Beyond Understanding

The four walked along the endless halls. “How ya doin’, Kurama?” Yusuke asked.

“Not bad, I’m still on my feet,” the redhead replied, his arm holding his abdomen.

“You won’t be much good in a fight, though,” Hiei pointed out, disliking that the detective was concerned over the kitsune. There was no reason to be, except that, “Without you, the three of us will have to deal with what’s ahead.”

“Don’t sweat it!” Kuwabara stated confidently, “I’ll take the next guy!”

“Hah! You almost fainted at the sight of the first guy!” Yusuke ribbed.

“Shut up!” the taller teen retorted sullenly, “I just wasn’t ready!” Taking a more confident pose, he continued, “I wasn’t sittn’ around while you were off training with Master Genkai, y’know. Through trial and error, I figured out how to conjure my reiki sword using only my bare hand.” With that, the glowing blade appeared in his hand, “See?”

Hiei even had to concede, “Not bad…not quite the dead weight I took you for.”

“You want a taste of this?!” the taller teen challenged. Hiei covered his mouth to keep the laughter at bay.

“Get a grip, guy,” Yusuke murmured. He didn’t really need to cope with the two at each other’s throats the entire time. They had bigger problems.

“Sure, man. No sweat,” Kuwabara agreed. “My research didn’t stop there, y’know. Check it out! Sword, extend!!” The glowing blade brushed against the ceiling

“Whoa!” Yusuke eyed the blade appreciatively, “From a sword to a spear!”

“Heh heh - - I can extend or retract it at will!” Allowing the blade to disappear, he continued, “That first bruiser caught me off guard, but I’m ready for anything now. Bring it on, I say!” A sick expression crossed his face, “Ummf…Dizzy…slinging around aura around…”

Hiei rolled his eyes internally as Yusuke reprimanded his friend, “Save any other tricks for the fight, then!!”

The halls shook with a loud roar, startling the four as the walls around them shook in sympathy with the loud noise. Kuwabara’s voice shook as he asked, “What? What was that?! It sounds…otherworldly!”

Hiei couldn’t help but think, ‘We are in the demon plane, baka.’ But, before he could voice his contempt, Kurama spoke up, “Byakko. That’s his roar. Sounds like he’s in a pretty foul mood.”

Yusuke became impatient, wanting to reach his goal, “Let’s go!! This way!!” With that, he ran in the direction of the sound, leading the other three. ‘Does he not know fear?’ Hiei wondered as he watched the detective’s back as he ran. He forced his eyes to remain focused between the boy’s shoulder blades, trying to summon up his hatred and anger at the one who trapped him, but that task was becoming more difficult as they traversed the passage ways of the castle.

They came out onto a turret and the four came to an abrupt halt, Yusuke letting out a startled “Whoa!!” Across from them, connected by a narrow bridge and a large round platform, was a higher turret. On that turret stood a large white tiger, his mouth open, roaring loudly.

Byakko growled, “I can’t believe I had to get off my butt to deal with pesky little fleas like you! You defeated Genbu, but don’t let that go to your heads. He was only an underling!”

In an undertone, Yusuke muttered, “He’s enormous! A 10-footer at least!”

Kuwabara added, in a white voice, “This…wasn’t the deal.”

Hiei looked at the tall teen sidelong, wondering what deal the boy was referring to.

Byakko continued his tirade. “Holed up here in this depressing castle, no succulent human flesh upon which to sup…it makes one quite irritable. And now, the underworld sends two puny humans and a pair of traitors to fight us. What an insult! Listen, worms!! I gulp down humans by the six-pack!! Hiei!! Kurama!! I’ll shred you and feed you to the rotten scamps!”

Yusuke gulped audibly. “What a grating voice! Feels like it’s gouging my innards!”

Kuwabara stepped forward, “Well, I’ve had enough of his bull.”

Yusuke looked at his friend, “Kuwabara!”

Hiei asked calmly, “You’re going to fight him alone? I thought that was all talk.”

Despite his shaking, Kuwabara struck a pose, “Duh! One-on-one! That’s street fightin’, pal!!”

Yusuke’s voice came dryly, “You’re trembling from eagerness, then?”

“What I say I’m gonna do, I do!!”

“You can’t back our now, y’mean!”

The taller boy moved across the bridge, “Nuts to you, Urameshi!! Just watch!”

Byakku looked on, confused and amused, “Huh?! One human coming towards me - - Alone?!” He began to laugh, loudly, “Was this the underworld’s plan - - to make me die laughing?!”

Kuwabara growled out, “Cut that out! We’ll see who laughs after you haul your tuckus down here!”

Byakko continued laughing, “Heh heh….I’ll pass. No need for me to put myself out.” He plucked four hairs from the crown of his head and blew on them, “There you go!”

The four hairs grew as the fluttered down to the platform, becoming hellcats that surrounded the boy. He stammered out, “He turned his fur into…into these things?!”

Byakko laughed, “My doppelganger beasts! They’ll slowly tear you to pieces! Even after death, you will regret your foolish attempt to confront me!!”

With a screech, the beasts launched themselves at Kuwabara, slashing viciously, causing him to dance wildly to stay away from their claws and teeth, but in this he failed, receiving several slashes on his body. With a growl, he summoned his reiken.

Byakko laughed, “You summon a reiki blade? Such impudence! That pitiful thing will be useless against four beasts at once.” With that, all four monsters attacked the teen. Kuwabara slashed wildly, but the beasts still managed to get behind him, attacking him.

Yusuke growled, and Hiei commented irritably, picking up on the boy’s emotion, “I’ve never seen such pathetic sword skills. Those beasts will nail him good in a matter of moments.”

Though injured, Kuwabara continued to wave his sword around his body without rhyme or reason. Yusuke couldn’t hold back anymore, “Kuwabara!! Switch off with me!! My shotgun blast’s better for taking out multiple targets! You’re an infighter! You’re not made for this!” Hiei glanced at the boy out of the corner of his eye, trying to understand…exactly what he was trying to understand was interrupted by Byakko’s laughter.

“Ha ha ha - - Don’t be so polite. Why don’t you all jump in at once? You runts shouldn’t have tried to fight me in the first place.”

Before anyone could move to respond, Kuwabara yelled, “Stay put, guys!! I ain’t tagging out until Fuzzyfangs faces me himself!! Hear me, Urameshi? Try anything and I’ll kill you first!”

Byakko growled, “Still haven’t learned your lesson, eh? Beasts, rip off his limbs, one by one! Leave me the torso and head for my supper!!”

The hellcats renewed their attack on the teen, who continued to try to dodge the viciousness. “Bad doggie! These arms are freshly healed! I ain’t loosin’ ‘em now!”

Yusuke yelled again, “Kuwabara! Don’t be a jackass! Switch with me! You’re sword’s just not enough to take these things out!!” Hiei scoffed, the boy’s skill wasn’t enough, but he did not voice this thought as the boy in question was now running straight for them. “Kuwabara!” Yusuke yelped.

“Hey! I just got an idea!” he yelled as he ran across the bridge.

Byakko looked on in confusion, before triumph took over his thoughts, “Ha ha! Lost your nerve?! Flee back to your companions, then! But it’s no use!! The beasts will devour you all!!”

Kuwabara seemed to be chanting in an undertone, “Run run run!” He turned suddenly, “Nerve? Ya wanna see nerve?!” As the other three looked on uncertain, Kuwabara yelled, “Sword, grow!!!” All four beasts, lined up on the bridge following Kuwabara found themselves strung together, head to tail, on the lengthened sword.

“What?!” the tiger yelped, surprised at seeing his creatures caught by one he deemed ridiculous.

“Hah! They fell for it!” Kuwabara crowed. “I lured your pets over this narrow bridge just so I could skewer them!”

Byakko began to recover from his surprise, “Smart boy, but that hardly amounts to a death blow! And look, they’re still hungry!!”

The tall teen yelped in surprise and began to run, trailing his reiken behind him, leading the four skewered beasts around the turret. The end of his sword caught on one of the protruding bricks, allowing him to extend it fully around the tower. He grasped the caught end when he reached it again, tying the ends together, “There!! How’s that?!” He laughed, “Hah! Monster beastie shishkababs on the hoof!

Hiei looked on, torn between disgust and amusement. “He fused reiki end to end. That’s absurd.”

Yusuke commented, “Not a very palatable dish, but I’ll take it!”

Byakko growled at being ignored by the four, “Heh…you should’ve let the beasts kill you, human.”

The teen turned, and despite his beaten appearance, challenged the tiger, “C’mon, whatchoo really got?! Haul your butt down here, furball!! It’s your turn!” The boy really was a fool, Hiei thought, as he watched the energy begin to crackle around the tiger.

“Now you’ve made me very, very mad!! You’ve pushed your luck too far, whelp!! Fine - - I’ll come down and kill you myself.”

“Knock off the comic-book posturing! Hop down here and let’s get it on!”

With a muttered, “Brat…!” Byakko leapt from his perch to the platform. “I’ll warn you right now that your reiki sword is useless!! If that’s your only weapon of real power, you don’t stand a 100-to-1 chance against me!”

“Oh, yeah? Have a taste of it and then we’ll see how useless it is!!” Kuwabara attacked the tiger, landing a strike against him. “Felt that, eh?”

Byakko roared and attacked the boy with his fists flailing. Kuwabara dodged and swung again, again hitting the tiger, “Here’s another!...And another!!”

Yusuke was getting excited on the sidelines, “Excellent! Kuwabara’s on the offensive! Size doesn’t matter to him in a straight one-on-one!”

Hiei eyed the boy, wondering at his enthusiasm. Kurama voiced his thoughts, however, “There’s something wrong…”

“Yeah,” the fire demon agreed, his eyes locked on the tiger. Turning to look at Yusuke and not wanting the fox to continue, “Look at them - - their faces. Kuwabara may be scoring the hits, but he’s the one who’s wearing out!!”

And it was true. Kuwabara was drenched in sweat, panting, looking ready to fall over at any minute, and Byakko stood, seemingly, if anything, more energetic than when they started. As they watched, the white tiger grew in size.

Kurama yelled, “I get it now!! Take a look at the sword!”

Puzzled, Kuwabara looked at the reiken in his hand. “My sword?! It’s shrunk!!”

Kurama continued, “Byakko is sucking up Kuwabara’s aura!! And adding it to his own!! He’s draining Kuwabara dry!”

The tiger laughed, “My secret’s out! So what? Will you fight me with your bare hands?!”

The boy growled, “Not hardly!!!” as he pulled more reiki from his body and forced it into a sword. The additional strain caused him to waver physically, but his determination did not fade.

“Don’t do it, Kuwabara!! It’ll only make him bigger!!” Yusuke yelled after his friend.

The tall teen paid no attention to his friend and attacked the tiger, aiming for the tiger’s mouth, continuing his assault until the sword vanished completely from his hands and he fell to the ground, face first.

Byakko’s stomach was distended from the amount of reiki the boy had forced into him. “There was more aura in him that I suspected. It’s sitting a little heavy in my stomach,” he moaned.

Kuwabara made it again to his feet, managing to summon a small dagger of reiki, “Uhh..not done…”

“Cripes!! His sword…it’s shrunk to a dagger!!” Yusuke gasped.

Byakko taunted, “You’re wobbly, boy…heh heh! Your real ordeal will now begin.” Viciously, Byakko lashed out and struck the boy under the chin, sending him flying across the platform. “Now for a dose of slow torture! Heh heh…I could use some after-dinner exercise. After that, you’re body will make a nice dessert.” He stepped slowly across the platform to the unsteady teen.

“His aura’s gone! He can’t fight!! That idiot’s really gonna get his ticket punched this time!!” Yusuke looked ready to move when Kurama’s voice stopped him.

“No! He has one option! Byakko hasn’t grown at all. If Kuwabara’s noticed this as well…It might amount to suicide, but it’s his last resort. If he doesn’t pull this off, he is doomed!!”

Hiei looked at the redhead, understanding what he meant. It was indeed suicidal if the boy failed. But, relying on the idiot to notice something…that was suicidal as well. But…Yusuke would need…’Shut up!’ he yelled at the part of his mind that was so focused on the detective. His attention was drawn back to the platform by a loud crack. Byakko had landed another punch on the teen. Despite his injuries, Kuwabara managed to look thoughtful about something, almost as if he were muttering to himself.

“What are you mumbling about?” Byakko demanded. “Have you given up and gone into your swan song? I’ll see it doesn’t go to waste!! DIE!!”

From somewhere, the exhausted boy summed enough reiki to form a respectably sized sword, “You’re gettin’ all I’ve got!!”

Byakko was surprised at the amount of aura still left in the boy.

“You want it?! You’ve got it!!”

“Are you crazy?! Why are you giving him what he wants?!” Yusuke yelled at his friend as the teen fell to the ground, exhausted of reiki.

“Heh heh heh,” Byakko belched. “You are crazy. Can’t fathom why you’d let me have the last of your aura!

“Kuwabara?!” Yusuke yelled, pain in his voice. Hiei wondered if that pain would ever be heard when the detective said his name. Then he scoffed, he’d never put himself in such a position.

Byakko raised his foot, “I’ll tenderize him with a few good stomps. Starting with his head!!”

“Stop!! Now!! Or I’ll kill you!!” Yusuke began to run out across the bridge.

Kurama threw out his arm, “Wait!! See, it’s starting to happen!!”

Yusuke looked at the kitsune blankly, “Huh?” Before his eyes, Byakko began to change, becoming grey instead of white, a look of agony crossing his face. His abdomen was becoming more distended by the second. Kuwabara struggled to his knees.

“Heh…just as I thought…”

“Kuwabara!!” there was joy in the detective’s voice now, “He wasn’t down, just out for a second!”

“Bit of a glutton, ain’t ya, Puss-puss? Scarfin’ up all that crude, human flavored aura.”

Byakko looked as if he were gonna be sick when a blast of aura sent him flying.

Kurama calmly explained as they followed the tiger’s path through the sky, “Byakko wasn’t expecting to get so much aura out of Kuwabara. It gave him colic!”

Yusuke laughed, “Ha ha ha! Worst case of gas I ever saw! What a moron!!”

Kuwabara growled, his reiki returning to his body, “Tain’t funny, Urameshi. I almost bought it. Gotta reabsorb as much of my aura as I can.”

Byakko’s body slammed into the turret behind his raised platform, taking out a good portion of the wall. “Man! Check the fireworks!! Scratch another monster!!” He turned to face his friend, “You okay, Kuwabara?”

The teen, looking the worse for wear, said, “I’ve got some of my aura back, so after a bit of a breather I’ll be fine.”

Kurama called their attention away, “Uh-oh!! Look!!” They all turned to face the fallen wall, surprised to see the white tiger rising from the ruined tower.

“Is he immortal?” Yusuke asked quietly. Hiei could hear the uncertainty in that voice and wanted to reassure him, but Byakko spoke before he even began to form the right words in his mind.

“I’ll admit I’m impressed. Your tactics were effective. To show my respect, I’ll lead you to my chamber…to the room from hell!!”

They followed the tiger into the ruined building, Hiei behind the detective, watching his movements. Kuwabara asked, “Did I hear that overgrown fleabag right? The room from hell?”

Yusuke kept moving, his voice determined, “Whatever it is, it’s this way!!” The entered the room, “What the…?!”

Kuwabara squeaked out, “Where are we?!”

Above bubbling rock or acid, were multiple round platforms, balanced atop narrow columns, each about as far apart to be a good jumping distance for someone used to such exercise. In the center of the room, Byakko stood on one of the platforms.

Yusuke looked down at the seething morass, “A serious slice of hell, all right.”

“One slip and it’s game over, man,” Kuwabara added.

“Heh heh…this is my special gaming room. Quite a sight, isn’t it? My favorite touch is the acid bath below! It’ll eat you down to your bones! Anyone got the nerve to come down and fight me now?!”

Yusuke moved to fight the tiger, “Room from hell, eh? Dunno how many of your nine lives are left, but I’m gonna finish ‘em all off!!” He was stopped short, however, by a hand on his shoulder.

“Hold it. He’s still mine,” Kuwabara pointed out.

“C’mon, man…” Yusuke began.

“You fought well,” Hiei conceded, disliking it, “but it’s Yusuke’s turn. Take a break. We’ll have use for you later, I think.” Though he wouldn’t have admitted it, Hiei was interested in seeing the detective fight, wanted to see him in action without having to defend himself at the same time, to see how that body would move…’Shut up!’ he again yelled in his head. He was almost grateful when Kuwabara spoke up again.

“Take a break? No flippin’ way! This ain’t baseball, Shorty. I’m not tossing the ball to a reliever and going to the dugout to sip Gatorade. I’ll see this one out!”

“Hmph. Such irrational creatures…!” Hiei groused, wondering exactly who the comment was aimed at.

“Stubborn son of a…” Yusuke began, only to be cut off by Kurama’s remark.

“He kind of reminds me of you.” This comment earned the redhead a glare.

Byakko was becoming impatient. “Well? What’s the hold up? Scared?”

Kuwabara returned the comment, “Shut yer yap, moron! I’ll be right down!” He leapt off the ledge onto the nearest platform, landing on the edge. The rock cracked as it took his weight, causing him to fall with it. Acting quickly, he pushed off the rock he was standing on and grabbed for the remainder of the platform, barely catching it before it was out of reach. “That…was close,” he gasped out as he watched the rock he’d been on fall to the acid below. “Not a great start to this round.”

Yusuke yelled down, “Hey! We can still switch!”

“No way! That was just a dramatic flourish!!” He pulled himself up onto the remainder of the platform and removed his jacket. “Man, it’s hot in here.” Facing the tiger, he challenged, “Okay, Whiskers, let’s get down to it! I’ll finish you this time!!”

Byakko began to make choking noises deep in his throat, his clawed hands wrapped around his neck. The four looked on in surprise. “Oh,” he muttered, “yes, I’m a cat! Wanna see my version of a hairball?” With a great choking cough, he released a large ball of energy from his mouth, aimed directly at Kuwabara.

The tall teen took a stance to slam the energy ball with his reiken as if he were holding a baseball bat. “What a pathetic pitch! I’ll send it back at’cha with a Teikyo high two-run walk-off homer!!”

Kurama suddenly yelled out, “LOOK OUT!! Don’t swing at that thing!! Jump off that pylon!! HURRY!!”

Confused, Kuwabara moved to obey, “Sure, but why?” He looked behind him where the energy blast had contacted the platform. The rock began to shake and then shattered into a myriad of fragments. Kuwabara visibly paled at this sight.

“See that?!” Byakko crowed, “My tiger shatter scream!! It reduces anything it hits to dust!!”

Hiei moved to stand by the detective, his body tense, ready to move, to take the detective with him when he moved, should he need to. “I’d heard of a demon who could produce sonic blasts that shatter molecular bonding! It’s Byakko?” He watched a moment longer, “The only defense is to avoid getting hit!!” He didn’t bother to question why he felt he had to defend the detective. It didn’t matter anymore. It was there. He would deal with it later, when there was time to think. But now, he couldn’t fight it anymore.

Byakko continued to throw out blasts from his throat, forcing Kuwabara around the room. “Ha ha! Keep dodging! You’ll soon run out of space!!”

Kuwabara was forced to stop. All the reachable platforms had been destroyed. “Crap!” he said succinctly.

The tiger laughed, “What’s the matter? Plenty of platforms over here!! You’d just have to jump two meters farther than Carl Lewis! Without a running start. Ha ha ha!”

Kuwabara glared at the tiger, unable to really do anything else at the moment.

Yusuke was irate, “Kuwabara’s no Carl Lewis!! The other platforms might as well be the moon!!”

“Nothing to say?” Byakko taunted. “Speechless in the face of death?” Four long spines appeared between his fingers. “Try begging for your life!!” he shot out angrily as he threw the needle-like weapons at the boy, “Or wetting your pants!! Perhaps I’ll show mercy…or not!!”

The needles grazed the boy, opening his flesh, causing him to bleed. “I’m done with you,” Byakko declared. “Time for you to go to hell.” He again sent a ball of sound energy at the platform.

Kuwabara froze momentarily before moving with a primal yell.

“He’s gonna jump!” Hiei gasped out in amazement, prepared to grab the detective should it be needed.

“KUWABARA!!” Yusuke yelled. In slow motion, they watched as the teen flew through the air, holding their breath as he soared, his path taking him lower. He fell too quickly, missing the next platform. Yusuke screamed, “NOOO!!!”

Byakko gloated, “HA HA! A mere five meters short!! And the rest of you will soon follow…” His tirade was cut short…by the face of the one he thought now dead flying at him. “It can’t be!!” Kuwabara had used his reiken to bridge the gap he could not jump. “Clever,” Byakko was forced to concede, “Using his aura sword as a vaulting pole!!”

“Like it or not, Fuzz Butt, hell’s waiting for both of us! DIE!” Kuwabara yelled as his fist made contact with the side of Byakko’s head, sending him over the edge of the platform into the boiling acid below. Kuwabara followed him, unable to stop the momentum that carried him.

“KUWABARA!” Yusuke yelled in agony. “Kuwabara…he…he can’t…!”

Hiei couldn’t stand the pain in the detective’s voice. There hadn’t been a second splash… there was still…”Look! Over there! See?” He pointed to what the distraught detective had missed. Kuwabara was connected to the platform by a strip of fabric that had been wrapped around his waist, suspended below the platform.

“KUWABARA!!” the detective repeated, overjoyed.

“Don’t just stand there, morons…gimme a hand!” the teen yelled out, feeling the fabric beginning to give way under his weight.

Yusuke leapt off the ledge and made his way over to the central platform, “Waahooo! Saved by a snag!!” After he reached the pylon and pulled his friend up, he began beating the other boy about the head, “You scared the livin’ spit outta me! I thought you’d bought it for sure!! Why didn’t you holler sooner, ya dumb jerk?!”

“Ow ow ow! Knock it off, idiot! You’ll drop me in the acid for real!”

Unable to resist tormenting the taller boy now that his danger had past, Hiei remarked, “You have the most remarkable luck. Care to go up against another demon?”

Shaking with exhaustion, Kuwabara glared, annoyed at his own weakness, “No! That’s it for me! I’m done!”

Yusuke became excited now. “Alrighty! Now I get my shot!!”

Hiei couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the boy’s eagerness.

~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Okay…this is insane…this much story and very little to add to *my* plot…damn characters for insisting on following cannon….*sigh* Oh wells…next chapter will be both Hiei’s and Yusuke’s fight….much more room for *my* twisted little take on cannon. Again…I hate the dialogue…narrative dialogue…I live with a girl who narrates…it’s annoying…but…*sigh* It’s in the manga. Maybe I should have taken the time to torrent the episodes? Oh, wells… I’m committed to this line now :D Enjoy.
Oh, and just incase you’re wondering…Carl Lewis’s record for the long jump, made in 1991, is 29’ 4 ½”, which is 8.95 meters…so 2 meters more would be 35’ 11 ¼”…and now you know :D I also know how I’m gonna get them together…the why and where…but, I won’t say anymore or I’ll loose it…it came to me this morning just before I got out of bed :D

Reviews:
Atsim Frotw: Thanks :D I’m glad you like it
Suryallee: Danke…dieses is sehr lange, ja? Und, danke fur mein Deutsche corectieren…es ist seit 6 jare seit Uni fur mich.
Devious Lil Devil: Thank you for your comments…and I’m glad you liked my poem :D I’ve written Hiei with others before, but my challenge for this story was to keep Kurama out of the…umm…action ;) Hope this continues to entertain you.
kit-kit: Thank you for comments on both the chapter and poem.

I will have a title chosen by the next chapter….I really will….and REVIEW, damn it…this chapter was hard to write!