mechanism, capable of opening portals and dispelling barriers, along with other information concerning a run away demon and the Sengoku Era. These things together warned him that this could be the means to saving his sister. The only problem was, how could he get his hands on that device?

"Souta… let's get out of here before we get caught."

"Shh… Quiet. I'm trying to listen to them."

Yoshito rolled his eyes. "Why are we listening in on these wackos? It's obvious they're on some kind of drug, Souta. I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled a gun on us, and besides, we're not in the best hiding spot either."

Before long, the conversation between Minamino and the stranger ended, with Minamino leaving down the sidewalk until he disappeared around the corner of a building where the streetlight flickered. As for the other person, he turned the opposite way and disappeared down an alley, all of which pushed Souta away from the shadows of the vehicle and after him.

But no surprise at all, a tug hindered his endeavor to chase after the person, and he glanced at Yoshito. "Now what?"

"Are you crazy?! Why are you chasing after that guy? We already heard their conversation, so let's head back."

"Sorry, Yoshito, but there's something I need to do before that… Actually… I might need your help with it."

Yoshito made a face. "It sounds illegal… The last thing I want is to be put behind bars, Souta!"

"We're kids. The only thing they'll do is call our parents, but that's only if we're caught. We can always lie our way out of a situation, anyway. Trust me on this."

"I don't know… I have a bad feeling about this…"

Despite his friend's hesitance, Souta knew that if he left his friend behind, he might run back to the store and tell his dad, and that was the last thing he needed. No. Souta needed to act fast in this situation. The sooner he could get his hands on that device, the closer he'd get to finding his sister again. Without a response to Yoshito, Souta grabbed his wrist and pulled him down the alley.

The worst that could happen is the guy pommels us, but with Yoshito, maybe he can cause a distraction long enough for me to grab the device… Will that plan even work? And I somehow doubt the police will be involved in this, anyway. He didn't look THAT menacing.

The further they crept down the alley, the darker it became, the shadows of the buildings suddenly narrowing in on them. Fortunately, there were some lights further ahead illuminating the path, but as he squinted his gaze, Souta realized he couldn't locate that person. Where did he disappear to? At one point, they rounded several corners until they paused near a tall fence between the buildings.

"He's gone…" Yoshito said after a moment of silence. "I think we better head back before we get lost."

"That's strange…" Did he enter a building? Souta's gaze traveled to the metal railings of stairs and ladders leading to the higher floors of the buildings on either side of him, but no lights illuminated the windows. Somehow, he doubted that. "Dang… And we were so close…"

As his shoulders slumped, he turned half-heartedly from the path, but before taking another step, he noticed something move from the shadows behind them. The silhouettes of several people distorted as they stepped into the lighted path, and realizing it wasn't the person they had followed, he pulled Yoshito away in frightening steps.

"Well, well, well… what do we have here?" A tall person, dressed in fitted jeans and a black tank top, said. "Looks like two little kids lost their way. Don't you know your mommy is probably looking for you?"

Yoshito gasped and reached for Souta's arm. "Oh no… Thugs… We're dead…"

To Souta's disbelief, a group of five thugs blocked their exit, each more menacing than they imagined, some sporting scars over their faces, one with a black eye, and three others with tattoos, holding cigarettes between their fingers. Lanky, thick and robust, cracked, thin, full and bruised lips, sunken closed, narrowed and devilish eyes. They were terrifying, and they wore matching outfits, which informed Souta that they were part of a notorious gang in town, ones which he had seen in the local newspapers months ago.

"We never seen your faces in this neighborhood. Looks like we got fresh meat tonight, fellas!"

"Scrawny ones at that!"

Souta clenched his fist. "Your neighborhood?" He asked.

"That's right! Yamanato's turf, for your information, brat! You got guts trespassing, so it looks like you'll need to make an offering to us. If you don't want a black eye, give us all your cash," He said, holding his calloused hand to him and Yoshito.

Oh, great… Wonderful. Too bad he had nothing but pocket change. "I hate to break it to you, but I don't have any."

"What'd you say? You got nothing? Did you hear that, fellas?"

"I heard it."

"Yeah, sounds like he's talking back to us!"

"Yeah, that's what I thought I heard! If you're broke, then how did you pay for that sack of groceries?" He asked, pointing at his bag.

"Yeah! Hand over the bag!"

Souta backed away. "It's just some food from the market. Nothing that would interest any of you," He said, but his voice trembled when one thug approached him and pulled the bag out of his grasp, none too gently. "Hey! Give it back!"

They only laughed as the leader of the group sifted through all the items before dumping them onto the ground at his feet. "That's it? What, did mommy ask you to run an errand? A bunch of garbage! You gotta have some cash on you, right?" He asked, but when no answer came, he snapped his fingers. "Empty their pockets, boys!"

Yoshito screamed as one assailant grabbed him by the back of his arms while the others looted his pockets and backpack. The same happened to Souta, but unlike his companion, who was crying from the encounter, Souta fought back, only to receive a fist in his face. He landed a short distance away, struggling to sit up as he held a hand over his eye, watching as those men robbed his friend.

"I only found twenty dollars and a dirty magazine on him! Everything else is his school supplies."

"That's it?" He asked before approaching Souta. "Now it's your turn. Come on, hand over the cash!"

Just as Souta awaited the inevitable, he was surprised when a figure suddenly leaped the fence from behind him and knocked the guy away with a raise of his fist. "Hey! Hasn't anyone told you not to pick on anyone smaller than you?!"

The person who now stood in front of him was the same one from before. The guy with the pompadour! Now that he could see him better in the light, even if it was from the backside, he noticed he wore fitted blue jeans, a denim jacket, and his hair was the same color as a carrot. He was tall, too.

"What the hell?! Where did you come from?!" The thug asked, holding his bruised cheek. "You'll pay for that!"

"Hey, it's Kuwabara!" The guy holding Yoshito's arms said. "It's Kazuma Kuwabara! What are you doing here? You got a problem with us?"

"Yeah. I heard your reputation these days has been sour. You got a lot of nerve trespassing into Yamanato's territory! Can't you see we're a little busy here?"

Kuwabara scoffed. "I go where I want. That's my rule, and if you don't like it, then there's a problem. Now let the kid go! I won't ask nicely again!"

A few chuckles rang out just then, and as one creep released Yoshito, Souta quickly regained his standing. Within just a few minutes, the situation had gone out of his favor, and now he was about to experience a fight between thugs. But Kuwabara was only one person! There was no way he could win against five guys!

"Oh? What's this? Playing hero?" One of them taunted. "I thought those rumors about you helping the less fortunate were simply that. Seems I was wrong. Well then, Kuwabara, if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you get," He said, pulling out a switchblade from his pocket.

"How about we settle this with fists?!" Kuwabara said.

"What? You afraid we'll scratch up that ugly face of yours?" He laughed. "Too bad I don't plan to play by the rules. You interrupted us, so now we'll teach you what it means to mess with our group!"

Without so much as a warning, Souta suddenly found himself pressed against the brick wall of the alley with Yoshito beside him, watching the fight escalate between them. Fists were thrown, blades swiped through the air, and at one point, he saw two of the members reach for metal baseball bats hidden behind some trash. But against all odds, Kuwabara had evaded almost every swipe and punch. His reflexes were amazing!

"What the hell? I heard Kuwabara was nothing but a weakling, but he's stronger than we gave him credit!"

Yoshito pulled on Souta's arm. "Come on, let's get out of here while they're distracted!"

Souta didn't budge. "I can't… I need to get mom's groceries first."

"Forget about that! Our life is more important!"

But the truth in the matter was, he didn't care about mom's groceries. The distraction that he'd wanted had come true in an instant, and his eyes scanned over Kuwabara's clothing for any signs of the device. He couldn't see any round outline within his back pockets, which told him it was inside his jacket. If he could somehow get ahold of it without being noticed…

At the sight of a thug's body sailing right at him, Souta and Yoshito barely avoided its collision and watched as the body slid down the brick wall beside them. The person was unconscious. They flickered their gaze back to the fight, watching as several others flew with a single punch and or kick. But unexpectedly, someone tackled Kuwabara from behind and pushed him into a large garbage can, the sight alone leaving the thugs laughing.

The moment Kuwabara landed unceremoniously in the trash, the lid went flying, along with several pieces of wrappers and bottles, and a single rounded objected clattered to the ground. That object was the teleportation device! The Pocket Rune! When Souta saw this, he quickly scrambled to the ground and swiped it just before Kuwabara lifted himself out of the container, but Souta lost his footing when he slipped on a bottle.

"I didn't want to do this, but you left me no choice…" Kuwabara said, emerging from the trash and lifting it above his head, despite the shocked expressions of everyone in the vicinity. Without wasting a breath, he tossed it at the group, watching with satisfaction as it hit three of them with a resounding crack.

Yoshito gasped. "He's super strong!" He said, and Souta nodded slowly. Really strong.

"What are you two still doing here?!" Kuwabara said, looking over his shoulder. "It's not safe here! Hurry and run for it!"

As Souta regained his standing, he was just about to run with Yoshito, but he noticed a trail of blood gushing from a wound on Kuwabara's shoulder. "You're bleeding!"

"I've had worst. Just go! The last thing I want on my conscious is an innocent kid beaten up by these assholes! Don't worry. I'm tougher than I look," He said, grinning.

Relieved by this, Souta quickly bent down and reached for all the groceries that had spilled and placed them into his bag, and following Kuwabara's command, he and Yoshito took off through the exit. But just as they rounded the corner, he paused and glanced back. Would Kuwabara be okay with that wound? It looked pretty deep.

Either way, he didn't expect the odds to be in his favor today, and Souta silently congratulated himself. I can't believe… I finally got it! The device! Now he was one step closer to saving his sister! His dark eyes stared at the object clenched between his fingers, and without another word, he and Yoshito fled to safety.

Just as Kuwabara delivered a last punch to the leader of the group, he mentally congratulated himself on a job well done. Not only had he defeated Yamanato's group, which had been terrorizing the locals for months, but he also saved two kids! In which case, his week was made. At least they were safe now and out of danger.

"I was told not to get into fights by the principal, but I had no choice. Either way, I guess my work here is all—" Kuwabara paused as he sifted through his pocket of his jacket and realized it was empty. He tried the other pocket and then his jeans, and realizing the communicator Minamino had given to him was gone, he gasped. "What the? Where'd it go?!"

Realizing it must have fallen out of his pocket during the fight, he searched the ground and trash for any signs of it, but it was nowhere to be seen. His first thought led him back to the thugs lying unconscious on the ground. "Okay, you guys! Where is it?! Which one of you assholes took it?!"