Wahahahah!!! Happy New Year!!! 

Anyway, one more part to go. ONE more chapter and I'm temporarily free!!!
Anyway, please tell me what do you guys think. =) Credits go to Rhionae for
pre-reading this monster of a fic!!! 

Siew Lee 
[wsiewlee@tm.net.my] 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

		~~~The Past, The Present And The Future~~~ 

			~~~The Present - Vengeance~~~ 

		    Chapter 16 - Hidden Powers Unleashed 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	A trail of clear notes echoed through the plains again, this 
time even louder than before. 

	"Yukina! Botan! Heal them!" shouted the figure standing in 
front of Murashi. Kurama looked again, this time noticing that there 
was another youkai beside Murashi. *Must be Yamaro, presumably,* 
whispered Kurama in his mind. 

	The figure standing in front of Murashi caught his attention 
again, and Kurama glanced up uncertainly, not daring to believe his 
own ears when she spoke. She was dressed in a long white robe with 
her long black hair flying in the direction of the wind. Kurama 
squinted at the figure and saw two long locks of silver hair by the 
side of her head. No, there weren't any Ningen ears anymore, instead, 
two fuzzy fox ears protruded from the top of her head and there was a 
long bushy tail behind. He shot a look at Hiei and saw him gripping 
his head bandage in his fist. 

	"No... Not Arisa..." mumbled Kurama softly. 

	Suddenly, all of Kabato's words made sense to him... 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"No!" screamed Arisa as she witnessed the fireball pushing 
Kurama further and further before it finally exploded. Tears of 
desperation were already streaming down her cheeks when Kurama lay 
there, unmoving. 

	"No!" screamed Arisa again when one by one the Reikai tantei 
went down. *What should I do now?! Reikai is on the verge of losing!* 
thought Arisa frantically as she hid behind a huge boulder and racked 
her brains furiously for an idea. 

	A deafening explosion rocked the earth. Arisa held on to the 
boulder for support as the ground began shaking. *Kabato! Remember 
Kabato!* shrieked a voice in her head, instantly reminding her of the 
pouch that Kabato gave her. 

	*Remember, open it only when you have no choice during the 
tournament!* 

	*Never open it until the brink of defeat...* 

	Those two phrases that Kabato said to her kept repeating 
themselves in her mind, urging her to open that pouch. 

	Arisa bit her lower lip and dug inside her shirt to get the 
pouch out. The red cloth heightened her anger and curiosity as she 
pulled the drawstring loose. Her fingers were trembling a little when 
she poured its contents onto her opened palm. She was very afraid of 
what she would see inside. Taking a deep breath, she gazed at the 
items on her palm. 

	There was a letter written in Kabato's handwriting and a dark 
brown nut inside. Arisa picked up the pill and the letter with a hand 
each, dropping the pouch in the process. Slowly, she unfolded the 
crumpled piece of paper and read it. 

	[Arisa, when you read this letter, I hope you are really on the 
brink of no return. I didn't intend to tell this to you because 
Inari-sama wouldn't want to kill anyone innocent. I am now giving you 
a chance to turn back: Don't do what I instructed below if you are 
not ready.] 

	The first paragraph ended with Murashi's satisfied laughter 
booming in her ears after creating massive destruction. Arisa kept 
her silence and read on. 

	[First thing, eat the nut.] 

	Arisa studied the nut and squeezed her eyes shut. Placing the 
nut on her palm, she swallowed it and gulped it down, feeling the 
sensation of it making its way down her body. Opening her eyes again, 
she read the remainder of the letter. 

	[Arisa, take this calmly. You are a youko in origin and Inari-
sama has been on the lookout for you for decades, but when he finally 
detected you in Ningenkai, he decided to forgive you of the death 
sentence with the condition that you would never return to being a 
youko. I know all of this because I was once ordered capture you 
because you made away with one of Inari's palace treasures. Once you 
return to your original form, Inari-sama will come after you. 

	I didn't know about your identity at first but after you wore 
that sleeveless shirt that day, I noticed the red mark on your arm. 
You were once one of two protectors of Inari's main guards. Your 
real sister had died in a battle several years ago, leaving only you 
alive somewhere. 

	The two Musical Protectors of Youkos. This is the truth. You 
and your sister both have a mark like this, thus identifying your 
original being. You were going out hunting that day when you suddenly 
disappeared with one of Inari's treasures - a Chinese lute. Rumors 
spread like wild fire that you had stolen the treasure and escaped 
into Ningenkai. Another rumor claimed that you had died, eaten by 
some vicious youkai. The real reason - we are not sure so we assume. 

	The magical effects of the nut should be taking effect by now. 
Don't be afraid as there are bound to be some physical changes when 
you finalize your youko form. Here, I wish you all the luck in the 
three worlds. Yours sincerely, Kabato.] 

	*I am a youko...* was Arisa's first reaction when she finished 
reading the letter. That very thought made adrenaline rush down her 
legs as she stood up bravely and walked towards Murashi. "Murashi, 
do not laugh until the battle is over," smiled Arisa and a cloud of 
mist surrounded her. *Yes... Reikai has hope...* 

	"Wh... what?" exclaimed Murashi, detecting someone totally 
different within the cover of the mist. Arisa closed her eyes, 
feeling those wild sensations that ran through her body. 

	When the mist finally cleared, Arisa looked at Murashi 
intently, smiling coldly. "You never expected this right?" A tall 
vixen was standing there, her hair had grown about a foot longer but 
still that black shade with the exception of two sliver locks by the 
side of her head. She wore an entirely white robe with two red 
phoenixes embroidered along the sleeves of the flowing robe. Her eyes 
were a clear golden shade, the light in them burning fierily. 
Instinctively, her tail behind brushed against her left leg, alerting 
her that the physical change had already taken place. 

	"The Two Musical Protectors of Inari!" whispered Murashi in an 
almost inaudible tone. Back in their imprisonment days, he had heard 
about the two legendary protectors... but this was totally absurd and 
unacceptable! How could she have emerged here as a weak Ningen girl? 

	Arisa laughed and reached out her palm. A lute materialized in 
the crook of her arm and she clutched it preciously. 

	"I am not afraid of your stupid lute," retorted Murashi coldly 
and held up his fan. A sadistic smile curled the vixen's lips as she 
poised her fingers above the strings of the lute. "Want to try?" she 
whispered cruelly. 

	"Murashi, stand back. I want to play with her," a voice sounded 
out behind the youkai. Murashi lifted a confused eyebrow and looked 
behind. 

	"Yamaro-sama," greeted Murashi as he walked and looked behind 
him. "Don't worry, I can handle her," assured the fire youkai and 
clenched his fan shut. 

	"No, I want to have a duel with her. I am a Wind youkai and I 
want to test my abilities on another Wind youkai too," Yamaro stopped 
and produced his jade flute. "Murashi, did you notice her lute? It 
has six strings instead of five, see? It is the Lute of Destruction." 

	Arisa ignored him and started trailing her fingers slowly 
across the strings of her lute, missing the sixth string deftly. 

	"Yukina! Botan! Heal them!" shouted Arisa, her voice sounding a 
lot lower than before. A throaty voice... 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Yukina! Botan! Heal them!" 

	Yukina looked in the direction of the voice and noticed a tall 
youko standing there right in the middle of the plains. Those words 
struck her... Yes! She had healing powers so she must carry the 
responsibility of treating the rest. *Who is she?* thought Yukina in 
surprise, but she shoved the question away as she made her way to 
Kuwabara. 

	"Kazuma-san! Let me heal you!" said Yukina, quickly getting up 
and standing before Kuwabara's tired form. Botan ran up to Hiei and 
tried to make him sit straight before she could begin the healing 
process. 

	"No, get Kurama first; he is more badly injured than I am. He 
also has healing powers with his plants... He might be able to help 
you," rejected Kuwabara, pointing a weak finger at the silver youko 
on the other side. Yukina cast an undecided glance in Kurama's 
direction but was quickly ushered away by Kuwabara. 

	"Close your ears!" yelled the vixen again, this time she and 
Yamaro were standing on the edge of the double cliffs. "Quickly!" 

	Yukina shouted something and stuffed the tattered pieces of her 
kimono sleeves into her ears before making her way to Kurama. By 
then, the youko had already recovered mentally from the attack and he 
was sitting up. Kurama gritted his teeth and tore off two pieces of 
cloth from his white sash before jamming them into his ears. 

	Kuwabara, seeing Yukina doing as the vixen instructed, also 
grabbed his white overcoat and tore a few pieces off it. "Urameshi! 
Get up quickly!" demanded Kuwabara but Yusuke just groaned softly and 
his fingers moved a little. "Alright, I shall jam your ears then," 
grumbled Kuwabara before stuffing the rags into his ears. 

	Hiei sat there with Botan, undecided as to what to do next. 

	"Quick! Hiei! When Wind youkais fight, their musical 
instruments will produce severe vibrations that will make you unable 
to concentrate! If you listen for too long, you might even suffer 
internal injuries!" yelled Kurama, throwing Hiei and Botan pieces of 
rags from the end of his sash. 

	Hiei breathed in sharply and put the cloth into his ears, 
muffling the sound of the musical notes from the battle that had 
started a few moments ago. 

	"Kurama-san... Reach out your palm..." instructed Yukina, 
taking hold of his hand and sitting before him. Kurama closed his 
eyes and concentrated, feeling the flow of warm and relaxing energy 
channeling into his body. 

	"C'mon, Hiei! Reach out your palm also!" shouted Botan into 
Hiei's ears. The fire youkai could only hear a muffled sound but he 
assumed Botan was asking him to hold out his palm. Hiei reached out, 
joining her palm with his own. His injuries were quite minor by his 
standard, only a dislocated shoulder and a bleeding wound about the 
size of a tennis ball on his midriff... 

	After a few minutes, Hiei's ruby eyes blinked open. "Woman, go 
and heal Yusuke first! He is more seriously injured." 

	Botan threw him a quizzical glance but quickly understood when 
he pointed in Yusuke's direction. Yusuke was still lying there, 
immobilized by that ki explosion. 

	At that time, Kurama had already fully recovered because his 
youko form could heal a lot faster than other species. His golden 
eyes were staring at the ongoing fight on the top of the cliff. He 
could only hear muffled sounds of the musical notes. Even then, he 
could feel a slight headache. 

	Kurama cast a glance at his friends. *Either wounded or 
unconscious...* Quickly producing a handful of seeds from his hair, 
he threw them a few each. "Swallow the seeds! They'll help you to 
ease the pain!" 

	Kurama's eyes focused back on the duel on the top of the 
cliffs. "Arisa..." whispered Kurama softly before remembering 
something very important - a pregnant youko would have her youki cut 
down to barely half. Arisa was in danger! 

	Without much further thought, he ran towards the cliffs and 
leaped up to the top. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"The Lute of Destruction. My first fight in centuries and my 
opening match is the legendary six-stringed lute," whispered Yamaro 
softly, but it sounded very loud in everybody's ears as he used his 
youki to enhance the loudness of his voice. 

	"Yamaro, right? Why do you want to take over Ningenkai? Isn't 
it better here in Makai?" asked Arisa softly, her lips pursed into a 
thin line and her eyes narrowed at Yamaro. 

	"This is my first fight so far. Isn't it good in Ningenkai too? 
A lot of humans for me to boost my youki," smiled Yamaro 
sadistically, tapping his jade flute on his palm. 

	"Humans are not born to be devoured by demons like you," 
replied Arisa coldly and trailed her fingers slowly across the 
upright lute. 

	Yamaro put the mouthpiece of the flute to his mouth and blew 
a note softly. "The fate of humans is not controlled by you, you 
cannot even control your own fate," said Yamaro slowly after 
completing the first note on the flute. 

	"True; I can't even control my own fate, but I can control 
yours'," replied Arisa and began playing a fast tune on the lute, 
aiming the vibrations at Yamaro's torso. The fingers on her left hand 
moved up and down quickly, and her right hand pushed across the bow 
to create the strong vibrations. "I'll make sure you go to Reikai 
today." Sending the vibrations across with her youki, she directed 
all of them to Yamaro's torso. 

	"No, I control yours'," laughed Yamaro before starting to play 
a cold flute, seeping youki into the melody, intending to force Arisa 
to stop. A sudden chilly wind blew across the plains in accordance to 
Yamaro's call. 

	Arisa retained her silence and stopped suddenly. Yamaro looked 
at her, *What is she up to?!* Arisa smiled and her fingers pricked 
the first string. A drop of fresh blood flowed down the string 
slowly, leaving a red trail. 

	With a backhand flick, Arisa sounded the instrument and the 
blood immediately crystallized into minute darts, aimed at Yamaro's 
heart. 

	"Child's play," smirked Yamaro and waved them away with his 
flute. The darts flew sideways and embedded themselves into the 
barren ground below. 

	"BOOM!" Five continuous explosions blew up ground, leaving a 
few holes that adorned the once-smooth land. 

	"Watch me," said Yamaro and began playing a cold tune. Arisa 
braced herself for the worst and raised her youki to protect her 
body. Suddenly, someone landed beside her with a soft thud. Arisa 
turned and saw Kurama standing there, fully recovered. 

	"What are you doing here?" asked Arisa as she began 
counterattacking with a few hurried notes on her lute. "Baka!" she 
scolded Kurama and shivered. The cold! Yamaro's flute called upon the 
chill and cold! Kurama and Arisa quickly powered up to heat up their 
own bodies or suffer from hypothermia sooner or later. 

	"So what, woman? I also know how to fight," answered Kurama 
obnoxiously and threw a Makai plant at Yamaro, watching him avoid the 
sprouting branches. Arisa rolled her eyes and stopped playing her 
lute when Yamaro jumped down the cliff to meet Murashi who was 
standing below. 

	"Are you fully recovered?" asked Arisa, her eyes peering over 
the edge of the cliff. 

	"Of course! Don't you remember that a youko can heal very 
fast?" answered Kurama as he stood by the edge and saw a few rocks 
roll down the steep edge. "Besides, you are very pretty for a vixen," 
teased Kurama, running a finger over her cheek and down into her 
luxurious long hair. 

	"Stop it, kitsune. C'mon! Don't let them get away!" urged Arisa 
and took Kurama's arm. Kurama nodded and jumped down together with 
Arisa. Arching their feet, they landed on the cracked ground easily 
and looked at the duo. 

	"Don't you dare escape!" ordered Kurama and pointed a finger at 
them, his tail lashing wildly in the air. 

	"So Kurama, what a beautiful vixen you have," sneered Murashi 
and stroked his own hair. "What a glamorous title she has too, the 
Musical Protector." 

	"Our business is none of yours'. Who is next?" replied Arisa 
hurriedly, standing side by side with Kurama. The youko squeezed her 
arm slightly, indicating that he was in good shape. 

	"Why don't we play a dual role? Two against two," suggested 
Yamaro, using the stem of the flute to flick back his hair. 

	"Fine with me," was the answer from Arisa. "Kurama, are you 
ready?" she asked in a lower tone, a near whisper. 

	Kurama smiled and produced a red rose. "Hiya!" Kurama struck 
out with the rose once and it transformed into a full length whip 
with glinting thorns. With a slight wield of his youki, he coiled it 
neatly in a pile on the ground. 

	"Perfect!" shouted Arisa. She nodded once at Kurama and both of 
them attacked simultaneously, with the lute's clear notes sounding 
straight into Murashi's ears. 

	"Forget about it, fox. Your lute won't do any good," snickered 
Murashi and began attacking Arisa at top speed. 

	"Take this, bastard!" cursed Kurama when he noticed Arisa was 
panting very hard indeed after being forced to jump up and down by 
attacks by Murashi's fan at her legs. His Rose Whip rose to life and 
began slashing Murashi's neck while his legs fought a battle of their 
own with Yamaro's flute. He quickly conjured up a hoard of fruits 
with evilly sharp thorns. "Taste these fruits!" yelled Kurama and 
hurled the *juicy* fruits at Murashi. 

	Taking the Rose Whip, he lashed out at Yamaro, the whip itself 
entwining around the body of the flute. Kurama pulled and signaled 
to Arisa. The vixen acknowledged him and plucked the fifth string 
quickly. A strong vibration came out and pushed itself against the 
flute held secure by Kurama's whip. 

	Nothing happened as the vibration was literally stopped by 
Yamaro's youki surrounding the flute. Arisa was starting to see stars 
flying in front of her eyes and she was breathing very heavily. The 
taxing burden on her body - the baby... 

	"Quick! I can't stand any longer!" snarled Kurama and channeled 
more youki into the whip, restraining Yamaro's flute from freeing 
itself. This time, Arisa placed her index finger by her lips and bit 
it. Blood dripped out and she wiped the liquid along the sixth 
string, smearing it a fiery red color. 

	"Yamaro! Hope that Enma-Daiou will be lenient towards you!" 
yelled Arisa and trailed her hand across the lute. Her little 
fingernail hooked the last string, snapping it into two. A very 
powerful vibration shot out, aimed directly at Yamaro. 

	"KABOOM!" a huge explosion occurred when the vibration reached 
its target and giant clouds of dust and smoke engulfed the whole 
area, covering all four youkais. 

	"Kurama!" shouted Hiei and tried to run towards the massive 
cloud of dust, his heart beating wildly at the snapping sound of the 
detonating string. Kuwabara stopped him by grabbing the scruff of his 
black tank top. "No! Hiei! It is very dangerous!" 

	"What do you care? Kurama is my friend!" snarled Hiei 
ferociously, his ruby red eyes focusing entirely on the cloud of 
dust. "He might be dead by now!" 

	"No, niisan... Please don't go!" begged Yukina and the glow on 
her hands that were placed on Yusuke's back diminished slightly over 
her anxiety and worry about Hiei's reaction. 

	*Kurama...* moaned Hiei in his heart softly. He hated to admit 
anything, but the vision of Kurama blown up in pieces struck a chord 
in his soul. In one way or another, Kurama was important to him. 
*Kurama...* 

	Kuwabara sighed dejectedly. Life wouldn't be the same anymore 
without Kurama and Arisa. 

	Two figures walked out of the cloud dust, smiling proudly. 

	It was too far to see anything clearly. Kuwabara narrowed his 
eyes at the two walking youkais. *No... We are dead this time!* 
screamed Kuwabara wildly in his mind and hung his head in despair. He 
clenched his fist and hit once at the ground in anger. 

	"We won," announced one of the figures loudly. 

	Kuwabara lifted his head up; that voice sounded pleasantly 
familiar! "Kurama! Arisa!" shouted the boy and let Yusuke slump to 
the ground. "Kazuma-san! We aren't done with him yet!" called Yukina 
after him. "Gomen ne..." mumbled Kuwabara and sat down behind Yusuke 
again. 

	Hiei glanced up, not daring to believe his own eyes and ears. 
He had witnessed that suicide deed that Arisa performed! 

	"How did you guys pull through?" asked Kuwabara, obviously 
overjoyed. 

	"Well, Arisa didn't actually killed herself and me," joked 
Kurama. "Hey woman! How is your finger?" Kurama asked and pulled 
Arisa's hand to his mouth to suck on the still-bleeding finger. 

	"I'm not dead yet, Kurama," answered Arisa in a carefree manner 
and pulled her finger out of Kurama's mouth. 

	"Hey shrimp! Tell Kurama what you intended to do just now!" 
teased Kuwabara, shoving his elbow at Hiei purposely. Hiei muttered 
a curse and looked away. Secretly, he glanced at Kurama's tall youko 
form a few more times... Kurama also looked at him. *Wow... I could 
have sworn that Hiei was blushing after Kuwabara ticked him off...* 
thought Kurama in glee. 

	A soft groan was heard from Yusuke and his hand twitched 
slightly. 

	Kurama ran up to Yusuke and bent down. "Is he really in such a 
bad shape?" asked the youko, obviously concerned about his team 
leader. 

	Yukina sighed pessimistically, "Yusuke-san took the entire ki 
explosion with his own bare hands..." 

	"Let me see. Kurama sit down next to Yusuke on that side," said 
Arisa. 

	"Ar... Arisa-san?" stammered Yukina and stared at the tall 
vixen strangely. 

	Arisa smiled at her. "Do I really look that ugly in this form?" 
She pouted playfully and placed her hand on Yusuke's side. "Kurama, 
remember the basic of youko healing?" 

	"Yes," answered Kurama and closed his eyes but blinked them 
open again. 

	"Arisa-san... You look... different. You look... beautiful. 
Even your clothes are very beautiful," spoke Yukina in awe as she 
fingered the red embroidery on the sleeves of Arisa's robe. Even 
Kuwabara was dumbfound. 

	Kurama snorted and rolled his eyes. "Of course the Musical 
Protector is a pretty fox or else she wouldn't have fitted in this 
role. Imagine someone looking like a pig playing the Lute of 
Destruction!" 

	"No more nonsense from you, Kurama. When I count to three, we 
start channeling youki, okay?" snapped Arisa gently and rolled her 
eyes. "One... Two... Three!" 

	Kurama closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. Arisa did the same 
and their hands started to glow a slight golden light. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	The explosion hit him directly. Yusuke braced himself and 
raised his arms up in a block. 

	His eyes gleamed at the light that was emitted by the ki ball. 
He took a deep breath and waited for the surging power that was 
advancing quickly in his way. 

	He was staring at the blinding light emitted by the shining 
mass of youki at one second; the next moment, it hit him. 

	Yusuke screamed, but no one heard him as the crashing and 
scratching sound of the thundering mass pushing him backwards, 
drowned his voice completely. 

	Yusuke tried every single way of pushing the ki ball away, but 
it was impossible. Murashi had gathered enough ki to blast away the 
entire Tokyo city. Yusuke gritted his teeth and used the remainder of 
his youki to withstand the force.	

	His fingers clawed the sides of the ki ball painfully. 

	The minor pain only lasted for a moment before his whole body 
burned with agony. 

	The ki ball had engulfed him and exploded in his hands. 

	His body fell on the ground with a loud thud. 

	Blackness drew its curtains on him next. 

	He wasn't even sure whether he was still alive. He felt like he 
was hanging precariously onto the edge of a cliff. The bottom was so 
deep that he couldn't even see it. 

	For a moment or two, he felt like releasing his hold. His 
fingers ached and his endurance slowly faded into the dark. 

	*No!* shouted Yusuke loudly to remind himself. Before him, 
Keiko's hopeful eyes and smiling face appeared. *No! I must keep my 
promise to her!* At that thought, Yusuke instantly tightened his grip 
on his hold. *Keiko, I promise you I'll come back!* 

	It was like an eternity before he could finally hear someone 
comforting him and helping him to sit upright. He tried to open his 
eyes but his body would not listen to his commands. Slowly, he felt 
warm energy flowing into his aching body, his wracked inner self. 

	Then there were another pair of larger hands holding him up on 
his back. Yusuke's body leaned heavily on the pair of hands, relaxing 
to the warmth. 

	A question struck him suddenly. 

	*Am I dead or what?* 

	He grimaced internally as a loud explosion happened and minute 
shards of stone hit him, embedding themselves into his bare skin. 

	He waited, still unable to move his body. It was like he was 
floating in the air, so serene and calm, unaffected by his 
surroundings. 

	Minutes passed, nothing happened. Two voices hollered over 
head, one very familiar, the other was alien to his ears. *Youko 
Kurama?* wondered Yusuke. The other voice was decidedly female but it 
didn't sound like Yukina, Botan or Arisa. *Who is she?* 

	Yusuke forcefully tried to open his mouth. A soft groan escaped 
from his throat and his fingers twitched a little. 

	Yusuke sighed inwardly as *two* sources of youki began 
channeling into his body. He concentrated for a while before feeling 
a lot better. That ache near his chest was gone and his mind seemed 
to be clearer too. 

	"Yusuke, Yusuke, wake up!" A voice called. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

	"That boy just won't wake up!" grumbled Arisa and gave the 
motionless body a rough shove. 

	"Hey, be careful with him!" warned Kurama and pushed Yusuke 
back into his original position. 

	"Kurama, tell me what to do with him! I keep calling and he 
just won't answer to my voice!" yelled back Arisa in a frustrated 
tone. "Look! We have used a lot of our youki to heal him and he is 
still enjoying himself in slumber land!" 

	"So what? Haven't we already defeated those two demons? We 
can revive our youki later, right?" countered Kurama. 

	"No, you are wrong," interrupted a voice behind him. 

	*Kuso!* cursed Arisa as she saw the owner. Yamaro and Murashi 
were standing behind them placidly. 

	"Yamaro! Murashi!" stammered Kuwabara fearfully. "Wh... Why 
aren't you dead yet?" 

	"Why? Do you really want us dead?" asked Murashi, smiling 
a *friendly* smile at Kurama. He winked at him and stuck out the tip 
of his tongue. "Look, I'm not handsome anymore with these tattered 
clothes," complained Murashi as he held up the hem of his partly 
scorched robe. 

	"Serves you right," answered Hiei , glaring at the couple with 
his bloodshot eyes. *Stupid youkais... They made me lose face in 
front of that moron of Yukina's...* muttered Hiei angrily. 

	"Stop playing with them, Murashi. By the way, the sixth string 
of the legendary lute isn't as powerful as I anticipated. Just wanted 
to make you break that string and you were stupid enough to do it," 
laughed Yamaro, the very tone of his words belittling the entire 
group. 

	"Why isn't Yusuke awake yet?" asked Kuwabara through gritted 
teeth. He shot a glance at the still-unconscious Yusuke. 

	"Say what you want," replied Arisa coldly. "Thank you Kurama. 
Because I'm carrying your brat, my youki is cut down to half," 
muttered Arisa angrily. "Even my lute is useless now without the 
sixth string." 

	 "What?! I was drunk that night, okay?" snapped Kurama as his 
golden eyes fixed their glare at the pair. "Why isn't Yusuke awake 
yet?" 

	"Let me try!" shrieked Botan and took her place in front of 
Yusuke. "Wake up, you pig!" screamed Botan and she raised her palm, 
aiming it at Yusuke's face. 

	Saliva was starting to drool down from a corner of Yusuke's 
mouth. Botan pursed her lips and she swung her arm. Kurama, Kuwabara, 
Hiei and all the rest winced as Botan's hand imprinted itself on 
Yusuke's cheek, leaving a bright red mark there. 

	Upon the stinging sensation on his cheek, Yusuke rubbed his 
eyes groggily and stared up into a pair of pink eyes. 

	"Hey! What is the damned problem of yours to slap me like 
that?!" shouted Yusuke suddenly. He heaved himself up effortlessly 
and began shouting and scolding at Botan. 

	"If I didn't slap you, you might as well be a pile of ashes by 
now!" screamed Botan back and pointed at Yamaro and Murashi. 

	"Who the hell is she anyway?" asked Yusuke, pointing a finger 
at Arisa. "I didn't know that Koenma-sama recruited someone else 
to help us out." 

	"Try guessing, Urameshi," smirked Kuwabara. "If you can get it 
right, I'll let you punch me a few times." 

	"Shut up, Kuwabara," growled Hiei, his attention focused on the 
duo. 

	"Who are you?" asked Yusuke, staring at the tall vixen. 

	"Someone you know," answered Kurama, shifting his focus on 
Yamaro and Murashi. 

	"Kurama, stop teasing the poor boy," interrupted Arisa and 
rolled her eyes. 

	"Ar... Arisa-san?" asked Yusuke, blinking at the beautiful 
vixen. "Your hair and tail... Ears..." 

	Cold sweat appeared on Yamaro and Murashi's foreheads as they 
watched the entire agenda. "Do all of you want to be piles of ashes?" 
asked Murashi and pointed his fan at Yusuke specifically. 

	"C'mon! We are ready to battle to our death!" answered 
Kuwabara, clenching his fists into a ball. 

	"Yamaro! Murashi! Don't think I was defeated by your stupid 
youki ball just now! Look here, I am still well and alive!" 
challenged Yusuke, snapping back into reality as he realized that he 
might die again shortly. Kurama cleared his throat loudly and rolled 
his eyes. *Yeah, you might be on your way to Reikai now if Arisa and 
I didn't use our youki to revive you...* thought Kurama. 

	"We still have one last battle tactic," smiled Kuwabara, 
cracking his knuckles as he threw off the tattered bits of his white 
coat. 

	"Ring of Power," said Hiei softly and raised up his palm, 
showing it to the skies of Makai. 

	"Yes, Ring of Power," echoed everyone behind him. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

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 

---------------------------------------------------------------------