InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Heart Within ❯ Chapter Twenty-Two ( Chapter 24 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, etc., of Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. This story is for entertainment purposes only, and not for profit.THE HEART WITHINSummary: She has carried vengeance in her shadowed heart for 500 years, sacrificing her self for that dream. Now, Sango just might get her chance… (IY/YYH crossover) A/N: I must warn that part of the story will get choppy here, for I don’t want to totally retell the Three Kings Saga of YYH, just twist it to my own purposes. So certain scenes that I could include, I will not. I will give a hazy description, but I will not rewrite what was so well written in the original version. If you are unfamiliar with the YuYuverse, please feel free to email me with any questions, and I can and will try to answer as best I can. (Fate)
WARNING! SPOILERS FOR YYH BLACK AND THE THREE KINGS SAGA

Chapter Twenty-Two

Eying the lightning that flickered in the distance, Sango tugged her hood down a little further as she turned her eyes back to the front, where Kurama was walking so calmly beside the blind warrior-monk, Seitei. They exchanged a few comments from time to time, though neither was exactly what one would call verbose, and they mainly walked in a companionable enough silence. She kept her eyes on the monk, still unable to trust any of them, though Seitei was ten times better than that hostile oaf, Touhou.

She disliked Touhou immensely, and the feeling was frankly mutual. He exemplified what she had always detested about most demons; their arrogance and innate sense of superiority and the contempt for others they considered less than they. The fact that he was not all that intelligent but thought he was did not help matters much, and the fact that he was stronger than her in demonic energy, if not cunning, did not help her own unease around him. How such a snide, aggressive meathead like him could ever have grown so powerful as to become an A class demon was beyond her, but then she had to admit that he was both stubborn (if dense) and strong (if transparent.) And she had to give him credit, albeit grudgingly, that he was, at least, loyal to his King.

Even though that King was dying of malnutrition and growing weaker by the day. Even though that King was starving himself in what most demons would consider a fanatic, insane idealism taken too much to an extreme, for it was slowly killing him. Even though Sango, herself, being human, could find nothing wrong with Raizen’s personal vow never to eat human flesh again, it had to be galling to his devoted followers, who saw nothing wrong with it.

And, strangely enough, neither did Yusuke.

Now there was a quandary that left Sango frankly bewildered. For Yusuke had been a Spirit Detective, recruited by the Reikai Prince Koenma to protect humans from the marauding demons who wandered into human world from time to time. And up until a week or so ago, Yusuke had been completely human himself. And while she did admit that the ex-detective had made a point, and a fair one---that you couldn’t fault another for their choice of eating habits, that it was just as wrong for someone to judge a demon for eating people as it was a vegetarian to judge a wolf for being what its nature was---well, the idea just didn’t sit all that well with her. She was a taiji-ya, damn it. She had been raised to protect people from those very demons who saw them only as cattle. And she couldn’t abandon that fact, at least not as easily as Yusuke could.

Sango sighed. She wronged the detective, for it wasn’t like he was helping these demon monks catch a human or two for dinner and offering to cook them up. And he had made a valid point, that there were plenty of awful people in the world who she wouldn’t mind feeding to a demon herself. And it wasn’t as if some of these demons had a choice in what they ate---she knew full well that there were certain types who could only eat humans, and nothing else. But for most demons there was a choice, and just because eating people for some strange reason gave a demon more power, thus letting him get stronger faster, didn’t make it right to do so.

Not that people were any better. Most, when given the option, would take the quick road and not the long way around to get at what they wanted. So she could understand, theoretically, why a demon, when given the choice, would go on a strictly human diet, since devouring humans wholesale allowed a demon to grow in both strength and power ten times faster than not. And the terrible price of that fact was that once a demon had been eating only humans for a long enough period of time, he could no longer consume anything else, even if he tried.

Which was exactly what was happening to this demon king, Raizen. For some unknown reason, the great Toushin had suddenly decided that he would no longer support the eating of humans by demon-kind, and challenged his followers and his colleagues to do the same, and even went on a personal hunger-strike in support of his cause. That was more than a mind-boggling seven hundred years ago, and now the great King was paying the price for his refusal, for there was nothing else he could eat.

Sango shook her head. It was all too much for her, and that was only a part of the whole story. The fact that this great demon king was Yusuke’s father---well, genetically speaking, as he was the demon who had to have lain with a human ancestor of the detective’s in order to produce the Mazoku gene that was awakened when Yusuke was killed by Sensui---that added a whole other dimension to this strange journey. For Yusuke thoroughly intended to go and kick his demon-dad’s ass, as he so bluntly put it, while these three youkai followers of Raizen’s had baldly stated that they needed Yusuke, and desperately. For their king was dying, and his enemies, held off only by the King’s formidable reputation, were circling like vultures, waiting for the time they could strike. And they needed Yusuke, as Raizen’s only “son,” to join their forces and hold off their enemies as best they may after the king’s imminent death.

They had come to recruit him to their cause, hoping that Raizen’s anti-human-eating policies would persuade the ex-detective to join them. For the balance of power in Makai was precariously perched between three powerful demons who ruled their territories by strength of arm and the polarization of their ideals. While the humans-as-food question was a big one, it wasn’t the main one, actually. As with anything in politics, the reasons the three kings hated each other were both numerous and complicated. A simplistic breakdown that Hokushin had offered was that one king represented tradition and chaos (which was an odd mix, to Sango’s way of thinking, but then she was hardly in a position to pass judgment on how a demon’s mind could work) and the other represented change and peace, under himself as dictator, of course. And while it should have been fairly obvious that the peace-loving modern thinker would appeal to the seemingly human-sympathizing Raizen, that particular king also had the nasty desire to unify all of Makai so that they could then go take over living world and feed on humans to their heart’s desire---or so Hokushin had explained it.

Though how far could they trust Hokushin’s word, for he was Raizen’s second-in-command and obviously biased. And he might have been over-exaggerating the other king’s evil aims, just to add a little more persuasion to his rather elegant argument on his own king’s behalf. Yusuke certainly didn’t, though he also seemed to have formed a grudging respect for the strange, elastic warrior, even bending enough to joke with him this afternoon and then challenge him to a race.

Which was where they were now---racing on ahead of their slower pace. Touhou, of course, had taken the Mazoku up on his challenge; his insipid arrogance could not have allowed for less. The broken-nosed belligerent was still smarting over the fact that Yusuke had beaten Hokushin with one powerful swing, twisting the stretchy-necked demon’s head around in a move Yusuke had grinningly called a literal case of “rubber-necking.”

`That terrible pun had made even Jin groan, though it was rather apt. Sango shook her head. Leave it to Yusuke to make light of what was actually an astonishing show of strength. Beating an S-class demon like Hokushin was something even Sango wasn’t certain she could do, and she had years of experience in fighting demons. Taking on an opponent like that, though---she’d never fought higher than an A class demon, and even then she had done so with plenty of fore-planning and surprise on her side. An assassin under the Spirit King’s command couldn’t be too choosy over the tasks assigned them, but that was scant consolation to the dishonor she had felt in taking the demon out that way.

That memory didn’t sit too well with her, but there were many other dark deeds she had done over the years that she didn’t exactly like to think too hard about, either. She had once been able to defend herself with the pathetic lie that any and all demons deserved what they got, for they were inherently evil. But ever since she had come to Makai, that bitter illusion had been pretty much shattered, and it left her in a place of uncertainty that was far from comfortable.

So she ignored it, as she was so good at doing, and turned her mind to other things. Like how far off that storm might be, and if they would make camp for the night or press on into the darkness like they had the night before. She didn’t know if she could manage to do that two days in a row---she wasn’t as powerful and resilient as the others were, hard as that was for her to admit. She was comforted, at least, by the fact that Kurama had similar limitations. And Hiei, wherever the hell he had gone off to, was still recovering his demonic energy and could probably use the rest as well.

The fire apparition had given the three warrior-monks short shrift---one flat stare and a raised brow in Yusuke’s direction, who only shrugged and grinned---and the demon had accepted their presence. That didn’t mean he suffered it, though, for Hiei had vanished into the forest, only coming back around dinner-time with game, which he had dropped by the fire without saying a word. He slept inside the cave that night with the rest of them, though Sango had made certain she slept by herself this time, so as not to give anyone ideas. The monks had been courteous enough to bunk outside, though Hiei had stationed himself just inside the entrance with a look that dared anyone to say a word about it.

They hadn’t, of course. None of them were that stupid.

The fire demon had vanished again, once Jin had taken his leave of them to report back to his Shinobi Masters, and they had set out with Hokushin and the rest for Raizen’s fortress. They had left the Forest of Fools behind sometime around midday, and the landscape had changed over the past two days, going from hills to the flat plains they were now traversing. Thankfully, it was still what seemed to be late spring in Makai, so the days were not as unbearably hot as they would probably be in summer, if the wide plains of this world were like Ningenkai’s.

Sango missed Jin’s cheerful exuberance more than she cared to admit. She had gotten used to his chatter over the last few days, and now the quiet she would normally have treasured felt oddly empty, as if something was missing. It could have been the wide open lands they were walking through. Born and raised in the mountains, she always felt too exposed and uneasy under so much open sky. It was hard to judge distances---the storm that appeared close might be miles off yet, and the flat grasslands didn’t give much of a mile marker. They had to be making progress, though, for the brown smudge in the distance had grown larger, though still it was far away.

The rest of the journey was much the same, though they did eventually break from the grasslands and into more broken country. But that only led into a desert wasteland that stretched as far as the eye could see. They met and saw no one along their path, though Hiei must have, for one night when he appeared at their campsite he casually dropped three filled packs beside Sango and Kurama as they made a sketchy dinner. Inside were journey rations and water bottles, which came in handy once they reached the towering mesas of the desert.

The desert was where Sango finally caught a glimpse of Makai’s hidden sun. The fuschia-colored sky had always provided too thick a veil for the sun to break through, but at the end of the sixth day of their journey, the pink haze broke long enough for her to watch the sun set. It had been an awesome sight, for the golden fury of the setting sun had splashed fire across the reddened sky, turning the normally soft shadows stark. Sango had stood up, mesmerized by the simple sight and realizing suddenly just how much she had missed it. Bathed in the last golden rays of its warmth, she had closed her eyes and savored the feel of it on her skin.

She must have looked like a simpleton, for she had suddenly felt twitchy, like someone was watching her, and she had turned her head sharply to see everyone staring. She would have demanded what was wrong, but she had then caught sight of Hiei in the sun-slanted shadows of a rocky pillar just past them. Black on black, his eyes glowing redder than the bloody fire of the setting sun. There had been something about his standing there so still, his expression so cold but his eyes so blazing, that had made her shiver, though she would never admit to anyone that poignant reaction.

Kurama had suddenly stood, his manner brusque, and said rather mildly, “See, Anei? I told you that demon world had a sun. The view is quite breath-taking, isn’t it?”

Yusuke had smirked, and the other three demons had stirred uncomfortably, carefully not looking in her direction. Sango had frowned, and asked Yusuke later as they went to refill their canteens alone at the small trickle of water in the lee of some rocks what all that was about.

“Ah, I just don’t think they see many women around here,” Yusuke said dismissively, his grin rather sheepish as he uneasily scruffed his dark hair back. He pointedly wouldn’t look at her, and Sango finally gave it up. Dragging anything out of the rogue detective when he wasn’t willing to give it up was like trying to balance an elephant on a marble---just not going to happen.

Strangely, the warrior-monks’ arrogant attitudes thawed after that, especially Touhou’s. Sango still didn’t trust the hook-nosed lout, but she had to grudgingly respect his strength and his singular loyalty to his brother-monks, especially when he saved Seitei from a sudden rockslide late on the eighth day of their tedious journey. They were now well into Raizen’s territory, and the rocky desert had given way to rising hills of gorse-grown brush, with the purple smudge of forest and mountains beyond. Odd plants like huge umbrellas the size of giant towers and rocky outcrops that were like tall buildings had begun to appear, and the shallow rivers they crossed now sported green beds along their banks.

Blind as he was, Seitei had no trouble finding his way. He must have somehow used the jyaki around him to sense where things were, for he never stumbled. But it could not warn him when a boulder tipped precariously above him had suddenly decided to fall in the wake of the steadily-growing-louder rumble that came three times a day like clockwork. Touhou had reacted faster than anyone else, pushing his blind brother aside and taking the full force of the giant boulder’s impact across his back and shoulders. He had snarled, rooting his jyaki into the ground and then pushing against the heavy weight until he had managed to finally shrug it off of him. The fact that he had was incredible---that boulder had to weigh a ton at least, and Touhou appeared only winded.

The reminder of the youkai’s strength made Sango more determined than ever to practice her wind techniques. She had plenty of time on her hands, so she put it to good use by creating little wind-balls and focusing and strengthening her control while she walked. Seitei had even surprised her one afternoon by falling back by her side and making a mild suggestion that she try to push small objects, like the pebbles that lay strewn across their path, with short blasts of air. She found herself liking him most out of the three, for he had a surprisingly serene air about him, one that reminded her, strangely, of the sage she had worked with long ago to learn how to direct her chi.

Hokushin puzzled her. He was polite, yet distant, and seemed distracted. He was aloof to the point of arrogance, but he seemed to come alive when Yusuke bantered with him. She had caught him looking at the detective with a thoughtful half-smile, and wondered what it was that called it. But Yusuke always seemed to have that effect on people.

And she had smiled that same thoughtful half-smile as she had thought that, too.

The routine they had fallen into was suddenly broken on the tenth day around noon, when the rumble that was Raizen’s growling stomach (and how disturbing was that, that this demon’s hunger pangs could shake the very ground beneath their feet) had just subsided and they walked the last few feet up a steadily rising cliff. The cliff-face gave way to a deep valley, where a large stone city lay spread out below. The tallest tower had a strange conical roof with a spoon-like appendage sticking out from the side. Gesturing towards it, Hukoshin had said in an uncharacteristically grandiose way, “Behold, Raizen’s fortress.”

Sango’s gaze had slid to the other buildings, which stood like rough pillars of stone, mere slits cut into their grey faces for windows. The buildings were odd, round and tall, with flat roofs. She couldn’t see any movement below, between the meandering streets, but then they might be too far up. Still, it was eerily quiet and still, and she wondered what her first experience in an all-demon city would be like.


Boring, actually. The streets were deserted, most of the buildings empty, their dusty doors and neglected condition giving mute testament that while this might have once been a bustling city full of life, now it was but a deserted hulk left to the warrior-monks who remained loyal to Raizen. Strangely enough, she got the impression that this might even be just a fortress and barracks, for none of the buildings seemed like the type of place one could raise children, and while the style of the buildings was a far cry from what she was used to, the small room she was shown to reminded her of a cross between a monk’s cell and a warrior’s bunk.

The stark furnishings included a pallet on the floor and a weapons stand in the corner. Hooks lined one wall, and she had been provided with a small basin of water. She took advantage of it, grateful to wash the dust off her face and hands, and took a moment to brush out and re-braid her hair, and thought longingly of a real bath. It had been far too long, and while Jin had shown her a secret to keeping the smell down by using the wind to refresh herself, still her scalp felt itchy and she wanted a long, hot soak in a tub or shower if she could manage it.

She left her pack and cloak locked in her room---Seitei had solemnly presented her with a key when showing her to it. She emerged to find Kurama and Hiei both waiting. Kurama gave her an encouraging smile, and she was once again grateful for his unspoken intuition of her moods. Funny how well he could gauge them, and funny how much she had come to take it for granted during the long journey to get here.

But this was Yusuke’s battle, and since she had thrown her lot in with them, she was determined to see it through. She could not tell precisely when her priorities had changed; it had been so subtle, really. She, who had thought for so long of just herself, now thought all but unconsciously of them as a group. They had all helped her accept herself as she now was, and had promised to help her in her own quest to recover her brother and seek revenge on Naraku. She did not doubt that they would, for they had given their word and she had learned to trust them. It felt good to have that simple awareness, that she was not alone anymore, that she had---well, if not friends, than comrades, and ones she liked and respected---to share it with. It helped to make the enforced wait that would normally have left her anxious and chafing more bearable, and besides, she owed Yusuke, as she owed all of them, for giving her that.

And she was able to give him some of that back when she presented him with a bottle of pomade that she had found among the other odd toiletries in her room. It smelled musty, as had the overly-perfumed soap and dusty hair-ribbons that had been left for her, but the thoughtfulness behind the gesture---possibly at Seitei’s instigation---warmed her. So many things were so strange and unsettling here in Makai. Beings she would have hated for what they stood for---flesh-eating monsters who preyed on her own kind---were always surprising her with their genuine kindness. Like how the blind monk didn’t have to go out of his way to find a few things for her---or Yusuke, rather---to use.

Yusuke had taken one look at the bottle of hair gel, eyes lighting up, and then shocked the hell out of her as he grabbed her in a bear hug and kissed her soundly on the cheek. Sango had stiffened, a blush rising as he abruptly let her go and kissed the bottle in fervent thanks.

“Holy crap, there really is a god!”

He had disappeared back inside his room, leaving Sango to try and pretend not to avoid looking at the other two demons, who had watched the little byplay with matching blank expressions. Mercifully, Yusuke quickly re-emerged with a wide smirk to strike a pose. His hair was slicked back off of his forehead in a feathering style, except for a few strands he kept down in the front. He looked odd, with his black hair shiny and swept back. Not bad, exactly, just different, since she had never seen him with his hair styled like that before.

“Finally! Back to my old self.” It was strange to see him clothed, too, for he had traded his torn jeans for a sleeveless white shirt and pants, probably on loan by the monks, for they were a little baggy.

Kurama smiled. “You now look presentable, Yusuke, fit to meet royalty.”

“Hn,” was the fire demon’s typical response. He leaned negligently against the wall behind him, arms crossed over his chest and sword conspicuously held close. He, too, had been provided with a sleeveless white shirt, though he wore it tucked into his four belts.

“Royal pain in my ass, you mean.” Yusuke smirked, his eyes narrowing. “All right. I’m ready to go meet this cagey bastard, and I’m going to demand a fucking explanation for what he did to me. He better provide a good one, or I’m going to make him eat my fist.”

“Careful, Detective. He might just be hungry enough to take you up on that offer,” Hiei warned with a mocking cut of his eyes.

Too happy to let that worry him, Yusuke only grinned maliciously. “Then maybe it’s what’s for dinner.”


“Our King is at the top of this tower.” Hokushin turned to look at Yusuke, his eyes calculating. A faint smirk curved his lips, as if he was looking forward to the confrontation. “He has been waiting for you.”

“Had to clean up for the royal ass-kicking I‘m about to give him,” Yusuke tossed back, fists on his hips as he looked up the stone façade. The tower loomed much higher than the other buildings, as if lording it over them. The pipe-shaped extension that Hokushin had pointed to, where the King’s throne room supposedly lay, looked like a round-bottomed egg from their present vantage.

Kurama eyed the sturdy iron doors cut into the base of the first round step. The various levels of the King’s Tower were stacked on top of each other, each floor smaller than the last.

“Looks like quite a climb,” Yusuke muttered, as if put out by that fact.

“It shouldn’t take us too long,” Sango inserted, a thumb running over the top of the sword hilt she lightly clasped, as if to reassure herself that it was there. Cross-belted and sword-girded, she bristled with enough knives that she was obviously making a point by the fact.

Touhou exchanged glances with the unfamiliar monk who stood on their left. Three others stood ranged behind Hokushin, deceptively at their ease. They were much alike, with shaven heads and human faces, dressed in the same austere, grey-blue uniform.

“I apologize, but our King has given us strict orders that only Mr. Urameshi shall be allowed in to see him. He prefers to have a private family reunion with his son.” Hokushin did not look all that sorry.

“Indeed.” Kurama’s green eyes narrowed as he drew himself up. His eyes flicked to the left, where Touhou and the other monk had tensed.

“If you think that I would let Yusuke go in there alone---” The snap in Sango’s dark eyes was all too telling as Hiei sneered.

“And you think you could stop us?” His hard voice dripped with scorn as an unholy smile lit up his features at the thought that they might try.

Hokushin’s dark eyes narrowed as the other monks surreptitiously tried to edge their way closer to the door he stood beside, but it was Yusuke who actually interfered.

Turning back to his bristling friends, he gave them a smile of both gratitude and reassurance. “I appreciate the support, guys, but I think I wanna handle this one on my own.”

Hiei panned a flat stare on the detective, who offered a half-shrug at the silent challenge. Kurama, although unhappy with his friend’s decision, also knew there was no way to change his mind once it was made up, and conceded with a slight shake of his head and a relaxation of his stance.

Sango, not as well-versed with Yusuke’s stubborn nature, protested, her glare moving from one monk to the other. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

Yusuke smiled, his intense brown eyes lightening in hue at her show of dissension. The taiji-ya was almost as stubborn as he, and this demonstrated just how much her attitude towards them had changed. He wondered if she even realized just how much it had, and how much her concern now showed. He gave her his trade-mark finger-trigger and cocky smirk to reassure her. “Hey, I appreciate your concern, Anei, but this is something I gotta do alone. This shit is between me and him, and only me and him.”

Sango’s chin hardened, and she looked ready to argue further, but Kurama laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. Tensing, she glanced back at him, and she must have seen something in his eyes to dissuade her, for she finally gave in, though with ill grace. Shrugging off Kurama’s hand, she turned back to Yusuke and said fiercely, “Fine. But at the first sign of trouble, I swear, Yusuke, I’ll---”

“Yeah, yeah.” Yusuke waved negligently over his shoulder. “I’ll be fine, guys. Really. If anyone’s going to need help after this, it’ll be him, ’cause he’s got a helluva lot of explaining to do, and that’s after I beat his high-handed ass into the ground.”

Hokushin grinned. “Truly, Mr. Urameshi, you are your father’s son.”

Yusuke turned a cold scowl on the monk. “That bastard is not my father. Now open her up, Hokey. I have a demon to go kill.”

“He really is an impetuous fool,” Hiei muttered in a low aside to Kurama, who only nodded. That was as close to admiration as Hiei ever got. They all watched stonily as Yusuke disappeared inside the opened doors. They closed behind him with a resounding clang that left Sango cold. The silence grew thick with tension as they all waited what would come.


If she wasn’t already strung as tight as a bow, than Sango would have jumped when her spiritual sense suddenly went haywire. Her head shot up, her eyes darting this way and that to pin down the sudden sense of raw power that was emanating all around them. Never had she felt such tremendous force concentrated in such a small area, and it sent icy fingers down her spine as her own jyaki flared in answer.

Judging by their expressions, both Hiei and Kurama had caught that sudden flare of demonic energy, too, for Kurama looked wary and Hiei’s expression had frozen as his eyes narrowed. His knuckles were white on his sword as he stared up towards the top of the tower, and Sango had a sinking sensation for Yusuke’s well-being.

*Damn you for being so thick-headed and stubborn, Yusuke!* Looking around, she saw the worshipful looks on the monks’ faces, and could suddenly understand why they were so loyal to Raizen. She had never felt such raw potential and spiritual presence since she had stood in the presence of King Yama, and this was with the Toushin weakened by several hundred years of self-imposed hunger!

She suddenly knew why one demon could hold off his enemies, and with just the threat of his malice.

What had Yusuke gotten himself into?

Well, she wasn’t going to stand around here looking as ga-ga as those damn monks. For she had a suspicion Yusuke was going to be in for it, and would need their help. Edging her way closer to the iron doors, she palmed her throwing stars and kept one hand on her hilt. Ignoring the ominous cloud of youkai energy above, she kept her eyes on the monk closest to her, ready to take advantage of the first sign of distraction.


Hiei’s eyes flicked toward the slayer, who had managed to ease herself closer to the doors without anyone else noticing. He hid a smile, for the fierce glitter in her dark eyes spoke volumes, even though she tried to hide it by lowering her lashes and smoothing her features. As ill-at-ease as that damn flare of raw power had made him, inured to it as he was, it must have sent alarm sirens screaming off inside her skull. She wouldn’t be used to a demon of Raizen’s strength, no matter what she had been exposed to in the past. But demons of Raizen’s caliber never left Makai. There was a reason Reikai had spent so much time and effort creating the kakai barrier between the two worlds.

He had to admire her guts, for many a lesser warrior would have been struck dumb by the awesome show of power coming from Raizen’s little hide-away. He glanced over at Kurama, to find the tall kitsune stiffen, his nostrils flaring slightly, just one second before a loud scream of angry protest and pain echoed down from the tower’s height and the iron tang of human blood filled the air.

*Yusuke.*

His sword was out and at Touhou’s throat before he could even take time to think about it. Touhou looked stunned, but Hiei wasn’t going to give the big brute a chance to retaliate. Killing someone he’d journeyed with would not have bothered him much before he’d met Yusuke, but the damn detective’s disgusting sense of hindering honor had rubbed off and tainted him. That was the only reason he could think of as to why he hit the bald monk with his hilt, knocking him unconscious, rather than simply beheading him.

He heard a hiss as another monk barely managed to dodge one of Anei’s thrown stars, and felt Kurama unfurling his Rose Whip behind him to take out another. Hokushin looked angry, but not entirely surprised, as he shouted for others of his men to come to their aid. Hiei heard Anei snarling behind him, the rhythmic clang of her foot striking the thick iron doors that barred their way. Hokushin’s head darted forward, his dark eyes intent on the slayer, and Hiei quickly inserted himself between them. Hokushin’s stretched-out head dodged his slashing sword by a hairsbreadth, and would have gone under the blade to wrap him up if Kurama’s thorny whip hadn’t cracked between them.

Leaving Raizen’s second-in-command to the kitsune, Hiei casually punched another monk right in the face as he cut down a third on his way to Anei’s side. He snarled a command for her to step aside. She snarled back a protest but moved away just in time as he hurled himself at the iron barrier. It flung open with a ringing boom as the two doors slammed into the stone walls on either side of the interior.

The delay had cost them too much time, for Yusuke’s blood-curdling screams of pain and rage continued to echo down the spiraling staircase to freeze their blood. Hiei growled as Anei darted past him and launched herself toward the stairs as Yusuke’s defiant shout filled their ears. Her feet slid out from under her as the whole tower convulsed in the aftermath of an explosion that rocked the stone to its foundations. Hiei knew the detective had fired his Shotgun at the Toushin, for the shockwaves of spiritual energy released with it had thrown the dust that lay over everything into the air, adding a fine, gritty haze that made him cough even as he leapt back up on his feet.

The taiji-ya clawed herself up, the look on her face angry at the extra delay as she sharply waved her free hand, summoning a breeze to dissipate the dust in the air. She glanced back at him, and was gone up around the stairs even as he leapt after her. Kurama was just behind them, Hokushin right on his heels. The silence was deafening, except for their panting and faint curses as they ran headlong up the tower. Hiei easily passed the taiji-ya and ruthlessly flung his jyaki out to burst open the solid gold doors that barred their way on the final landing.

He was crouched just inside the broken doors, the cutting edge of his katana facing outwards, eyes raking the grit-clouded room, even as the others burst in after him. Taking in the Spirit Detective who sat relaxed with his back against the wall, the white-haired Toushin crouching in front of him, also seemingly at ease, Hiei straightened, his expression sour.

“Yusuke!” Not as quick to comprehend the detective’s body language, Anei was at his side in an instant, her eyes flashing red with anger as she interposed herself between the Toushin and the sprawling half-demon. She bared her weak human teeth at him and Hiei could feel the surge of her jyaki as she gathered it to her, as seething with rage and menace as it had been that day in the wood. Her eyes were bloody with it, and only Kurama’s sharp voice penetrated that boiling fury, recalling her sharply to her senses.

“Anei!”

She gained control of herself with an effort, but she still didn’t back down as the crimson glow dissolved from her glittering gaze. She glared unflinchingly at the Toushin, who had sat back with a faint smirk as his eyes rove each of them in turn, finally coming back to rest on the slayer who stood over his son.

“Huh.” He seemed amused by the situation. Hiei’s eyes narrowed even as he sheathed his sword with a snap.

“Hi, guys.” Yusuke chuckled weakly, one arm pressed into the gaping wound across his stomach. “Good of you to come.”

Hiei’s eyebrow twitched.