Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Demon Within ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

"I knew you'd be back, Shuichi."

"Of course you did. I can't survive without a soul. Since yours is the only one available, I guess I'll just have to settle for it."

"My, my!" Yoko said, appearing before Kurama. "The little flower has grown some thorns. Plucking it will be more of a challenge, but that will only make it smell that much sweeter."

"I am not a flower," Kurama said with a quiet, but firm, voice.

"Hmm," the demon said, circling Kurama. "What, I wonder, could have possibly happened in that short amount of time to lead you to believe you had even the slightest chance fighting against me?"

"I was just thinking," Kurama said as if talking to an old friend. "I remember back at the Dark Tournament when I had tried to bring forth my dormant power. I wonder now why I had such trouble when you obviously wanted out so badly."

Yoko stopped and glared at Kurama, who just looked curiously back at him. "What are you trying to say?" he demanded.

"I'm saying that I don't think you are as strong as you want me to believe," Kurama said with a small grin.

"How could you say that," Yoko asked, bringing his face close to Kurama's, "after what I was able to do?"

"I'll admit that you caught me in a weakened state, but I assure you that won't happen again." From beneath his hair, he pulled out a red rose. Although Kurama couldn't see it in the darkness, Yoko laughed.

"Do you actually think that little trick could hurt me? It's the weakest weapon I ever invented! Not to mention the fact that you don't have any spirit energy without me. You can't hurt me."

"Oh, can't I?" Kurama asked with a sly grin. With a flick of his wrist, the simple rose transformed into a long, thorn-covered whip that could be seen in the dark as clearly as Yoko himself. "It seems I have a little bit of energy left, doesn't it?"

Yoko's smile slid off his face and he took a few steps backwards. "How can this be? Without me, you are nothing more than a mere human!"

Kurama absently flicked the whip back and forth, its tail coming closer and closer to Yoko's feet. The demon kept backing steadily away as Kurama followed him slowly around the hut.

"You can't hurt me!" Yoko cried out, jumping back as the whip struck the ground right where his feet had been moments before.

"Yet you seem afraid," Kurama noticed and flicked his whip faster and faster. It spun, snake-like, mere inches from Yoko's legs. "Shall I tell you why?"

Yoko said nothing as he continued to stay just out of reach of the thorny weapon. His eyes burned with hatred at the teenage human he had nearly defeated just a short time ago. This boy, who had been so weak, now seemed in complete control of the situation.

Suddenly, Kurama jerked the whip back to lay just behind his feet, leaving nothing between them. "You're afraid because . . . you are not real."

There was a slight flicker in Yoko's aura. "If I'm not real, then how am I standing here before you? How was I able to bring you to the brink of death before we were rudely interrupted by that sorry excuse of a Spirit Detective?"

"You are not the real Yoko Kurama," the red-head accused. "The true fox demon would not have spent so much time talking. He would have attacked ruthlessly, yet efficiently, to achieve his goal. You have done nothing but threaten. We are not really standing here, my conscious is clear, and I have been reunited with my soul.” He drew his arm back. “You are just a figment of a tormented mind."