Yu Yu Hakusho/Teen Titans:

"Darkness Returns"

Chapter 5: "Blossoming Love"

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho and Teen Titans do not belong to me. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi/Shonen Jump and DC Comics/Warner Brothers, respectively.

Author's note: This chapter will focus on the romance between Kurama and Blackfire, but it will also lead into the Shadow Combat.

Timeline: YYH, a few years after the series. TT, a few years into the future.

It was morning when Blackfire awoke. There were three things she quickly realized.

One, she wasn't lying on one of the sleeping mats in Genkai's temple.

Two, she wasn't in Genkai's temple.

Three, she was naked.

Then again, there was a fourth thing she realized: She was in the arms of someone who was as naked as she was. She looked up and saw the sleeping face of Shuichi Minamino, the human alter ego of Yohko Kurama.

He's so beautiful when he's asleep, Blackfire thought. Not that he isn't beautiful when he's awake. She idly played with a lock of his crimson hair, holding it between her index and middle fingers. After a while, she released his hair and kissed his eyelids. Time to wake up, my sexy fox.

She turned around in his arms so that her back was against his chest and began making circles with her hips. The result of those circles was to grind her butt into his crotch, quickly stirring a certain part of Kurama's anatomy --- even if the rest of him was still asleep.

Blackfire smiled wickedly and continued her grinding motions, feeling the evidence of his arousal pressing between her buns. It was a pleasant surprise when Kurama wrapped his arms around her as he began to grind himself against her bottom.

"This is far better than an alarm clock," he purred in her ear. Speaking of that ear, he caught the earlobe between his teeth and gently dragged those teeth along it, which made Blackfire shudder in pleasure and anticipation. "Now, now, Komand'r. If we start that, we'll never get out of bed."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Blackfire replied.

"I'm serious," Kurama said. "We have to return to our teammates so that we can continue training for the Shadow Combat."

Blackfire turned to face him. "I know. I just liked being in your arms. I wish we could be like this forever."

Kurama smiled at her. "So do I."

He found himself remembering the particular moment in which he'd realized that he loved her. It had been during one of his visits to the Alpha Centauri prison where Blackfire was being held for the duration of her sentence.

While traversing the prison in search of his beloved Tamaranian, he'd heard sounds of a struggle. He'd recognized some of those sounds as coming from Blackfire. Without hesitation, he'd run in the direction of those sounds. When he'd reached there, he'd seen something that made his blood boil.

Two other alien inmates were holding Blackfire by her arms, while a third was advancing toward her with a strangely crafted knife --- obviously forged from raw materials in the prison itself.

"Now, now," he'd said. "Stay still and it won't hurt that much." He'd used the flat of the blade to caress her face. It had been obvious to Kurama by looking in her eyes that she was scared, but he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't dare show it.

"You really should let go of me," she'd said defiantly.

"What are you going to do to us if we don't?" one of the inmates holding her had asked mockingly.

Kurama growled low in his throat in rage, as he knew what the third inmate had in mind. Silently, he stalked into their midst.

"You really should take her advice and release her," he'd said, his voice low and cold.

"Ooh, look at the pretty boy trying to be all tough," the second inmate mocked.

A hellish grin formed on Kurama's face and he withdrew a red rose from his hair.

"An Earth rose?" the third inmate had wondered. Then he'd laughed. "You gotta be kidding me!" The other two inmates had laughed with him. "What are you trying to do, ask me out?"

"If you insist," Kurama had said. "Will you come with me . . . to your death?" Before any of the three inmates could make some insulting remark, he'd extended the rose into his Rose Whip and with one swift, vicious lash he'd killed all three. Then he looked at Blackfire. "Are you all right, Komand'r?"

"I could've taken those guys," she'd replied, bold as ever. She smiled. "But thanks, anyway."

Looking back on that moment, especially in the light of recent events, Kurama realized why he'd killed those three inmates with such viciousness. He'd killed them because he would not allow miserable scum like them to sully his love with their dirty hands. He loved her, and thus he wouldn't stand for anyone that tried to hurt her.

Never, he thought. I'll never allow anyone to hurt her. He held Blackfire tightly. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Kurama," Blackfire said.

They kissed, a soft, gentle kiss unlike the torrid, lust-filled kisses they'd exchanged the previous night.

"So what was your life like, growing up on Tamaran?" Kurama asked a little while after they broke the kiss.

"You'd think life would be easy for a princess, especially a firstborn," Blackfire replied. "But it wasn't. All Tamaranians are supposed to be able to fly, even from birth, and it is happiness that fuels that particular power. However, I couldn't fly. I could shoot starbolts, but I couldn't fly."

"Why not?" Kurama asked.

"I don't know," Blackfire replied. "I guess I just didn't have such a happy disposition. Since I couldn't fly, my parents --- the king and queen of Tamaran --- thought me impaired. When Koriand'r --- Starfire --- was born, they gave the right of succession to her."

"Why did they do that?" Kurama asked.

"She could fly; I couldn't," Blackfire replied. "To my parents, she was the perfect epitome of what a future Tamaranian queen should be. All the time, I kept hearing from them, 'Why can't you be more like Koriand'r?' I quickly discovered that as much as they may have loved me, they didn't like me much.

"When I was 12 and she was 10, our parents shipped us off to Okaara for battle training," she continued. "I decided right then and there that this was my opportunity to shine, to finally win their approval and respect. And yes, I turned out to be the better fighter. I experienced such joy from knowing this that I was finally able to fly. 'At last,' I thought, 'I can reclaim my birthright!' However, my teacher decided to discontinue my training after I tried to kill Starfire."

Kurama kept his expression as blank as he could manage, despite the shock. Why would she want to kill her own sister? he wondered.

"To answer that question you don't want to ask, I was jealous," Blackfire said, as if she could read his thoughts. "I thought that if I was the only daughter of the Tamaranian royal family, they'd have no choice but to make me queen. Of course, it didn't happen that way. My teacher arrived just in time to stop me. His last words to me before he sent me away were, 'As strong as you are, your heart burns with rage and I feel great darkness within you. Turn away from it, Princess Komand'r, before it is too late.'

"That's where my code name comes from. Darkness is black, and my heart burned with rage, hence 'Blackfire.' I traveled the galaxies, finding other teachers to learn from. I also fell in with a bad crowd, like they say here on Earth, and there was lots of stealing involved --- not to mention other things I'm not so proud of.

"Starfire and I had kept in touch over video transmissions and she talked a lot about her new friends on Earth, the Titans. That was when I got the idea for my revenge. I would go to Earth, befriend the Titans, and impress them all with my skills until they liked me better than her. Of course, the Centauri police were pursuing me, but that worked out just fine for me. They'd sent their probes to look for a Tamaranian girl, and thus they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between me and Star."

"So they would have taken Starfire in your place and you would have taken her place as a Titan," Kurama concluded.

"Yeah," Blackfire admitted, shamefaced. "Not only that, but I could tell she was in love with Raptor --- or Robin, as he called himself then --- or at least liked him a lot, so I planned to steal him away from her. My plan didn't work out so well, since I hadn't factored in that Raptor felt the same way about her and wouldn't let anyone take her away without a fight."

"And that's how you ended up in Alpha Centauri jail," Kurama said.

"Yeah," Blackfire said. "So what's your story?"

"I've also done things I'm not proud of," Kurama said. "Centuries ago, I was a legendary bandit, and much worse. Also, I was quite the 'player,' as the humans would have called me. Almost twenty years ago, a demon hunter caught me. I changed into fox form in order to escape, but he hunted me down and fatally wounded me. With the last of my energy, I merged myself with a fetus that hadn't yet acquired a soul of its own."

"So that's how you became Shuichi Minamino," Blackfire said.

"Yes," Kurama said. "I only intended to stay for as long as it took for me to recover all my youki, and then I would leave. However, something unexpected happened."

"What was it?" Blackfire asked.

"I came to love my human mother, exactly like a son would," Kurama replied. "With that love came guilt, for I had been so cold to her, acting as though she was beneath me." He sighed, a guilty expression on his face. "That love was tested when she became terribly ill. I did everything I could to take care of her, but it wasn't enough. That was when I met Hiei.

"Back then, Hiei was a thief. He had one partner, a soul-eating Kyonki demon named Gouki. Hiei recruited me so that I would help him steal the three Artifacts of Darkness: the Orb of Baast, the Shadow Sword, and the Forlorn Hope. Each one had its own power; the Orb of Baast could steal and store souls, the Shadow Sword could turn whatever living creature it slashed into a low-level demon, and the Forlorn Hope was a mirror that could fulfill any wish but at the cost of the user's life."

"Was the last item the reason you joined them?" Blackfire asked.

"Yes," Kurama replied. "If I had the Forlorn Hope, I could save my mother. I didn't care for my own life, because I didn't feel I deserved it. Yusuke managed to save me by asking the Forlorn Hope to take his life instead of mine, and it was so touched by our willingness to sacrifice our own lives for the sake of another that it fulfilled the wish without taking either of our lives. After that, I turned myself in to the Reikai authorities, but they let me out for good behavior."

"That explains you, but how did Hiei end up joining you guys?" Blackfire asked.

"Yusuke beat him for all three Artifacts of Darkness," Kurama replied. "After six months, he and I were sent to assist him and Kuwabara in fighting the Saint Beasts in exchange for wiping our records clean. Each one of us fought a Saint Beast, and each of us won, although it wasn't easy."

"How can you change back to your demon form?" Blackfire asked. "Not that I mind; you're really hot in yohko form."

Kurama smiled. "It all started with the Dark Tournament. In the semifinals, we fought Team Urautogi, who used enchanted items to enhance their power. One member, Uraurashima, used the Idunn Box, a mystical box that contained vapors that once inhaled would revert the inhaler to his or her younger self." He chuckled. "He didn't know that my younger self was Yohko Kurama. After the semifinals were over with, Suzuka gave me a potion created from the Fruit of a Past Life, which would make me revert to Yohko. Over the past few years, I've recovered enough of my youki so that I can now change back to Yohko Kurama without outside stimuli."

"I guess we really should get out of bed," Blackfire said. That said, she removed herself from Kurama's embrace and got out from under the covers of the bed. "Of course, we have to clean up first. Care to escort me to the bathroom, Kurama?"

Kurama got out of bed as well and began walking to the bathroom. Blackfire followed him, eyeing his rear end.

Nice butt, she commented mentally.

Kurama smirked to himself, knowing full well that she was checking him out. Such was the effect he had on women, he mused.

Finally, they were in the bathroom. Kurama pushed aside the shower curtain and stepped into the shower, turning the "HOT" and "COLD" knobs until the water was at the proper temperature.

"Care to join me?" he asked.

Blackfire entered the shower and they stood underneath the showerhead, letting the water fall over their bodies. Kurama grabbed the bar of soap and began to work it into a fine lather. "Do you mind if I soap you?"

"Not at all," Blackfire replied, turning so that her back was facing him.

Kurama began to lather up Blackfire's back and then her front. However, it didn't escape her notice that Kurama seemed to be caressing her more than he was actually lathering her.

She let out a low chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Kurama asked.

"That you would go to such lengths just to be able to touch me," Blackfire replied. She smirked. "Then again, I suppose you just can't resist a sexy woman like me, now can you?"

"Do you like it?" Kurama asked, his voice low and sensuous.

"I like it a lot," Blackfire replied.

"Remember what I said about having to return to our teammates so we could train for the Shadow Combat?" Kurama asked. He smirked wickedly. "I never said we couldn't have a little quickie right here in the shower."

"Oh, you're bad," Blackfire said. She smirked at him. "But I like bad boys."

Genkai's temple

"What's taking Kurama and Blackfire so long?" Rinku asked. "It's getting boring waiting for them."

"I know what'cha mean," Jin agreed. "What could they be doing?"

"Screwing each other's brains out," Changeling muttered.

"Do not worry, friends," Starfire said. "I am sure that they will return shortly."

"Yeah, so don't worry," Raptor added.

"I think Changeling's right," Yusuke said.

"What do you mean, Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked.

"I mean that they probably are screwing each other's brains out," Yusuke replied. "I mean, didn't you see how antsy Kurama got whenever he was near Blackfire?"

"Now that I think about it, I remember back in the arcade, he was glaring at us for checking out Blackfire," Kuwabara said. "He looked like he wanted to kill us."

Hiei just smirked.

"What is it, Hiei-niisan?" Yukina asked.

"All in due time, imouto-chan," Hiei replied cryptically. "All in due time."

Just then, Kurama and Blackfire returned.

"Speak of the devil," Genkai said. "How was your outing?"

"It was wonderful," Blackfire replied.

"Yes, and quite relaxing as well," Kurama added.

"Is that all?" Cyborg asked, smirking.

"What do you mean?" Blackfire asked.

"You two were out all day, never came back the entire night, and you took your sweet time getting back here this morning," Cyborg replied.

"What he means is ---" Changeling interrupted himself by changing into a wolf and sniffing the air. In wolf form, he communicated telepathically, You guys did it!

"Glorious!" Starfire exclaimed, hugging Blackfire and Kurama. "You have finally become lovers!"

Hiei just hung back, smirking as if he'd known all along.

"It's about time," Yusuke said.

"What do you mean?" Kurama asked.

"It's been obvious since the day you met each other that you liked each other," Yusuke replied. "It's just good that you're finally together."

"So how was it?" Kuwabara asked.

Kurama and Blackfire looked at him with blank expressions.

"C'mon, we gotta know," Changeling said.

"I must admit, I'm curious as well," Botan said. She grabbed Blackfire's arm and took her aside. "How was he?"

"Huh?" Blackfire asked, pretending that she didn't have a clue what Botan was asking.

"Last night," Botan replied. "I bet he's excellent. Meow!"

"You're right," Blackfire said, smirking. "He is excellent." She chuckled. "And I bet you're really jealous. Ha!"

As for Kurama, Cyborg, Changeling, Yusuke, and Kuwabara had surrounded him. Chu had joined in as well.

"So how was she?" Chu asked. He smirked lecherously. "Bet she's a wild girl in the sack."

"Yeah," Yusuke agreed, smirking similarly.

Like you wouldn't believe, Yohko/Shuichi thought. Out loud, Kurama said, "I fail to see how that's your business."

"Don't you fools get it?" Touya asked. "If he doesn't wish to talk, then he doesn't have to talk."

Hiei just chuckled.

"What's so funny, half-pint?" Kuwabara asked.

"The fact that you're so reticent about your night with Blackfire is quite a change from your old habits," Hiei said to Kurama.

"C'mon!" Cyborg exclaimed. "We gotta know!"

"Yeah!" Changeling agreed.

Kurama's face was expressionless, but inside he was struggling not to summon his Rose Whip and lash the whole lot of them to death.

"I think it's pretty rude to hassle a bloke like that," Jin said. "If he doesn't wanna share, that's his business and we oughtta respect that."

"I don't see why you're all so curious," Rinku said. "All they did was mate."

"You're young," Chu said, patting Rinku on his cap-covered head. "You'll learn." Rinku just growled in annoyance from the gesture.

"Congrats, Kurama," Yusuke said, smirking. "Hope you can handle her."

"Enough," Raven said. "We're supposed to be training, not harassing Kurama for details on what he did with Blackfire last night."

"Yes, I would have to agree with what Jin said earlier," Starfire said. "It is rude to interrogate a person for information that they wish to keep secret."

"Cyborg, Changeling, leave Kurama alone," Raptor said.

"Fine, fine," Cyborg conceded. "C'mon, Changeling."

"If that's out of the way, we can continue training," Genkai said.

They went outside the temple, and training resumed.

Kurama, Blackfire, and Touya trained together. Yusuke trained with Raptor and Raven, and Hiei trained with Jin and Rinku. Starfire trained with Kuwabara and Shishi. Cyborg and Changeling trained with Chu. Genkai ended up training with Suzuka.

"I warn you, Genkai, I will not allow myself to be humiliated again by you," Suzuka said.

"And what enchanted item do you have up your sleeve this time?" Genkai asked.

"The Dragon's Fang," Suzuka replied, drawing a sword with a dragon's-head hand guard.

"And what power does the Dragon's Fang possess?" Genkai asked, smiling in amusement.

"You'll see," Suzuka replied.

Genkai appeared in front of him in a blur of speed and punched him rapidly, sending him flying into a nearby tree.

"C'mon, Suzuka, you're not even trying," she said.

"Like I said, you'll see," Suzuka said, getting up.

Genkai let out a short chuckle. "Ah, so you're not as weak as you were in the Dark Tournament after all."

"You've been training me for the past four years, remember?" Suzuka replied.

Genkai leaped into the air and kicked him hard.

"Should I use you for a trampoline like I did before?" she asked.

Suzuka just got up.

Genkai pointed a glowing finger at him in the gun-firing position. "Ready to say goodnight?"

"Come on, then, Genkai," Suzuka challenged.

"As you wish," Genkai said. Then she fired a Spirit Gun blast, which should have knocked Suzuka out cold. However, it didn't, because Suzuka used the blade of the Dragon's Fang to block the blast. In actuality, it absorbed the blast. "What the hell was that?"

"One of the Dragon's Fang's powers," Suzuka replied. "The ability to absorb energy attacks. Now watch what it can do with that energy it just absorbed." The Dragon's Fang glowed blue. "Dragon's Fury!" He slashed downward with the blade and unleashed the borrowed rei-ki in a dragon-shaped wave.

Genkai was barely able to avoid the Dragon's Fury. Her dodge landed her on the sturdy branch of a tree. "Clever move, Suzuka. But you should have saved it for one of my more powerful attacks."

"And why's that?" Suzuka asked.

"Because I know now not to use energy attacks against you again," Genkai replied. "So the Dragon's Fang's power is useless."

Not quite, Suzuka thought.

Genkai swiftly leaped down from the tree branch and landed with a hard kick to Suzuka's chest. As he flew, she pursued him with fast punches and kicks. Finally, she ended with a vicious punch that sent him plummeting to the ground.

Suzuka rose to his feet, using the Dragon's Fang to support himself.

"Is that enough, or do you want some more?" Genkai asked. "Bear in mind that I'm not using my energy attacks, so the Dragon's Fang is useless."

"Not exactly, Genkai," Suzuka replied. The Dragon's Fang's blade ignited into flame. "Fire Dragon, strike now!" He slashed the air with the Dragon's Fang, creating a crescent of flame that smashed into Genkai.

That was far stronger than I had anticipated, Genkai thought. Out loud, "How did you do that?"

"The Dragon's Fang can also call forth the spirits of dragons and absorb them into its blade," Suzuka replied. "As you can tell, I summoned a fire dragon's spirit."

"Impressive technique," Genkai said.

"Thank you," Suzuka said.

Genkai ran at Suzuka again, but he had another trick up his sleeve. He stabbed the Dragon's Fang into the ground, shouting, "Earth Dragon, strike now!"

The power of the Earth Dragon sent a rippling wave through the ground that split it beneath Genkai's feet. She jumped to a nearby tree and then jumped off that tree to kick Suzuka, who used the Dragon's Fang to block. He was quite surprised to find Genkai balancing on the blade.

"You've improved, Suzuka," Genkai said. Then she jumped off the blade and knocked Suzuka to the ground with a solid kick. "But if you can't manage to beat me, you haven't a snowball's chance in hell of defeating Toguro."

Meanwhile, Cyborg and Changeling were having a hard time hitting Chu with their attacks.

"Let's see you dodge lightning!" Cyborg shouted. "Rai, kaminari, ikazuchi --- Rava Shock!" His cannon-arm fired a blast of techno-spirit lightning that, for all intents and purposes, should have hit Chu. Unfortunately, it didn't.

"Sorry, mate," Chu said. "I'm just too fast for the likes of ya. Nice attack, though. Close one, too."

"Why'd you use 'ikazuchi' in that chant?" Changeling asked.

" 'Ikazuchi' is Japanese for 'fast thunder,'" Cyborg replied. "It was supposed to boost the speed of my Rava Shock. I don't see why it didn't hit him."

"I'm just too fast for ya, mate," Chu boasted.

"Let's see you dodge this!" Changeling shouted and morphed into a green Cerberus. All three of his heads roared and he shot fire out of all three mouths. Chu just dodged every attack Changeling threw at him and then rushed the three-headed hellhound.

Just then, Cyborg tackled him. "Taser grip!" Ten thousand volts of techno-spirit electricity ran through Chu.

"Nice one, mate," he said, and then pushed Cyborg off him. Changeling leaped on him, but Chu threw him at Cyborg. Changeling managed to change back to human form just in time to avoid crushing him. "You gave me a good run there, mates. Let's do it again sometime soon, okay?"

"Sure," Changeling said.

Two weeks later

"Tomorrow night is the culmination of everything we've been training for," Genkai said. "Tomorrow night, six of us will face Rando and his allies. Based on what I've seen of the progression of your abilities and skills, I've determined that the six who are best suited to fight are ---"

A dark chuckle interrupted her.

"I'd know that laugh anywhere!" Raptor yelled. "Show yourself, Slade!"

All the fighters turned to see Slade, standing in the doorway leading outside.

"Slade," Raptor spat.

"Not very happy to see me, are you?" Slade mocked.

"What the fuck are you doing here, you psycho?" Raptor asked.

"I'm here to deliver a message," Slade replied. "The message is that we've changed the rules for the Shadow Combat. It'll be a tournament now."

"A tournament?" Hiei asked.

"Yes, Hiei, a tournament," Slade confirmed. "Rando and I have each formed our own teams of three. You will have to do the same. The rules are that the opposing teams will have to fight together, instead of one pair of opponents fighting at a time. The one fighter that remains in the ring will win the match for his or her team."

"I'll be looking forward to seeing you in the Shadow Combat," Raptor said. "Just so I can have the pleasure of shutting you down."

"I look forward to your efforts," Slade said. "Good-bye." He turned around and walked away.

"Hey, wait," Kuwabara said. "How are we supposed to form teams of three when there are only seventeen of us? I don't know that much math, but I know enough to know that 17 can't be divided by 3 evenly."

"Yeah, one team's only going to have two people and leave them at a real disadvantage," Rinku agreed.

"I have to admit, the fool has a point," Hiei said.

"I guess that's as close as you'll ever get to agreeing with me," Kuwabara commented.

"Not quite," Genkai said.

"Do you have some mysterious fighter hiding away in this temple, Genkai?" Yusuke asked.

"You could say that," Genkai said. She turned to a door inside the temple. "You may come out now."

The door slid open, and a girl that looked to be in her late teens or early twenties stepped out. She was dressed in a kimono-styled earth-brown top and loose tan-colored pants. She wore a tan sash around her small waist and a ninja-style mask of similar color. However, the mask did not conceal the big blue eyes that stared out from beneath it.

"You don't have to hide your face," Genkai said.

"Hai, Genkai-sensei," the masked girl said. She removed the mask, allowing all present to see her face.

"It can't be!" Raptor breathed out.

"Unbelievable," Raven stated.

"It is you!" Starfire exclaimed.

"How?" Cyborg asked.

"Hn," Hiei grunted.

"I can't believe it," Changeling said in hushed tones. "It's . . ."

End Notes: I'm so evil to end it there, aren't I? Who could that mysterious girl possibly be?

The history that Blackfire told Kurama was derived from what I knew of her comic-book history, combined with my explanation as to how Blackfire got into thievery and why she knew all those alien martial arts.

I once heard somebody rant about how most YYH writers treat Yohko and Shuichi as two souls in one body. The way I see it is that Yohko Kurama and Shuichi Minamino are two sides of Kurama's soul. Shuichi is the gentle and compassionate person that Kurama became due to his human mother's love, and that is one side of him. Yohko Kurama is the ruthless bandit that he used to be, and that is another side of him. Also, in the episode "Yohko Kurama: Legendary Bandit," Yohko and Shuichi/Kurama actually had two lines of dialogue together before Yohko reverted to "Shuichi." So there is a basis for my theory.

Now for the translations:

Youki - Demon energy

"Hiei-niisan" - Niisan is attached to an older brother's name for respect

Imouto-chan - Little sister ("-chan" added for affection)

Rei-ki - Spirit energy

Sensei - Can be attached to a person's name to show respect for them as a teacher, or some other educated person

And that's it. To learn who the mysterious girl is, you'll have to wait for the next chapter. Until later.