“Aaaahhhh!!!... You are much stronger than I thought you would be. Too bad that your sister wasn’t as strong as you. Maybe if she had been, we would have never been able to capture her.” Kurama’s opponent said as she continued to viciously attack him.

          Her speed was incredible, but she still wasn’t as fast as Kurama. He swiftly dodged her attacks. He watched her movements carefully waiting for a moment to counter. It didn’t take long for him to notice a pattern in her movements and find a weakness. When he found it, he used his rose whip to wrap around her feet and trip her.

          She stumbled some before completely losing her balance. She fell to the floor with a harsh thud. The pain of the impact was minor so she immediately tried to get back to her feet. But before she could attempt to, she was restrained to the ground by vines.

          “What the?!” She exclaimed in surprise as she struggled to break free. However no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t break free.

          “It is useless to try to escape. The more you struggle… The more my vines will grow and the tighter they will become until they completely engulf you.” Kurama spoke indifferently as he looked down emotionlessly at his trapped adversary.

          “Let me go!” She demanded as she continued to struggle to break free.

          “You are in no position to make demands. Now, tell me where my sister is and I might spare you.” Kurama said softly as he crotched down beside her.

          “Don’t get too over confident just because you have me trapped now. It will take more than this to get me to talk.” She sneered angrily.

          “Don’t waste your time, Kurama. These soldiers are very tough to crack.”

          “Makoto?! What are you doing here? Aren’t you and Kuwabara supposed to be searching the other tents?” Kurama turned around suddenly at the sound of Makoto’s voice.

          “We did and we found ourselves being watched by two of their comrades.” She answered glancing coldly over at the trapped Tsuki soldier next to Kurama before returning her gaze to him.

          “I’m guessing that you have defeated them. Where is Kuwabara?”

          “Of course. They aren’t that tough.  Oh and Kuwabara went over to Yusuke to inform him of what we discovered.” Makoto answered indifferently.

          “So you were able to find out where they are keeping Kimika?” Kurama pressed with a slight surge of hope as he walked over to Makoto.

His eyes were intense with anxiousness as he towered over her. The way that he looked at her made Makoto feel uneasy. She could see that his concern for his sister was eating him up on the inside. She knew that he was trying hard to hide it from everyone, but he couldn’t hide it from her. She could clearly see his true feelings.

His feelings were so overwhelming that she unknowingly placed her hand on his arm as she answered him.

“Yes. They told us where she is being held. Supposedly, there is a hidden bunker in one of these tents.”

“A hidden bunker? It must be in one of the other tents.”

“Yes. But even if we find it, we won’t be able to open it without two keys that two of these scumbags possess.” Makoto spoke frankly as she tried to hide her own anger.

Kurama turned away to look back towards the trapped Tsuki soldier as he contemplated over her words.

“If that is so, then only one of these two soldiers will possess the key. There must be another team of Tsuki soldiers that possesses the other. It would be too risky for them to leave the keys with only one team.” Kurama spoke softly as he voiced his thoughts.

“Let me torture this soldier. I can get the information of the key holders within minutes.” Makoto insisted darkly as she tried to head over to the soldier, but she was immediately stopped by Kurama. He lightly took hold of her arm.

“No, Makoto. You can’t. I have another way to get that information from her.”

Makoto looked at him intensely. She wanted to snatch away her arm in protest, but the gaze in his emerald green eyes prevented her from doing so. She could see his determination. It made her incapable of defying him.

“Fine.” Makoto snapped softly as she closed her eyes and looked away from him.

“Thank you.” Kurama said gently as he released her arm and turned back towards his hostage.

“Do your worst to me, but I will not tell you what you want to know. I’m not as easy as my companions.” The Tsuki soldier sneered as she met Kurama’s gaze.

“We’ll see if you will still say that when I’m through with you.” Kurama said emotionlessly as he tightly closed his fist causing the vines around her to tighten even more.

 

“Why do you keep persisting, boy? It is clear that you don’t possess enough energy to defeat me. Don’t let your foolish pride become your downfall!” The large Tsuki soldier yelled as he continued his relentless assault of punches on Yusuke.

“You are really cocky. I don’t need all of my energy to kick your .” Yusuke growled as he parried all of his attacks.

The rage inside of Yusuke began to grow at his opponent’s over confidence. It was true that after his last match in the tournament his spirit energy had been completely drained. It was also true because of that he could barely keep up with the speed of his attacks or withstand their strength. With each clash of their fists, he was drained of more and more of the energy that remained. His strength was fading and he wanted to collapse, but he knew that he couldn’t. He had to keep going for Kimika.

His opponent must have noticed his struggles because his dark grin began to grow wider.

“You have a strong will. Too bad your body isn’t as strong.” The soldier taunted in his deep booming voice.

His words and over confidence fueled Yusuke’s rage, but they were far from false. His strength was fading and it was causing him to become weaker and not as resilient against his onslaught. Within moments he was overcome by his weakening body and one of his opponent’s attacks slipped through his defense. It caught him in the abdomen sending him flying across the room into some crates.

“Urameshi!! Come on! Don’t let that guy get to you! You can beat his !!” Kuwabara yelled as he watched Yusuke’s struggle with his opponent.

“You are very optimistic, but that won’t help your friend. He doesn’t have enough energy to defeat his adversary.” Rika stated indifferently.

Kuwabara jumped in surprise at her sudden appearance. “Makoto, Don’t sneak up on me like that! You scared me!”

“Sorry. But why aren’t you helping your friend? He will surely die if he continues on like this.” Rika continued softly as she closely looked over Yusuke’s situation.

“I can’t do that. It goes against our code. This is his fight. He has to do this on his own.” Kuwabara answered while shaking his head in rejection to her words.

Makoto rolled her eyes and let out a soft sigh of annoyance. “You’ve got to be kiddin’ me. Not this crap again.” She grabbed the collar of Kuwabara’s shirt as her rage began to grown, lifting him from the ground. “This is not your friend’s fight! We are here to save Horuna and Kimika not to fulfill his bruised male pride! We have to help him!”

“I know why we are here. But even if we tried to help him, he wouldn’t let us. He will stop us if we try to fight with him. I want to help him too, but Urameshi is too stubborn. If only there was a way to make him strong enough to defeat that Tsuki soldier on his own?” The worry in Kuwabara’s eyes was very strong. Rika could tell that his words and his concern was genuine.

“To make him stronger?.... There might be one way...” Makoto answered softly to herself as she released Kuwabara’s collar causing him to fall to the ground. “I will be right back.”

With those words, Rika into the air. Kuwabara stared at where she once floated in confusion. He had heard her last words. She seemed to know of a way to help Urameshi, but was that actually possible? Could there actually be such a way? If there was one, would she really use it to help her greatest enemy?

 

Yusuke was barely able to move from the intensity of his injuries. The pain surged through his body, paralyzing him. He winced as he forced himself up on his arms.

          He peered over to his opponent with rage emanating from his eyes. He could tell by the dark amusement in his opponent’s eyes that he was far from tiring out anytime soon. He was too strong and fast. He was too much for Yusuke to handle on his own.

          ‘Dammit.’ Yusuke thought in anger as his jaw tensed. He couldn’t reveal his frustrations to his adversary. He wouldn’t give him the pleasure, but how was he going to defeat him. He had no spirit energy left. If he continued on this way, then he would surely die. He needed to find a way to defeat him so he could rescue Kimika. He couldn’t give up… No. He wouldn’t stop for her sake.

 

          ‘That is all I needed to hear, Spirit Detective.” Yusuke heard the soft whisper of Makoto’s voice as he rose to his feet again.

          He looked around to see where she was, but there was no one there. “Impossible. I could swear that I just heard her voice.” Yusuke spoke softly to himself as he searched around him.

          “I must have knocked you senseless, boy, especially if you are talking to yourself. Maybe if I knock you around some more, I’ll knock your senses back in place. You can call it a favor for your spunkiness!” His opponent spoke with a hint of dark amusement as he charged towards Yusuke.

          Yusuke immediately returned his attentions to his opponent when he noticed his brooding silhouette drawing closer to him from the corner of his eye. It didn’t take long before his adversary was upon him barraging him with attacks of immense speed and strength. He blocked all of his attacks with a defense of equal strength and speed. But once again, he could feel his power fading.

          His heart began to drop as his undeniable fate seemed clear. The desire to rescue Kimika wouldn’t be enough to defeat him. He wasn’t strong enough to defeat him.

          Sweat poured down Yusuke’s face as doubt and fear took hold of his heart. With each of his opponent’s attacks, he was becoming weaker. It was inevitable. He had failed Kurama. He had failed her.

          ‘I’m sorry, Kimika.’ Yusuke thought as the intensity of his opponent’s attacks began to take over him and his doubt was too much of a burden for him to bare.

          ‘Don’t give up so easily, spirit detective.’ The sound of Makoto’s voice rang through his head once more.

          ‘Makoto?’ Yusuke thought in surprise.

          ‘Keep fighting for her. Don’t give up.’ Makoto’s voice answered as it slowly faded.

          He wanted to question her; but after her last words were spoken, he felt a strange sensation come over him. He could feel a strange power growing inside him and begin to emanate from his body. He was growing stronger, but how?

          With each of his opponent’s attacks, he was growing stronger and faster. But how? His spirit energy had completely vanished from his last fight. How was he growing stronger?

          Yusuke’s growing power wasn’t only noticeable to him, but to his adversary as well. His eyes widened in shock as he felt Yusuke’s defenses strengthening.

          “Impossible! You had no spirit energy left and barely any life energy! Where are you getting all of this power?”

          “I don’t know. But now that I have it, I’m going to use it to kick your !” Yusuke yelled as he quickly deflected his attack and countered with one of his own.

          The power of his punch caused his adversary to hunch over in pain, clenching tightly to his throbbing abdomen. His breath cut short from the shock and strength of his attack. He tried to force himself to stand straight; but before he could, Yusuke uppercutted him in his chin sending him flying backwards.

          “Alright! That’s it Urameshi! Show that jerk what you are really made of!” Kuwabara cheered from the sidelines when he saw that the tables had turned in favor for his friend. “Oh. While you are beating the crap out of him, try to get him to tell you which one of these guys has the key to where the girls are being held.”

          A grin crossed Yusuke’s face as he glared down at his opponent in dark amusement. “No problem. I just have an kicking to repay.”

          His opponent looked at him with fear embedded in his eyes from the immense strength that Yusuke now possessed.

          “Come on, kid. Why don’t you just calm down? I was just kidding before. If you want the key, my partner has it.” His opponent pleaded fearfully.

          “Wow… That was quick. Kinda low too… selling out your partner like that. I thought that maybe these guys might have some code of honor or something.” Kuwabara said softly to himself in mild disappointment.

          “I have to agree, Kuwabara. That was kinda pathetic. No loyalty at all. I might have to teach him a thing or two about it. But don’t worry. It won’t hurt too much since I will be just kiddin’ around too.” Yusuke chuckled as his small smirk grew.

He stretched out his arms while his ice cold stare never left his opponent. His fear only seemed to fuel Yusuke’s amusement as sweet vengeance flowed through his veins.

 

The words of Yusuke’s opponent reached Kurama’s ear. He looked down at his captive. His eyes vacant of any emotion as he spoke softly to her.

“So you do possess one of the keys. If you hand it over willingly, I will spare your life.”

She bit her lips tightly to hide her anger and conceal her words. He was slightly impressed by her will and resilience, but Kurama didn’t have the time to waste.

“Don’t be stupid. You have no reason to remain loyal to this crazy sect. Two of your comrades have already given you in with no regards of your life. It is foolish to give up your life for such cowards.” Kurama pressed once more.

Her jaw tensed for a moment before letting out a soft sigh. “Fine. The key is in my left pants’ pocket.”

Kurama used his vine to go inside of her pocket and retrieve the key. It didn’t take long for it to find the key. When it did, the vine branch extended over to Kurama and dropped the key into his hand.

“Thank you. You made the right choice.” Kurama said to his trapped adversary as he began to walk towards Kuwabara and the others.

“Wait! Aren’t you doing to set me free?”

“Yes. I will when Koenma comes to pick you up. Until then just relax, it’ll make you more comfortable if you do.” Kurama answered briefly before continuing on his way.

 

With his new power boost, it didn’t take long for Yusuke to defeat his opponent. His attacks were so fast that it was hard for Kuwabara to keep up with their movements. But he could tell by the soldier’s state that the fight was over. Yusuke had defeated him.

“Are you having fun, Yusuke?” Kurama questioned as he watched Yusuke’s fight with his unconscious opponent.

“Huh… I guess I overdid it.” Yusuke answered stopping his attacks and looking down at the unconscious soldier before him. “I guess you overheard what he said earlier and got the key from his partner?”

“Yes. Of course. Where is Makoto? Didn’t she come over here?” Kurama looked around them in search of Makoto, who was nowhere to be found.

“Makoto? Yeah… I thought I heard her voice earlier, but I guess it was just my imagination.” Yusuke scratched his head in confusion while he looked around them for Makoto.

“She was here, but she disappeared right after that guy threw Urameshi into those crates over there.” Kuwabara explained as he helped them look for her.

“Is that so?” Kurama pondered softly placing his hand on his chin.

“Are all of you looking for me?” The gentle sound of Rika’s voice echoed through the tent.

They looked around when they heard her voice, but no one was there. As they began to search the tent for Makoto, Kurama could feel the soft caress of small fingers on the back of his neck and the heat of someone’s breath upon his ear.

“You know, Kurama, for the most aware out of this bunch, you disappoint me. You still have much to learn. I was by your side this entire time.” Makoto whispered playfully in his ear.

Kurama grabbed her hand and stared at her with a mixed expression of slight annoyance and surprise.

“How did you do that?” Kuwabara asked mouth agape in bewilderment.

Makoto could see the same question dancing behind Kurama’s eyes as their gazes met. She could also feel the tension that her little disappearing act caused.

“This is no time to fool around, Makoto. We still have to retrieve the other key and find where they are keeping my sister.” Kurama scolded as his annoyance began to grow.

“I know what we must do. I wasn’t fooling around. Actually you can say that I was using a similar technique to what these soldiers use. It is a trick that my kind is very familiar with. After all of this is resolved, I will explain about it more so you aren’t fooled by it again. Now, we must rescue the girls.” Makoto explained with a small grin as she released herself from Kurama’s hold and headed towards the exit.

Kurama watched her closely with his eyes wide in confusion. He was so caught up in his confusion that he didn’t notice the confused stares of his friends.

“So I guess she is finally beginning to warm up to us? I just don’t know how long she will remain like this once we free the girls. A part of me doesn’t trust that she will let what I did to Suzaku go that easily.” Yusuke said softly to Kurama while he watched Makoto as she walked out of the tent.

“I had the same concern. But… I don’t know. I think she is genuinely changing. Why she is? I don’t have a clue. But for now we just have to worry about saving the girls.” Kurama agreed softly as they began to slowly follow her out the tent.

 

“I can’t understand why you of all people, Hiei, would risk your life to save the Ruby Ice Maiden. She isn’t of any use to you since you have become the Spirit Detective’s lackey. Or is your old nature what fuels your reasons?” Hiei’s opponent questioned in a slight taunting manner while he pressed Hiei back with his sword.

“I don’t know what you think you know about me, but my reasons are mine alone. I’m not just here to save the girl, but I’m also here to rescue my friend.” Hiei snapped angrily as he parried his attack.

His adversary’s speed was impeccable. It almost rivaled that of his own, but it wasn’t enough to impress Hiei. His jaw tensed in annoyance as their swords clashed. The overconfidence of his opponent was unbearable.

“So the water apparition is a friend of yours? Interesting.” His opponent snickered as he continued to attack Hiei. “Too bad. You won’t be able to save them. No matter how much you try, you won’t be able to defeat me.”

His speed began to increase at his words. A strong wind began to circle around him as he swiftly dodged Hiei’s attacks and countered them with attacks of his own.

“You really must be a fool. You shouldn’t boast unless you are certain of your victory.” Hiei spoke indifferently as he effortlessly dodged his attacks.

He was able to maintain his speed for a while. But as the pressure of the wind that his opponent created grew stronger, Hiei’s speed began to decrease. His speed wasn’t much greater than Hiei’s, but the wind around him was becoming more powerful.

The soldier began to laugh when he noticed Hiei’s struggle. “Your struggles are all the certainty that I need.”

As the roar of his laughter grew so did the increasing winds. Hiei tried his hardest to fight them and remain balanced. But no matter how hard he tried, the winds were too strong and he could slowly feel himself beginning to lose his balance and becoming swept up into its current.

He could barely hear the growing laughter of his opponent as the winds whipped past his ears drowning out all sound. His fury grew as he desperately fought the winds.

He had to regain control. He wouldn’t lose. There was too much at stake. Not only was Kimika’s life in danger, but Horuna’s life as well. She had been through so much and risked so much to find him. He wouldn’t let all her effort be in vain.

 

The masked fighter desperately tried to avoid the Tsuki soldier’s attacks. Without the use of his spirit energy, he had to use his life energy to do so. With each movement, he could slowly feel his life beginning to fade. It wouldn’t take long before it completely dispersed, taking his life with it. He had to find a way to free himself from the spirit cuffs before that happened.

He searched around carefully while he dodged her attacks for some way to free himself, but there was nothing of use in sight.

“It is hopeless to try to free yourself. There is no way to escape those restraints without the key.” The Tsuki Soldier yelled as she continued her furious pursuit.

“I don’t need a key. I’ll find a way to break free so I can finish this.” The masked fighter snapped in slight annoyance while he continued to search for a way to free himself.

Time seemed to drag on as the masked fighter tried desperately to evade the tsuki soldier’s attacks. He used what remained of his strength to counter at the first opportunity he found. The strength of his attack sent her flying.

“Now, I can find something to remove these damn handcuffs.” The masked fighter said under his breath as he continued to look for a way to break free.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for the soldier to recover. “Dammit. I let my guard down. I won’t let that happen again!” She yelled in fury as she dived towards the masked fighter in retaliation.

Before he could react, a bright flash appeared and blinded him. The sharp light temporarily burned his eyes as he forced them to open again. However, the pain quickly faded revealing a miraculous event. His restraints were gone.

“But how?” The masked fighter gasped staring at his wrists in disbelief.

“I thought you needed some help.” Rika smiled gently as she floated in the air beside the masked fighter.

“Makoto… What are you doing here?”

“We came here to find out which one of these guys has the other key that will open the door where Kimika and Horuna are being held.”

“The keys… So that is where they are holding the girls?”

“What do you mean ‘that is’? Did you find the door to where they are holding them?” Makoto questioned anxiously.

“I don’t know if it’s the door leading to where the girls are, but I do know that it was hidden out of immediate sight. Normally when someone hides something, it’s because there is something of special value hidden inside. So it is highly possible that the girls are hidden behind it.” The masked fighter looked over towards the small door on the other side of the tent. “And all we need to do is retrieve the final key from one of these two? I can do that.”

“Are you sure that you have enough energy to fight her? If those are the restraints that I think they are, then there will be a small side effect even though I removed them.” Rika looked him over with concern of his weakened state.

“I don’t need much of my spirit energy to defeat her. This won’t take long.” The masked fighter smirked darkly as he readied himself to fight his adversary.

“Your overconfidence is misplaced. You should listen to your friend. Just because you are free from those restraints doesn’t mean that you have the power to defeat me!”

The roar of her voice grew louder as she jumped towards the masked fighter. She dived down at him with incredible force. She extended her left leg as she dived at her target. When she was about to hit, the masked fighter dodged her attack. However, a great shockwave came from the impact of her hitting the ground. The shockwave caused the masked fighter to fly back farther than he wanted to.

“Now that I have access to my spirit energy, I can tell that you don’t possess the key we need. You are of no use to us.” The masked fighter said gently as he scanned his opponent. “I will finish this quickly so we can retrieve the final key from your partner.”

“Finish this?! You will not defeat me!” The Tsuki soldier yelled angrily as she started to attack him again.

With the restraints gone, the masked fighter could dodge her attacks with ease. The masked fighter could tell that the soldier’s growing rage was beginning to cloud her judgment. She was attacking him rapidly, but she was lacking in control. Her attacks were wild… too wild. That fact he would use to his advantage.

 

“So one of you, Tsuki soldiers, possesses the last key to the door that will lead us to the girls? Then why don’t you make it easier for yourself and tell me which one of you has it?” Hiei smirked darkly as he pressed against the immense force of the winds that the soldier was creating.

“Ha! Do you really think that you are in a position to make demands of me, Hiei? Even if I did tell you which one of us has the other key, you wouldn’t be able to do anything unless you defeat me.” The soldier laughed heavily as he watched Hiei’s struggles in the wind’s currents. “Trust me that won’t happen. You aren’t strong enough to defeat me. Give up already!”

Frustration and annoyance began to take over Hiei as he tried to fight the growing winds. He gritted his teeth as he forced himself to look at his opponent. He hated his opponent’s obnoxious look of over confidence and certainty. He wanted to do something to hurry and defeat him, but he couldn’t. His ability to manipulate the winds around him made it difficult for Hiei to reach him. But there had some way to use his annoying parlor tricks against him.

“I will never give up. I made a promise and I’m going to keep it.” Hiei snarled angrily. He stuck his sword into the ground and gripped tightly onto it for support. “You will tell me which one of you has the key. Or I will find out the truth on my own.”

“Good luck trying to find out on your own! Because I will not tell you what you want to know!” At the elevation of his voice, the pressure of the winds increased. Hiei held onto his sword tightly as he struggled to maintain his ground.

“I don’t need luck to find out the truth.” Hiei closed his eyes and concentrated. He ignored the power of wind as he focused the powers of his Jagan.

Just as his words forewarned, it didn’t take long for him to figure out which soldier possessed the last key. He opened his eyes and glared at his adversary emotionlessly.

“So you are the one who has the key…”

“How? …” questioned his opponent in shock. His surprise filled him for a moment before his expression calmed. “Oh… your Jagan eye. I forgot about that. So now that you know, what does it matter? I am not going to give it to you.”

“That’s okay. I’ll just take it from you.” Hiei smirked darkly.

“You’ll take it from me?” The soldier laughed loudly at Hiei’s confidence. “Ha! You shouldn’t underestimate me or your current situation, Hiei!”

“I’m not. Don’t confuse me for yourself. Your habit of underestimation is your weakness not mine. It is a weakness that will help me defeat you so I can take the key.”

The soldier looked at him wide-eyed as he continued to use the winds to weaken Hiei. “I’m not going to let that happen. I will defeat you, Hiei!”

 

“Aaaahhh!!!! I will destroy you!!”

Rage emanated from the Tsuki soldier as she continued her attack on the masked fighter. The speed of her attacks increased along with her rage. The masked fighter dodged her assault with swift, agile movements.

“You can try, but you aren’t strong enough to do so.” The masked fighter warned coolly while avoided another one of her attacks.

“How dare you!” The soldier yelled angrily as she continued her wild attacks.

Her growing anger didn’t faze the masked fighter. He watched his adversary carefully as her attacks became wilder. She was extremely fast, but she lacked control of her movements. He could see her slight flaw growing into a golden opportunity for him.

After a few long moments of dodging, the soldier’s blind rage created an opening in her offense. It created an opening that the masked fighter used to his advantage.

Within a second, he broke through her offense and kicked her in the abdomen. The force of his kick sent her flying into a mountain of crates. The impact paralyzed her in pain. The masked fighter watched silently as her adversary struggled to move.

“I will not le…” The soldier stammered weakly before finally falling to the ground unconscious.

The masked fighter walked slowly to her side to check on the status of his opponent. When he reached her, he confirmed that she was soundly unconscious.

“What a fool. If she didn’t let her rage blind her, she might have been able to control her attacks. If she was able to do that, she might have actually been able to defeat me.”

The masked fighter sneered as he walked slowly away from his unconscious opponent. “Hopefully, Hiei will be able to defeat his opponent soon. I feel so weak after just wearing those restraints for a few minutes. I can’t imagine the effect that the restraints are having on the girls. I fear the more time that passes by will result in permanent damage to the girls. Let’s hope that I am wrong for both girls’ sake and their brothers’.”

 

The winds rushed around Hiei thinning the air around him. Its force was so great that it lifted Hiei and his sword up from the ground and into its strong currents. Hiei desperately clung onto his swords trying not to lose it in the winds’ streams.

He might have lost his footing to the great winds, but he wouldn’t lose his sword. There might be a way that he could use it to turn the tables on his current situation.

“It is useless fighting my winds. They are too strong for you to overcome. Just give up, Hiei.” The tsuki soldier laughed loudly as he noticed Hiei’s desperate struggles. “This won’t get easier for you.”

The tsuki soldier began to run around the base of the wind’s vortex, causing the force of the winds to increase. Hiei helplessly swirled around the vortex of the circling winds. The uncontrollable air caused Hiei to grow faint as it became harder for him to breathe. He struggled to keep his eyes open as his strength faded.

He had to remain focused for their sake. No matter how strong the winds were, he couldn’t let them defeat him. Hiei raised his arms to protect his eyes as debris became caught in the increasing winds. He tried to get a sense of his surroundings as he searched around him through squinted eyes.

The tsuki soldier’s winds were so strong that they were picking up some of the boxes and crates surrounding them. They tossed them around like they were feathers. Hiei looked around for a way to free himself from the strong vortex. There had to be some way that he could escape. Only then could he find a way to stop him and retrieve the key that he needed.

He tried his hardest to struggle against the strong winds. He maneuvered himself as he tried to avoid the flying debris. The increasing force of the vortex made it impossible for Hiei to fight against it. He could only go along with its current and move enough to avoid debris.

He had to figure out a way to stop the winds. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to get close enough to his opponent to take the key. Hiei looked around the vortex for a way to change his circumstances. As he was circling around the vortex, he noticed that one of the crated had opened.

He used the wind currents to maneuver through the debris to reach the open crate. He used his sword to reach inside the crate and remove a set of restraints. When he opened up the restraints, he used the force of the winds’ currents to get near his adversary.

After a few moments of struggling against the harsh wind currents, hiei used the winds’ own force to hook one of the cuffs on his opponent. As soon as he did that, the winds dispersed causing Hiei and all the debris to fall to the floor. Hiei landed gently on his feet, then swiftly ran to his opponent’s side and entrapped his other wrist in the other restraint before he could break free.

Hiei’s actions were too fast for his opponent to notice them until his wrists had already been bound together.

“What the?!” the tsuki soldier exclaimed in shock. “How did you do this without me noticing?!”

“Without your annoying winds, you are not as fast as I am. Once I restrained your energy, it was very simple for me to do as I said before.” Hiei explained indifferently while he turned away from his opponent.

“Wait! Don’t tell me that you…” The soldier exclaimed in surprise as he frantically patted down his body. “The Key!!”

“Yes. I took it like I said I would.”

“So what are you going to do with me now?”

“I’ve taken what I wanted from you. I no longer have time to waste with you. I will leave you for Koenma to deal with.”

“So the rumors are true? You have lost your edge and become a lap dog for the spirit world.” The soldier snickered in disgust.

“I don’t care about the rumors that others spread. I have something more important to deal with. Your fate is no longer of my concern.”

With those words spoken, Hiei continued to walk away from the tsuki soldier and join the rest of his team. He kept his eyes trained on the key that he held in his hand as he slowly walked on. He had lost more energy than he wanted to from his fight with that soldier. He defeated him, but at a great cost to himself. However, it was worth it. He was able to retrieve the key that they needed.

They could finally free the girls. They could rescue Kimika and Horuna. Kimika… She risked her own life to protect Horuna. She didn’t even know the truth behind her identity. She was a stranger to her, yet she protected her. She protected a complete stranger… a stranger, who just turned out to be his little sister.

He knew that no matter what they put her through, Kimika would protect Horuna as much as she could. Her compassionate heart wouldn’t let her do otherwise.

‘Kimika… I owe you for all that you have done for my sister. You and Horuna must hang on a little more. We are coming to save you.’