In our last episode... (*wink*)
______________       

        Kurama was about to lean his elbows and lower arms onto the bridge's
cement railing, when he heard footsteps behind him. Running. The enemy? He
put up his guard, just in case; the rose from his flaming hair ready. As
soon as he was about to turn around to strike out with the rose whip, a pair
of feminine arms encircled his neck, and pulled him down, making him bend.
Kurama's eyes widened in shock, as the the impulsive, bright-eyed Kino
Makoto clung on to his neck, and kissed him square on the mouth! ...the same
girl who had slapped him, and had called him all sorts of names. Kurama did
not quite know how to react, but he put his arms around her, and closed his
eyes. And kissed her back.
	Mako smiled when they pulled away from each other, and gazed into each
other's eyes. "Thank you for..." She bowed her head to hide her flushed
face. "...for saving my life, Kurama-san."
	He chuckled softly. "It's nothing, really."
	"Oh, by the way," Kurama added, reaching into his pocket after he let go of
Mako. "I forgot to give you this." He took her hand, and opened it, placing
a somewhat small device onto her palm.
	Mako blinked. "Ara... it's my communicator!" 
	As soon as she tucked it in her pocket, a constant beeping sounded. Hastily
taking the communicator back out, Mako lifted its lid, and a black cat with
a golden crescent moon on its forehead appeared on the tiny screen.
	"Mako-chan!" The cat on the screen said in surprise. "Oh, thank heavens! We
were so worried about you!" Came the anxiety-filled female voice.
	Another cat, a white one this time, came into view on the screen. "As far
as we know, Rei-chan and Ami-chan are back at the Hikawa Shrine. Haruka and
Mina said they'd be at the Crown Game Center to check out some things.
Better see if they're all right. I sense something terribly wrong." The cat
had a masculine voice.
	"I understand, Artemis," Mako nodded, and kept the device. "C'mon,
Kurama-san," She said, as she tugged on Kurama's sleeve, and pulled him by
the arm. "We have to see what's happening at the game center!"

***
	"All right," The female-voiced Hiei interrupted the lengthy pause. "I shall
do some explaining here. First of all, like I said, I'm not Hiei." He looked
up to see if there were any reactions from his ogling audience, then he
continued. "I am Mukuro. And If we don't act quickly, Hiei's body will be
damaged by my possession."
	Ears perked up. 
	"Mukuro?" Yusuke lifted himself up from the floor he sat on. "You're..."
	"Whaaaat!! You mean you possessed Hiei's body??" Kuwabara said in a
high-strung voice. 
	"Now," Mukuro continued. "I know I shouldn't be helping you on this, but
there is a hole here on Ningenkai that connects to Makai, which serves as an
entrance for youkai ."
	"Ah! That-- that's at Genkai-san's shrine!" Hinageshi half-exclaimed,
rising to her feet. Kuwabara grimaced, trying hard not to recall the
devastating scene that took place there.
	"Very good, little girl," Mukuro replied. "Some of you will have to stop
the youkai from entering Ningenkai vicinity, is that clear?"
	"Yosh, we'd better get moving," Botan suggested. It was followed by chorus
of agreement.
	"I still can't get used to the fact that that's a woman in a guy's body,"
Sailormercury admitted to Sailormars in a hushed tone. "It reminds me of the
Three Lights."
	At the mention of the Lights, Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten who were in America,
Mars gave a sad sigh. She missed Usagi. She missed her infectuous laughter,
and her stupid, crazy antics. Odango atama Usagi... Mars smiled. Usagi was a
boke, a baka, a clumsy, ditzy crybaby. But she loved her because of that.
Recently though, Usagi had proven herself quite a heroine. She was indeed a
princess. Usagi/Sailormoon had fought with love, courage, and she always
stood by her friends. Mars hoped she would return to Japan soon.
	 
__________________
Burning Heart Souls
Chapter 17
"On With the Show"
__________________

	"It's time to take out the garbage!" Came a voice from atop the roof of a
building. There stood Sailormoon, her winged figure silhouetted against the
pale light of the night. With her arms crossed, she looked like she meant
business. "By the power of the Ginzuishou and Mamo-chan, I shall right
wrongs, and triumph over evil! The souls of human beings is a sacred thing.
Without it, our hearts wouldn't be whole, and love wouldn't exist! Not even
hatred would exist! I won't forgive you, Goho! I am Sailormoon!" She jumped
off the building, and made a perfect landing on the pavement. Her hair
glistened a shiny golden color from the silver raindrops that fell from the
cloudy evening sky.
        She took off the brooch she wore which contained the Ginzuishou, and
used its power to heal Yaten's and Taiki's body. The wounds on their chests
had vanished. She eyed Goho intently. "Give back their souls!"
        Instead of replying, Goho ran, hoping to escape with the souls of
Mamoru, Taiki, Yaten, and the victims. Sailormoon chased him. "Oh no you
don't! MOON TIARA ACTION!!!" The tiara sliced through the humid air, passing
the droplets of moonlight rain, hitting Goho's lower ears. His bell-like
earrings crashed to the ground with a tinkle and a shatter, freeing the
souls of the innocent people, including Yaten's, Taiki's, and Mamoru's.
	"Nooo!!! This can't be!!" Goho was hysterical.
	"It _can_ be, buddy!" Sailormoon countered, taking out her septre. "It's my
turn now! STARLIGHT HONEYMOON THERAPY KISS!!!
	Goho gave an evil snicker. "Even if you defeat me, Meikai shall rule! You
hear me? Meikai shall rule!!" The powerful blast engulfed him after that,
and then he was gone. The septre's energy filled the entire park, curing the
bodies of the innocent victims.
	Sailormoon exhaled loudly, and turned to smile at Seiya and Sailorneptune.
Around them the civilians and couples awoke, blinking in surprise at what
had happened. Three soft groans were heard behind the winged sailor.
Whipping her head around, Sailormoon could not help but smile at the three.
Mamoru, Yaten, and Taiki were sprawled on the ground, trying to get up, and
wondering what on earth they were doing on the pavement. And then
realization struck them.
	"Hey, what happened to that Goho dude?" Yaten asked.
	"He's not going to be bothering us anymore that's for sure," Seiya said,
putting an arm around Neptune.
	Sailormoon lowered her eyebrows. "Yes... but the battle has just begun."
	Neptune nodded, a grave expression on her face. "The fight isn't over yet.
The Meikai can win." She took out her mirror... the deep aqua mirror... and
looked into it.
	
***
	Gentle-eyed, and grateful Sailorvenus was alive, Sailoruranus walked
towards  her, and knelt down beside her. "Koneko-chan? Oi..."
	Venus' eyes slowly fluttered open. She winced slightly at the remaining
pain on her body, but gave Uranus a small smile. "Uranus..."  
	"Are?" Venus said, after Uranus helped her up. Venus searched the arcade
center for a trace of that handsome young man they saw earlier. Instead, she
gasped, as she saw the center in disarray. It looked as if a hurricane
passed through the place! "Mou! What happened here??"
	"Ano..." Uranus rubbed the back of her neck, a sheepish grin forming on her
face. "At least I didn't wreck the arcade games."
	Venus eyed the place slowly, her eyes traveling inch by inch at the heap
surrounding her. Her expression reflected disbelief, then surprise. Moments
later a look of understanding crossed her face, and she averted her
attention towards Uranus.
	Uranus rested her arms at the back of her head, as Venus said, "Uranus...".
	The tall, short-haired senshi looked briefly at Venus, then turned away.
Venus had the oddest expression...
	"Ne," Venus continued, her voice filled with curiosity. "Haruka-san..."
	Uranus tried her best not to make a face. She absolutely did not like
confessions, and she knew one was coming up very soon. 'Maybe if I change
the subject,' She thought desperately. She wracked her brain for something
appropriate, but nothing seemed to be registering. All she had to do was
say, 'Thank you for saving my life', right? Why was it so hard to say?
'Damn.' There was no way out this time.
	Uranus took a deep breath, and faced the orange-suited sailor. "Ano,
Koneko-chan," She coughed nervously... which practically took forever. She
straightened, but managed to find a wrinkle or two on her skirt, and
smoothed it out. After her hands left the dark blue fuku, they found her
hair. With skillfull fingers, she brushed her long bangs away from her green
eyes, and swallowed convulsively. Finally, she gave one last clearing of the
throat, and spoke. "I..."
	Then she could not find her voice.
	"Ne, Haruka-san," Venus said again, eyeing the fidgeting sailor strangely.
	"N-nani?" 
	"Was there a fight here?"
	Uranus fell to the floor.
	"Haruka-san? Daijoubu?" Venus asked worriedly, as she looked at the boyish
senshi who was on the floor trying hard not to cry.
	Uranus got to her feet, composure forgotten. "Baka baka baka BAKA!!! How
could you do such a stupid thing, getting yourself killed?? You could've
thought of a much better strategy, you know!! Do you expect me to say
'thanks for rescuing me' after what happened?? You got me so worried, that
my hair probably turned white!! Just because I---" She stopped.
	"Haruka-san, you were actually worried about me?" 
	"No... I mean... not..." Too late. Uranus sighed in defeat. "Me and my big
mouth," She mumbled to herself.
	Venus gave her a hug, and smiled. "Thanks, Haruka-san." 
	Uranus could feel her face grow hot, but she laughed it off. "Hahahaha,
you're still a horrible strategist!"
	"Nani yo?! And what were _you_ doing? I didn't see you doing much!"
	"That's because I did all the work when your were 'asleep'!"
	"_You_ did all the work?? You were splat against the wall like a pancake!"
	"Well, how would you know with that ditzy head of yours??"
	"Grrr... why you--!!" They bit back in unison.
	"Hey! Excuse me, but have you forgotten about me?" Came a tiny voice below
the two. Turning to look down, the sailors' gazes met with an extremely
annoyed kid, who was tapping his tiny foot impatiently on the floor. 
	"Oi, Koenma," Uranus greeted. "You're still there?"
	"A... Where did he come from?" Venus asked in hushed tone.
	"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Uranus replied with a hint of
sarcasm in her voice. Venus glared at her, but did not attempt to fire back.
	"Sailor senshi," Koenma's voice cut through the tense atmosphere. "We're
going to need your help..."

***
	Still pulling on Kurama's arm, Mako and Kurama continued to run towards the
Crown game center. They stopped short just outside the building, gasping
quickly at the wrecked and ruined walls. Slowly, they walked inside,
surveying the damage that was done. What a mess! Who could have done this?
Then suddenly, they heard a scream; not a feminine one, but more of...
	"That sounded like... Koenma-san!!" Kurama exclaimed, and ran towards the
direction of the voice.
	Mako was about to follow him, but realized that she might be courting
trouble if she was not Sailorjupiter. She raised her transformation stick in
the air, and yelled the phrase, "JUPITER CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE UP!!!". After
the change, she ran after Kurama. She was now ready to face any possible
danger; and this time, she was not going to fall prey to those Meikai sleazes.

***
	"Koenma!!!" Uranus yelled, as Koenma was being dragged off by a weird
person with blue hair. He... or she... chuckled merrily, as Koenma struggled
in _its_ grasp.
	"VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN!!!" Venus tried using her golden-heart chain as a
lassoo, but to no avail. _It_ dodged the chain! "Mou! Missed!"
	"Hu hu hu hu... nice try, dearie, but tough luck!" _It_ mocked.
	"ROSE WHIP!!!"
	The being gave a shriek, as Kurama's rose whip went slicing into the air.
_It_ was fast. The whip cracked, and hit nothing but the marble floor,
scratching it.
	"Oh it's you again," _It_ said to Kurama, a quirk of a smile forming on
_its_ face.
	"Maja! Let Koenma go!" Kurama demanded, his eyes venomous.
	Maja smirked. "Not on your life, plant boy. The prince of Reikai holds many
possibilities for Meikai. Now, ta-ta!" He moved away from the three soldiers
to make his exit, still holding a writhing Koenma.
	"MATTE!!!" The three called fervently.
	"SUPREME THUNDER DRAGON!!!"
	The three stared wide-eyed as Jupiter's thunder-dragon blast went rushing
through the air, headed for Maja. ...and Koenma!
	"Jupiter! The blast'll hurt Koenma!!" Uranus panicked, referring to the
small boy being dragged off in the most uncomfortable position in Maja's arms.
	"Kuso~!! Why didn't anyone tell me sooner?" Jupiter said, as she looked at
the child in the evil Maja's grasp. "How can we stop it??"
	As if answering her, another being, taller than the previous one, appeared.
A long cape was draped across his neck and shoulders. He did not look human,
especially with the color of his skin, and that scar in the middle of his
forehead. With one slight upturn of his hand, the blast was gone. 
	"Raigo!" Kurama said his name with scorn.
 	Jupiter put her guard up.'What a powerful enemy!' Jupiter gasped, as the
so-called scar that was on the being's forehead slit open, revealing a third
eye. Jupiter shuddered, as she looked at it. 
	"Jupiter! Don't look at his evil eye!" Kurama warned.
	However, Jupiter was already entranced by it. The sparkle in her eyes were
fading, as her arms dropped limply to her sides. She could not move. She
could not breathe. 
	"Jupiter!!!" Kurama, Venus, and Uranus exclaimed.
	"Raigo-sama," Maja said. "I have the brat."
	"Good," Raigo nodded in approval. "Now it's my turn to have some fun with
them." He eyed the motionless Sailorjupiter, standing as still as a statue.
	"Kisama!!! What did you do to her???" Kurama asked viciously, clenching his
fists tight.
	Raigo bit back a laugh. "What's it to you?"
	Kurama narrowed his eyes. "Kisama!!"
	Uranus and Venus looked at each other, and nodded.
	"WORLD SHAKING!!!"
	"VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!!!"
	They combined powers; a powerful blast of orange light with a surge of hot
electric fire, shaking the earth. The result would have been great... if it
had hit their target. Unfortunately, Raigo had other plans and intentions.
With a foreboding smile, he opened his third eye wide. A trace of dark
energy flickered in it, as he stopped the attack in midair!
	"No way!" Uranus gasped disbelievingly.
	"He stopped our combined attack! Now what do we do??" Venus said
vehemently, her brows still lowered.
	"Cht," Kurama made a sound through his teeth. He continued to stare
virulently at Raigo. He glanced at the frozen Sailorjupiter to his left from
the corner of his eye, and cursed in his head. 
	"Ahh," Raigo said, as he saw Kurama's expression. "What's this? Does the
little gardener boy want his precious flower released from the power of my
evil eye?" Then, he eyed Jupiter, his smile knowing.
	'Kuso~!' Kurama thought, regretting looking at Jupiter. 'I know what he's
going to do! Kuso~!! So help me...'
	Raigo turned himself slightly to face Jupiter, who was still standing
motionless. Using the power of his third eye, Raigo held up the powerful
blast of Uranus and Venus in his palm, and gave Kurama a naughty smile.
Kurama sucked in his breath. He was right! He knew Raigo was going to do it!
	And he did.
	He had the enormous power to control it. And without reluctance, he threw
the World Shaking-Venus Love and Beauty Shock-attack towards the unmoving
Sailorjupiter, much to everyone's shock!
	"USO!" Uranus cried. "JUPITER!!! Get out of there!!!"
	"MAKO-CHAN!!! Snap out of it!!!" Venus cried out as well.
	Jupiter did not even flinch. No blink, no heave, nothing. She was paralyzed
by the dark power of Raigo's evil eye; Meikai's doing. Kurama did not
hesitate. With his youko speed, he ran for Jupiter, vaguely aware of the
surprised gazes from Uranus and Venus. He reached her just before the blast
had made impact, however it was too close to be dodged; too near to be
avoided.  Kurama braced himself, as he faced his back towards the blast, and
shielded Jupiter, her limp body cold against him. 
	"REI GAAAaaaaN!!!"
	Kurama heard Venus and Uranus scream and yell, but he did not hear a
sickening explosion, nor did he feel any pain. He did hear something faint,
but the sound was drowned out by Uranus and Venus noisy clamor.
	Kurama raised his head. He was alive. He looked down at the immobile, yet
fair, girl in his arms. She was breathing... Alive. _They_ were alive. He
exhaled loudly; an immense wave of relief flooding over him. How many times
must he save her? He blinked. ...Or_ try_ to save her, for that matter.
'This girl will be the end of me,' He thought, shaking his head; but a smile
was tugging at the corners of his mouth.
	"Who dares---," Raigo began, but fell silent quickly, a pleased smirk
appearing on his ugly face. "Urameshi Yusuke, how nice to see you again."
	Yusuke? Kurama turned his head. True enough, standing side by side with
their defenses up was Yusuke, Hiei, Botan, and another girl whom he did not
recognize. She was apparently with Uranus and Venus. The sailor costume gave
it away. She looked especially serious; the type who was calm and quiet on
the outside, but beneath that was a boiling passion. She carried a staff
resembling a giant key, a fine, dark red orb made out of garnet fixed at the
top of it. Somehow, she sensed Kurama's burning gaze on her. She looked
sideways at him, and gave him a formal bow with a slight dipping of her
head. Kurama was a bit taken aback by the conventionality, but he nodded
back, and smiled nonetheless.
	"I've waited for this day," Raigo said, more to himself than to them.
"However, you will have to defeat all my Meikai followers before you can
conquer me, Urameshi Yusuke."
	"Yaro~! Lead on! I'll beat them all up into a bloody pulp!!" Affronted Yusuke.
	Raigo chuckled. "Very well. But," He added, as he and Maja, along with the
captured Koenma, were heading deeper into a vortex seen only by youkais' and
spirits' eyes. "You must enter the Meikai passageway to save Reikai's
prince, and the  impertenent fire demon." With that, they disappeared into
the darkness of the gateway, Raigo's deep laughter trailing behind him;
echoing, hurting their ears.
	"KUSO~!!" Yusuke shouted, letting out the frustration he felt within him.
It worked. He felt a little better. But he vowed that he would not rest till
those Meikai rabble were history. Utter history!
	"Eto... Yusuke?" Kurama asked curiously, but his expression never wavered;
and he still held the half-sleeping Jupiter in his arms. "Raigo mentioned
about having Hiei as his captive, right? So who's this?" He moved his head
sharply in the direction of the so-called Hiei.
	Yusuke tried very hard not to burst out laughing. It ended up as a snicker.
He could not help himself. 'Hiei' kicked his shin.
	"As you can see, Kurama, I'm Mukuro" 'Hiei' explained, as an obstreperous
Yusuke hopped up an down around the game center clutching his leg. Uranus,
Venus, and Botan could not help the big sweat drops at the sides of their
heads. "Hiei's soul was stolen by Raigo. I told him combining our souls
would help defeat Meikai. However, he was particularly stubborn about not
accepting the offer."
	Kurama was _very_ surprised about Hiei having a female voice. But then,
things like these were not entirely new to him. Possessions happened all the
time. He chuckled in his head. He had possessed the human body of Minamino
Shuichi due to the fact that he wanted to escape death. It was a rather
cowardly thing to do, but he was much wiser now. He eyed the female-voiced
Hiei carefully. Mukuro had possessed Hiei's body! How long had Hiei's body
been inhabited by the youkai woman? He hoped it was not more than 30
minutes, hence Hiei's soul would never be able to return.
	"I notice that your thoughts seem very ponderous, Kurama," Mukuro observed,
her tone blase. Kurama looked blankly at her, then grinned sheepishly.
	"Ahahaha... gomen," He apologized. "My mind wandered off."
	He suddenly felt a gentle stir in his arms. He shifted his gaze towards the
cheery  girl whose head was laid on the crook of his arm. Her eyelids
fluttered, and the shine and sparkle in her forest-green eyes were restored.
Her pretty face grew bewildered, as she saw the number of people staring
down at her. 
	"Jupiter, you ok?" Venus asked, crouching down; her hands on her knees.
	"H-hai," Jupiter faltered, and blushed at the embarassing situation.
	"You sure had us worried there, girl," Uranus said, entwining her hands
behind her head. "You sure you'll be all right?"
	"She'll be fine," Kurama smiled at her. Jupiter's blush deepened. "Right,
Bright-eyes?"
	"Ooooooh, it's 'Bright-eyes' now, is it?" Everyone teased, much to
Jupiter's perturbation. She blushed even more. She wanted to hide. She
wanted to yell at them. She wanted to wring their necks!
	"I hate to be a spoiler of the mood, but we had better move on," Mukuro
said, straight-faced. There was no time to lose. Hiei's soul had to be saved
within 30 minutes, or else Mukuro would have to stay a dweller in the fire
koorime's body. And Hiei's soul would probably be  floating about in the
dreary kingdom of Meikai. How dull. There were only 19 minutes left. Hiei...
She had to save Hiei. 'Actually,' she mused, lowering her eyes. 'I _want_ to
save him.'
	"Mukuro," Yusuke broke through her pensiveness. "Why are you here on
Ningenkai only as a soul? Where's your body? Isn't there a Makai gateway in
`Baasan Genkai's shrine?"
	Mukuro cleared her throat. "I am an upper S-class youkai," She explained
with such pride. "The hole connecting Makai and Ningenkai does not allow
A-class and S-class youkai to pass through. Strangely though, our souls can.
Yomi must be somewhere around here as well." She glanced at Kurama.
	"What about your bodies?" Kurama asked, knowing Yomi preferred to remain
passive because he was not at all interested in this kind of conversation.
	"That is another story. Forget about that," She dismissed the topic with a
wave of a hand. "Now, we must go." Everyone nodded, and headed on their
way... through the passageway of Meikai. 

***
	Breathless, Kuwabara reached Genkai's shrine first. The others followed
closely behind. Now where was that hole? He glanced around. Damn, he had to
use an impartial amount of rei ki to see it. He knew he would be the only
one able to see it. The others did not have the slightest clue about the
Makai gateway. Hinageshi knew, but she only knew that it was located
somewhere around here. It took a youkai, or a very powerful spiritual person
to see that hole. 'Like me!' He boasted quietly, placing his hands in his
jeans pockets. He eyed the area, and shivered slightly, as he recalled what
had happened to Hinageshi earlier.
	The reddish sun had already sunk and hid itself behind the vast horizon.
Evening was falling. He took a deep breath, and sighed contently. He was
glad Hinageshi and Yukina were safe. And then he scowled. No, it was not
over yet. It would not be over, not until those Meikai scum had disappeared
from the face of the earth! 
	As a couple of stars came into view in the dusky sky,  Hinageshi,
Sailormars, Sailormercury, and Sailorsaturn arrived. 
	"It's around here somewhere," Hinageshi stated the obvious.
	"We'll have to use our spirit powers to find it," Mars said.
	"No," Kuwabara replied. "I can do it on my own. I just need a small dose of
ki."
	
                                                                    (cont'd...)