Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ With Every Drop of Blood ❯ The Toguro Brothers ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any YYH stuff, but I do own this plot (to the extent of its originality) and my own characters

NO STEALING!!!

A/N: um...::scratches head:: I guess there's nothing much to these notes this time, but please enjoy the next chapter!! But I did skip the part with the Gokumonki person; this chapter is going to be pretty long anyway, and there really wasn't much to that part cept when Botan got captured for like thirty seconds—but on an add on to that, I have nothing against Botan, I just really haven't found many places for her to come in quite yet...

Thoughts

'Kira'

Fire Angel

::The Toguro Brothers::

The group barreled down the hallway now as their need for haste grew more urgent.

Mai couldn't help but pick up though, Kuwabara's thoughts about his beloved Yukina. It almost pained the Guardian to listen as he called out to the ice apparition, asking her to hold on. But she was suddenly surprised, when the young maiden's voice returned in reply.

Please, she said, Go back while you still can; none of you should get hurt because of me...

But Kazuma would have none of it, We're coming for you, don't worry!

The Guardian could almost see Yukina shake her head, No! You don't understand; the strongest of Tarukane's guards are here! Please go back!

Mai frowned at this; she couldn't sense any type of demonic aura nearby and if Yukina was as close as they thought she was, the guards appeared to have no energy around them at all.

Kuwabara must have felt the same way, But I can't sense anything.

They're here! She insisted nearly tearfully, Please, the Toguro's are stronger than any of the other guards, you have to go back!

But even as the apparition was speaking, the corridor suddenly grew dark and a sudden chill swept over the company. But they continued to run onwards in the darkness blindly. Lights flickered above them as they neared a pair of doors. A faint sliver of light was etched along the doorframe and spread eerily across the floor.

The doors seemed to fly open at their approach as the quartet raced down the hallway. The light from the room before them was blinding compared to the murky corridor and the four of them blinked back the glow.

When their eyes had finally adjusted to the light, they stood staring at the vast chamber before them.

All was white around them; all save for the blacked-out window stretched along the far wall, where no doubt Tarukane and his remaining goons were watching them in their little game. But before them were the two demons Yukina must have been talking about...

The Toguro Brothers.

Mai froze suddenly as her eyes locked onto the two demons; one was taller and more masculine while the other perched on his shoulder appeared as though his were some living corpse (A/N: yes I used the same term again, I know). The Guardian shuddered; something vaguely familiar about them, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Kuwabara's eyes shot towards the dark window above them and narrowed. He shook his fists suddenly at the unseen boss.

"Tarukane, you bastard! You're next after I get through with these pushovers!"

"Kazuma, calm down..." Mai told him softly and put a restraining hand on his arm, her eyes watched the pair of demons before them carefully, "I don't think you should underestimate these guys..."

The red head punched his fist into his hand, "Well no one's getting in the way of me and Yukina!" he roared.

Yusuke stepped on the other side of the Guardian and cracked his knuckles, "Loosen up, Mai...These guys are probably no harder than those other demons we've fought so far..."

She placed a firm hand on his shoulder now, "Yusuke, I'm supposed to be your Guardian, and I'm supposed to protect you—so listen to me dammit! You're too quick to judge your opponents; be smart about this; something doesn't seem right about these two..."

He watched her carefully before he sighed heavily, "Fine whatever; I'll be careful if you are."

The girl nodded slowly and gave him a weak thumbs-up, "Alright," she agreed reluctantly, but the Detective clearly noticed that she was upset about the whole ordeal. But what was the problem? They couldn't sense their energy; they probably weren't that strong anyway.

The two Detectives lined up next to one another with their fists raised. Mai took her staff in her hands uncertainly as Botan stood ready behind them for any injuries.

But Mai couldn't' take her eyes off of the taller of the two Toguros. Despite the fact that his eyes were shaded by the pair of black sunglasses, it was almost as if he held her gaze as well. He wore a deep forest green jacked and placed his hands in his pockets casually, which somehow added more uneasiness within the Guardian.

"Ready?" Urameshi asked the red-head and the boy grinned.

"Any time," he replied.

The two boys suddenly charged towards the pair of demons just as a sudden warning sense raced through the back of the girl's mind. Her eyes widened in horror as her Spirit Awareness kicked in, and the boys were still racing towards the demons. The Guardian quickly glanced towards the taller of the two as a sudden demonic aura began to surround him.

"Wait!" she cried frantically and dashed after them, but they had already sensed it.

The Younger Toguro tucked his fists at his side as the aura began to glow an eerie red color. The group watched warily as the muscles around his body began to bulge, growing in both size and strength. The jacket he wore was even beginning to strain a little as his physique continued to grow.

By the time this transformation was complete, the man before them now was nearly twice his original size and definitely twice as strong.

The smallest of the pair jumped into the air, his body suddenly rippling as if it were a puddle that had been disturbed. The demon's ghostly pale body melded into a new form as the quartet looked on in a frightful awe as he formed in a pale gray blade. The Younger Toguro quickly grasped the hilt as a smirk curled along his lips.

"My brother," he said, "Has the ability to transform into anything he wishes and is virtually indestructible..." he said as his shades flashed dangerously. His voice was low and dark; calm as if he knew they had no chance.

Without warning, he swung the sword in front of him, catching the two boys and slamming them into the ground. Mai was now left between the demon and the wall with nothing but Kira's staff in her hands.

But the Toguro took no time in charging towards the Guardian, his brother (A/N: that seems kind of odd saying that...) raised above his head. She couldn't move though, she stood frozen in terror as the demon continued to lunge forwards. Something about his cold, hard gaze had her paralyzed at the spot.

"Move, dammit!" Yusuke roared as he began to pick himself off the ground.

The girl suddenly snapped out of her stupor and swiftly raised Kira's staff over her head, the pinnacle suddenly shimmering a pale pink.

She cried out as she slammed the staff into the ground. Sudden rings of fire burst from the rod, ripping up parts of the tile in large tremors and heading towards the Toguro.

But the demon leapt into the air with ease, avoiding the flames the Guardian produced. He landed quickly onto the ground the moment the attack subsided and delayed not as he began to charge towards the girl once more with a speed that did not fit his size.

Frantically, Mai picked up her staff again and held it in front of her defensively as Toguro's sword/brother came plummeting towards her.

She winced as the shock of the blow trembled through her bones. Above her, sparks crackled as the two weapons made contact. She sensed him trying to bring the weapon upon her, seeing that his strength outmatched hers. The Guardian glanced up briefly to have her eyes lock on to Toguro's.

"I expected more from a fight with a Guardian," he said as a smirk curled at his jaw and the girl clenched her teeth angrily as the palms of her hands began to perspire causing her to begin to loose her grip on the staff.

Mai felt her hands slipping on the metal as the sword steadily forced itself downwards towards her head.

"Dammit, Mai!" Yusuke suddenly growled. But Toguro ignored his angry outbursts and made no move to hold off his attack, and instead raised the sword once more above his head; readying himself for the final blow.

Mai shut her eyes as she attempted to try and endure the attack while Toguro swung down with his blade.

But suddenly, the Guardian felt a pair of strong hand wrap around her middle and latch onto her as she was thrown to the side. A sudden tremor quickly followed as she tumbled to the ground. Rubble pelted her head as Toguro's brother collided into the ground.

She raised her head after the debris had settled to come across Yusuke lying protectively beside her; his face was scratched slightly and had a large bruise along his arm.

"Urameshi...?"

He gave her a small grin, "What's this now? The third time I've saved your life?"

The Guardian released a sigh of relief as he helped her to her feet. But instead of standing next to her in a ready stance like he normally did, he took his place in front of the girl defensively. Mai found this slightly odd and cocked an eyebrow at him, but he didn't seem to notice.

Across from them, Kuwabara clenched his fist, causing his Spirit Energy to shoot forward creating his renowned Spirit Sword. Yusuke's fists began to emit a soft blue light as he also prepared to fight.

"No one's getting in the way of Yukina and me!!" Kazuma cried as he lunged for Toguro, his compassion for the ice apparition flaring (no irony intended).

The demon made no effort to avoid the red-head's attack even as Kuwabara raised the energy-blade over his head. Toguro's fist recoiled to his side as he approached, but the red-head continued to race forward.

Time suddenly stood still as the demon thrust his fist into Kuwabara's stomach. His eyes bulged as time froze, but the minute it returned to normal, he was thrown backwards, tumbling over the ground.

"Kuwabara!" Urameshi roared with both anger at Toguro and his friend's stupidity. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth as he glanced at the demon. It was as if forever passed by before Kazuma slowly and weakly raised himself off the ground and to his feet. He said nothing, but the anger within him was clear within his eyes.

Yusuke still remained in front of the Guardian protectively while she cautiously held her staff before her.

"Dammit," he cursed and turned to Mai, his expression softening a little, "Stay here," he ordered, while giving her an all-too serious glare.

It was a moment or so before the girl nodded slowly and clutched her staff to her chest, her eyes however held a hint of uncertainty as she glanced towards Kazuma.

He followed her gaze briefly, "Botan will help him, Mai..." he sighed, "But I'm being serious; stay here and don't try to help me..."

Well that's stupid, was her first thought, I'm his Guardian for crying out loud...

She half expected him to go running off towards Toguro, but instead he stood where he was and raised his arm towards the demon. But his movements were so quick that the Guardian doubted that even Toguro would have enough time to doge—

But then again, she could be wrong.

"Spirit Gun!!" Yusuke roared. The blast erupted from his index finger and barreled through the tile flooring towards the demon.

Toguro stood facing the attack until what seemed it was directly in front of him before he suddenly leapt out of the way, allowing the blast to collide into the other wall.

Yusuke cursed profoundly as he made a swift dash towards the demon, his fist still clenched tightly at his side. And as he continued to run, he punched at the air.

"Shot gun!!" he cried as tiny blue bullets zipped through the air. Each one collided into the ground around Toguro causing rubble and dust to fling into the air in a giant cloud. Mai watched though, as the Detective suddenly disappeared into the haze.

But when the wreckage had cleared, Urameshi was suddenly standing directly in front of the demon, his index finger pointed towards his chest.

"Spirit Gun!!" he cried again, this time louder and more forceful as the attack exploded right into the demon.

Yusuke was thrown back by his own blast and tumbled over the ground before skidding to a halt several yards later. A new dust-filled cloud formed around Toguro, enveloping him; or rather his body since the Detective had fired the attack at such a close range.

The dust began to settle, however, and both the Guardian and Yusuke found that the attack had done no good.

Toguro no longer held his brother as a sword, but instead, the corpse-like demon had transformed into a breastplate to protect the other. And even on the shield, there were no signs of the slightest scratch or damage to behold.

Urameshi gritted his teeth dangerously as he cautiously made his way to his feet. And defying his orders, Mai quickly made her way next to him; ready to protect him if the demon were to attack.

Kuwabara carefully limped towards the pair, his face was scratched and a trickle of blood ran silently down from the corner of his mouth, "That son of a bitch is getting on my nerves," he muttered darkly.

There was a dark and uneasy silence that swept over the room as the tension between the trio and the Toguros grew. The demon merely stood there, staring at them with his black sunglasses in total and absolute silence...

Mai suddenly felt the tension sinking deeper and deeper within her, as if it were ready to snap at any given moment. What was wrong with this guy? Why couldn't they get a single hit out of him?! Her fists clenched dangerously around Kira's staff until her knuckles turned white. He was nothing; he was just a bastard that needed to have his head blown off and to die!

"Bastard..." she suddenly muttered, as an unexpected pink haze surrounded her; her anger coming from an area unknown to her...

The two boys turned to her with puzzling looks as the Guardian's anger began to grow. The staff in her hands seemed to thump with the same beating of her heart as small pulsations began to emit from the golden-wrought rod.

And without warning, the Guardian let out an angry cry, charging forward towards Toguro.

"Mai, you idiot!!" Yusuke hollered after her and tried to follow after her, but the girl found some way to outrun him. Toguro merely watched emotionlessly as she neared him, and didn't seem to find any threat in her.

She raised Kira's staff over her head as she drew closer to the demon, but he remained stead-fast and unmoving.

But before she could bring down the rod, Toguro's hand suddenly lashed out, clutched her by the neck. Mai cried out painfully as his fist constricted around her throat, closing off all and any air trying to reach her lungs.

"And I thought this fight would be challenging..." he taunted to her face, his black sunglasses penetrating through her, “But maybe that idiot Tarukane was right…maybe you all are just a bunch of children.”

She clenched her teeth furiously and tried to swipe at him with her staff, but only succeeding in having the rod bounce off of his brother's form.

The Guardian glared at him furiously even as she struggled to draw in the air around her. But out-of-the-blue, a sudden memory of the night of her recital flashed back to her; and the odd sensation she had encountered afterwards; the odd sensation that someone was watching her...

The odd sensation that hadn't seemed to leave her since...

Her eyes widened, "It was you..." she gasped.

Toguro smirked as his clutch tightened. Behind them both, Mai could hear someone quickly running towards them...Yusuke to be exact.

"Leave her alone, Toguro!!" he roared as he started to throw a punch.

The demon sneered when he caught sight of the Detective approaching quickly behind them. Gripping tighter onto the girl's throat, he suddenly hurled her across the room, sending her smashing into the tile flooring. She hit with such force that several craters appeared whenever she came in contact with the ground. By the time she stopped rolling however, a trail of blood now stained the floor where she had fallen on.

She lay there in what seemed like paralysis when she didn't make a single movement and her eyes stared up blankly at the ceiling.

"M-Mai...?" Yusuke stammered uncertainly towards the girl, but she didn't stir. Botan and Kuwabara stared after her speechless, unsure of what to do, but Toguro smirked in delight...

Interesting…

-:4:-

Koenma stared at the screen before him nervously. So far none of the three fighters had been able to but a scratch on the Toguros and were getting themselves beat up in the process...

And then there was the fact that Mai had suddenly rushed into things like that, and now she was lying on the ground in what appeared to be some sort of coma. The Guardian didn't even seem alive anymore; one could hardly tell that she was still breathing.

In the battlefield was total and absolute silence. The remaining three of the group watched on in a silent shock as if they hadn't truly gotten over the attack. The Toguros however, appeared all-too calm, even as the two boys suddenly began to attack at once. Neither of them was strong enough though, as the demon easily evaded both of their blows and even managed to strike at them as well.

The toddler glanced quickly towards Kurama who stood quietly next to the desk. And although the severity of his anger was not evident in his expression, Koenma was able to notice his fists clenched tightly at his side and a muscle in the red-head's jaw jerking slightly. His emerald green eyes were locked entirely on the screen; specifically Mai's lifeless body.

Come on, Yusuke...the toddler thought, Can't you think of some way to defeat these guys—?

He suddenly jerked out of his thoughts when he noticed Kurama abruptly began to leave the room.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Koenma demanded.

The red-head paused and turned his head, "I'm really no use to you here; paperwork just isn't my strong point..." and he casually left the chamber.

Koenma stared after him in both curiosity and nervousness...it was hard to decipher what Kurama would do when he got to Tarukane's mansion.

-:4:-

Yusuke gasped for breath as Toguro socked him in the stomach. Already trickles of blood poured from the corners of his mouth and beneath his hairline as well as several bruises as they began to form along his abdomen and arms. But then again, those were almost nothing compared to Kuwabara since he had made several more attempts at taking down Toguro than the Detective, even though the same anger flowed through both of them. In fact, Yusuke could have sworn that the red-head had a fractured arm or something of the sort.

"He's too quick," Urameshi growled as he gently grasped his bruised arm, "He's too damn quick even with those frickin muscles of his!"

Kazuma shook his head, "Even I can't get close enough to even try and hit him..."

The Detective glanced quickly back at Mai's lifeless form lying not ten yards away. Botan had found a way towards her and was now attempting to try and heal the poor girl out of her unconscious state. But still, the Guardian didn't stir and her eyes stared vacantly up at the ceiling.

"Urameshi..." Kuwabara limped towards him slowly, "I'm not giving up on Yukina...but I think we're running out of ideas," he glanced down at his hand and sighed, "I think I might have a plan...”

The pair stood beside one another as Kazuma called forth the last ounces of his Spirit Energy to draw out his sword.

"Well here goes nothing..." the red-head said quietly, "For Yukina...?"

Yusuke nodded.

Toguro faced them at the other end of the chamber, his eyes watching them from behind his black sunglasses. It wasn't a moment later then he suddenly began to charge towards the two.

Kuwabara followed the demon's lead, his sword sticking out towards Toguro.

"Now!" he cried.

The Detective swiftly raised his hand as a bright blue light began to glow from the tip of his finger. He aimed directly at the boy in front of him before firing.

"Spirit Gun!!" he roared.

-:4:-

A/N: sorry guys, I wanted to get this chapter over with and stuff, plus I have to get started on homework for the weekend ::shudders:: but I'll see you all next weekend when I'll hopefully update!!

Ciao ya'll!!!!!!!!!!