Violence! Fighting scenes! I don't care what fans say but I insist on
having Kurama tortured... =) 

::Siew Lee vanishes in a puff of smoke, leaving only an evil laugh:: 

Siew Lee 
[wsiewlee@tm.net.my] 

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		~~~The Past, The Present and The Future~~~

		      ~~~Vengeance - The Present~~~

         	     Chapter 8 - The Invincible Pair 		 

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	Chilly air blew past, even though the sun itself was shining 
brightly. The wind was howling through the whole abandoned structure 
eerily, high and low pitched sounds echoing through it. Creaking 
doors and hanging shutters added to the overall misery of the house. 
Peeling paint was hanging limply from the walls, making them such an 
eye sore... Creeping vines crawled up the crumbling edifice and 
entwined themselves with the still standing pillars. It was a wonder 
that the authorities didn't take any action to tear this building 
down. 

	There was a slight tremor, one would not know whether it was 
artificial or just one of the notorious earthquakes that this area 
suffered frequently. Maybe it was a certain move from the dark side 
of the ki owners inside it... 

	It was in better condition than that castle Yamaro and Murashi 
were imprisoned in. A lot better, judging by the condition the whole 
place was in. 

	"What a haunted house it seems..."  commented Kuwabara as they 
neared the old house. Almost cautiously, he powered up his Reiki 
sword, wary of any unaccountable movements within the structure. 
Kuwabara concentrated for a while and a spirit sword shot up his 
clenched fist, emitting golden light from the blade itself. Thank 
goodness that Koenma had decided to stay in Reikai for any backup 
needed, just in case... 

	One by one, the Reikai-tanteis got their spiritual weapons 
ready. Yusuke posed his fingers into his famous Rei-Gan stance while 
Kurama picked out a rose from the thin air. He held it in between his 
fingers and with a flick of his wrist, he brandished his Rose Whip 
equipped with thorns; sharp and deadly thorns. Hiei stood there 
quietly and unsheathed his katana from its ebony covering. Long and 
slender, harmless it may look... but the sharp edges glinted 
dangerously. 

	Almost tentatively, Kurama took the lead with Arisa following 
closely behind him. The random twigs and dry sticks on the earth 
ground snapped beneath their footsteps. Meanwhile, Hiei flitted off 
to the top of a tree, on lookout for alien activities within the 
building. His eyes flickered momentarily to one of the windows, 
studying what lay inside. He could see nothing, only a few stray 
pieces of broken furniture lying around. 

	Arisa suddenly felt a catch in her throat and quickly, she 
tried to hold it back by holding her breath. At last, a choking sound 
escaped from her throat. Kurama extended a hand reflexively and began 
stroking her back, his eyes looking directly at the abandoned house. 

	"Are you okay, Arisa? If you are not feeling well, we could go 
on ourselves... you could have a rest in Reikai if you want," 
suggested Yusuke while the rest concentrated on the still and 
strained atmosphere. Arisa quickly shook her head and assured him 
that it was alright. *Weird, both of them are almost acting like a 
couple now... Yeah, thanks to the joke that Botan made, I'm even 
having strange feelings,* thought Yusuke aimlessly as he adverted his 
sight back to the fighting scene. 

	"Why don't we just walk into that house and see what we can 
do?" suggested Kurama as he got up from the bushes in front. 

	"I don't have a good feeling about this," muttered Kuwabara 
as he took a step forward cautiously. 

	Carefully and noiselessly, the small group advanced to the main 
entrance. Then, Hiei jumped down from the tree to join them. Yusuke 
pushed the huge doors with one of its tarnished brass knockers. The 
door opened a crack with a shrill creaking sound, revealing the dark 
interior. A musty smell drifted through the space to greet them. 
Yusuke pushed even harder and the door moved a little, just enough 
for them to squeeze past. Yusuke went in first, followed by Hiei, 
Kurama and Arisa. Lastly, Kuwabara stepped into the dark space behind 
the door. 

	Hiei narrowed his eyes in the dim surroundings of the house. It 
was very dusty, the ceilings were covered with cobwebs and most of 
the furnishings inside were eaten away by moths. His ruby red eyes 
studied the spacious hall carefully... *Where would they be hiding?* 
he thought critically. They *might* attack from behind, right? He 
stood there quietly, waiting. 

	Still waiting. 

	Seconds ticked down, still nothing, just an occasional 
twittering of insects and birds. Yusuke stood there silently. *Could 
this be a trap?* he thought silently, maybe Koenma's computer could 
come out with mistakes sometimes. Suddenly, a loud voice erupted 
through the room. "Yamaro and Murashi! You bastards! I know you are 
here, so show your dirty faces before I tear this building down!" 
shouted Kuwabara aggressively in the thin air. 

	Still nothing. 

	Just then, a shrill voice rang out. "You're here at last." 

	Hiei squinted his eyes to catch any single activity within the 
dark space. Without warning, a dart set with flames at one end flew 
out, missing Hiei's face by just inches. Hiei leaped aside in defense 
and the dart landed on a pile of dry wood shavings, setting them 
ablaze. 

	The fire crackled and burned, giving out yellow light that 
illuminated the huge room. At the second glance, Kurama spotted 
Murashi standing on a wooden table at the end of the room. Fanning 
himself with a folding fan, painted with stalks of light green bamboo 
stems and leaves. The slim weapon was about a foot long, yet it 
fitted his hand perfectly. Little sparks of flames erupted from his 
left palm... It seemed that Murashi enjoyed playing with fire... 
Could he be a fire demon like Hiei? His powers were yet to be 
revealed, so no one knew. His straight black hair reaching his waist 
was ruffled by the artificial wind created by the fan. Fragile, it 
may seem; but the power was yet untested. No confidence gained yet. 

	"Nice fan you have," commented Hiei coldly. He had heard of 
this strange weapon before, but this didn't confirm his fears. Rumors 
didn't help much, didn't they? A fan, a mere fan, could serve as a 
powerful weapon for some youkai. Weak and dainty, yet it could rob 
lives. It may look harmless now, but... Hiei just glared at Murashi 
and kept quiet. 

	"Thank you, it does serve a lot of purposes," answered Murashi 
casually, playing and fiddling with its iron frame. "It is very light 
too, you know." 

	"Where's Yamaro?" demanded Kuwabara angrily, his patience 
evaporating. 

	"To defeat mice, Yamaro-sama doesn't need to go and kill them 
himself. I'm sufficient to kill all of them anyway," said Murashi 
softly, a cold draft blew over them. Then, he gave a slight snicker. 

	"Shut up! I'll make sure you land in jail!" yelled Yusuke as he
leaped forward at Murashi, launching his Rei-Gan. Murashi smiled 
arrogantly and leaped. With a tap of his feet, he jumped into the air 
over Yusuke and the fan blurred in rapid succession. The next second,
Yusuke slammed down to the ground, rubbing the small of his back 
painfully. The missed ki bullet just slammed into the ceiling, 
punching a hole through it. Minute pieces of brick and powdered 
plaster floated down, landing on Yusuke. *What did he use? I didn't 
even manage to see what he actually did!* thought Yusuke in shock, 
the effect of the strike still palpable in his body. 

	"Ouch! That hurts! What is your fan made of? Stone?" grumbled 
Yusuke as he heaved himself forcefully up with the help of his hands. 
The strangely cold floor met his touch, forcing a shiver up his 
spine. 

	"It's unimaginable. My skills have deteriorated after such a 
long period of time. That blow is meant to kill," said Murashi 
evenly, standing next to Yusuke. He then stroked the fan and in a 
whirl of movement, the fan unfolded again, creating a chilly draft. 

	"This darling is made out of iron, dear," smirked Murashi. 

	"Well, I would like to see how powerful is it. You used dirty 
tricks just now! How could you take advantage of Yusuke's leap and 
hurt him this way?" shouted Kurama from the side. His Rose Whip rose 
to life; the razor sharp thorns glinting dangerously, reflecting the 
fire in the middle of the room. Alright, Murashi needed to be 
irritated at times by how he acted... 

	"Hah!" the Rose Whip rose and Kurama jumped forward 
dexterously, aiming at Murashi. Like a dragon in the air, the whip 
came down with splitting force. Murashi saw the whip coming and 
dodged aside. Kurama's eyes followed his movements, but it was a 
little too late. The whip had harnessed brute youki with it and it 
came crashing down to the dusty marble floor. Kurama gritted his 
teeth in frustration, once the youki was channeled to a certain 
weapon, there was no way of stopping it; or at least not without the 
risk of hurting himself. 

	"Ping!" A visible hairline crack appeared on the floor, raising 
dust. Smooth and white marble along the crack was revealed by the 
sudden force inflicted on it. 

	"Too bad. Although your strength in weapons is great, but I 
still can avoid your attacks easily. Maybe the next time I'll just 
stand there," laughed Murashi calmly. Kurama's hand was still 
clutching the Rose Whip, he tightened his fist and ground his teeth. 
Suddenly, with a backhand slash, the whip rose up and swerved 
sideways at full speed. 

	*Oh no!* thought Murashi in shock as he realized that the whip 
was swerving towards him with the force of a tsunami. Just as the 
whip was about touch his right leg, he jumped up quickly. His legs 
sprang up high in mid air and his hand touched down with the fan, now 
folded. One end of the fan supported his entire body weight, his hand 
clutching the fan firmly. 

	*Crash!* Both weapons contacted at full blown force and then 
everything was still for a moment. Without warning, the force began 
spreading out in ripples and slamming into things. Yusuke, Kuwabara, 
Hiei and Arisa each put up both of their arms to block the shock wave 
it created. It felt almost as if the whole building was going to 
collapse with it, but it didn't; it just shuddered and stopped dead. 

	Kurama leaped up almost at once and did a half turn; his 
right shoulder was slightly aching from the furious exchange of youki 
just now. *I must try to finish off Murashi quickly or prolonged 
battle will be a clear disadvantage to me.* Just as Kurama thought of 
that point, he began feeding more youki into the whip. The Rose Whip 
rose up in reaction, the thorns searching for a new victim. Kurama 
brought up his arm, preparing to slam the whip down at Murashi who 
was just in front of him. 

	Murashi saw the whip coming down at him savagely and he raised 
up his fan to block the whip at mid air. Quickly, as deft as a stork, 
he unfolded his fan and successfully blocked Kurama's attack, but the 
force was very powerful, forcing him to lean backwards against the 
floor. Almost immediately, he rebounded up and shot out a small dart 
from his sleeve. Kurama jumped aside and his whip lashed upwards, 
clearly aimed to strike Murashi on the torso. 

	Murashi took a slight twist but the whip stuck on him on the 
left foot, causing him to drop from mid air and land roughly on the 
dusty floor with a slight gasp. 

	Murashi recovered quickly and got to his feet. He folded his 
fan into a straight rod. Rhythmically, he tapped it on his palm. 
"Quite powerful," commented him coldly, his eyes showing a strong 
desire to kill the red head standing before him. It had been a long 
time since he had last been forced down to the ground and that 
brought back bitter memories... 

	Kurama stood poised there, clutching his Rose Whip tightly. 
Both of them fixed their stares on each other, individually observing 
their respective opponent. Seconds ticked by, beads of sweat began 
forming on Kurama's forehead. *Look at his eyes, his eyes will 
reveal everything,* he chanted repeatedly. Murashi seemed... so calm; 
in fact, too calm to be true. *Maybe it is another of his 
psychological moves,* thought Kurama silently, doubt and fear were 
beginning to mingle within his concentration. Memories of that battle 
in Makai flashed past his subconscious, reminding him of the powers 
Murashi and Yamaro possessed even with the restraining wall around 
them. Cold sweat was beginning to form at his forehead... he 
forcefully stopped his hand from trembling. 

	Minutes passed. There was basically no sound except for the 
heavy breathing between them. One false move, and a life might be 
claimed. 

	Meanwhile, a weak Yusuke managed to make his way, avoiding all 
the blows made by Kurama and Murashi. Slowly, he crawled towards 
Kuwabara, Hiei and Arisa who were hiding behind a upturned table. 

	"That fan is really something," grumbled Yusuke as he rubbed 
the small of his back. "That that stupid piece of metal touches you, 
you can hardly feel anything; but suddenly it was like some 1000 
pounds weighted down on you at once... I suspected this fellow here 
has really high youki by the way he manipulates it," continued 
Yusuke. 

	"Yusuke-san, do you think it's okay to fire a Reiki attack at 
Murashi now? He is an easy target from this point," asked Arisa, her 
fingertip beganning to glow brightly, her eyes gleaming at the 
thought of being able to defeat another youkai; but she had never 
seen the pair herself before this... 

	"No! Don't! Don't you feel the energy radiating from them? It 
is like an untouchable wall around them. In other words, it is a 
combination of both their battle auras. Any false moves will claim 
lives," restrained Yusuke, stopping Arisa. Arisa sighed desperately 
and sat back. Hiei couldn't help it but he could sense that Arisa 
was being very frantic about Kurama's safety. Kuwabara reluctantly 
powered down his spirit sword. 

	"You are right for once," interrupted Kuwabara evenly. The 
quartet switched their focus back to the pair standing in the middle 
of the hall. 

	It was getting tenser and tenser, the air seemed heavy too 
under the still and silent figures standing there. 

	Both of their expressions turned icy, obvious hatred showing in 
their faces. Suddenly, two fast moving and blurry figures charged at 
each other. Kurama's Rose Whip lashed out at Murashi cruelly, ready 
to cut and severe anything in its path. Much to Kurama's surprise, 
Murashi suddenly stood stock-still in the mid air. 

	*What is he trying to do? Trying a suicide deed?* wondered 
Kurama, his whip still going at top speed. Murashi was very 
unpredictable; like a cloud of mist, forever changing at a random 
pace. 

	The whip hit Murashi, but the frame of his fan stood out there 
very prominently, almost unwavering. Kurama channeled more youki into 
the whip, expecting the whip to rupture the whole weapon... The whip 
hit the fan also, but Kurama's eyes suddenly widened in shock. 

	He had absolutely lost control of his weapon! The spot that 
came in contact with Murashi's fan had blocked Kurama's youki from 
channeling to the end of the whip. The far end was left hanging limp 
in the air; the middle portion intertwined around the metal frame of 
the metal fan, creating a stalemate between both weapons. No, Murashi 
had the advantage now because... A drop of sweat formed at Kurama's 
eyebrow. Things were getting complicated now. 

	Kurama fed more youki into the whip, summoning it to life but 
the whip lay dead. Murashi laughed cruelly and suddenly, Kurama's 
right arm went strangely numb... totally stiff, no feelings at all. 
With a pull by the handle of the fan, the whip was snatched out of 
Kurama's grip. 

	"What a pity. Such a nice whip shall go up in hot white 
flames," snickered Murashi as he studied the beautiful and graceful 
weapon. Almost unheeding the thorns, he untangled the whole thing 
from his fan and threw it up in the air. He reached out his left palm 
and with a mild exertion of his youki, white flames engulfed the 
whole weapon. The whip burned a strange whitish fire, almost 
blinding... 

	Kurama stood there with his fists clenched... *If only I could 
turn into my youko form now... I need time, yet nothing could buy it 
for me now... And Arisa... I can't change into my youko form in front 
of her!* Without much thought, he whirled towards Murashi for an 
attack, his fist already midway towards the opponent's abdomen. 

	Murashi merely smiled and disappeared. Kurama stopped, his eyes 
going wild and searched around frantically for the slim form of the 
youkai. Nearly at the same time, he felt someone standing behind him. 
Kurama spun backwards for another attack, his hand already holding a 
Makai plant seed. 

	Too late. 

	Kurama felt a cold object placed on a spot between his right 
shoulder and neck. The piece of metal suddenly removed the pressure. 
Kurama could just see the fan blurred out of the corner of his eye 
and something struck him on a point on his back. *Inari-sama... he 
really had the speed of the wind...* muttered Kurama breathlessly. 

	The next second, Kurama felt his whole body going limp and 
powerless. *What did he do?* thought Kurama in silent shock. Kurama 
mustered all his strength and looked behind. The fan was resting 
solely on his back. He tried to power up his youki again but it was 
just centered placidly in his chest, unable to get out. It was like a 
dam restraining him from summoning his youki. An invisible youki 
barrier. 

	Suddenly he felt a horrible sensation in his chest, almost as 
if an alien object had lodged itself in his windpipe. A trickle of 
blood flowed slowly down the corner of his mouth, dripping on his 
crisp white jacket. With a choke, even more blood spluttered out onto 
the floor; creating a mass of bright red droplets on the dust. 

	"Damn you..." muttered Kurama softly. Slowly, his body 
collapsed on the floor, feeble and weak. His sudden loss of blood 
made his focus go hazy, even the outlines of things were beginning to 
go double. 

	"What have you done to Kurama?!" a female voice shouted in the 
silent space, her face red from anger. Murashi grinned sadistically 
and gave a snort of disgust at the figure lying at his feet. Murashi 
looked up just in time to see a girl jump out and aim her thumb, 
index and little finger at him. The tips of three fingers began 
glowing, radiating a soft red light. Slowly, it began to go brighter 
and brighter. 

	"Spirit beam!" Three red-colored beams of Reiki shot out aiming 
for Murashi's chest, traveling at a very high speed. Arisa's eyes 
followed the beams ardently, fervently hoping Murashi would have to 
stomach these ki attacks that she shot. 

	Just a split second before the beams actually touched Murashi, 
he unfolded his fan fully and reflected the three bolts of energy 
harmlessly to the open air. He snickered softly, his left hand had
already produced a small fire disc. 

	"You have such a pretty face. Who are you, newcomer?" asked 
Murashi cheekily as he launched the spinning disc at her. The edges 
of the disc were precariously sharp and spluttering. Arisa saw it 
coming, her mind was in a mess; but she forced herself to calm down. 
With a jump, she sidestepped and leapt onto a table nearby, the disc 
missing her by inches. Sweat was beginning to form on her forehead, 
it was more difficult than she had anticipated... The disc was quite 
fast and the glare it emitted was totally too bright. 

	Her eyes followed the disc intentionally, half expecting it to 
fly off somewhere harmlessly, but it didn't. It just did a turn near 
a wall at one end and began flying towards her. Arisa looked at the 
disc in pure horror as it spun nearer and nearer to her. Quickly, she 
fired some Reiki attacks at the advancing attack; but they were 
rendered ineffective. The energy bolts hit it, but it just simply 
reflected them away harmlessly. 

	There was a slight creak. Arisa felt the wood underneath her 
giving way. There was another creak, this time louder. The next 
second, Arisa crashed onto the ground, landing roughly on her back. 
Painfully, Arisa tried to get up, her eyes seeing stars after the 
unexpected fall. 

	Suddenly, Arisa's belly began to hurt... It was merely some 
discomfort at first, but little by little it began to hurt like hell. 
"Gods..." muttered Arisa under her breath and bit her lip. She must 
try to get herself out of this mess or risk being cut into two... 

	At last, she let out a gasp; the pain was unbearable, almost 
like a hot poker making way through her entire body. The fire disc 
was flying towards her, threatening to take her life with it... yet 
her eyesight was becoming bleary, unable to focus anymore. Arisa 
closed her eyes shut, hoping to get clear the fuzzy vision... but 
only to meet with sudden darkness... Slowly, her body slumped on the 
floor, waiting for the disc to pierce through. 

*****

	It felt almost like an eternity, never ending in a way. Every 
second felt like years to her... She was floating in a sea of 
despair, waiting for the disc to come in contact in her skin. It was 
a game of anticipation only. *No! Don't!* a voice kept screaming in 
her head, but her head felt really, really dizzy. 

	Reiki... yes, Reiki... But her efforts to raise her own Reiki 
up to avoid the disc were in vain. Her ki was simply to weak, 
insufficient to shun the disc away... 

	It happened all together too fast. Arisa could just feel a 
small arm lifting her up by the waist and cold wind caressing her 
face endlessly before it suddenly stopped. Forcefully, she opened one 
eye and looked straight up into a small face with unruly hair. Wide 
eyes with ruby red pupils stared at her attacker calmly... 

	"Thank you, Hiei-san," whispered Arisa softly, knowing her 
savior wouldn't acknowledge her. Another stab of excruciating pain 
shot up her spine, registering awful pain in her mind. Out of the 
corner of her left eye, she could see Hiei slowly unsheathe his 
katana. Gently, he put her down next to Kurama and glared at Murashi 
menacingly. 

	"Arisa, are you okay? I heard you scream..." asked Kurama 
anxiously, although his voice remained weak. Fresh blood still 
streamed down his chin, a red blotch already forming on the collar. 

	"My belly hurts," moaned Arisa, forcing her way out mentally of 
the haziness that she was experiencing. 

	Kurama tried to reach out for his energy but it simply wasn't 
there. Really gone or locked up by Murashi's mysterious move. Kurama 
tried again and again but to no avail. 

	Hiei took a glance at his comrades at behind him. Yusuke was 
lying there, unable to move while Kuwabara was looking after him. 
Blood flowed down from Kurama's mouth nonstop, his usually bright 
eyes were dull from pain and helplessness. Arisa was there, writhing 
from the agony inflicted by Murashi... All of them had done nothing 
wrong, yet this bastard hurt them! Kurama was his best friend and he 
wouldn't let anybody hurt him! 

	Hiei took a deep breath and felt his blood boiling in anger. He 
shot a short look at Kuwabara. His face was growing red from 
hatred... His eye shone an alien expression, almost deadly. 

	*Maybe this is the time to put all other personal business 
aside," whispered Hiei softly in his heart... Although it was the 
worst possible way to defeat this demon, it was the best way now. 

	"Kuwabara, come over here," growled Hiei, still fixing his 
stare at Murashi; his mind already decided. 

	*Kuwabara?!* 

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Copyright reserved 1998 W. Siew Lee 

All standard Yu Yu Hakusho disclaimers apply to this fanfic. 

E-mail: Siew Lee [wsiewlee@tm.net.my] 
URL: http://members.xoom.com/hiei
UIN: #14025577 

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