#what is it with Kurama and stomach wounds

[purplelescent]

The usual fighting style of the guys

[lightfeltmemories]

Hmmm, how about an Hiei x S/O or his crush headcannons? Which the S/O who's a goober, like a sweet and adorable and a very romantic one (overdramatic one...) And like thinking that the S/O is like tall (like I guess 5'10 or smth idk 😅) and he's a smol angry demon man like he doesn't know why he dated/developed feelings for a human that's like this but secretly loves them (I just love the opposite attract and tall and small dynamics xD)

oooooh i love this idea!! i decided to do both (starts off as a crush then he becomes a lover) and ngl i kind of took the enemies to lovers route with this one since i feel like it fits his character more. i also decided to go with the "goofy but very strong character" trope with the s/o because honestly? why not lol.

i surprisingly had a lot of fun writing this and it got longer than expected, he's a little ooc in some parts but eh it's not that big of a deal tbh.

tw: injuries, reader almost dies at one point, brief mention of reader having trauma,

lets be real, hiei found you annoying at first, not as annoying as kuwabara but damn near close.

when you were going to fight he didn't have much hope in you, you would probably die in under a second knowing your nature, but as soon as you put in work it almost made his jaw drop.

how he developed feelings for you was at that very moment, he doesn't realize it until much later.

the way his stomach gets this thing called "butterflies" when he's near you, he doesn't move away or threaten you when you get near or touch him (he did at first threatening to rip your arm off) but then he can't help but grow hot... uncomfortably hot.

he's thinking you put him under some type of spell, why does he feel this way? especially over a human? sure, you show courage, sure, you fight well, but guaranteed that there are others who do as well...

but then he comes to the realization, he's never met a demon that has ever made him feel this way.

and a certain red head can see right through it.

kurama eventually asks hiei if something is wrong, but hiei states that he's fine, it takes a bit of time to convince the fire demon to come clean, that something is wrong with him, whilst he was ranting, kurama was listening.. and then he came to the realization.. hiei had a crush on you.

when kurama tells him, he denies it, saying that you were just some annoying human, and that he doesn't have crushes or has the time for a relationship, but kurama knows all of that is a lie, he likes you, and him denying everything just makes things worse.

it was made very clear that this information was kept between the two demons, and eventually, hiei would have to tell you.

some time passes by and you manage to get into a scuffle, you end up injured and hiei comes to the rescue, but tells you not to think of it too deeply.

you don't say anything, but hiei has been acting strange, it's gotten to the point where yusuke and kazuma notice, but don't say a word, it's even weirder when it's just the two of you, he's a lot more.. quiet, and noticeably kinder to you, he doesn't insult you as much anymore, other than that, things remain the same.

while your tidying up your wounds you still managed to keep a smile on your face and a sense of humor, going as far as to make fun of your loss.

hiei would've called you an idiot and told you to shut up, but he can't bring himself to do it somehow, the way you talk, your laugh, your smile, the butterflies get stronger and the blush on his cheeks start to grow darker.

damn... what's with this woman?? why is she so... so....?

it would take so much of his ego and pride to just man up and admit that he likes you, he's not good with words unless it's telling people off (he gets better with this, i promise).

eventually, you got into another fight, and your opponent was tough, so tough in fact you almost die fighting, and you ended up passing out for hours upon hours, the team thought you would die.

hiei put on his cold front as usual, but on the inside he's panicking, he can't lose you, not right now at least.

when it's just him in the infirmary, he looks down at your unconscious body feeling the urge to shed a tear, your happiness is... gone, staring down at nothing but a blank face.

he hoped that you didn't die, he made sure that when you wake up, he'll tell you that he likes you... though it's easier said than done, it'll still take a lot out of him.

eventually he gets in a vulnerable state, kurama yet again see's him, noticing that he's shaking, sitting in the grass at the edge of a cliff, staring into the sunset.

they talk for a while, kurama eventually convinces him that if he can't just flat out tell her, he could just write her a note, and even better, give her a gift.

but what would she even like?

he heard in passing with your talk with his sister, yukina, that you really liked cupcakes (im sorry if you don't like cupcakes just try to imagine it's like some other desert), so, he gets some cupcakes.. from somewhere... somehow... and writes you a letter about how he wants you to be his mate.

and when you say yes.. you're locked in.. forever.

eventually you do wake up, find the cupcake next to the table and eat it, noticing the note and reading over it, it comes to you almost as a shock... hiei? likes you? no way, this has to be some type of elaborate prank.

you do end up seeing hiei, who can't even look at your face, i mean you have to admit.. he's cute, a cute little short guy, while you're taller than him by some inches, he doesn't seem to mind this, he knows he's stronger than you, height doesn't mean jack shit to him.

and so, you accept his request, and now, the two of you are officially dating! or at least that's what you think and he wants.

at first, nothing changes, he's still a tad bit nervous around you, he ordered that there should be no pda in front of the team, he's not ready to tell everyone yet.

when you two are alone, he still had barriers up, not feeling the most comfortable with you yet, the two of you talk and get to know each other, realizing that the reason you were the way you were was because of your trauma, so you masked it with humor.

it takes a while for the two of you to be more intimate (not sexual), holding hangs, hugging, kissing, of course when there wasn't anyone around.

the only person he trusts in regards of knowing about the relationship is kurama and mukuro, no one else.

it takes him a bit to admit that he definitely loves his s/o, and you might've been one of the best things that has happened to him.

[shatterthefragments]

8 questions game

Thank you @ongreenergrasses for the tag!

3 ships:

Shipping the Polyvessel characters 😘, Hardison/Parker/Eliot, and Andy/Quýnh (most combinations of the immortals if I’m being completely honest)

First ship:

You know. Despite the impulse to say it was destiel, I was into manga first. Before I had internet access at home and all - which was when I first ran into spn. My VERY FIRST ship was most likely Kenshin/Sanosuke from Rurouni Kenshin (first manga I ever read) or possibly Kurama/Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho (the second). (Followed shortly by shipping the entire Urameshi Team together ✌️✨)

Last song:

I thought it would be Blood Sport, but I was listening to the whole Sundowning album while doing some chores yesterday so I stopped during Take Aim. At time of posting: Boston Manor’s Floodlights on the Square. Updated with actual song playing at time of posting :P: levitate sleep token

Last movie:

Any Other Way, the Jackie Shane Story (documentary)

For a more fun movie: the last one I saw was Monkey Man (I had to look up when this and love lies bleeding came out to know for sure haha)

Currently reading:

…sleep token fanfiction? Might reread Martin Wilson’s What They Always Tell Us again. (This is a lie because I have a small box in front of it on my bookcase and I’m not going to move it.)

Currently watching:

Nothing? Er, no. I intend to rewatch II’s Hypnosis Drumeo video and it was the last video I watched?

Currently eating:

爸爸 made rice noodles with shrimp and leftover pork tongue/stomach. HOWEVER the leftovers are uh. Quite old and so I mostly just picked out the shrimp and hoped I wouldn’t get sick from them touching. (This is partially a lie bc I really love tongue so I had a few pieces of it before remembering what day they were cooked). Then I had a piece of pizza and the last tiny bit of a slice of cake. And an emergenC bc I am trying to make sure I get all my vitamins (didn’t have too many vegetables today either 😬) as my parents are recovering from covid and I’m not completely safe from getting it yet especially if I’m run down :P

Tomorrow: if I eat breakfast before leaving: eggs and maybe pizza; otherwise maybe a breakfast bagel and a nice latte from the cafe across from school :) hoping for the latte regardless.

Currently craving:

I mean. Nearly almost always: salmon belly sashimi. And wonton. A fluffy textured latte~ 💖

A good cuddle. To smush my face into a cat (ideally a silky furred one bc I find I’m less allergic??). To be able to make music (lungs are still recovering from being sick August and are currently also schrodingers coviding still so no wind instruments for me just yet (though I am slowly starting to regain the wind to sing a bit even if it’s jsut smooth and higher right now!!)) like FUCK!!! I could pick up a cello!!! (I cannot). To dance. To be able to just do the things I want to do without having to think Can I Afford This or Will It Fit In My Schedule? A nice not rushed time to have a candlelit shower (I can’t use my lotion candles yet though bc it’s only been three weeks since tattoo and they’ve been really slow to heal because of all the other open wounds from my recent eczema flare up (which I’m still. It’s healing but I pick at scabs so.)). A nice intentional slow day for painting. For having a stroll by the ocean. To figure out GarageBand to maybe start on a shitty(?) recording of one of my songs or a cover or something. STRING INSTRUMENTS. an organ… to hold someone’s hand. (An animal’s paw would also work even better if it’s a sweetheart that likes putting its paws on my hands and has fur that brushes up and jsut. Being trusted with their tiny little paws 🥹) immm. This got away from me a bit. After it being the hardest question I left blank for a while. To spoon and be spooned.

But also. 👀 FUCK what if it WERE possible to make a big trip to the states to get a calligraphic partial leg sleeve from a calligraphic specialist tattoo artist before they retire from tattooing?! (I do not have money for this with all the other stuff I’m doing. But. What IF? Maybe if I manage to save a few thousand before Christmas (this will never happen 😭) but like. Happy birthday to me ~ that time of year??)

Tagging: @branches-in-a-flood @elkkiel @ghoulangerlee @huntingteeth @hookedhobbies @polteergeistt

[bestnarutoduo]

Propaganda

Death Reaper Seal

Gonna summon death? A death god? And shove things into its stomach?

Who thought of this?

Uzumaki’s are ridiculous!

Get why it was used on Kurama, but Hiruzen used it on Orochimaru too and only got his arms!

This seal is so bullshit

Body Substitution Jutsu (Orochimaru version)

What the heck Orochimaru?

So gross

He can regenerate!?

Heal every wound!

But he also litterally has to vomit out of his own body to do it

How did he think of this technique (snake summons???***)

Seem’s to have a thing for vomiting things up (snakes, sword)

Submitter wishes they could have seen Jiraiya and Tsunade’s reactions to seeing this shit

Soap Bubble Jutsu

Blowing bubbles to blow things up, capture and/or melt people, or as a mode of transportation

What a way to apply your chakra Utakata

[bonescribes-a]

@vancreux: ❝ don’t move. you’ll only make the pain worse. ❞ // Hua Cheng to Kurama

kurama hisses through his teeth , following the stranger's advice and stilling himself . emerald eyes , as they blink slowly , focus on the face above him -- and find he is indeed quite unfamiliar . he breathes -- the scent , too , is odd . not quite human , not quite demon . a spirit , perhaps ?

more important than that , though , is the wound in his gut . ( he really needs to stop taking hits to the stomach . it's really going to cause problems , one of these days . ) it's causing quite a bit of pain -- even not looking at it , he can only assume it's rather gruesome .

" who are you ? " he asks , remarkably calm despite the pain . " what do you want ? "

[musicandteddybears]

‘sup folks. have a bit of writing inspired by one Rayshippouuchiha’s many AUs, specifically her Fishcake’s Psychic AU. Here’s a link, enjoy! Anyway, i was going to submit this to her blog, but then I don’t trust it to not get eaten, so putting this on my blog instead. It’s been forever and a day since i actually posted any writing here, huh? Sorry ‘bout that, motivation has been absolute zero, and what writing I DO have tends to stay in gdocs or discord rambles at a friend. But i really liked that AU, and i wanted to write something inspired by it. So here we go, have at it, be polite, and if you want, tell me how you liked it.  More of this may show up, I dunno, I keep poking at it and adding more stuff to various scenes, or more scenes in general. No promises though. Oh, and in regards to Naruto not lying about big things, but small ones? I headcanon that he would tell little kid lies, y’know? Like those ‘I’m trying to get out of trouble’ lies when you break something or do something you’re not supposed to. _______________________________________________________________ This is how it starts: Naruto Uzumaki, age 7 and a half, (practically 8 if you ask him, thank you very much) sees a ghost on the way to school. He doesn't think much about it, he just keeps walking. The ghost follows him, and he has to try very hard not to run. The ghost is covered in very bad wounds, blood still seeping through their clothes, or what's left of them anyway. The ghost keeps staring at him, and at some point during class, seems to realize that Naruto can see them. And a desperate look shows on their face the longer they watch him.The result is that they attempt to… hijack would probably be the best way to describe it. The aftermath is not pleasant. It means Naruto runs out of class, hands clamped over his mouth, bolts down the hall, and into the boys bathroom. He knows he won't make it to the toilet in time, but the trash can is the next best thing. He violently heaves up his breakfast, privately regretting the loss and wondering what the heck made his stomach so upset.

What he doesn't know is that it's the Kyuubi's fault. Kurama does not take kindly to sharing, and let the spirit know it in very clear terms.

("Fuck off!! There's no room for anyone else in here. This is MINE.”) Naruto skips the rest of the day, goes home and huddles under his blankets in bed. He does much of the same the next day, but on day three, he drags himself to school. Again he sees the ghost, but this time they look apologetic. They mouth the word ‘sorry’ and Naruto isn’t quite sure what to make of that.  A voice rumbles in the back of his head. ‘Just say you accept it and keep going or you’ll be late.’  So he does, and they nod and fade out. The next time Naruto sees them, they’re clearly trying to speak, but he can’t hear anything. They look frustrated, and he wants to help but isn’t sure how. Then he overhears a conversation about the occult. Something about a zealot preaching about the spiritual side trying to communicate with the physical plane, but nobody is willing to open themselves. And that requires a trip to the library and as much research as he can stand, which is about 2 hours, tops. But it results in Naruto deciding that yes, he wants to communicate with the spiritual plane. After all, part of being a shinobi is helping others, right, no matter how intangible they are.The next trick is figuring out how to communicate. The books were pretty vague about that, but they did mention that lights had been used, along with letter boards that used a triangular thingy. (Naruto later learns that they’re called Ouija boards and planchettes.) One of the local occult stores is having a sale on inventory, and despite his usual abysmal luck with stores, he takes a chance anyway. Naruto goes home with several strings of Christmas lights, tape, a new notebook with a matching pen, and a travel-sized ouija board. It’d been cheaper than he expected, but at least the store owner hadn’t immediately flipped her lid and demanded he get out. He spends the day setting up the lights on a wall in his living room, and adding letters underneath them. That night is filled with new knowledge. That ghost he'd met earlier? Their name was Harada Himiko.  They were from one of the smaller clans in Konoha, and had died on a mission a few years back, betrayed by one of their teammates. The teammate was a spy for Iwa. Said teammate had given a standard report about what went wrong, and while the Hokage was a little suspicious, the report was accepted anyway as no real wrong-doing was proved, and in the ninja line of work, sometimes things just happen despite their best efforts. But the Iwa plant is still in the village, biding their time to pass along relevant information as they see fit. They can’t move on until the Hokage knows the truth, and they apologize again for trying to possess him, they hadn’t been aiming for harm, just help. They hadn’t expected the bijuu already residing in him. And that’s how Naruto learns about the fox, about being a jinchuuriki, about why the village hates him so much. (He cries himself to sleep later, and Himiko sits beside him and apologizes again, they thought he knew.) Naruto agrees to help Himiko, but he warns them that since most adults ignore him, he doesn’t know how well it’ll go over. They tell him that as long as he tries, as long as he can get a message to the Hokage, it will help. In his defense, the next time he meets with the Hokage, he brings up the Himiko issue. Sarutobi doesn't quite look like he believes him, but Naruto points out that never once has he lied about anything big. Little things yes, about whether he skipped school or not, if he pulled this specific prank or did that certain graffiti, but never anything majorly important, he knows better, and he’s always owned up to the stuff he did anyway after awhile. (Only if there was proof of course, and one of the benefits of being able to pull pranks and run from ANBU is that he is damn good at not leaving proof unless he wants to. Paint is easy to wash off, after all.) Sarutobi still doesn’t look convinced, and. That hurts, actually. Especially since he had to find out about the Fox from a ghost and Jiijii knew and didn’t tell him and... (It shakes Naruto’s faith in the man, just a little.)  So Naruto mentions a little detail that nobody else would know, and Sarutobi agrees to look into it. The Hokage's tune quickly changes once it's discovered that Naruto was telling the truth. The spy is captured and imprisoned, then executed after all useful information had been… extracted from them. Which leads to another matter. Sarutobi never thought he’d be apologizing to a child, especially not one that regards him as a sort of grandparent, but part of being an adult and a leader of a village is knowing when one is wrong. And even though he can’t see the cause, there’s a heavy sense of disapproval being radiated in his direction despite all his guards being gone for the day. (That would be several Uzumaki ghosts who haven’t made their presence known to Naruto yet.) _______________________________________________________________ Gonna split this ‘cause it’s kinda long. Part 2 coming up soon! Edit: Part 2 is right over here! Click!

[airashisakura]

For @ssskmonth Prompt used: Pride

Present

A/N: Major spoilers warnings for those who doesn't follow Boruto Manga. After chapter 55 events.

Part 1

FFN | Ao3

As they stepped into the village via a portal, Sasuke was glad he had made it to the village with his best friend and the two kids. It wasn’t a celebration and a welcome with warm embraces like the last time when they were back after defeating Momoshiki. With blood gushing out of his left eye and jolts of pain coursing through his head, Sasuke was back home.

He wasn’t shaken up by events that had happened. Sasuke Uchiha had always been a pragmatic shinobi. He had always analyzed probable outcomes from multiple angles. Whatever happened, nothing felt unbelievable to him.

He was ready to die for the village, and what he had lost was nothing.

He didn’t regret any of it, but when he saw Sakura, what he saw crushed the pride that he had carried when that bold declaration rolled off of his tongue.

Although Sakura looked calm and collected, he didn't fail to notice how Sakura's chakra flickered while she passed healing chakra to stop the bleeding. Yet again, he had troubled her.

Fortunately, as Sakura told him as she scribbled a note afterwards, despite the proximity of the kunai to the internal carotids, and the optic nerves, he would only suffer from a minimal visual disorder in his other eye.

The lingering touch of Sakura’s fingers while she cleaned the wound was soothing. He wanted to lean more to her touch. The beeping of machines and the presence of other medics reminded him that he was in the hospital.

Sasuke didn’t want to, but Sakura insisted he should take tranquilizers. Everything had been in haze after that. When he regained consciousness, his head was still throbbing and vision blurred.

"Naruto?"

He wanted to say something more personal to Sakura, maybe a reassurance that he was fine. Nothing came up. Instead, his concern for his best friend took over.

Sakura sighed audibly before responding, "Naruto is doing fine. His body didn't show any abnormalities without Kurama.”

Sakura noted the outputs that machines provided, and replied, in a tone softer than before, “I made sure myself."

Sasuke sighed in relief.

Some things hadn’t changed over years, but he realized that neither did Sakura.

When Sakura came closer to him to take a look at his eye, Sasuke tried to hold Sakura's gaze. He searched for the warmth in his wife’s gentle smile and green eyes to soothe him. Instead, he found furrowed pink brows and eyes full of hurt and worry. They didn’t speak another word as Sakura checked his wound.

It was like the time when they had traveled together. Whenever she had treated him after he got badly injured, he had always met with her silence. He couldn't deny that he had done the same this time too.

Later that evening, the Hokage himself came to meet him along with Boruto. Although he was relieved to see Naruto in one piece, he was annoyed to see that Naruto had resumed his duties while he was still bedridden.

Boruto came to him with his sincerest apology. It wasn't Boruto's fault, and Sasuke knew that when darkness and ignorance took over a person, they could do unthinkable crimes.

Boruto's cerulean eyes didn't reflect their usual brightness. Sasuke wanted to keep the future bright. He had given everything up for that — all those years of his life that he had spent away from his daughter. He questioned himself: Was it all in vain?

After Boruto left, Naruto told him about the pills that Amado had given him.

“Have you lost it? Who knows what side effects it could have?” Sasuke huffed in anger.

“It’s a gamble.” Naruto sighed.

“Dobe, he is your son,” Sasuke spat back.

Naruto sighed, “This was brought up during the Go-Kage meeting, and I assured I’ll do what needs to be done.”

Perhaps something had changed. Sasuke realised he wasn't talking to the same Naruto who had once gone against the Kages to bring his friend back. However, he wasn’t surprised. He understood Naruto’s duty as Hokage too. Naruto would not be the first person Sasuke had known who had chosen peace over family.

Naruto smiled wearily, “I don't even like it.” He paused for a moment, and spoke again, “But it’s better than becoming a monster.”

Sasuke couldn’t disagree with that either. The frown on his face disappeared as he took in Naruto’s words. He himself was ready to take extreme measures against Boruto. What infuriated him more was that in his present condition, he couldn’t do anything.

All Sasuke could do now was trust Naruto to figure out how to fix Boruto's life — like Naruto did for him. Naruto grinned as if understanding and Sasuke nodded, acknowledging it.

Naruto walked closer to him and placed his bandaged hand on his shoulder. “Teme, get better as soon as possible. Else I’m going to fire you from your job.”

Sasuke scoffed, “As if I’m going to listen to you, Usuratonkachi.”

Naruto grumbled, his shrill voice piercing Sasuke’s ears, “I'm the Hokage, dattebayo!”

*****

There were a lot of things that unsettled Sasuke about the hospital, and he was glad that he didn't have to stay there very often. He hated the beeping of machines, and the pity offered by nurses. It reminded him of his younger self — a criminal turned war hero, badly beaten and manipulated, barely hanging onto his life with only an arm, and with a lot of regrets, guilt, and anger.

Now in the confines of his own room, all he could do was to feel the same emotions overflowing — only this time he could justify his sacrifices.

Did Itachi feel this way?

Although he had followed Itachi's path by prioritizing peace over his own selfish needs, he knew in his heart whatever he was doing was nothing compared to what Itachi had done for Konoha. It was gloriously incomparable to what small contribution Sasuke himself had made, and it hit hard that no matter how much he tried, he would always be unable to catch his nii-san.

He picked up the scroll that was lying on the bedside table when he heard a knock on the door. It was Sarada, he knew, and so he told her to come in.

“Didn’t mama tell you not to strain your eye?”

Sasuke peered from his raven locks, and made out, though not very clearly, a frown on Sarada's face that resembled his.

The gauze over his other eye made it more difficult. He was habituated with the use of one eye when he had to shut his Rinnegan off to preserve chakra. Now with one eye left, he was having problems adjusting his vision.

He was trying to read in order to figure out how he could manage with an eye as he had managed with a hand. However, he didn’t explain this to his daughter, who had left his lunch on the bedside table. He also didn’t answer her previous question but instead threw the scroll on the other side of the bed.

“How are you feeling today?”

"Better," he lied, keeping his expression stoic.

Maybe Sakura had been right when she offered help to fix his hair and the stubble beard scattered over his face.

He had refused back then. What difference would grooming make when he was now missing an eye and a hand?

He knew this feeling very well. It coiled inside his stomach when he saw his reflection in the mirror. This was the same feeling he’d felt the past when he first saw himself with his arm severed — he felt incompetent and disgraceful — though the loss of limb was a price he had to pay. He hadn’t hesitated then to punch the mirror and bleed his good hand out.

His attention shifted towards Sarada, who stood in front of him, brooding about something. He couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked Sarada, patting his hand on the side beside him, gesturing for her to sit.

Part 3

Part 2

[ga-yuu]

~Kurama~Main Story Chapter 8~

This is my favorite chapter!!!!

Chapter 7

*

*

*

-------Part 1-----

Kurama: “...............I don’t like beasts that flatter me like cats. I’d rather....”

Benkei: “Have good sake and snacks?”

Kurama(smile): “You understand me well. Let’s quickly end this crappy battle and return to Hiraizumi in triumph.”

(....I wonder if Kurama is even aware.)

The expression on Kurama's face, which had been so bored just a moment ago, has changed.

To be alive and well since Benkei-san's arrival.

Benkei: "Hey, Kurama. Don't fight too hard. You'll have a hard time keeping up."

Kurama: "Don't give me orders. Killing four or five soldiers is nothing to me."

Benkei: "It's no use taking sense to you----Look out!"

(Ah)

After a quick kick to the horse's stomach, Benkei-san switches places with Kurama.

My body shook from the impact and Kurama easily supported me.

Kurama: "He has good instincts for a man of his size."

Benkei: "Why does size matter?"

The white blades of miscellaneous swords and swords in an arc as the horse in driven attack the enemy.

After that----

Enemy soldier 10: "RETREAT! RETREAT!

Kurama attacked and Benkei-san defended in the form that had somehow become solidified.

At last, the rebels succeeded in repelling the enemy.

Kurama: "That's it? Man, that didn't even pass my boredom."

Benkei: "Your leisure time may have given the enemy survivors nightmares for a while though."

(-----I got it! I finally understand the strange feeling I've had for so long.)

I remember a conversation I had with Kurama before I came here.

------FLASHBACK------

Kurama: "I will not allow Benkei, Yoshitsune's property, to die in vain, so that his sword and his soul may be clouded."

Kurama: "And."

Yoshino: 'And?"

Kurama: "Benkei is good at making snacks."

-----FLASHBACK ENDS-----

(I think Kurama probably meant what he said at that moment.)

(But I know that I, the enemy, saw it.)

If they didn't recognize each other, they wouldn't be able to work together in battle, they wouldn't be able to have a friendly conversation like that...

(Kurama seems to not realize....that he loves Benkei.)

-----Part 2-----

(Kurama seems to not realize....that he loves Benkei.)

What came to mind was the conversation we had on the way to this place with the soldiers.

-----FLASHBACK------

Yoshino: "But Kurama's words inspired the soldiers. If they'd only been afraid, they would have shriveled up, wouldn't they?"

Kurama: "In this army, my identity is supposed to be that of a kind of foreign warrior who helps Yoshitsune. That's why those who worship Yoshitsune so blindly are so annoyingly humble towards me."

Yoshino: " I see. Hmmm........"

Kurama: "I don't know what you're obsessed with, but I don't see the point in questioning me."

Yoshino: ".....I don't understand myself."

------FLASHBACK ENDS-----

(In the rebel army, Kurama has behaved as he wanted. But...)

Despite his overwhelming power, Kurama does not try to deceive or manipulate people.

How much does that inspire his side?

(Kurama himself is too uninterested to know how important he is in the rebel force.)

(And yet, he won people's hearts despite their awe.)

Kurama: ".....? This woman is not moving. Is she dead?"

A suspicious tap on my cheek brings me back to reality.

Yoshino(blushing): "Yes, I'm alive."

Benkei: "I thought you were scared because we're on a rampage."

Kurama: "She's not that kind of woman. .....Oh, I get it now."

Yoshino: "Eh?"

Kurama: "You obeyed my order when I said you to sit still like an ornament. I see you're finally learning to be promising."

In a good mood, Kurama played with a tuft of my hair with his fingertips.

Yoshino(blushing): "Um sorry, but I was thinking of something else....

Kurama: "What?"

Benkei: "......................! Okay, I have a lot to ask, but first....when did you two get so close?"

----"We're not", is what Kurama and I replied at the same time, to Benke-san's question.

.................

Benkei: "......And also fox princess, became our prisoner."

------Part 3-----

Benkei: "......And also fox princess, became our prisoner."

After Benkei-san and Kurama turned back to the rebels encampment and were greeted with cheers.....

Out of sight of the soldiers, I was being interrogated by Benkei-san.

Yoshino: "....What will happen to me now?"

Benkei: "At any rate, we will take you to Hiraizumi. We'll have to ask Yoshitsune-sama for his judgment."

Kurama: "I'll tell you what, I picked her up and I'll do what I want with her."

Yoshino: "Wait...."

Naturally, he pulls me by the shoulders and my vision turns black.

Benkei: "Huh? What's the matter with you, Kurama?"

Kurama: "This ordinary woman has taken me by surprise, either by accident or inevitably, with her crazy behavior. If I keep her in my hands, I might see something unusual again."

Benkei: "Humans are not demon's lapdogs."

Kurama: "It's strange. Until today I thought you were no better than animals."

Benkei-san facepalms at Kurama's words.

Yoshino: "Um....Benkei-san."

Benkei: "Just call me Benkei. You call Kurama by his first name right. Do the same for me."

Yoshino: "Eh? ......Okay."

(He looks scary....but from the way he treats his men, he doesn't seem like a bad guy.)

But still, I kept my face up feeling alert.

Benkei: "You're the enemy, but apparently you've swept the heart by our demon. I....sympathize with that."

Kurama: "When did she sweep my heart? Do you think I have a lot of free time for her?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. I feel like I've not swayed....

2. When you say it like that....(+4/+4)

3. You didn't know what you were doing?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoshino: ".....It's strange because when you say it out loud, I feel like I've not swayed at all."

Kurama: "....? What are you taking for granted?"

Yoshino: "Ehhh....."

(Well, for Kurama, it means he just did what he wanted to do.)

Yoshino: "Umm...Thank you for your concern, Benkei. But I would like to ask you one question, did the Shogunate get out of the war safely?"

(Maybe I shouldn't be asking this of my enemies but....)

(I have no other way to get information now...)

Benkei: "........The Shogunate has withdrawn. The damage was only moderate. But unfortunately....."

------Part 4------

Benkei: "........The Shogunate has withdrawn. The damage was only moderate. But unfortunately.....They have lost their precious fox princess, which is a painful split when you think about it."

Yoshino: "I........"

I squeezed my fingertips in disappointment.

Benkei: "On second thought, it might be a good opportunity for you to get rid of the Shogunate. Yoshitsune-sama is not the one who takes the life of a woman who has no intention to fight against him."

Yoshino: ".....It's harder to do than hearing it...."

Kurama: "It's hard? Why not? Wouldn't you rather live it up?"

Yoshino: "I want to live. But I am a member of the Shogunate, even if my time is short."

Benkei and Kurama: "...........!!!"

Yoshino: "Because today I learned...Benkei is a man who would die for his men, and the rebel soldiers have a bond that allows them to fight for their friends. Perhaps Yoshitsune-sama is worthy and noble to be a lord of such people."

Benkei: "......He is."

Yoshino: "That's why it's so hard to stay an enemy."

When I muttered this Benkei's face lit up.

Kurama: "You're weak, but you're going to hold your ground in enemy territory."

Yoshino: "If I don't, I won't be stronger."

Benkei: "You do wanna die young, do you?"

Yoshino: ".....I don' wanna die."

(But....)

Yoshino: "-----For he who is gripped by fear is as good as not alive."

Kurama: ".......!"

Kurama immediately realized where the slurred words had come from.

-----FLASHBACK-----

Yoshino: “So you chose not to kill him....?”

Kurama: “He who is gripped by fear is as good as not alive. What is the use of slaying the dead?”

-----FLASHBACK ENDS-----

Kurama: ".....Cheeky woman."

A smile appeared on Kurama's lips and Benkei's eyes widened as if he saw something unusual.

..................

(I can't sleep.)

There was no way that I could escape from the encampment, which was under guard.

I'm sitting in front of my tent, looking up at the stars when----

Kurama: "What are you doing here?"

------Part 5-------

Kurama: "What are you doing here?"

Yoshino: "OH, hey Kurama."

Kurama: "Don't raise your voice."

I saw Kurama looking down at me, apparently passing by on his way to his tent.

Yoshino: "Are you not feeling sleepy?"

Kurama: "Demons don't need sleep, unlike you humans. So I went to steal Benkei's sake and snacks."

When looked closely, Kurama was holding a sake bottle in his hand.

Yoshino: "Do you like sake that much?"

(He also seems to be obsessed with snacks made by Benkei.)

Kurama: "Sake is the next best thing to fighting the strong."

Yoshino: "Even better than flying?"

Kurama: "If it's delicious, then yes."

Kurama replied languidly and then suddenly pulled my arm.

Yoshino: "What....?"

Kurama: "I've got a good idea. Entertain me while I'm occupied with my sake and snacks."

.................

While I was in a daze, Kurama brought me inside his tent.

Kurama: "Come on, do it."

Yoshino: "Even if you say that....all I am good at is making medicines."

Kurama: "It's not worth talking about. You can only heal wounds, but can't win a fight."

Kurama sits in a daze sipping his drink feeling bored.

(I'm in trouble...)

Yoshino: "But if you save someone's life, don't you save your forces from diminishing?"

Kurama: "There is no power that can hold together the lives of so many. The moment a man is injured and dies, you know he was a weak man."

Yoshino: "I want to help all of them together, the weak and the strong, but...."

(No good. I'm sure this story will always be parallel.)

I took a deep breath and said out what I was thinking.

Yoshino: "Why does Kurama hate boredom so much?"

Kurama: "If you live long enough, you'll need stimulation. It's only natural. The soul seeks a grittier battle, a more polished strongman. All this fighting today has made my blood run cold."

(Surely, Kurama looked bored. But....)

Yoshino: "But Kurama seemed to enjoy fighting with Benkei."

Kurama: "What?"

Yoshino: ".....Didn't you realize that yourself?"

Kurama: "----What do you even know about me? I gave you the right to speak and now you're getting on my head."

In the darkness of the tent, Kurama's eyes seemed to glow, and I shuddered.

(Ah....)

A hand reached out and touched my cheek as if to test my reaction.

(I can't retreat here.)

This reckless war of mine has been going on ever since I met Kurama again in Kamakura.

If I stay frozen for one more time, I will never be able to stand up to him.

Yoshino: ".....I certainly don't know anything about Kurama. But still, the weak observe the strong."

Kurama: "................."

Yoshino: "At least it's faster for me to get to know Kurama.... than for Kurama, who has no interest in humans, to get to know me."

Kurama: "-----Those eyes."

Yoshino: "hmm?"

The fingertips on my cheek, come up within a touching distance of my eyeballs.

I didn't have to raise my voice because----

The emotion in Kurama's eyes was neither anger nor contempt.

Kurama: "I don't like your eyes. I hate the way how it's shining so strangely in the dark night."

Chapter 9

[theghostnugget]

Yusuke helps Hiei with his arm

The agony was unbearable. It felt as though he’d shoved his arm into acid. He wondered if this was what normal burns felt like to people without his powers. He’d been playing with fire since he was a kid and it never hurt like this. That darkness flame was some serious shit. He almost regretted using it. Though, knowing that he was the first to ever accomplish such a feat and live dulled that. It couldn’t dull the pain, however. Hence him curled up on the floor with his back against the tub and his arm held close to his chest, unbandaged and very carefully not touching anything. It somehow looked worse than it did initially if that was possible. Felt worse too. He found himself holding back tears for the first time since he was a small child.

The pain was so bad he couldn’t think which is why he didn’t notice Yusuke was back until he opened the door to the bathroom (it’s also the reason he didn’t think to lock the door in the first place). “Holy shit!”

Hiei’s head jerked up to stare at the surprise guest to his pity party and he tried to morph his face from miserable to angry. He must have failed judging by the fact the Yusuke came further into the room instead of fleeing. “Go away.” He kept his voice as empty as possible but to his ears it sounded weak. He didn’t have the energy to survive the pain and keep up his walls right now.

“You’re hurt.”

Hiei sneered, “Care to make any more clever deductions?” He was much more comfortable with his tone on that statement. Just the right mix of annoyed and uninterested.

Yusuke rolled his eyes, kneeling next to Hiei who shifted away. He reached out his hand and Hiei flinched against his will, tightening his wounded arm to his chest so quickly it brushed against the fabric of his shirt and he had to shut his eyes and grit his teeth to keep from crying out. He quickly schooled his expression and re-met Yusuke’s gaze only to find the detective looking at him like a kicked puppy. “I’m not gonna hurt you, Hiei. I’d never hurt you.” He paused, probably remembering their previous scuffles and sparring sessions while Hiei tried to process his statement. “Not for real, at least.” Yusuke clarified. Hiei averted his eyes, unable to read any deception in the detective’s amber eyes and equally unable to handle the softness in them. “None of us would.”

Hiei made a noncommittal sound, more than ready for this interaction to be over so he could go back to being alone and hurting.

“What I’m trying to say is that you should let us help you?”

“I don’t need any help.” Hiei snapped.

“Um, dude, no offense, but it looks like your arm is actually rotting.” Looking down, Hiei couldn’t exactly fault the comparison. Yusuke sighed, and Hiei looked up in the vain hope that he might be leaving. “Look, we both know I can’t force you, but I need you in my corner if I’m gonna win this thing.” He paused, swallowing hard and Hiei could practically hear the gears in his mind turning as he debated something in his head. He couldn’t make eye contact when he finally spoke. “Besides, I care about you, man, so don’t die cause you were too stubborn to trust us or I’ll have to travel all the way to Spirit World to kick your ass.”

Hiei snorted. “What happened to all that crap about never hurting me.”

“Well in this scenario, you’re already dead so there’s not much more damage I can do.”

Hiei fought to turn his smile into more of a smirk. For some reason, the pain was getting more tolerable. Or maybe he was just getting distracted. Yusuke was smiling at him. That goofy smile of his that usually rubbed Hiei the wrong way. This time though it was almost… endearing.

“I’ll have Kurama look at it when he gets back.” Not because Yusuke told him to, but because he wasn’t going to go into battle with a pain stick instead of his right arm. Yusuke’s grin brightened even more and Hiei felt a nervous fluttering in his stomach. Maybe the pain was making him nauseous. Yep, that had to be it. Yusuke ruffled his hair as he stood up and Hiei used his good arm to swat his away because he wasn’t a child and it didn’t feel surprisingly nice, don’t be ridiculous.

“Hungry?” Yusuke asked, holding his hand out to help Hiei up. He seemed slightly surprised when Hiei accepted the offer. They held on to each other’s hands for a few more seconds than were necessary before Hiei jerked his away.

“Depends what you’re making.”

[hatake-no-sharingan]

Time travel AU (Part 3: Live for me)

AU Summary: The world is falling apart, and the Sage of the Six Paths sends Naruto back in time to find his parents and collect the thing that will help him and Sasuke save the shinobi.

Link to part 1: HERE

Link to part 2: HERE

Part 3 Summary: Naruto’s birth is here, and as much as he’d like to make time with his family last a little bit more, he has to face the thing that hurt him all his life, the loss of his parents. 

Characters in part 3: Y/N (as Naruto’s mom/ Minato’s wife), Minato, Naruto, Sasuke, Obito/Tobi, Kakashi and Sakura

Warnings: Character’s death :( (I’m so sorry about this, it was painful to write)

A/N: Thank you for letting me write this beautiful story @itsao-mine Hopefully you won’t hate me too much for making you wait and writing a sad story :( I really do hope you like it. It has a bittersweet ending, but I really like the way it turned out. I switched the events in Naruto’s birth a bit, so it doesn’t follow exactly like canon. Enjoy reading and keep requesting <3 Be kind.

Live for me

The three of them wished they could’ve frozen time that week, and stayed like that forever. Naruto even imagined that the baby Y/N was carrying was his little brother instead of himself in this odd and tragic reality. Maybe in another life he’d get to carry his little brother on his shoulders and teach how to use jutsu for mischief, take him to the academy for the first time, train together in the woods, then they’d go back home and Y/N would be waiting for them with a big bowl of ramen, and they’d get to share stories with Minato, and they’d be a nice happy family of four. Perhaps Minato would have fixed everything with the Uchiha, and they wouldn’t have to die. Sasuke would smile more, and Itachi would treat both of them as his little pupils. Maybe things could’ve been different. There wouldn’t be a timeline where Kaguya enslaved everyone to the tree, and he wouldn’t have had to meet his father as a reanimation. Maybe Obito would have lived and maybe Kakashi would be happy too. Too many maybes, and just one wish that he could save his parents tonight.

Naruto, you’ll feel the deepest pain you’ve ever felt, but you have to let things happen the way they were meant to be. If you don’t, Kaguya will win, and everything you’ve ever known will be gone.

The sage’s words echoed in his mind, creating a scar deeper than his battle wounds.

Now he was here, holding his mother’s hands and stroking her hair as the birthing contractions hit her body.

It was weird, seeing himself be born. The worried look on his father’s face, his mom’s eyes full of hope through the pain, and then it happened. Everything was blurry and confusing, it was way faster than he imagined it.

Obito was there, he had his baby self hostage. There was panic in his father’s eyes, but a glance at him let him know the baby would be fine. However, he let Minato rescue him, because things were supposed to happen this way. It was Naruto’s worst nightmare happening before his eyes. One of the most terrible tragedies in Konoha was about to take place, and he couldn’t do anything about it. This was harder than anything he’d ever done. He could fight the strongest enemy, learn the hardest jutsu, but this, was worse than anything. He had to let things happen.

Restraining himself was worse than anything he’d done, but he did it. So hid himself and watched as his mother cried, how Obito was about to break Kurama’s seal, and all he did was prepare himself to collect the special chakra that would leak out as the tragedy took place.

He wished he could take Y/N’s place as the Kyuubi was being pulled out of her, his heart breaking at the sight, but he made the signs and put his hands out. He felt the power the sage had given him activate as the chakra started seeping in. White hot powered gathered in his palms and spread through his body. He couldn’t think, only feel. It was intense, but like a shooting star, it was gone in a second.

The residual chakra was now safely inside him, and he was ready to get back to his timeline, but seeing Y/N weak and in pain stopped him.

Once Obito was gone, he rushed to her side and tried to aid her with the only medical jutsu Sakura had taught him.

“Mom, stay with me, please, live for me”

Tears dropped from Naruto’s eyes to Y/N’s chest, as he summoned every prayer he knew with his heart.

“Mom, I’m here, I love you” he held her close and then teleported both of them to the spot where he knew Minato would be fighting Obito.

Sasuke is already waiting for him there, ready to pull them back, but he knew this was hard for Naruto, so he waited for him to give him the sign whenever he was ready to leave.

The fight with Obito was already over, it was only the Kyuubi, his dad, his mom, his baby self and him, with Sasuke watching from the side.

Had that much time passed? The entire night didn’t make sense to him, and as much as he thought he had prepared for this, it was a thousand times worse.

“Dad!” He shouted and Minato looked at him and Y/N while struggling against Kurama. Strangely, he flashed him a kind smile, like he’d already figured something out.

Everything was already in place for the seal. So he was going to go through with it. Minato was still willing to sacrifice his life for his son. He does everything exactly as the tale he’d been told said. The black mark appears on the baby’s stomach, and he knows there’s no turning back.

“Naruto, get your mom close to me”

He obeys his dad without thinking and gets her close to him. Minato makes a few hand signs and presses his palm to Y/N’s weak chest. When he removes it, there’s a slight glow exactly over the spot he touched.

“Listen to me,” tears sting in the boy’s eyes as he looks towards his father “I don’t have much time. I’m not going to make it because the seal needs to take my life in order to work, but your mom will. Your mom can live, she’s an Uzumaki. I sealed a small part of Kurama’s chakra back inside of her. Just enough for her to live. I need you to be strong, Naruto. Take your mom with you to the future. Nothing will be altered. If you take her now, she’ll get the chance to live there with you, but the baby in front of us will grow up exactly the way you did, without parents and with Kurama sealed inside of him. He’ll still save the future, but you’ll have your mom now. Take her, and as much as it pains you, let me die here.”

Naruto nodded furiously, clutching his dad’s arms as if that could prevent him from slipping away.

“I love you, Naruto. Never forget that. Take care of your mom for me. Listen to everything she says, and whenever you miss me, just hold her tight.”

He turns to meet his wife’s gaze. She’s barely hanging on. Pain pulses through her body, but her husband’s kind eyes keep her safe.

“Y/N, my love, I’m not sorry for this. I’m not sorry for my life, and for dying to give you and our child life.”

“Minato” Y/N pleads, voice broken

“Live for me, Y/N. Give Naruto all the love we couldn’t give him all those years. See him become a great Hokage for me. He’s already surpassed me. I love you my sweet princess. You made my life worth living.”

“I love you Minato”

The last thing she sees is her husband’s calm smile, then she passes out.

Naruto thinks he notices the sandaime gesturing towards his dying father as Sasuke holds him and Y/N, pulling them into the time travel jutsu that will take them back to their timeline.

Y/N wakes up in the hospital a week after Naruto and Sasuke’s fight. Her wounds are mostly healed, and her strength seems to be recovering. Tsunade herself oversaw her care. She placed her and Naruto’s beds next to each other.

When she opens her eyes, she sees a familiar figure in front of her, though she experiences a bit of a confusion because the person in front of her is slightly different than she remembers.

“Hi, Y/N” says the voice she knows too well. “Naruto will be back in a bit, he asked me to watch over you while he’s in rehab therapy.”

“Kakashi” she manages, with a smile “you’re old”

“I know, it’s weird, right? That we’re almost the same age even though you and your husband basically raised me”

“This will definitely take some getting used to”

Kakashi immediately notices the change in her expression as she remembers what happened. He’d lost Minato a while ago, but she’d just lost him now, and he understood her pain, he knew it was greater than anything because he’d never seen two human beings mor perfect for each other than Y/N and his sensei. Tears start falling from her eyes and Kakashi sits next to her, gently holding her hand and giving her the support she needs.

“I know it’s not okay, but it will be. You have an amazing son to live for, and after all this time, I’m so happy to see you again, Y/N”

As he finishes saying it, Naruto enters the room with Sakura pushing his wheelchair.

“Moooooom! You’re awake! I’m so glad you’re awake. I’ve missed you so much, so long. It was very boring to lay here in bed and just watching you sleep. I missed talking to you. Well I did talk to you, a lot even though you were asleep. But I’m insanely happy that I got to bring you with me. And guess what? Sasuke is good again! I mean, he’s always been good, but he just noticed it now! He’s back here, and everything will just be so good now. I can’t wait for you to meet him, and all my friends. Gosh everything will be-“

Sakura landed a blow on Naruto’s head.

“Baaaka! Can’t you see she’s barely woken up? She has to recover and you’re bombarding her with a ton of information.”

Kakashi laughs lightheartedly and Y/N is happy to see he’s come a long way from the hurt, sad boy she knew. He gestures for Sakura to leave, and they let mother and son have their space.

A month later, Y/N and Naruto are fully healed and discharged from the hospital. Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke, also recovered now, are there with them.

“We have a surprise for you two” says Kakashi, as they’re walking out.

He leads the way, and a few minutes later, they find themselves in front of a sunset colored house.

“We rebuilt it with my memories and a few pictures, it’s not the exact same, but hopefully it’ll be good to help you start your lives as a family again”

Y/N and Naruto have their hearts full with gratitude.

“It’s perfect. Thank you all. You have no idea how much this means.” She didn’t want to cry, but being with her son, and seeing her house, Kakashi being happy, Sasuke and Naruto getting close again, it was all too much.

They celebrated inside, Y/N made ramen for them, and they spent the evening laughing and telling stories to Y/N from when they went to missions together as Team 7.

They left a bit late, and Naruto helped his mom clean up.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t get to hold you as a baby, to cuddle you and to give you all my love, but I see now that you had the best support team you could ever have. I’m thankful Iruka and Kakashi stepped in for us.”

“I’m just grateful I get to have you with me now, mom. That I can call someone mom, and that I have a real home, like I always dreamed of, yaknow?”

She laughed and hugged her son tightly.

“I just wish Minato were here to see it all. He was so proud of the man you have become. I miss him so much.”

“Hold on, he gave me something for you. Give me your hands.”

She held them out and Naruto placed his hands on top of hers. A warm glow passed between them, and she recognized the chakra by the way it felt. She closed her eyes, and inside her mind, he was there.

“Hello beautiful”

“Minato”

She hugged him tightly.

“I’ll always be here, inside you. Now a part of me is a part of you. You get to live for me.”

[kazimakuwabara]

A Name (part 6)

Previous chapter can be found HERE

Kurama sat back down in his seat, and sagged into it with a sigh.

“It is long... but I will try to explain the last mission we had together,” Kurama said, his voice uncertain, “If there are parts you don’t understand... just ask, and I’ll explain it best I can.”

“If I’ve been forced to accept that demons are real, that people can have magical powers, and that there’s a girl who cries jewellery... I think I can handle whatever you’re about to tell me,” Kuwabara said, shrugging his shoulder.

Shrugging, seemed to have become his favorite gesture. Though according to Shizuru, he had been much louder and expressive before. The person he was now was a little quieter, and more reserved. She did say he had a bit more quick-witted sass in him though, and had smiled when she told him.

Kurama for his part, laughed, looking surprised by Kuwabara’s tone, “I guess you’ve had to accept a lot!”

“It’d be easier to accept it easier, if I could still do the things that people say I can do, but as far as I know...” Kuwabara waved a hand in the air, “I’m just normal.”

“You’re never normal,” Kurama said with clear affection. He smiled, straightened his back and began to speak.

“There was a demon woman name Dilandu. She had been captured and sold into slavery by a human with far too much money. Her race of demon... when they suffered enough, they went through a drastic and painful shedding of their hair, which was more like fur. The quality was... above anything else in the normal fur trade, and could be sold for an exorbitant amount of money.

“She was one of many, but when freed... was the only survivors. She had been a child when taken, and only knew her torturers. They were other demons, and so she mistakenly blamed them for her suffering... when really they were slaves themselves. The true people, the true people she should have been mad at...”

“It was humans,” Kuwabara said regretfully, his face setting in a frown. “Ironic we get called humans if we’re capable of being such monsters.”

“Demon or human, it doesn’t matter who, anyone can be a monster,” Kurama mused seriously, “If anything can be taught from what I’ve seen, it’s that the rich are the monsters in any culture, any race, any species.”

Kuwabara nodded, and after a heavy pause, Kurama continued speaking.

“Dilandu when freed, was awarded a sum of money by the spirit world, and offered a chance for a better life and recovery. She accepted all help... but therapy. She used the resources she received to find out about two objects. Áine’s Sovereign blade, and a small green mirror, known as The Path.

“The Path, at the cost of years of your life, could show you the steps you needed to achieve in order to reach whatever goal you had. Áine‘s blade is rumored by some, to belong to a Goddess. Wielding this weapon gives one the right to rule or choose who shall rule.

“When the mirror is shattered by the blade, the right to “rule,” and the Path’s abilities, change into a wish. If you offer all of yourself to the mirror, and then cut them down with the blade you can get a wish. And Dilandu, had a wish.”

At the mention of mirror, Kurama kept looking at Kuwabara as if he kept expecting him to say or ask about something. When Kuwabara didn’t, Kurama deflated a little, and then added, “The Path is one of three mirrors that can grant wishes at the cost of life force, Although the Path is considered a little more dangerous due the fact it has an evolution when combined with something else.”

Kuwabara held up a hand as he absorbed this rush of information. Kurama remained quiet, but fidgeted in his seat. Kuwabara shook his head. This was so much

“Okay... that was a lot. But this Goddess Áine, is she... was she real? Like Koenma?” Kuwabara asked.

Kurama smiled a little wistfully, “All stories such of these are based in some truth. From my understanding, her story is a true one, and a sad one. She was not so much a Goddess, as she was a young skilled blacksmith who was ravaged, and stolen from. Despite the atrocities done to her, she stole her blade back, and took her revenge against the one who had hurt her, the king of her land.

“After she killed him, she presented her blade to who she believed to be the rightful ruler... and died. She was honored by... things we don’t, and by we I mean researchers, and even spirit world--that even they don’t understand, and the blade became... gifted. Magical, might be a better term,” Kurama was gesturing now his green eyes getting lost in thought. “The swords could do extraordinary things, and then when paired with the mirror, could grant a wish.”

Idly Kuwabara wondered if Kurama was a form of scholar. He seemed exceedingly intelligent and-

“I’d often dreamed of stealing the Áine Sovereign blade for myself... the legend alone makes it an item worth snatching up. And I imagine the resell I would get on it would have been great!” Kurama sighed, startling Kuwabara so bad, Kuwabara’s mouth fell open.

Kurama laughed at Kuwabara’s expression, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, and rather than explaining his previous comment, cleared his throat, and began anew, “But as I was saying... the blade seemed to be blessed. On it’s own it was a decent weapon. Tremendously usefull with a will of it’s own for vengeance and bloodshed. If it accepted the user as it’s owner, it was said to be even greater, turning into a sword of light. According the legend, the sword has never accepted an owner.”

“Do you know how the sword accepts someone?” Kuwabara interrupted.

Kurama shook his head, “I don’t... But, as I was saying, while the Áine Sovereign blade is actually useful, the mirror is more of a monkey’s paw. It does give you something, but of course at a high price. And that cost of course is much worse when paired with the sword. But it’s not just a simple death.”

“You are destroyed. You cease to be, and are forgotten. There is no where you go, not hell, heaven, spirit world, limbo... no where. You’re just... gone. The world changes to fit the wisher’s desire, and the wisher is just gone. The Path, once destroyed, immediately reforms, and can be used again if someone happens to be nearby. I could only imagine what would happen if a cult got a hold of these items. Because of the danger of The Path, it is kept locked up in Spirit World.”

“Did they not keep the sword as well?” Kuwabara asked, a brow cocked in confusion.

Kurama smiled at Kuwabara, a tired and aggravated, ‘I know!’ expression written on his face.

“The sword,” Kurama explained, “Was kept by the ruler Áine had chosen before her death. Or ascension into Goddess hood, whatever may be the case. It traveled down the line, and remained in the country of Ireland, the origin of this story. Or at least, pieces and parts.”

Kuwabara was slightly confused, and was starting to get a headache. This was a lot of lore to absorb. “Alright, cool ass lore besides... Dilandu actually went out to get these items, and I’m guessing got them? Or got close?”

Kurama nodded, “She learned of them, and decided it was worth stealing these items to get her wish.”

“And what was her wish?” Kuwabara asked, head really throbbing.

“That all demons died,” Kurama answered seriously, his expression grim as he stared at Kuwabara’s face, “We... You, me, Hiei, and Yusuke reached her just as she destroyed The Path. The affects... were immediate.”

Kuwabara felt a chill crawl up his spine. “Immediate?”

“Dilandu began to unravel, slowly unwinding like string as she made her wish. It was not a fast process. As she fell to pieces, the air began to suck out of my lungs, and an unbearable pain swept through me.  The same seemed to happen to Yusuke, and Hiei. We were crippled by the pain, and fading fast. Hiei and I kept to our feet for several minutes but... Yusuke, who was already injured, fell down first... and I can’t confirm this... but I think when he hit the ground, he was already dead.”

Kurama looked away, looking pained to be explaining this to Kuwabara.

Kuwabara hadn’t properly met Yusuke yet. To his understanding, Yusuke was the one who violently grabbed him when he first woke up and asked who everyone was.

Kuwabara’s head hurt, and suddenly felt violently sick.

“I believe I passed soon after... Hiei was shouting at you before I went-”

But Kuwabara did not hear the rest of Kurama’s story.

He stood up, nausea crawling up his stomach and into his throat. He lurched as if to vomit, and then a dizziness swept through him, and he broke out in a cold sweat. He pitched forward, looking to steady himself, but only caught the edge of the table. It sent him and the table off balance, ad he fell, Kurama crying out his name as Kuwabara landed painfully on his bad arm, the table crashing with him.

As his vision exploded in white, he remembered very clearly of someone with slicked black hair looking back at him. He was a little dirty, and bleeding from battle, but the wounds weren’t that serious. Or at least they shouldn’t have been. But his brown eyes, while fixed on Kuwabara, slowly dulled. The light leaving his eyes in a heartbreaking speed.

Kuwabara heard himself suck in a painful breath, and then heard a shrill laughter. Distantly, Kurama and Shizuru were shouting his name, and his arm was throbbing with pain while he struggled to latch onto something stable to pull him out of this memory.

The white pain faded away, ad then it went blessedly dark.

[gabriel-gabdiel]

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword Chapter 56: Living Sin (Part 8)

Likka Ikumi and Natsuki Shinkai deal with the Karasu and Kuronue tandem. The Oniwabanshu with Kuwabara deal with Gein and the Omyouji.

Hiei and Kurama deal with Usui as well.

The original source of this idea comes from Chad Yang. I continued his story idea found here.

The rest of the chapters of my Yuyu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin crossover fan fiction are available here and here. Enjoy.

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At the Okushiri Airport...

Natsuki Shinkai freed herself from Kuronue's tight chains, increasing their velocity even while at rest by focusing and infusing her unique reiki unto them.

Kuronue barely dodged the bullet-fast broken chain shrapnel along with the follow-through Kousa Dageki (Cross Strike) strike and thrust combo that nearly crushed his skull and/or put a hole in his trachea.

Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he got hit after all. And killed.

However, the next thing Natsuki knew, he was about 6 feet or 2 meters away from her, none the worse for wear. As though she had hit and killed a mirage.

Damn. That was close.

They were currently inside the flaming remnants of a 747 cargo plane that Karasu had earlier blown up along with the rest of the airport.

Yes, Natsuki Shinkai could be as softhearted as Kurama in that she wouldn't indiscriminately kill her enemies. However, when she was pushed far enough, she could be every bit as cruel as the Youko.

Especially if she thought you deserved it. Like her father, Feng Xinhai, attempting to kill Daiji Matsudaira with a half-formed supercell of a tornado.

Apparently, a simple humiliating parry of her best friend's flying kick was enough to send her to the edge.

Figuring out what Kuronue meant by Natsuki's limits, Kuronue started blasting the remaining buildings and planes of the decimated Okushiri Airport.

Even though she could redirect the explosions or even rubble away from herself, the mindful Natsuki kept her barrier down against the high-speed shards of earth and glass for fear of accidentally deflecting it against nearby civilians or her friend, Likka Ikumi.

"Dammit," she cursed as she concentrated hard to deflect the individual rubble and debris at only Karasu and Kuronue in order to protect Ikumi.

"I think I understand her weakness now," said Karasu, who sneered and produced Clamshell Shrapnel Bombs for good measure. "She's only as powerful as the attacks directed at her! She also needs to concentrate hard to manipulate the direction and trajectory of a multitude of objects coming at her simultaneously or else there'll be collateral damage!"

"That's right. She can't deflect multiple things at the same time!" said Kuronue, who easily maneuvered through the raining debris, metal shrapnel, glass, and rubble in order to attack Natsuki with them, knowing that she could only dodge and couldn't return fire with any effective offense of her own.

The demons attacked simultaneously at two fronts, which kept Shinkai from focusing her psionic redirection powers properly.

Natsuki held on remarkably well though, redirecting the flying rock shards at both demons while using Hawatari (Sword Halt) and Hadome (Sword Crossing) at the supersonic Kuronue's attempts at stabbing her and making her mess up her concentration.

"Ahhh!" Likka cried out in pain as several bits of shrapnel hit her on the thigh and abdomen.

There were too many bullet-fast objects chaotically shooting at every direction and at different speeds for Shinkai to properly take account of and deflect.

"Likka-tan! I'm sorry!" shouted a tearful Natsuki, only for Kuronue to aim for her neck with his scythe. She then faced her attacker and said, "Fine. You want me to kill you? Then I will!"

She proceeded to do what Kuronue claimed she couldn't do, which was to reverse the flow of his blood in one direction, leading his head swell and burst like a balloon.

A second Kuronue appeared right behind the deceased one, his blade at the ready. "Whoa. Those are some frightening powers, child."

'What the hell was going on anymore?' thought Natsuki as the tip of the sickle cut through her stomach.

Karasu then threw a new grenade at Natsuki, who attempted to deflect it only for it to explode in her face.

***

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword

A Rurouni Kenshin/Yuyu Hakusho Crossover Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda

Original Concept by Chad Yang

The Misao reincarnation known as Likka Ikumi gets to activate her special powers at last.

Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, and Studio Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted materials that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

***

Chapter 56: Living Sin (Part 8)

***

At Nabetsuru Rock...

The Nabetsuru (Pot Handle) Rock was a tourist destination off of the coast of Okushiri Island. It was a rock formation visible across the shores of Okushiri with the appearance of a pot handle.

Speaking of pots, the water surrounding the rock soon boiled, steamed, and bubbled like water inside a pot being heated by a stove. Something was afoot.

The half-healed zombie corpse body of Usui Uonuma was still licking his wounds from his defeat against Hajime Saito when one of the ferry-girls located him off of Nabetsuru Rock and informed the Reikai Senshi (Spirit World Warriors) of the fact.

Shikigami from Houji had gathered around him to present him with enough spiritual power to restore his body to seeming health.

It was weird how jaki (negative energy) of all things could heal him, but he knew his body was really more of a corpse and he was more of a vengeful ghost than a reincarnated spirit.

He knew and he didn't care. He'd cling to existence by any means necessary after it was nearly snuffed out by Makoto Shishio and "permanently" ended by Hajime Saito.

Usui had by then reconnected his body's top half with his bottom half, but his fatal wounds were still tender and his broken spine was still in bad shape.

The Spirit World Warriors were really hammering their forces down, weren't they?

A few minutes later and there he was: Jaganshi (Evil Eye User) Hiei.

Probably the second or third most powerful member of the Reikai Senshi, behind Kenshin Himura (with his inimitable Demon Sword) and Yusuke Urameshi (the direct descendant of one of the Three Kings of Makai, Raizen).

Usui smirked, opened his mouth, and licked his lips.

This was now a battle between the Shingan (True Eyes) and the Jagan (Evil Eyes).

The blind swordsman turned spearman zombie wondered about something. If he had Jine Udo's Jagan on one eye socket and Hiei's Jagan on his other eye socket, would he finally gain the power he needed to usurp the likes of Tenro? Or the Chojin?

Or Shishio?

'Same difference.'

He remembered how his supernatural Tinbe shield grew thick enough to stop even the ultimate attacks of both a super-powered Kenshin and Saito, which in turn allowed his Rochin to penetrate anything weaker and less dense than his Tinbe.

If he had the power of one Jagan to hypnotize people and another Jagan to gain control of huge amounts of demonic energy, he'd be unstoppable: The most powerful Shin Ju who possessed both superhuman senses and supernatural powers.

'But first thing's first,' Uonuma thought, noticing the fewer number of shinigami (death gods) assisting his healing as Hiei approached his perch on the unusual rock at dangerous speeds.

The sea seemingly parted in twain from the jaganshi's flashing steps as though he were a mix of a miniature speedboat and Moses himself parting the Red Sea like theater curtains.

***

There were too many of them. There was a suffocating amount if multiplying Iwanbos there as well as shikigamis who fed them jaki.

The combination of Houji "Onmyouji (Occult Priest)" Sadojima and Edward "The Puppet Master" Gein (also known as Dr. Shoji Sugino from Unit 731) were too much for this batch of Reikai Senshi to handle.

That was the simple conclusion that the Spirit World Warriors and the Oniwabanshu (Garden Keepers) had when fighting against the armies of undead Iwanbo and shikigami spirits from both of the Chojin's top generals/captains.

Like the Roku Youkai (Six Demons) on Mt. McKinley versus The Nameless Yatsume, the Reikai Tantei and the Oniwabanshu were flooded with Iwanbo versions 1, 2, and 3 and the shikigami they fed on for jaki and power ups, like this was an ecosystem teeming with predators and the Reikai Senshi were their prey.

Kuwabara had been chopping out reanimated puppets and familiars left and right with his twin Jigen Tou (Dimensional Sword) for almost an hour, only to end up sapped of energy.

He ended up with only one flickering Dimension Sword left as more and more of the puppet monsters appeared, multiplying by mitosis or something.

At the same time, he had to contend against Houji turning everything nearest him into fast-healing creatures like Toguro Ani, with their wounds or even pureed bodies healing instantly. Like nothing they did to them could faze them.

Gein, in turn, used his own unique jaki to supply the Chojin's necromancer with fresh corpses to bring to life.

The reincarnated Okashira (Boss) of the Oniwabanshu—Daiji Matsudaira (formerly Aoshi Shinomori) —fluidly maneuvered against the razors-sharp web of trip-wires that the World War II veteran mad scientist ninja known as Gein weaved with diamond-covered threads, only to be bull-rushed by the one Iwanbo Version 3 with the four arms: The Iwanbo Version 3.2.

The Iwanbo 3.2 had thus far trampled on all of the efforts of the Tokyo Oniwabanshu to take it down, whether it was through poison, fire, sword slashes, brute strength, or martial arts.

Like Shikijo, it got cross-slash scars from every part of its body, but it still kept moving, shrugging off the rain of kodachi Daiji produced as well as the pistol shots to the head (the police officer could conjure guns as well).

Kuwabara did notice how the monstrous puppet recovered as quickly as Toguro Ani while sporting the same ridiculous musculature of Toguro Ototo. 'Hiei and Kurama's investigations were true! That old ninja guy really was responsible for demonizing the Toguro Brothers!'

Meanwhile, Kuwabara desperately held on to his knife-sized Jigen Tou, willing it to existence even as he had to contend against an undead army of shikigami and Iwanbos.

He could summon a Rei-Ken (Spirit Sword) instead, but even a dimensional knife had more utility to it.

He sliced apart portals, warp gates, dimensions, space, and even the sky itself with the way his cuts remained in the air like cracks on glass, cutting through the guts of the zombie puppets down below and the ghoulish ghosts from up above.

Houji and Gein pushed him to the brink of using up all his spirit energy, which may then force him to use his own life force to keep on fighting (like what Yusuke did to take down Suzaku the first time they fought).

The Onmyouji sloppily sliced his scythe at Kuwabara, who then blocked the blade but his knees ultimately buckled against the weight of the Chojin's negative energy instead of the strength of the strike.

'Dammit, we're going to lose!'

The bowl-cut necromancer cackled and ranted, "This is the power of the Chojin! This is the power of the gods! You were no match from the start!"

As for the Aoshi Shinomori of the modern era, he threw every last kodachi he could muster at the charging Iwanbo 3.2, whose tackles were so impactful he turned even fellow Iwanbo and stray shikigami inside-out into road kill, ground beef, or ectoplasm.

Even after being turned into a knife holder sculpture or Julius Caesar after his assassination, the four-armed Iwanbo would not stop charging.

The tired Okashira ended up taking a knee. He willed himself to move away with his Water Flow Movement, but Dr. Sugino caught him off-guard from behind with razor-sharp thread that wrapped around and bit into his neck.

"Checkmate, Okashira. You killed me before, right? Well, let me return the favor."

Daiji struggled against the old man, surprised at how strong he was for his age, the piano wire digging deeper into his throat. They'd be both turned into mush by the rampaging Iwanbo 3.2, but only one of them would end up getting resurrected by the Onmyouji when all was said and done.

The air around them then changed as the ghosts of the Oniwabanshu rose again. However, something inside them changed. They exuded menace that wasn't there before.

Hannya, Shikijo, Hyottoko, and Beshimi rose up like zombies hungry for flesh.

"Don't you dare touch the Okaaashiiiraaa...!"

***

As Likka Ikumi—Misao Makimachi's Heisei reincarnation—went unconscious due to blood loss, she dreamed of what had happened earlier, when she was deemed a C-Level martial artist ninja girl while the rest of the people she knew from past and present ranked B-Level and higher instead.

"This isn't fair!" Likka complained to Yahiko Myojin. "You'd be B-Level too if you didn't have special powers yourself, you little brat!"

"Yeah, funny how that works. Even Cat Eyes got better superpowers than you and your quick costume changes! OW!" teased Yahiko before he got hit upside the head with Misao's patented flying kick.

"KECHO GIRI!" Ikumi screamed. "Grrr! I want superpowers too! I don't want to end up in the battlefield being some sort of liability to Uncle Jiji (Daiji) or Tsuki-chan (Natsuki)!

Yahiko then relented, "Jeez, Weasel-chan! Don't be upset about me being stronger than you. You only 'woke up' recently! But you're still the reincarnation of Makimachi Misao and yes, you're better at hand-to-hand combat than I am."

Likka paused then pouted. "Really, Yahiko-chan?"

Kenshin himself then said, "Misao-dono, I know that Shinomori Aoshi's talent might have blinded you of this fact, but shinobi (spies) are not known for their swordsmanship or strength. They're instead known for their cunning."

Natsuki herself interjected, "You are not a swordsman but a spy, Likka-tan. A ninja. A shadow warrior. You can take down a samurai many times more powerful than you by ambush and stealth. Use that."

Likka then woke up back at the Okushiri Airport, in time to see the miko (priestess) ferry-girl tending to her shrapnel wounds, removing the foreign objects and healing her body the best she could.

"Please, wake up! Please, hang on!" pleaded the shinigami known as Hinageshi.

***

Back at the Kyujimayama Observatory...

The combination of Houji the Onmyouji and Gein the Puppet Master was truly too much for Kazuma Kuwabara and the Oniwabanshu to handle.

Daiji Matsudaira then did the Jissen Kenbu (combining the Water Flow Movement with his one-handed kodachi strikes) to escape Dr. Sugino's wire-based grasp. The doctor was not as adept at pure ninjutsu as his Meiji Era counterpart.

However, Shoji's supernatural powers and modern scientific knowledge more than made up for his lack of physical prowess and skills.

However, just behind them, the transformed Oniwabanshu tore apart the four-armed Iwanbo 3.2 like a pack of wolves.

"Saaaave the Okashiraaa! At aaaall cooosts!"

Hannya. Shikijo. Hyottoko. Beshimi.

Again, their supposed Okashira had failed them and soiled their memories. Or this watered-down copper version of their Okashira living in the present Heisei Era did so.

These ghosts that served as Daiji's guardian angels from the death of his wife at the hands of Feng Xinhai to the present, when he discovered his dark destiny as being the reincarnation of the Last Oniwabanshu Okashira, were now forced to demonize themselves.

They abandoned their humanity and turned themselves into monsters in order to save Matsudaira.

Shikijo's muscles bulged and popped as his complexion turned grey or even metallic, with him grabbing one set of the Iwanbo's arms in order to stop him in his tracks.

Beshimi bit the Iwanbo with snake-like fangs and threw toxic spines growing from all over his body at him for good measure, the corrosive toxins directly seeping into the undead veins of the puppet monster.

Hyottoko turned into a full-on kappa youkai who breathed fire, toasting the creature from behind.

And finally, the tri-clawed Hannya mauled the Iwanbo repeatedly by slicing apart the veins of his other arms and ravaging him like a rabid wolverine.

The more they ripped apart the puppet, the more mindless they became. Like wild animals.

Houji chuckled at the display, letting his shikigami deal with the weakening Kuwabara for a change. "How would it feel if I brought your ghost friends back to life, Okashira? Alas, they'd end up as the Chojin's minions, but at least they'd be alive."

Meanwhile, Gein retreated and used his own knowledge of the dark arts in order to form a fresh new Iwanbo 3.2 puppet out of the spare parts of the discarded Iwanbo corpses.

No. Enough was enough.

The deceased Oniwabanshu had been haunting Aoshi's soul all this time, even a hundred years later in another body, because they felt like they had failed in protecting him when the opposite was instead true.

Time and time again, they'd saved him.

His blue eyes shining bright like twin stars on a clear night, Daiji's aura of reiki (spirit energy) flared to life and reacted to the youki (demonic energy) emanating from his former Oniwabanshu comrades.

He then started to absorb their dark energy unto himself, shouldering all their anger and feelings of failure unto his own body.

It was his failure and lack of strength that kept them anchored to him for so long, keeping them from passing on.

It was his turn to save them.

As Matsudaira absorbed more of their dark energy, the Oniwabanshu ghouls started to go back to normal. They were neither demons nor monsters any longer.

"Uh, what happened?" asked Shikijo.

"Beats me. I don't remember much," said Beshiimi.

"I feel hungry," said Hyottoko.

"You can't be hungry! You're a ghost!" admonished Hannya, who then turned towards Daiji's shadowy form. "It's the Okashira. He has saved us again, as usual!"

Daiji then went face-to-face against the Iwanbo 3.2, who had again started to cannibalize the corpses or even the "living" bodies of his undead puppet brethren as well as the nearby shikigami unto him.

To build his strength by feeding upon the weak just like Matsudaira did to his Oniwabanshu underlings' youki.

The Iwanbo Version 3.2 then charged at Matsudaira, with the pair of Houji and Gein close behind him.

"Kill the Okashira! Do so and we'll have this battle in the bag!" said Gein to his puppet.

"We might even be able to revive his soul and turn him into one of the Juppon Gatana," suggested Sadojima.

They were in for the shock of their lives.

***

Back at Nabetsuru Rock...

Jaganshi Hiei ran on water like Jesus Christ in a hurry then blasted the rock where the half-healed (or still-healing) Usui Uonuma lay with a Jaou-En-Satsu Kokuryuha (Dragon of Darkness Flame).

The fire demon didn't want to take any chances. However, as expected, Uonuma's Tinbe still remembered the sheer power of the most powerful strikes given to it by the Battousai and the Miburo.

Thusly, the dense adaptable shield survived even the atomic heat of the Makai flames from Hiei's deadliest attack, neutralizing it completely.

"Hn."

Usui answered that indignant harrumph with a chuckle. "And just like that, my Tinbe is now fireproofed as well as shock-absorbent. Is that your best shot, Jaganshi Hiei?"

Hiei then visually disappeared from Uonuma's midst, but the blind man couldn't even see him regardless, so he wasn't too worried.

Usui heard Hiei all the while though.

The blind spearman could only smile as he caught each and every slash or stab Hiei attempted to hit him with, deflecting them away like rain with his Tinbe umbrella.

Earlier, he was made aware that the Shin Ju had lost contact with Houji and Gein, which meant that there wasn't enough shikigami and jaki left to heal him fully.

However, he was an S-Level entity himself.

This meant that even though Uonuma didn't have the Onmyouji's assistance to restore his damaged body to health, he could damn well heal himself on his own. Not at the cancerous rate that the regenerative Toguro Ani could, but fast enough to count when the chips were down.

'I just need to buy myself a little bit more time,' Usui thought, blocking all of Hiei's sword strikes and countering them with his Rochin spear that was as irresistible as his Tinbe was impenetrable.

'Battousai's reports are accurate,' thought Hiei. 'This man is hard to kill, even without the powers of the Onmyouji aiding him and keeping him alive. Or at least undead.'

The two combatants jumped from the rock to the shore, their feet both using the waves and the surface tension of the saltwater to travel from that long distance.

Not once was Hiei able to scratch the injured man. Not with the Kokuryuha. Not with his blade.

However, the blind Shin Ju in turn wasn't fast enough to counter with his Rochin. He kept missing his kaeshi (ripostes) even though he parried or blocked all of the fire demon's physical attacks.

Getting behind Usui to stab him and avoid the shield didn't work because the spearman sensed the fire demon's presence every time and blocked accordingly.

However, thanks to Hiei's Jagan and his inborn twitch reflexes, the Rochin could not touch him in turn, no matter how badly he missed or got parried by the former bakufu swordsman turned Juppon Gatana member.

Perhaps it was because Usui was too injured. Or perhaps it was because he was too slow from the get go.

They seemed to be at an impasse.

***

"Ahhh!" Natsuki shrieked, her impenetrable deflection powers working against her, drawing the implosion towards her instead of away from her due to the nature of her reversal powers.

The crow demon smirked.

His experimental Pillbug Implosion Bomb was a success.

Shinkai predictably attempted to deflect it like Karasu's other bombs, but she did so by reversing its momentum. This made the bomb explode instead of implode unto itself.

The way Natsuki affected her environment was to use the inertia of the objects going towards her and reverse their momentum so that she didn't have to expend her spirit energy moving them away.

To reverse the momentum of an implosion bomb was to turn it into an explosive.

"Now, Kuronue! While you have the chance!"

Kuronue and his afterimage clones attacked Natsuki. Then, after several more Kuronues died out, one of them decapitated Natsuki with his scythe.

Game. Set. Match.

However, that Natsuki turned out to be a standee advertisement of a stewardess instead. Taken straight from the rubble.

"!?" intoned Kuronue, only to realize it was the Misao reincarnation who duped him into decapitating the decoy.

It was a classic ninjutsu trick. Substituting one object for another.

Karasu attempted to get rid of the troublesome onmitsu (ninja girl) with his variety of bombs, only to be greeted with a rain of kunai (ninja daggers) moving at every which way and direction, defying the laws of physics, gravity, and momentum.

He yelped as a dagger ended up in his eye, which would normally be weak enough for him to swat away. 'Where is that damned ninja...?!'

As for Kuronue and Natsuki, they were locked in a battle of wills and wits. Or perhaps a war of attrition.

For different reasons, both Shinkai and the bat demon ended up cleaving or crushing through dozens upon dozens of their respective "clones".

With Natsuki, they were illusions made by Likka. With Kuronue, it was still a mystery where his doppelgangers came from.

For every Kuronue clone that got beat up, head-crushed, stabbed, blinded, or disabled in some way, so too did every Natsuki clone suffer getting their limbs chopped off, their heads decapitated, and their bodies bisected horizontally or vertically.

The fading corpses of Shinkai and Kuronue that littered the landscape disappeared as soon as they fell.

"I don't care anymore!" the one-eyed Karasu threw implosion bombs at the pair's direction. "I'm sure you'll somehow survive this, Kuronue, but she won't!"

That was Likka's cue to detonate the bombs with her flung kunai, one of which ended up stuck unto Karasu's hand.

"...Fool! You fell into my trap!" said Karasu even as one of the implosions set him ablaze. He then took his mask off with his other hand in order to activate his Full-Body Implosion rather than Explosion. "Now to kill you to get rid of all these illusions!"

Likka then smirked before she shifted forms and turned into Natsuki.

"...What?!"

A flabbergasted Kuronue then spared a glance at the Natsuki he was fighting all that time. The bat demon chopped her up, only for her to turn into a stop sign.

"Since when were you under the impression that you were fighting Tsuki-chan?"

"Natsuki" then appeared behind him and turned him into a kunai holder. Sure enough, this "Natsuki" ended up being Likka in disguise instead, mimicking her friend all the while.

"I will not be a burden to Tsuki-chan any longer! I can help her out with my own special power! We can win against you two!" said Ikumi.

Thus was the power of the "C-Level" Likka Ikumi: Optical Illusion. Perfect Deception. Absolute Fantasy.

In other words, Genjutsu (Illusionary Techniques).

Her skills allowed her reiki to create mirages or hallucinations from her own imagination that, when used properly, could make even gods kneel and devils cry.

A special power that could beat even S-Levels to submission.

A power similar to that of the Kanji Killer and his hypnotic Jagan, but it involved projecting her imagination unto reality like realistic mirages instead of invading her opponent's psyche for them to see what she wanted them to see, thus she used up less reiki to do it.

"You've underestimated the both of us," said Shinkai, whose only injuries were from that one implosion bomb from Karasu that slipped through. "Now pay for your arrogance!"

Just as Karasu was about to explode and take both the girls with him to kingdom come, Yutaro Tsukayama's female reincarnation reflected and focused all that potential energy towards Kuronue, blasting him with her own version of Suzaku's Railgun.

She turned the crow demon into fuel and matter for her own energy gun, the same way Suzaku could turn any piece of steel into a blast of pure energy.

The golden beam of light seemed to kill multiple clones of Kuronue at the same time, his body stubbornly refusing to disintegrate, with him reviving over and over, only for him to die again, until there was nothing left of both Karasu and Kuronue in that seeming infinite loop of life and death.

***

Hiei harrumphed.

His speed did not phase his opponent one bit. Nor did his S-Level youki and Dragon of Darkness Flame.

However, he still had to kill Usui then and there.

The blind swordsman with his adaptable Tinbe was too dangerous to be left alive. He'd just disrupt their plan to take out Houji Sadojima permanently and drive the Shin Ju back without hope of resurrection.

Was it shameful to strike down an injured man? In war, there was no such thing as honor or fairness. Just survival of the fittest.

Uonuma cackled. "The speed by which you attack and how hard it is to catch you off-guard is impressive. You remind me of someone."

Hiei didn't answer back.

"Ah yes. Sou-kun," said Usui with a hint of wistfulness in his voice even though his comrade Soujiro Seta was still with him, just in a different unit of the Chojin's Army (the Dai Shin Kan).

The two used to spar from time to time, with both being amazed at the other's prowess.

Seta was surprised by the fact that no matter how fast he went, the Tinbe would block his strike despite his lack of presence or sakki (bloodlust). Uonuma was shocked at how, at times, the boy would reach supersonic speeds that even his Rochin couldn't hope to counter.

Instead of turtling up in defense, Usui attacked for a change, the sands of the beach underfoot blasting behind him like a sandstorm. His Shingan senses and Hiei's Jagan third eye kept the both of them from making fatal contact with each other. The most they could muster were flesh wounds.

Perhaps the youkai underestimated the revived human's abilities just because he was injured.

"Sou-kun's Shukuchi made him blindingly fast and his lack of bloodlust made him nearly undetectable. Your speed and constant bloodlust reminds me of him. You're always brooding while he's always happy. Like twin sides of the same coin."

"Sou-kun", huh? Soujiro Seta was a thorn in Hiei's side all throughout his mission and investigation on human experimentation at Alaska's Mount McKinley (also known as Denali).

The longer the battle went the further Usui pushed Hiei into a corner (literally even as they battled from the beach to the resort to the streets and to several nearby buildings), much to the prideful demon's shame.

It wasn't because Uonuma was as fast as him. Rather, Shishio's oldest rival was used to fighting people as fast as Hiei was, such as Soujiro.

This allowed Usui to use prediction and skill to match Hiei's superior reflexes.

The jaganshi harrumphed again, growing impatient. Someone who was this injured should not be this hard to kill.

Regardless, the youkai still had an ace up his sleeve that the nimble "Ten Ken (Heaven Sword)" lacked.

Summoning the Sword of Darkness Flame felt like a waste of time, but he did it anyway. If speed didn't work then raw power might tip the scales of their deadlock.

This only made the wistful, deranged, and sightless man happier for some reason.

A wave of nostalgia filled Usui. He couldn't see the fire of Hiei's flaming sword with his own actual eyes, his stolen Jagan from Jine sealed away with his blindfold, but he felt the heat from blade, giving him goose bumps and raising the hairs behind his neck.

Usui was for all intents and purposes a living corpse with an unbeating heart, but his mind made him feel as though his heart raced and his blood flowed like hot fire through his veins. His aortas. His artificial circulatory system.

To Hiei's surprise, the zombie discarded his impenetrable Tinbe and charged with only his Rochin. Shouting one name all the while like a lunatic.

"DIE, SHISHIO!"

Compared to Soujiro and even Hiei, Usui knew more nuanced sword/spear forms and cutting/stabbing techniques than a simple upward, side, or angled slashes. Fire sword or no fire sword.

Like a drunk brawler picking a fight against a championship boxer. Quickness could be countered by experience against predictability.

The jaganshi attempted his usual modus operandi of making his opponent miss and slash at his afterimage, only for him to appear from behind and slash his opponent to bits instead.

However, it was Hiei who ended up slashing at air and an afterimage that wasn't there.

Did Uonuma heal his wounds already? Was he hiding his true speed all this time...?!

Hiei's Jagan tried to sense and locate where Uonuma was, like always. His sight beyond sight served as his means to activate his tripwire reflexes.

Wait a minute. He couldn't see or sense him. Even Usui's jaki was gone. Hiei's vision had become clouded. 'Dammit...!'

The Rochin from out of nowhere stabbed him in the back and shot him right into the sign saying they were in Kitaoimisaki Park, his youkai blood spewing forth his mouth, nostrils, and even his three eyes.

The illusion faded away like a pile of cherry blossom petals blown away by a strong breeze, and soon reality set in.

As soon as the flames from Hiei's Jaou-En-Satsu Ken (Sword of Darkness Flame) enticed Usui's senses, he lifted his blindfold and unsealed the power of Jine's version of the Jagan.

Apparently, even Hiei's artificial Jagan that Shigure transplanted unto him was susceptible to hypnosis. Along with the eyes he was born with.

The Forbidden Child of the Koorime fell into a boneless heap before his blood pooled from underneath him.

He was too careless.

He believed he was there to take care of injured game, forgetting that an animal's flight or fight instincts made them many times more dangerous than usual.

"That was refreshing," said Usui. "I have to thank you, Jaganshi Hiei. Your flaming sword reminded me what I'm truly fighting for, even after a century."

The maneuver Uonuma did on Hiei was something he wished to do on Shishio himself. Trick him with the Jagan then stab him in the back. S-Level or not, such a sneak attack would kill him.

Uonuma then frowned. Inwardly, he thought, 'I haven't mastered Jine's Jagan yet. I can only use it once a day. Maybe more with the help of the Onmyouji's jaki power up, but he's sealed off from the rest of us Shin Ju right now.'

After a minute of pondering, the taller, bearded man grabbed hold of the diminutive demon by the hair and lifted him up high over his shoulders, his bloodstained Jagan in full view.

"No matter," Usui decided. "I have a new Jagan to play with now. As soon as Gein returns, I'll have him surgically implant your Jagan into the empty socket of my other eye. Then I'll have the power of both the Shingan and twin Jagan at my hands."

Uonuma trembled with barely contained excitement, which woke Hiei up after blacking out from the pain of being stabbed so hard.

"Not even Battousai nor Saito Hajime nor Shishio Makoto nor Tenro nor the Chojin will stand a chance against me once I have both those Jagan in my possession along with my Tinbe and Rochin!"

Just as Uonuma was about to melon-ball Hiei's Evil Eye from its artificial socket, Kurama then arrived, parrying the Rochin away with the Grass Blade.

"...Ah. You must be the Legendary Youko Kurama," said Usui with a sneer. "Udo Jine has told us a lot about you."

***

Kyujimayama Observatory suddenly had an entire building sprout from its lookout. Like a gigantic tree of steel and concrete. An ominous castle made of black spires and iron ore.

A structure with no discernible entrance, doors, or windows.

Earlier, just as another Iwanbo 3.2 was on the verge of turning Daiji Matsudaira into a messy pile of shattered bones, giblets, and mince meat, something changed inside the policeman's soul.

He absorbed the guilt and unfulfilled desires of the Oniwabanshu that left them as earthbound spirits, this energy mixing with the reiki of Daiji's soul and the kenki (swordsman spiritual energy) of Aoshi's warrior spirit.

Pushed into a corner and forced to feed into the negative energy of his comrades, his reiki and kenki started to mix with their youki and jaki.

It produced a whole new kind of energy: A swordsman's energy mixed with a human soul's spirit energy and the bloodlust of a demon.

Reiatsu (Spirit Pressure).

Like Shinobu Sensui's Sei Kou Ki (Holy Light Energy), Daiji produced a different sort of spiritual power worthy of one the gods or shinigami themselves or their version of the police, the Reikai Tokubetsu Boueitai (Spirit World Special Defense Squad).

It was through this volatile cocktail of different energies that Matsudaira was able to produce the spire-filled castle by which he trapped Houji Sadojima, Gein, and their undead army in one huge, tangible prison with his Quest-Class powers to create matter out of spirit energy but without sacrificing his life energy to do so.

And, like the One-Eight-Ten Killer before him, he himself was on the verge of breaking through from A-Level to S-Level by suddenly learning this spirit energy blending technique that took Sensui years to perfect.

Afterwards, a flabbergasted Kuwabara created a portal out of the constricting spire and exited with Officer Matsudaira in tow. He then sealed the portal shut before the Onmyouji, Gein, or their creatures could come out.

They'd finally stopped and sealed Houji from reviving the Shin Ju every time they were beaten. For now.

"You're really something else, Officer Matsudaira. You know that?" said Kazuma.

Catching up with his own shallow breaths, Daiji turned behind him and stared back at his ghostly Oniwabanshu comrades. "I can't let them down. Not again."

Kuwabara himself turned towards where the copper was staring at, in time to see the will o' wisp or blue fireball souls of the dearly departed Oni Gang.

The fireballs then formed back into the transparent human bodies of the four deceased shadow warriors. Hannya. Shikijo. Hyottoko. Beshimi.

With a smile hidden behind his mask but could still be heard from his ghostly voice, Hannya said, "As expected of our Okashira."

From there, Uchiko Shikoku (Sayuri), the ferry-girl of the Northeast Quadrant, arrived and started replenishing their spirit energy, although she pouted as she told Daiji, "I was almost sure you'd die, Ikemen (Pretty Boy). Oh well. Maybe next time?"

To Kazuma, the blonde shinigami instead said, "You, I couldn't care less if you died or not."

"Nobody asked you!" shouted back Kuwabara.

***

Back at the Okushiri Airport...

Sayaka finished up her report to the other Reikai Senshi and then said to them. "So far so good. Kurama-san's plans are coming along smoothly. I've also heard reports from Sayuri-san that Sadojima Houji and Gein had been sealed inside a castle-like structure by Matsudaira Daiji-san."

"As expected of the Okashira!" said Likka, mirroring Hannya's sentiments. "We have this mission in the bag!"

Natsuki then told the young Spirit World Inspector, "Tell Shuichi-sempai, I mean, Minamino-sempai to watch out for that Kuronue person. He may still be out there."

Sayaka tilted her head to the side in askance. "Tell Kurama about Kuronue? Why? Isn't he dead? Didn't you just kill him? Killed two birds with one stone by making Karasu into an energy blast?"

"That's the thing. I'm not sure he's dead." Shinkai shook her head. "Killing him is actually easy. Keeping him dead is hard. It must have something to do with his current powers. He might still be out there, hunting Kurama at this very moment."

The Heisei Era Misao piped up, "Yeah, it was weird. Every time it seemed like you've killed him, another him kept popping up in his place."

The youngest ferry-girl considered their words. "Do you think he's like Toguro Ani? An S-Level, Regent-Class regenerator?"

Natsuki shrugged. "The best way I could describe it is that he's like Schrödinger's Cat. Like he's alive and dead at the same time."

"Maybe even Schrödinger's Bat!" Likka quipped to mostly silence.

***

Kitaoimisaki Park was located in the westernmost corner of Okushiri Island.

The Sea of Japan served as its backdrop. It was designed as an open-air museum of sorts filled with sculptures made by Masayuki Nagare, a modernist Japanese sculptor.

Sculptures that soon turned to dust from the battle that ensued.

"RENGOKU SHOU! (PURGATORY WOUND!)" shouted Hiei as he pummeled the wide-open, distracted Usui with his fists of flame, but the flurry of blows were also countered and neutralized by the damnable Tinbe shield.

It did allow him to get away from his captor, though.

Meanwhile, Kurama had arrived there just in time with the assistance of Sayuri's intel and Kuwabara's Jigen Tou.

Kurama asked for their help after they were done sealing away the Onmyouji with Daiji Matsudaira's evolving powers.

"Let's not risk having Usui use Jine's Jagan again," Kurama told Kuwabara. "Leave and don't look anywhere near his face or eyes, Kuwabara-kun."

"You got it, Kurama," said Kuwabara before making a portal out of there. "Hiei, you fucked up! Now Kurama has to bail you out!" Kazuma jumped right into the portal he made before Hiei could follow him and beat him up for his remark.

Kurama then told Hiei, "Kuwabara-kun's right, you know," which made Hiei seethe even more. "I know how you feel, but sit this battle out for now. Let me handle this while Sayuri-san heals you for now."

As for the scythe-bearing Uchiko "Sayuri" Shikoku, she balefully used her shinigami powers to heal the damage done on Hiei, although the pint-sized youkai didn't look too pleased about it.

"Look, we're both not happy about this, so could you stop glaring at me?" said Uchiko, who actually wanted to see what was next for the death-defying "hunk" known as Daiji Matsudaira instead.

Actually, Kitaoimisaki Park was supposed to be under Botan's jurisdiction (she was assigned the northwest quadrant), but she was too busy guiding Yahiko safely towards the Onmyouji to finish him off, so Sayuri had to do for now.

Usui chuckled, rubbing his chin. "Toguro Ani warned me about you," he said. "You're quite the trickster, I hear. So are you going to fight me now?"

"Yes," Kurama said, picking a rose seed inside his hair and turning it into a rose bloom then finally into the Rose Whip. However, this time around, it was a Rose Whip tied around the handle of the Grass Blade, thus turning it into a Rose Kusarigama (Chain Sickle).

"I hate tricksters like you," confessed Usui. "You remind me of a Saizuchi (his fellow Juppon Gatana member) that could somehow fight. The best way to take care of people like you is to kill you before you can come up with a convoluted scheme to take me down."

"Saizuchi?" repeated Kurama as he attempted to scan through Kenshin's memories given to him through his contact with the Demon Sword. "I don't know who that is." Himura must've never met that particular Ten Sword member.

They then proceeded to fight. Kurama was decently fast but not blindingly fast so like Kenshin Himura, Soujiro Seta, Yusuke Urameshi, or Jaganshi Hiei.

However, like with how Usui countered Hiei's speed with technique, Kurama knew how to methodically place his whip strikes and whiplash to minimize movement and maximize his range.

Also, thanks to his new weighted weapon, he could actually maneuver his whip to bounce off the Tinbe then hook-stab Uonuma from the back, as though he were fishing in the ocean.

What a frighteningly clever demon.

It took full focus and concentration from Usui's Shingan to predict the trajectory of every whip strike and whiplash from all sorts of awkward angles.

Kurama even made sure to attack only from a distance. He patiently waited when he'd commit to his strikes to keep himself from giving away any openings. A true chess master that outwitted even the likes of Feng Xinhai.

Truly irritating. Usui had no time for such protracted nonsense.

Usui let the Rose Chain-Sickle wrap around his Tinbe, which allowed him to pull Kurama towards him and stab him with the Rochin at last. The fox spirit turned human was able to twist his body in time to prevent a full-on stab like with Hiei, as though he was used to these situations.

Kurama grunted and tumbled backwards before ending up kneeling and gasping for breath.

Uonuma spared a sightless glance at Hiei and Sayuri, sneering at the youkai in particular. This was more for Hiei's sake (and mockery) than a need for him to sense the demon by turning his head, since he had heightened senses.

"I've defeated both Kurama and Hiei! The right-hand men of Yomi and Mukuro! Even the best demon warriors that Makai (Demon World) could offer are no match against me!"

However, before Usui knew it, he felt his Tinbe start to crumble, with cracks forming all around it like the time Kenshin hit it with the follow-up strike of the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (Heavens Gliding Dragon Flash).

"W-What? But how...!?"

His fingers then noticed the growth of moss on the shield, which had taken root throughout the battle. "Moss...?"

Kurama said as he stood up, "A rolling stone gathers no moss. But a turtle shield might. Your Tinbe is amazingly sturdy, with it getting stronger the more you break it apart like organic bone. But since I added Makai Moss to it, the tiny cracks and marks it was supposed to heal couldn't heal because the moss roots had filled up their space."

Like moss on an old building, the moss on Usui's Tinbe compromised the strength of the magic item, keeping it from reconstituting itself properly. Making it crumble as the cracks and gaps where bone or shell was supposed to be was instead replaced with insidious moss.

Also, the Rochin strike to Kurama's side was shallower than before, the spear becoming more and more brittle in cadence with the weakening of the Tinbe.

A cold sweat dripped down Usui's beard. Even after he was warned by Toguro Ani to watch out for Kurama's trickery, he still ended up tricked in the end!

"I take it back," said Uonuma, gasping for air even though he didn't really need to breathe. "You don't remind me of Saizuchi after all, Kurama. You're more like Shishio Makoto himself. You're as shrewd as a fox yet you fight like a demon."

He glanced again at Hiei, this time not to mock him but instead because his Shingan sensed the sudden spike in heat from the fire demon, which in turn knocked Sayuri back.

"Eeek!"

"Jaou-En-Satsu...!"

"NOOOO...!"

"KOKURYUHA!"

Multiple Dragons of Darkness Flame engulfed and blasted open the compromised Tinbe like a roasting chestnut, the Demon World Moss burning away along with the rest of the turtle shield as the second-in-command of the Juppon Gatana and Shin Ju practically got nuked in place.

***

Meanwhile, in the sky overlooking the northwest part of Okushiri Island...

Botan flew top-speed towards the Kyujimayama Observatory, exchanging places with Sayuri since that was under the northeast quadrant's jurisdiction.

Right behind her, riding shotgun, was a tired Yahiko Myojin, who was conserving his strength for the battle ahead against the Chojin's so-called conduit of power.

As soon as they got confirmation of where Houji the Onmyouji hid, they flew up in the sky under Kurama's orders while Natsuki herself met up with Likka in order to run interference against the incoming Karasu and Kuronue (a replacement Shin Ju along with Toguro Ani).

Even better, they stopped bothering to hide in the clouds for fear of aerial strikes after both Natsuki and Daiji neutralized their targets.

The Yutaro reincarnation blasted away Karasu (who could make flying Trace Eye bombs) and the Aoshi reincarnation trapped both Gein (Kaoru didn't remember who that was) and Houji (Kaoru heard of him through Sanosuke) inside a sealed, castle-like structure.

Now was the perfect opportunity for them to strike Houji down before finishing off the rest of the Shin Juppon Gatana and rescuing Okushiri from being under siege by the Chojin.

However, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Instead of them going straight to the sealed Houji, the Chojin's top minion apparently decided to go after them instead.

"What the hell is that, Tanuki-chan!?"

The top portion of the castle of spires proceeded to float towards Botan and Yahiko like some sort of alien ship or U.F.O.

The monument to their success had now become the flying tombstone of their imminent doom.

Jaki laser beams then blasted through the windowless structure, creating windows and doors.

"AHHH! Retreat!" screamed Botan while the Kaoru inside her head wondered how ordinary humans from the Meiji Era could take on something as ridiculous as a floating sky fortress.

***

Before the Kokuryuha could completely sublimate or at least carbonize Usui to the point of Gein needing to create a new body for him, Kuronue blinked into existence and pushed him aside in order to take the full brunt of the Demon World equivalent of a nuclear warhead.

"...Kuronue!" Kurama shouted out at the bat demon, concerned with the wellbeing of his former partner-in-crime despite their circumstances.

Then a curious thing happened.

Kuronue turned into a shadow in the street. Only for another him to (re)appear, who also turned into ash. Another him then replaced him, dying from the flames of the black dragon conflagration. Then another. Then another.

The bat demon died probably a dozen more times before Hiei thought it prudent to return the flames into his arm as tattoos, sealing them. Not willing to let Kurama's partner from millennia ago waste more of his demon energy.

After the present Kuronue gasped his dying breath, a new him took his place, completely healthy and unharmed.

What the hell was going on?

Even Kurama was shaken by the proceedings. He had heard Natsuki's explanation about Kuronue's new powers relayed to him by Sayaka's communicator, but even then he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw it in action.

Was it instantaneous resurrection powers like with Toguro Ani? Clones, like with Suzaku? Or even hypnotic illusions, like with Likka Ikumi and Jine Udo?

The Kuronue whom Kurama knew that died because of a bamboo trap never had such powers. Granted, he was a much weaker demon around that time. But still.

"Uh... Usui, was it?" said Kuronue to Usui. "You should be more careful when fighting Kurama. He's a sneaky one, you see. Don't let him figure you out or else he'll get you killed. It's rare for him to get overwhelmed, like in the case of that one S-Level Reikai Tantei or the Reikai Boueitai."

Uonuma harrumphed. "Ah, so it's you, newbie. Don't get full of yourself. You were only revived by the Chojin because you're the only guy we know who could deal with Youko Kurama's cunning. Udo Jine was supposed to fill the role of Achilles' heel to Kurama, but he ultimately failed and got killed by him."

The bat demon could only laugh. "Haaai (Yeees). Read you loud and clear, sempai (upperclassman)."

Hiei then told the blonde shinigami, ""You better leave now if you don't want to get hurt."

Uchiko said, "But you're not yet finished healing...! Ah. You know what? Fine. Whatever." She then made her exit using her floating scythe as her means of transportation instead of a long boat paddle.

Kurama and Hiei backed away unto each other's sides while both Uonuma and Kuronue loomed towards them, their weapons at the ready.

The Tinbe had already started to reconstruct itself. The gambit Kurama used to weaken it couldn't be used twice now that Usui was aware of how his trick worked.

"Is that really Kuronue or just another imposter?" Hiei asked Kurama, remembering the Meikai (Nether World) god who impersonated the bat demon to mess with the youko's head.

"I'm afraid that's him," Kurama said, his smile looking more like a wincing grimace. "And yes, he does know me like the back of his hand."

"Hn," said Hiei. "Then the same could be said with you to him, right?"

Minamino turned towards his fire demon companion and smiled. "Yes, of course."

Multiple Kuronue "clones" served as Usui's meat shield as his actual shield continued reconstituting its cracked surface, with it now strong enough to resist the Kokuryuha and perhaps even Demon World Moss.

"What's going on? Is Usui using Jine's Jagan again?" asked Hiei.

"No, I don't think so," said Kurama. "From what I remember, Jine's hypnosis affected one person at a time. I'm not sure if Usui evolved the Jagan enough to affect multiple people or create mirages like with Ikumi Likka's powers."

Hiei grunted. Before them was a scene reminiscent of one of the Dai Shin Kan (Great Priests), whose name escaped him at the moment, multiplying endlessly. 'It was Something-Yatsume who did it,' he thought.

Was multiple cloning the M.O. of the Overfiend?

Was it his way of showing his undead army of Dai Kaijin (Great Monsters) were as unlimited as a pestilence of voracious pests? Like a swarm of locusts or a mischief of rats? Unkillable like an intrusion of roaches?

He even heard from his communicator that the same thing happened with Gein and his Iwanbo meat puppets with the assistance of the Onmyouji, which forced Detective Matsudaira to seal them off inside a windowless, spire-filled prison.

Did they intend to infest the world like a plague, from Kuronue to Suzaku or even the Iwanbos of Gein and the Shikigami of the Onmyouji?

Hiei was sick of this clone nonsense but knew that using up his Kokuryuha wasn't in his best interests.

Kurama murdered several shadow clones of his partner, only to succumb to cuts and slices to his neck, abdomen, and thigh. This reminded him of his fight with the Fake Kuronue. That Meikai God did a convincing impression of his old friend.

But this time he was fighting the real deal, and none of his tricks were working against him.

"Rejoice, Youko!" said one of the Kuronues. "When the Chojin snatched me up from the depths of Hell, he told me he did so because he saw you as a threat. You were the only one who wielded the Demon Sword and used it to boost your powers to X-Level."

Kurama frowned, decapitating that one Kuronue and countless others with his Rose Kusarigama. "Who cares about being X-Level?"

Usui shook his head. "Fool! I'd jump at the chance to be as powerful as the Chojin himself! The only X-Level in existence at present! More powerful than the most powerful of the Demon World! You could've single-handedly killed the Shin Ju if you had that kind of power! Save everyone on the Human World you so love! Why do you deny greatness?"

The Youko inside Kurama chuckled, and for a split second his true form emerged. "What's the fun in that? Something given is taken for granted. Something earned is treasured."

The horde of Kuronues laughed upon hearing this and chorused, "Ah, now that's the Youko I know and love."

Hiei also chopped and burned the Kuronues before him with his Jaou-En-Satsu Ken. The sword had flames that, unbeknownst to him, were reminiscent of Shishio's Homura Dama.

The jaganshi did know enough about the Shin Ju to realize that doing the Sword of Darkness Flame would only entice Usui to fight even with his unfinished Tinbe.

The risk of fighting someone with the power of hypnosis was high, but as long as the brilliant and prepared Kurama had his back, Hiei had no fear against such hallucinations.

Whether they were from Kuronue or Usui.

Kuronue continued, "As one of the Chojin's Dai Kaijin, I then developed newfound abilities to help me take you out in the best way possible, Youko. Knowing you, the only way anyone can defeat you is if they're given unlimited retries to do so. You're a cunning fox. Most people would die a thousand deaths first before they can find an opening to take you down. So I chose to develop that kind of power."

Hiei had to admit that that sounded about right. You did not want the Youko as your enemy.

Using the brief rise of energy elicited by Kuronue's tempting words about gaining X-Level through the Youtou Shinnoken, Kurama turned a single stalk of bamboo into the Hydra Bamboo once more.

This weaponized plant of Kurama's was bamboo on "steroids" that multiplied twice for every stalk you cut down. Just like the legendary Hydra of yore. The only ways to kill it involved overcrowding it with other plants or by burning it to the point of carbonization.

The forest of bamboo pierced through the hearts, lungs, stomachs, muscles, intestines, livers, kidneys, and brains of the nearest gathered Kuronues while the rest scattered away like disturbed flies on shit. Or bats, since he was a bat demon.

"Hiei, NOW! While we still have the chance! Kill Uonuma Usui! I'll figure out a way to deal with Kuronue later."

The jagan user charged with his flame sword, able to keep the Hydra Bamboo at bay with his burning slices and cuts so that he wouldn't get overwhelmed himself by the deadly malignant forest.

He wasn't able to kill the half-healed Uonuma earlier but now he should be able to fare better against the blind man's half-formed turtle shield. His airtight defense earlier was now broken in half.

Usui's supernatural hearing and enhanced reflexes allowed him to block Hiei's 17 fire sword strikes in one second.

However, that one second of blocking was the opening the fire demon needed in order to blast a Dragon of Darkness Flame straight into the night sky before it came crashing from behind Uonuma while he busily defended against the Sword of Darkness Flame.

One of the Kuronues ended up protecting Usui from the rear, his chain scythe weapon turning into an iron mine's worth of steel that melted from the heat of the Black Dragon Spirit Wave Technique, which in turn flooded the bamboo forest with fiery molten metal.

Also, the Tinbe had by now reformed two-thirds of itself instead of only half, with it having a pie-sized opening left on an otherwise complete turtle shell shield.

They were running out of time.

The Spirit World Warriors would be back to square one or worse if the Onmyouji managed to escape Daiji's seal before Yahiko could get to him and neutralize his connection with the Almighty Chojin.

Again, Kurama used the Invasive Kudzu Grass to smother and eat the fire away, making it grow with the same uncontrollable rate as the Hydra Bamboo had over being sliced or physically torn apart.

Kuronue said, "I've seen that technique of yours before as well!"

From there, one set of Kuronues served as gardeners who chopped and diced up the Invasive Kudzu before it could absorb enough energy to become a problem, with them even sacrificing several of their own in the process.

Another set of Kuronues kept the blaze of the growing forest fire alive, filling the air with smoke and flames that burned up the mutated bamboo before it could grow enough to become unstoppable.

Unlike the mindless puppets of Gein and the Nameless Yatsume, Kuronue's phantoms had a frightening hivemind that learned from every mistake they made and adjusted thusly with every new generation of himself.

One Kuronue branched out into multiple versions of himself, thusly exploring infinite possibilities.

The Quantum Kuronue.

Maybe Kurama should've gotten hold of the Demon Sword and finished all the Shin Ju off with one or ten slashes. A potential eleventh slash for the Onmyouji.

But that was the boring way of doing things. And Kurama loved a challenge. How should he solve this puzzle that Kuronue suddenly became?

Besides which, Kurama noticed that Hiei had been hiding one more ace up his sleeve all this time. An ace that the Shin Ju were probably also aware of, but had yet to experience firsthand.

Hiei backed off from Usui's Rochin stab, sheathing his sword and adopting the same battoujutsu or iaido (sword-drawing) stance that Himura Battousai was known for.

The whole park had become a mess. One part of it was composed of burning bamboo and molten metal that had started to harden.

The other part was filled with bits and pieces of kudzu grass reaped by scythes, with several of them allowed by the Kuronues to eat the remaining red and black flames, thus controlling the blaze.

That was one helluva landscaping job Kuronue did.

The army of Kuronues then remerged into one body, awaiting the next attack from Kurama to occur that they'd then dissect and deconstruct.

Once Uonuma's Tinbe was completed, nothing in their arsenal would be able to take down his defensive turtle shield.

The shell had already tasted every last technique they could throw at it, from Demon World Moss to Makai Flames. Everything but the kitchen sink.

Regardless Hiei flickered into action and Kuronue multiplied once more.

Usui lay in wait, his Shingan soaking in all the different noises surrounding him yet his supernatural senses able to distinguish which ones were the Kuronues and which ones were Hiei.

He also screamed, "Hey, Newbie! When you decapitate the fire demon, make sure to keep his Jagan intact! I need that!"

Kurama walked calmly towards the chaos of burning bamboo, chopped kudzu grass, a self-contained forest fire, and what seemed like an army of Kuronue converging into what appeared to the naked eye as empty space but instead was actually a supersonic Hiei.

He then snatched the jewel necklace hanging from the neck of (one of the many clones of) Kuronue.

The youko figured out the new powers that the Chojin bestowed upon Kuronue. All of his clones were the real him.

On a quantum level, Kuronue managed to exist in multiple planes of existence and manifest himself in one reality, allowing some of his selves to die and his other selves to live at the same time in an infinite loop.

It enabled him to interact in one dimension in a multi-dimensional manner, so that he could do one, two, three, or more things at the same time until he succeeded in a given instance, his realities branching forth endlessly as he explored every possibility.

For a schemer like Kurama who tended to finish off opponents with cunning and wit, this new version of Kuronue was an absolute nightmare to handle. He was like Yusuke. Creative. Unpredictable. Chaotic.

An honest demon who'd never attack you from behind but knew every trick in the book because he was an expert in unraveling mysteries, traps, techniques, and lies. He loved figuring out the truth behind everything.

The same bat demon who ended up dying, ensnared by the simplest and most primitive of bamboo traps due to his immense sense of sentiment, which was ironic and truly unbecoming of someone as clever as him.

Kuronue should've known better.

Kurama figured out that the Meikai God who impersonated the Fake Kuronue was a fake with the way he discarded the jewel around his neck.

In the same vein, he knew this Kuronue was the real deal when he... all of him... scrambled for the jewel with a high amount of sentimental value to him.

The seeming dozens—perhaps even hundreds or more—of Kuronues all jumped at grabbing hold of the jewel Kurama threw away in the same manner that the Meikai God Kaiki did.

This was the opportunity Hiei was waiting for.

"Jaou-En-Satsu KOKURYUHA!"

***

Thousands of years ago...

A bloodied young Kuronue cackled with gnashed teeth and a raspy throat at Youko Kurama and his bloodstained claws.

Maimed but not broken. His body scourged with lacerations. His limbs flopping uselessly on the floor.

His clenched teeth gripping the string of a necklace.

The leader of the demon bandits looked at the bat demon with disdain and confusion. The kid managed to steal a necklace from their haul.

"Why are you so happy? That's just a trinket compared to the countless treasures we've gathered," Youko Kurama said with a toss of his silken hair.

On shaky legs, Kuronue rose up, his bloody back on the craggy wall. "If it was so insignificant, you wouldn't have almost killed me to get it back."

Kurama raised his clawed hand, the constant lightning from Makai's dark clouds illuminating his silhouette. "Would you die for that necklace?"

Again, through clenched teeth, Kuronue spoke. "What an honor it would be to do so. Let me die a martyr. Let me be known as the one demon who outwitted the Legendary Youko Kurama."

Kurama changed his mind then and there. He put down his raised arm, turned, and walked away.

"HEY! Are you just going to let me go, you coward?" Kuronue spat, which led to him accidentally dropping the necklace. He then went on a mad scramble for it, willing his trembling arms to catch the jewelry.

"Rest up. Heal your wounds. You're now part of my bandits. Bring my jewel along with you," commanded the youko. "We hunt in the next earth day."

After finally grabbing hold of the jewel, Kuronue demanded, "And if I refuse?"

While still facing away from him, Kurama turned his head and gave the bat demon a sidelong glance. "I don't think you will."

From that point forth, the youko ended up with an ally more valuable than the trinket he stole from him.

***

The Dragons of Darkness Flames killed every last one of the Kuronue doppelgangers with its youki-infused flames from the Demon World burning them to sublimation at an atomic level.

Kurama went down on his knees, exhausted. He'd lost a lot of blood from his war with what seemed like a thousand Kuronues converging at him at once.

However, in the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he saw at least one Kuronue move out of the Kokuryuha's line of sight.

If a Kuronue had survived, then there was at least a one in a hundred/thousand possibility that if Kurama had thrown away that necklace, he wouldn't have gone after it.

Kuronue was learning. Changing. Evolving.

Kurama smiled. At least something good came out of the Chojin's plans to revive their dead enemies/comrades to use against them.

***

To Be Continued...

I based Kuronue's new powers on the version of Kuronue featured in my first-ever fan fiction, "Shonen". Something about the (watered-down for fiction version of the) Many-World Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics with a dash of Schrödinger's Cat thrown into the mix.

The boss battle is fast approaching, but those mini-bosses can be quite the handful!

Ciao, Abdiel

[lumitrs-a]

⤹                 @tzdkh​​​ asked   ◞      💋 // did someone say a KISS from a fox to his favorite soft gremlin ⁇                                                     ━━━━           prompted    ╱    still  accepting  ‼

FRESH  CLOTHES  FALL  ATOP  BANDAGED  WOUNDS ,     and it’s not the first time he’s been fitted in attire too large for a youkai of his height.   kurama had offered , again , after cleaning up his wounds from another sparring match with mukuro , and without hesitation hiei had already begun to rummage through his draws.   some annoyance comes from it , but it doesn’t take him long to find something suitable.   his bloodied clothes had been taken from him , but he refused to have them tossed away regardless of their current state.   people would begin to question why he kept returning to makai wearing a different outfit each time , and hiei didn’t care to comment on that. 

❝ I can’t promise they’ll be clean when I return them. ❞

a dull humoured comment , as kurama knew better then to think he’d return them at all if his prior outfit wasn’t ready for his next departure to makai.   usually , hiei would leave right then and there , but as of late his visits had become long-stayed , even feeling comfortable to move away from his perch on the window sill and sit atop the bed.   he usually didn’t enjoy the soft texture , it never made him feel secure in the past , but he didn’t need to worry too much about his defensives around kurama.   hiei trusted him enough.   no , he trusted him immensely , but he’d never admit that out loud.   through actions , that spoke loudly enough. 

eyes immediately snap towards the other as he approaches , messing with the cuts across his face despite the countless times he’d told him to leave it.   the wound on his stomach was all he needed help with , though when caught licking at the cuts on his arms , he’d been scolded enough that he stops with a frown , and maybe that plays into the reason he doesn’t budge when light fingertips run across his cheek.   he looks away with a sharp exhale , but quietly allows him to inspect the injuries.   it really was minuscule damage in comparison , and had it been anyone else , he’d never allow them to get so close to his face , but kurama’s touch wasn’t one that he shunned from.   

❝ are you so interested in the cuts on my lips kurama ? ❞

it’s all too calm for someone like him , and while shoulders had tensed , shifting lightly in his position , there’s no displeasure or bite in his words.   his comment is huffed , as if he found amusement him in an act he knows he isn’t trying to hide.   yes , even then a long , fresh cut scars across his cheek and follows down his upper lip.   if it stung at kurama’s touch , any discomfort wasn’t shown. 

his gaze is forced to meet kurama’s when he moves his cheek gently to the side.   yes , hiei is sure he’s inspecting the cuts , and that’s precisely why there’s a noticeable twitch in the corner of kurama’s lips.   if the fox was playing with him , then that was his first mistake.   he had been curious last time , but he was never the type to forget an important lesson , and he would not be taken by surprise again.   even as his eyes had narrowed , and his own touch lacks any softness that kurama’s had prior , a hand reaches out to pull him closer , closing the distance entirely as lips crash against one another.   it earns a hiss from himself , but the cut on his lip is ignored despite the sharp pain.  it’s not a graceful display , but he’d never been one for that anyway. 

his grip tightens along kurama’s neck , fingers grasping locks of hair and tightening them into a firm hold , insistent mouth parting , kissing like he would battle , with instincts as his only guide.   affection , and a desire he hadn’t experienced before , left him new to the feeling , but it wasn’t hard to pick up on , not for a youkai who lived to adapt , and fought for what he wanted.   

and he knows he wants this. 

even as his senses are overwhelmed in unknown sensation , and even within his own turmoil of conflict with being left so vulnerable it’s a raw display from the youkai , as he begins to allow affection of this level into his life.   but as confusing as his code was , he was more so , as he almost immediately pulls back , allowing him room to breath from his sudden actions , and as adrenaline kicks in , there’s a moment of alertness.   

he vanishes , but only for an instant.  he doesn’t leave , not exactly , as instead he finds himself perched along the window sill , curtains blowing in the breeze as he takes this time to stare at kurama from across the room.  

actions mirror that of a household cat , but one would never dare make the comparison out loud.   within seconds his attitude could change , bordering hot and cold , stillness and sudden fright , and he remains by the window for moments longer.

❝ that hurt. ❞ 

is the only comment he can make , fingers resting against his lip and the cut he’d put through hell and back. 

[unlockthelore]

Lost In You

Hiei elects to utilize the Reikai’s generous offer and free himself from Sarayashiki’s confines, with a quick stop on the way. From the fic Fluent on Ao3. For more updates, follow the fluent yyh tag on this blog. 

In the aftermath of the tournament and their return to their ‘normal lives’, Hiei couldn’t make heads or tails of all his gains and losses. Yukina’s decision to remain in Ningenkai under the care of Genkai provided a steady means of seeing her, although seeking her out was difficult with his restrictions and the secret between them. Kuwabara claimed to want to visit her often, and thankfully, his schooling and human needs prevented that headache. Yusuke insisted on growing stronger, but Toguro’s death and Genkai’s demise along with her revival, had shaken something inside of him.

A part Hiei wasn’t sure would heal with a few days rest.

Then there was Kurama and the wounds left on his psyche, still weeping even as the ones on his body healed. Nightmares plagued him just as often as Yusuke or Kuwabara, and more than once, Hiei watched over them as they talked, sneaking out of their respective homes to sit in parks or wander empty streets in search of solace.

Confronting Kurama on his nightly exploits were silly. If playing games and talking to the louder pair brought him comfort then so be it. Even still, there were other ways Kurama sought peace.

Hiei hardly minded Kurama’s touchiness during the tournament, and the need for contact seemed to wax and wane. Memories of Karasu’s covetous hands hindered his desire to be held, and Hiei resolved to wait patiently, allowing him a space in his arms when he desired. Still, he rescinded Reikai insistence on the crow being offered a fair trial. His presence in this world aside, what he’d done to Kurama was inexcusable and the Dragon yearned to render him to nothingness.

Alas, rules and laws prohibited what Hiei considered as justice.

For as much as he seemed to gain from the tournament — the Dragon’s power, symbiosis with the Mortal Flame, Yukina’s constant presence, respect for his teammates — he lost that much more.

“It’s so sweet…!” A loud chipper tone cried, lurching him from his thoughts with a grimace. Cutting a visceral glare at the blue-haired ferry girl floating beside him, Hiei wondered how she could be so cheerful at a time like this.“A little sibling bonding time, oh, Yuusuke is going to love hearing about this.”

Hiei’s eyes widened and flicked downward. While he was blatantly aware no one on the streets around them could see or hear her, their meeting was carried out on a rooftop further and higher from the city’s main roads. It was blissfully quiet aside from her chattering and the idea that his peace would be broken by loose lips irked his nerves.

“Botan,” Hiei prefaced, attempting to keep his voice as even as possible, fingers curled into tight fists trembling against the inner lining of his cloak pockets. “Tell him anything — no — tell any of them, and I’ll…”

Admittedly, Hiei wasn’t sure what he would do. A distant voice in the back of his mind that sounded all too much like Kurama told him it would be a violation of his parole. Still, there were some things that should be excused. His hand trembled, scarlet-orange flames beginning to emerge from the depths. Pink eyes widened as Botan lifted her hands, seemingly unapologetic, with the cat-like smile curling the corners of her lips.

“Calm down, calm down, I know it’s a sensitive matter and part of your wish from the Tournament,” she turned her hands outward, shoulders hunching when Hiei scowled. “So it’s Reikai-sensitive information.”

The slight waver and falter to her smile came with a bit of distance put between them as she floated over the heads of unsuspecting humans milling about below.

Hiei snorted, quelling the flames licking at his wrists as he turned his gaze skyward. Glaring disdainfully at the clear blue sky, sun beating down and assaulting his eyes with its light. “Considering how inept Reikai intel is, was that supposed to comfort me?”

He hardly felt fazed when she gasped and floated closer to him, shouting in his face. “A thank you would be nice!”

Shooting a glare at her, pink met crimson and he was almost impressed by the sharpness of her eyes. Almost, but not quite. Tipping his chin downward, he sighed audibly and rolled his shoulders back, feeling the stiffness in holding his posture for so long.

“When does the probationary period start?”

Botan’s nose wrinkled and she puffed her cheek, seeming to want to argue more but second-guessing it as she reached into the folds of her kimono to pull out a small grey book. Hiei almost wanted to see what was written in it, especially with how much she scribbled in it constantly while observing their battles. But as soon as she flipped to the necessary page and read, it was snapped shut then tucked away.

“In the next thirty minutes,” she said in a huff, turning her head away.

“Hm.”

Thirty minutes. It was longer than he wanted but the potential of being able to see Yukina was worth it. For now, there were other matters he had to attend to.

“So remember, you have to stay within at least one hundred yards of Genkai’s property and alert her when you are lea—” Botan opened her eyes and glanced back to where Hiei had been standing, finding an empty spot, and a black blur darting across the rooftops. “Oi!”

                                             幽☆遊☆白書            

Dropping down on the sill of Kurama’s bedroom window, Hiei peered through the glass at the red headed figure spilling over books atop his desk. A faint golden glow cast deep shadows across familiar features, doing little to hide the natural beauty he possessed or the tiredness in his eyes. Reaching for the side panel, Hiei gave it a tug, surprised when it didn’t give way. After another tug, he heard a metallic clink and stared in surprise at where the window’s latch was lowered.

It was locked.

Shock kept him still for a second. Long enough for Kurama to notice a presence outside his window, rising in a slight hurry — never panic, because Kurama didn’t panic — coming to Hiei’s aid. The window unlatched and opened in one quick flourish allowing Hiei to see Kurama unfettered by glass between them.

“Hiei,” Kurama said in a soft, airy tone, snapping him out of his stupor. How stupid, he could have melted the damn thing but that would’ve only made matters worse. “I thought you would be on your way to Genkai’s by now.”

“Thirty minutes.”

Hiei wasn’t sure why that was the only thing that came out his mouth. Or the strange sense of panic when he noticed the window had been locked. Climbing inside and closing it behind him, he glared at the latch, unwilling to tear his gaze away until he heard the creak of Kurama’s desk chair. Looking back at the fox, sagging slightly with his hands resting at his stomach, Hiei felt guilty.

Kurama’s reason for locking the window might not have been to keep him out but to protect himself.

“You don’t have to cut your time short with Yukina for my sake,” Kurama said, his smile achingly soft and understanding, turning Hiei’s stomach.

He knew Kurama would never ask him to stay. Never expect him to choose him over something else. It was the humanity within him. Youko weren’t nearly as kind or selfless but Kurama could be when the mood fit him. The question crossed Hiei’s mind just as easily as he strode to Kurama’s side.

If the option arose — would he have been able to pick between Kurama and Yukina?

Would that even be a choice he’d be able to make without some semblance of regret? Slipping his arms around Kurama’s shoulders, Hiei felt him stiffen. It wasn’t wise to trap a fox but this wasn’t to keep him contained. Kurama must have realized as much, forcing his muscles to loosen. A warm hand set upon Hiei’s back as Kurama buried his face against his shoulder.

“... I have thirty minutes before I can leave to see her,” Hiei clarified, squeezing Kurama when he heard the breathy sigh. Be selfish, he quietly urged. Ask me to stay. But Kurama said nothing, only holding him tighter.

“When will you be back?”

Hiei was grateful his face was buried against his shoulder. If Kurama had seen the surprise, the concern, the relief — it would open a wealth of questions Hiei wasn’t ready to answer. Yet one thing was clear. Kurama never asked him when he was going to return.

He simply did. The window was open. They reconciled and parted ways with only the knowledge of soon.

And yet, Kurama seemed to want to expect him.

Burying his fingers in silky crimson hair, Hiei held him a bit tighter, eliciting a gasp that he wanted to hear again.

“Nightfall.”

The nightmares would come again but Hiei would return and hold him through them all. For as long as Kurama wanted. A light press, flutter of warm plush lips, startled Hiei from his thoughts. He barely noticed his muffler being removed or when Kurama kissed the sensitive column of his neck, starting down with unhurried kisses loosening with precision.

“Thirty minutes,” he muttered, a throaty growl questioning and sticking half-hearted protests to the back of Hiei’s throat. He’d heard that voice before. Kurama’s old voice, and when he glanced down, golden slipped through green. “Thats what you said?”

Hiei nodded slowly, both unsurprised and startled when Kurama stood, lifting him up effortlessly. He knew he was strong but after the tournament, his strength only seemed to grow. Sinking into the bed as he was laid down, Kurama’s body covering his own, red hair shielded him from the world as the fox captured his lips and ensnared him for a bit longer.

[wolvesandfoxes25]

What we want:

Chapter 14

Sakura wasn’t doing well.

It had been a couple days since her miscarriage, and most of the time, she spent the day buried in the bed, staring at the opposite wall.

He still went into work and had to go home to watch over Himawari and Bolt, but always came by when he could.

There was no difference.

And Sarada would be home tomorrow.

He had to do something.

 

“Sakura?” He mumbled into the darkness, fumbling for her light switch. Snapping it on, he watched as the pink haired kuniochi flung the blanket over her head and burrowed into her blankets.

Naruto sighed, moving into the room quietly.

“Hey, Sakura?”

Silence.

He tried again, rubbing at his cheek, extremely nervous suddenly. He remembered all those times he received those punches from her.

Gulping audibly, he made his way over, sitting down in an empty space on the bed.

“Are you awake?”

Silence.

“You need to get up, Sakura.” He said to her prone form, watching her chest rise and fall.

Silence.

Naruto closed his eyes, feeling a rumbling in his chest.

Welp.

Rolling his eyes, he stopped and listened to what Kurama was going to say.

Your mate is upset.

“You think I don’t know that.” He grit out, bristling at the condescending tone.

Because of the pup?

Silence.

Kurama rumbled, snarling, gnashing his teeth at Naruto.

“What would you have me do? I can’t do anything.” He hissed out loud, feeling his own rage start to bubble up.

“Naruto?”

The blondes head whipped to the side, looking into the dull green eyes that were now looking at him, all arguments with the fox ignored.

“Sakura.” He gasped, gripping her hand that wasn’t tucked below the blankets.

She looked groggy, her cheeks puffy, nose raw from where she had been crying.

Still beautiful, no matter the circumstance.

“Are you talking to Kurama?” She mumbled, closing her eyes again.

Naruto blanched, but nodded his head.

“Y-Yeah, I don’t usually respond out loud to him. But, he’s angry.”

Sakura looked at him again, sniffling.

“Does he know about…?” And she trailed off, looking towards the window.

Naruto nodded.

Silence.

“Sakura? Is there anything I can do? I really want to help, please?” He almost begged her, desperately trying to find some way to pull her out of this depression.

She didn’t even look at him, but he could see the cloud fall over her features at his question.

“You’ve been in the bed for days now, Sakura, you should get up and move around a little bit. I’m trying hard to not push, but I’m worried about you.”

Silence.

He didn’t know what to do from here, he was at a complete loss and felt almost powerless.

“Sarada is coming home tomorrow.” She mumbled to him, moving the blanket off her face, to scratch at the rawness around her nose.

Naruto nodded.

She sighed, pushing at his hand to move out from underneath the covers, swinging her feet over the side of the bed.

The blonde stood up and held out a hand for her, but she pushed him away again, standing up on her own.

Naruto pushed that to the side, swallowing the hurt feelings that were rising up.

“You can go now, Naruto. Thanks for checking in on me, but I can take it from here.” She muttered, picking up a brush off her nightstand.

The young hokage just stared at her back, not understanding why she was brushing him off.

Opening his mouth to say something, he noticed that her fingers were trembling and he shut his mouth quickly.

She had just lost their baby. It wasn’t surprising that she needed some time alone, without the other half of the baby she had lost standing over her, asking a myriad of questions constantly.

Swallowing dryly, he tried to smile, “Okay, Sakura. But if you need anything. You know where I’ll be.” He told her quietly, walking up behind her to place a soft kiss on the top of her head.

She stopped brushing her hair, and stared at him through the mirror, giving a pointed nod as her eyes filled with more tears.

Naruto scrambled out, trying to block out the sob that followed him through the door.

 

 

“Mom! I’m home!” Sarada yelled into the house, noticing the food on the stove.

There was a shuffling in the room beside the kitchen, and Sakura popped out, wiping at her eyes hastily.

“Sarada!” She exclaimed, rushing forward to pull her daughter into a hug.

The raven haired kunoichi giggled, then blanched, “Mom. Too tight.”

Sakura let up a little but didn’t pull away altogether.

“Uh, mom? Are you alright?” Sarada asked, feeling her moms arms tremble around her frame.

She let her go abruptly, pulling away to hide her face from her child.

“Y-Yeah, just missed you is all.” Sakura whispered, wiping her tears away.

Sarada raised an eyebrow.

“I was only gone for a week. Did something happen while I was away?”

Silence.

Sarada got a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“M-Mom? Did something happen while I was gone?” She asked again, this time more quickly and with a hint of dread behind the question.

He mothers gaze was focused on the floor, but she gave the tiniest nod.

Sighing deeply, Sakura gripped her hand, and pulled her into the living room, sitting her down on one of the sofas.

“You should sit down for this sweetheart.”

 

 

Sarada wiped tears off her cheeks when her mom was done telling the story. The pink haired matron completely cried out at this point.

“I wasn’t sure I should tell you right now, it’s hard for me to even understand.” She said to her daughter, sitting beside her prone form.

“I’m glad you did.” She muttered, reaching out to hold her mother’s hand.

Silence.

Sarada sniffled, sighing.

“What about the clinical trial?”

Sakura looked down, shrugging lightly.

“Ino told the Hokage-sama that he’s stable now. The post-surgery fever broke, we’re just waiting for him to wake up now.”

When she heard the news from Naruto on the third day of her bedroom blues, Sakura felt a rush of relief, then instantly a rush of dread. He might have slipped into a medical coma. And if that happened, and he never had any coherent brain waves, they would have to unplug him and let him go.

It wasn’t better after that thought, just made her feel even more guilt for the parents that would have to sit over their child and watch as his eyes stayed closed day after day.

“Mom. You did everything you could. You’re the best doctor this part of Konoha, and even beyond that. It’s not your fault if he doesn’t wake up.”

Sakura chuckled, wiping at her nose.

“Thank you, baby. It’s just, had I not performed this surgery, he could’ve had time with his family, before he died. Isn’t a little bit of time better than no time at all?”

Sarada stared her mother down.

“Yes, but he would’ve lived his life in pain, every day, being shot up with different drugs every three hours at the ripe age of 9, mama. Believe me that is not a life that he wanted.”

Sakura smiled, running her fingers through the short strands of her daughter’s hair.

“How’d you get so wise?”

Sarada smiled, “From you, of course.”

 

 

The two of them talked for a little bit longer, Sarada gushing about all the techniques she learned from her father, stayed up and watched a couple movies, then Sarada slipped into bed around nine, leaving Sakura to wash the dishes, even though Sarada told her to leave them for tomorrow.

It helped clear her mind of everything that was happening in her life, if only for a couple minutes.

She sighed, scrubbing at a particularly hard stain and thought about Naruto, remembering the look of pain when she dismissed him yesterday.

At the image of his wounded eyes, she heard a crash outside her front window and jumped slightly.

Growling, she grabbed a kunai that was resting on the shelf in the kitchen, focused her chakra into her right hand and flung open her door with the left.

“Wait, Sakura!” A frightened Naruto yelped, narrowly missing the punch that would have sent him into the neighboring land.

“Naruto!?”

He grinned slightly, taking a step back from the dangerous look in her eyes.

“Now, Sakura, I-I only came to see how you were doing, no need to get hasty.” He laughed nervously, taking a few steps backward as she advanced on him.

Bonk!

“Ow!” Naruto grunted, feeling the goose egg start to form on his temple.

Sakura rolled her eyes at him but smirked a little at his reaction. Felt like old times.

 

“Do you want some dinner?” She asked him as he pouted in one of the kitchen chairs.

He shook his head, losing the pout, now smiling at her. She couldn’t help but give a small smile back.

Silence.

Sakura grabbed a spare plate from her fridge, putting it before him.

“I said I wasn’t hungry, Sakura.”

She only raised an eyebrow.

“I know that you haven’t eaten anything but ramen in days, Naruto. Now that Hinata has moved out, I know there hasn’t been a lot of cooking going on in your home. If you’re ever there.”

Grunting, he just shrugged. They both knew she was right.

 

After he was done eating, he stood up and washed the bowl off, setting it aside on the towel. Turning, he watched Sakura quietly sip her tea.

“How are you?” He mumbled, not sure if he should bring up the topic or not.

Sakura side eyed him but nodded stiffly.

“Getting through it.”

Naruto shuffled his feet, crossing his arms.

“Does Sarada know?”

Nod.

“Are you upset with me, Sakura?”

Silence.

Setting her tea down slowly, she felt her eyes start to burn. Biting her lip, she turned to him, watching as his face fell.

“I’m mad at myself. It was my fault that the baby was lost, Naruto. I- I just got so stressed out, and I wasn’t taking care of myself the way I was supposed to.”

The blonde couldn’t listen to that nonsense anymore. Pushing himself away from the sink, he moved over to her and enveloped her in his arms.

Sobbing, she snuggled into his embrace, pushing her face against his stomach, letting her tears fall.

“It’s no-one’s fault, Sakura. Look at me, please look at me.” He begged her, cupping her face in his hands.

Pain filled eyes met his, and his stomach clenched at the pain that lay within them.

“We can always try again; do you hear me? This wasn’t it for us. And we will love that baby with everything we are, just like the children we have now. Okay? We will get through this, together.”

Sakura bit her lip to stifle another sob.

“H-How do you know, Naruto? How do you know we’ll get past this?” She whimpered.

Naruto stroked her cheeks, wiping some of the liquid away.

“Because we’ve gotten through so much before. Together. Remember all that chaos with the nine tails I put us through? And guess who was right beside me?”

Sakura stared at him.

“You. In the middle of all that chaos was you, Sakura. Always you. I was pretending for so many years it wasn’t you, but, I’m pretty sure we’re both tired of pretending.”

She nodded, sniffling, grabbing at his wrists to nuzzle her cheek in his palm.

“When it’s you and I, we’ll always get through.” He reassured her, kissing her forehead tenderly.

 

“Stay the night.” She whispered to him as he was putting his sandals on.

He looked up at her, and scratched at his whiskers, “Um, are you sure?”

Nodding, she switched the light off, flicking a heated glance over her shoulder at him.

They cuddled together in bed, Sakura’s head on Naruto’s bicep, both of them staring at the ceiling as he ran his bandaged hand through her hair.

“Did you mean it, Naruto?” Sakura whispered into the darkness.

He turned his eyes to her, catching the green of hers.

“Every bit of it.” He whispered to her, his heart swelling at the hopeful expression that fell over her features.

Cuddling closer to him, Sakura sighed, reaching out to run a finger over an abdominal muscle.

“It’s a shame we can’t start now.” She mumbled, trailing a path down his hard belly.

Naruto gulped, feeling a stirring in his lower half.

“We can’t, I read online that it takes two weeks for the body to get over a-a.” But he stopped, licking his lips, not wanting to say the word miscarriage.

Sakura smiled slightly, touched that he had looked up everything.

“I know.” She whispered, continuing her finger trek down his body.

Naruto felt his pelvis tighten as one finger turned into two, and she was steadily climbing downwards.

“Sakura?” He mumbled, trying to keep the haze out of his voice.

She hummed but kept going.

“I don’t think we should do anything right now. You’re still recovering, and I don’t want to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.” He grit out between clenched teeth.

Sakura stopped what she was doing, tucking her hand underneath his side, moving further into his warmth.

Naruto thanked Kami.

“I’m sorry.” She mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Hey no, I just don’t want you to feel you have to do anything, Sakura. You’ve been through a lot these past few days, and I just want you to be comfortable. That’s all.” He finished lamely, biting his lip.

The kunoichi just sighed, knowing that he was right. She wasn’t exactly ready for anything like that right now, and he seemed like he wasn’t either. The entire day had been very emotional for the both of them, and in all honesty, she was starting to get a stomachache.

“I’m still bleeding a little bit.” She murmured, feeling her face heat up.

He didn’t say anything, but she felt his worry anyway.

“It’s natural, the cervix needs time to heal, and my body just needs to readjust itself. Bleeding is normal for a miscarriage around this time.”

Naruto nodded, pushing her further against him, if that was at all possible.

“If you need me to do anything, get paperwork for you, or to talk to any of your nurses, I can do that.” He said, kissing her ear softly.

Warmth enveloped her chest, and she just nudged him back with her nose.

“Ino is coming by tomorrow to bring me everything. She came two days ago and told me about the clinical trial, there should be an update on him tomorrow. Hopefully there’s good news. If not, it’s still a waiting game.”

Silence.

“I think he’ll come out of it. He just has to find the will to do so.”

Sakura looked at the side of his face, watching his jaw clench, and whiskers move on his cheeks.

“What do you mean the ‘will’ to live?”

Naruto didn’t turn to look at her, just continued to stare at the ceiling.

“I just mean, when people know they’re sick, and there’s a chance they won’t ever stop being so, they can…give up on themselves.”

Silence.

“It doesn’t matter how many times others say it, or priests pray with you about it. You have to feel the need to continue on within you. Remember the will of fire that burns within the village?”

Sakura nodded.

“Well, the same can be applied here. That will has to burn within you to carry on.”

Sakura just stared at him, not knowing what she did to deserve a person like him to love her.

But she’d spend the rest of her life figuring it out.

Moving her hand up, she grabbed his fingers, intertwining there’s together, and shut her eyes against the darkness.

But this time, she felt only light.

[zwei-the-penguin-with-a-pen]

Yu Yu Hakusho Side-By-Side, Episode 7: Gouki and Kurama

Sub Yusuke laments about the difference in his and Goki’s power levels, while Dub Yusuke just tells himself to think of something.

After being punched the first time, he says he should have avoided a direct hit. In the dub he just groans.

The dub line ‘I’d hate to bruise the meat’ replaces a remark about humans being fragile.

Dub Botan tries to make different voices to distract Goki, and mentions carrying weapons and a pack of dogs, making Gouki say ‘I hate dogs!’. In the sub she just keeps offering to camp with him.

Dub Yusuke, yet again, thinks he has had a dream when he wakes up at home. Also he asks ‘What happened to the forest?; instead of ‘Where am I?’

Sub Atsuko remarks about how Yusuke has only just come back to life and is being reckless. Dub Atsuko just says ‘You look like you’ve been fighting with a wrestler! You’re gonna get yourself kiiled!’ and then falls down crying.

Sub Botan asks if Yusuke’s injuries are okay when she walks into his room. Dub Botan just says ‘You know it was me!’ or whatever.

Dub Yusuke remarks ‘Why does that not surprise me’ when learning he has a time limit and says the odds are against them. Sub Yusuke seems more nervous.

Dub Koenma mentions Enma devastating not only the world but also ‘his precious backside’. He also refers to Yusuke’s anxiety as a ‘pity party’. Some boss...

The news report mentions the area Goki is stealing sould from by name, Dub Atsuko says it isn’t far away. Sub Atsuko just mentions the situation being scary.

Dub Yusuke says he’ll tear Goki’s stomach open. Sub Yusuke just says he’ll kill him. Then again Dub Yusuke always goes into more detail with how he’ll beat this demon or that one.

In the dub Goki’s skin is ‘solid as rock’ while the sub says he’s ‘harder than steel.’

Sub Yusuke tells Botan to run away, Dub Yusuke tells Goki to ignore her and fight him.

While he’s getting his wounds treated Dub Yusuke says ‘More alcohol and I’ll need a designated driver.’ whereas Sub Yusuke just tells Botan to take it easy.

Sub Botan says Kurama is buying time to find out what the Mirror will cost him. Dub Botan says something like ‘Getting the Mirror back won’t anything if his wish destroys the world!:

Sub Yusuke said Kurama didn’t seem to be lying. Dub Yusuke mentions him ‘looking more sad than evil.

Atsuko’s ‘What happened to Keiko?’ was added. Yusuke was still talking in the sub.

Dub Botan tells Yusuke to be careful when meeting Kurama, prompting a likewise response. This seems like something to fill space.

Dub Kurama’s ‘In some species a child eats its mother’ bit is the most random addition I’ve heard yet. It feeds into the idea of him blaming himself, which isn’t the case in the sub.

‘That’s why it’s called the Forlorn Hope! You should get a dictionary...” Damn, Koenma!

Dub Yusuke notes that what he’d just done didn’t make any sense, saying ‘The point was to stop Kurama’s mom from being sad, but my mom would have been sad.’ and then Botan calls him stupid.

Botan mentions she doubted the ‘Great Yusuke; in the dub. In the sub she just cheers that he has gotten two of the artifacts.

Koenma’s line ‘Such children’ replaced the sub line ‘Good Grief!’