_________________________________________________


	
Youtou Shinnoken
A Yuyu Hakusho/Rurouni Kenshin fic
By Chester Casta�eda 
gab_ab@edsamail.com.ph
and Danyal Herder
dherder222@hotmail.com
Original concept by SeventhOne
chadjill@ms3.hinet.net
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1377336

My first fan fiction using the original concept of 
another author... and cooperatively writing it with
yet another author at that. It's going to be 
cool. ^^

A few more notes before proceeding:

< > indicates character thoughts
" " indicates character speech


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Chapter 1: Heart of Sword
_________________________________________________




     "Boss! Boss Iehik!" one of the lesser demons said in a panicked
voice, his falsetto tone grating the old, wizened leader's large,
pulsating nerves, as well as testing the length of his patience. 
"There's an A-level presence inside the cavern, sir! We may have some 
trouble here...."

      Before Iehik could answer, a large, brawny and overmuscled 
three-toed bull-like creature chortled mightily. "A-levels are 
overrated! Let him come! If it's a true test of guts, A-levels suck! 
All they rely on is they're oh-so-powerful and limitless store of youki!
Well, once they face me they'll know that I...."

     "SHUT UP, IEHOG!!! I'm trying to think of a proper strategem to get 
us out into this fine mess you've gotten us into!" Iehik shouted 
irritably at his boorish companion. "Sheesh... it's getting to be that 
a youkai can't get good help this days... even from his fellow 
brethren!" He shot Iehog one more nasty look before he again went into 
deep contemplation.

     "I'm sorry, big brother," Iehog sheepishly said, kowtowed. Iehik 
merely ignored him. 

     Silence seemed to reign supreme for a long time in the gave, the
weird vibrations coming from the glowing, demonic sword being the only 
thing that was breaking the reticence. Finally, Iehik spoke. 

     "It seems that something is reacting to the sword... some sort of 
presence that's different from all the rest of us... the energy I'm 
feeling in that sword is _definitely_ not youki," Iehik reckoned 
morosely as he observed the sword. 

     "So what the hell do we do now, big brother?" Iehog boisterously 
queried. "What's with all this reacting shit? I thought the sword was 
supposed to make demons powerful?! That's why it's called the demon 
sword, right?!"

     "Silence!" Iehik shouted angrily. "Speak when only spoken to, 
Iehog! I'm the leader of this group and what I say goes!"

     "Isn't it ironic for a person to shout silence?" one of the 
group's youkai lackey's quizzically asked.

     Again, silence reigned supreme inside the cave.

     "Rikyoun," Iehik sweetly addressed the inquisitive demon who made 
the strange comment about 'shouting out silence.' Would you be so kind 
as to pull the sword out of that sealed stone altar, if you would 
please?"

     Rikyuon shrugged. "No prob."

     "But big brother!" Iehog whined. "Then Rikyoun will get the power 
of the sword! No fair, no fair!"

     "Silen..." Iehik started, but he quickly amended to, "Quiet, you 
fool! Watch and learn...." 

     Before the brainy youkai was able to finish his sentence, Rikyuon 
had already turned to dust.

     "Whu...?" Iehog started, clearly shocked. "But I thought the demon 
sword was supposed to....!?"
  
     "Yes... the sword's a tool, like a magnifyin' lens. It magnifies 
the power you already got... makes your youki rise to incredible levels.
It even made Class-C demons into Class-As and higher." Iehik narrowed 
his eyes. "But that's not the case now. Something else is reacting to
the sword... it's not youki I feel in there...."

     "Whu... not youki?" Iehog said, boggling.

     "It's..." Iehik started, "...reiki."




***




     Yusuke stretched his arms in boredom. He felt the the many presence
of a lot of demons in the nearby cave. It probably looked like an 
ordinary cave to the human eye, but Yusuke wasn't really human anymore... 
not exactly.

     The sleek-haired boy sighed. "As usual, Koenma's dumping another
one of his assignments on me. Sheesh, like I have nothing better to do."
Actually, he didn't have anything better to do, but that was beyond the
point... so he supposed anyway. "Oh well... let's get this over with."

     The half-demon stopped in mid-step. <Hm... there are a lot of
small fry demons in there... but I'm sensing a something... more 
powerful.> Yusuke grinned. "Maybe this ain't going to be so boring as I
thought.




***




     "Er, boss?" the panicky demon from before started.

     "Yeah?" Iehik said irritably.

     "No traps. No S-level. The... er... reiki from the sword is gone." 

     "Hand it over then," Iehik said nonchalantly, though he was still
eyeing the sword like it was a serpent. 

     "Sure thing, boss." 

     The Iehik unsheated the sword slowly, then freezes. He threw the 
sword back to the center of the room. 

     "Big brother!" Iehog said in alarm. "What's goin' on!?"

     "Get back, guys. We've got an A-level here. It's the sword," Iehik
said as calmly as possible, even though his knees had begun to shake.
 
     "Told ya, boss." 

     "Shaddup!" 

      A mist rose around the sword, and slowly takes form.... 

      "Oro?" 




***




     The youkai all looked in bewilderment as the murky gas eventually 
materialized into a young ningen who seemed to be just as confused as 
them. His red hair dangled over his forehand, and a few scattered 
individual strands touched on a tiny duo of scars on his left cheek.  
The human eyed the surroundings and let out a sigh. "Oro, what a place 
to pop into." He muttered with his eyes closed.

     At the spirit's supposed disenchantment of the situation, Iehog 
allowed a small grunt to escape his lips. "What's that supposed to mean?  
Who the hell are you?  And..." His anger appeared to be rising, but he 
was silenced by the raised right hand of Iehik, who had decided that 
this was a matter that should be dealt with delicately.

     The awkward silence that ensued for a minute or two was finally 
dissipated by a cry of terror. The demons all turned their heads to see 
the shadow of their makeshift guard hurled ten feet into the air by an 
intruder.  A loud thud was heard, and it became apparent that the roof 
of the cave hadn't treated the guard well. Iehik gritted his teeth and 
pointed a bony finger at the opening. "Make sure whoever's there doesn't 
get anywhere NEAR the sword!"

     "But that wouldn't be any fun, would it?" The voice of the new
figure said in as sarcastic a manner as he could manner.  The demons 
first caught a glimpse of their opponent when he leapt onto the head of 
one of the weakest in the crew and used him as a springboard, 
catapulting himself right into the chest of a huge, purple demon - With 
a right fist that was glimmering with light blue energy.  The punch of 
the fighter, apparently a human boy, went straight through the luckless 
demon, causing it to crouch over motionless.

     Yusuke grinned, always happy to put a miserable demon out of its 
misery. He took a quick glimpse at the sword, and cocked his head in 
confusion at the red-haired being hanging over it.  Still, even though 
Yusuke had more than enough confidence; he knew it'd be a good idea to 
get rid of the fledglings who had encountered the sword.

     Iehik's veins were practically popping out of his head by this 
point. He simply would not let such a worthless human get a hold of the 
sword. He looked at the rest of his entourage. "All of you, destroy that 
piece of shit!" The remaining demons, of which there were five or six, 
cautiously looked at Yusuke.  Most recognized him from the infamous 
Makai tournament not so long ago, and weren't looking forward to facing 
one of the semifinalists.

     Still, Yusuke inched forward.  "Yeah, this piece of shit is looking 
for some fun." He bent his knees, lowering his body by about half a foot, 
and charged forward. "Come on, you bastards!  SHOTGUN!" Before the 
minions could react, two dozen or so fist-sized blasts of blue energy 
erupted from Yusuke's body, spraying each of them with at least three or 
four good shots.  All of them flailed backwards, either breaking their 
necks against the hard surface of the cave, or having the fortune of 
only being knocked unconscious.

     Yusuke grinned. No matter how many times he did it, it was always
fun to destroy pathetic demons. He looked at Iehik and Iehog, the only 
demons still conscious. "You guys want to try your luck, or just escape 
with your lives while you still can?" The boy truly didn't care about
their decision-- either way, he'd be getting the sword.

     The spirit watching over the scene was breathless. He had seen some
powerful demons unleash spirit energy, but never a human, and never on 
this magnitude. He allowed a small smirk to appear on his face. He 
should warrant an interesting conversation, he thought. His eyes 
remained locked on the human, eager to see what Yusuke would do next.

     The spirit's smirk looked kind of crooked as he surveyed the 
pathetic, mangled and thankfully unconscious demons scattered all over 
the cave. <Maa, maa... he's a very violent and uncouth fellow... but he 
was considerate enough to hold back on account of the weaker demons. He 
sort of reminds me of an old friend that way...> he noted nostalgically.

     The redhaired lost soul then looked mournfully at the ashy remains
of the demon once known as Rikuon. <The poor demon... so weak, so 
gullible. If only this unworthy one was able to manifest myself in time, 
then maybe that poor youkai wouldn't have been disintegrated by that 
strange human's incredible reiki....>

     The ghostly swordsman then allowed himself to blink. Manifest 
himself? That was new... usually the sword was _only_ a focal point to
magnify the youki of any particular demon... it usually takes 
incredible, nigh-exhaustible amounts of spiritual energy for him to 
attain at least a corporeal form, much less a semi-tangible one that can
affect the physical world's reality. 

     <Could it be...? Could it be that the human's reiki reacted to the 
sword in such a way that sessha can now manifest myself in the physical 
world without possessing people?>

     To test his theory, the samurai spirit tried stepping on the 
ground... sure enough, his feet was able to touch it. 

     "Sessha... sessha can step on the ground!" the apparition cheered, 
clapping excitedly. "This unworthy one hasn't been able to step on the 
ground in a long, long time! This unworthy one is so happy!" The 
now-corporeal being soon felt three intense and puzzled gazes upon his 
person. "O-oro?"

     "He's... a rather wimpy fellow, isn't he?" Iehog noted as his other 
companions relexively nodded. <He looks mighty familiar, though.>

     The samurai spirit facefaulted then and there.

     "That he is... he's all scrawny, bony and small... could he 
actually really be the guardian of the sword?" Iehik noted in confusion.

     The ghost of the sword perked up a bit from his precarious position 
on the ground, blinking innocently.

     "N-no... that's just silly! Maybe he's some low-level human spirit 
that got absorbed by the sword or something!" the big-headed youkai 
reasoned.

     The red-haired phantom merely sweatdropped this time. "Hidoi de 
gozaru yo. You're both so mean."

     An insistent cough led the three beings back to the reality and 
gravity of the situation... but the insistent and gleeful cracking of 
knuckles really was what really got their attention. 

     "Now, I don't know about you," Yusuke Urameshi started, "but I 
really just want to get this whole 'get important Spirit World artifact 
and shit' over with as soon as possible. But..." 

     A manifestation of intense light and heat began emanating all over 
the Reikai tantei's person. "If you insist on doing things the hard 
way... then I guess I have no choice but to enjoy myself." He ended his 
rather obvious and gleeful threat with a maniacal grin. 

     <He acts very much like Sanosuke,> the spirit said to himself, 
sweatdropping. 

      Yusuke blinked inspite of himself. <Strange, somehow I feel more... 
I dunno... invig... invigor... um... lively?> He mentally shrugged. 
<Maybe it's the adrenalin rush of getting a mission after so many 
months... weird.>  

     "You fucking bastard! My big brother and I have been searching for
the Demon's Sword for ten years now... who are you to tell us what to
do, you dumbass?!" Iehog boisterously said while his elder sibling 
wisely began inching away from the entire scene. 

     "Me, I'm nobody," Yusuke nonchalantly said, adding, "the two of 
you, on the other hand, are nothing."

     "Fuck that! You may be some weird human who happens to have Class-S
powers, but I'm not afraid of that shit!" Iehog proudly harrumphed. 
"I'll show you exactly why I don't care shit about the Reikai class 
system!"

     "Do your best, little brother!" Iehik called out a good distance 
away from the combatants, waving cheerfully. Iehog just growled and 
grumbled. 

     "Yeah? Well, enough talk!" Yusuke shouted out as he went into the 
basic Rei-kou-hadou-ken stance. "Show me what you got, ugly!"

     A stray gust of wind that somehow ended up inside the cave blew a
small tumbleweed in front of the disheveled, corporeal samurai spirit. 
"Anooo..." he said sheepishly. 

     "I may be ugly..." Iehog said as his youki began to spread across
the entirety of the cave. The unconscious bodies of their band of demons 
soon began to get sucked into the brawny youkai's body, absorbed and 
molded until the demon once known as Iehog was now turned into a 
multi-armed, multi-legged and multi-headed monstrosity. "But hot damn, 
see me kick your ass!" 




***




     The entity surveyed the situation analytically, as if it was an 
automatic and reflexive response he had over such circumstances. <The 
larger youkai is using some sort of body-absorption technique that 
multiplies his power exponentially. He is also able to take in the 
unique characteristics of every youkai he absorbs.>

     The spiritual entity narrowed his violet eyes. <In theory, even 
lower C-level entities, when they combine their powers successfully in 
large multitudes, could achieve powers rivaling that of a Class-S 
being. This Iehog is using that very technique right now... 
fascinating.>

     In a blink of an eye, despite his obviously heavy mass, Iehog 
quickly disappeared. A sudden flurry of blows that seemed to come from 
all directions met up with the hapless Yusuke. He easily counter most of
the strikes but due to the mere fact that he was taken completely by 
surprise, the monstrous Iehog was able to take graze him by the side and 
hit him by the jaw.

     <What the fuck...?!> Yusuke thought as he wiped the trickle of 
blood from his lips. <This guy ain't the joke that I thought he was.> To
Iehog, he said, "Eat this," before shouting out loud, "SHOTGUN!" 

     One of Iehog's heads suddenly opened its mouth, absorbing the 
furious barrage of reiki from Yusuke's fist. Then another head opened 
its mouth releasing the same amount of youki toward the spirit 
detective's direction.

     "SHIT!" Yusuke cursed as he avoided the barrage of demonic energy 
that blasted a new hole in the cave wall... smoke, dust, debris and 
pelting rocks scattering all over their surroundings. "How come I didn't
see that demon use that tricky technique while I beat their asses to a 
pulp just a while ago? Tell me!"

     Iehog's original bearded head chuckled darkly. "Wouldn't you like
to know?"

     Iehik cackled, getting Yusuke's attention. "It's all very simple, 
human. The demon with the absorption technique... Rakya... can only 
absorb ki, not release it. You knocked him out using physical force. The 
other demon, Kukurya... the one that can convert reiki to youki... can 
only absorb so much of your incredible spiritual power before he 
collapsed. Now, with my brother's body fusion technique, he can get all 
our men's strengths and none of their weaknesses. You're outmatched, 
boy!"

     To Iehik's chagrin, Yusuke was already ignoring him in the middle 
of his rant.

     Yusuke narrowed his eyes at the grinning Iehog. <I know I can take 
this guy... there's no doubt about it... but at this point he has the 
power equivalent to that of Toguro... which means I can't hold back 
now.> He sighed. <Oh well... looks like Koenma is about to fill in 
more paperwork for several soon-to-be-dead youkai.>  

     The spirit also narrowed his eyes, as if reading Yusuke's thoughts. 
<No... this can't be....>

     Yusuke soon manifested his true potential, startling even the 
previously unflappable Iehog.

     "W-wait a minute!" one head on Iehog's body whined pathetically.

     "Oh no! I knew it... even with Iehog's technique, we still might 
get killed!" another head said, saying his last peace as he braced 
himself for the worse.

     "Fuck him and his spiritual power! I can take him on... and when 
he's unconscious, I'll be the one to take over!" the true Iehog said 
after recovering from his initial shock. He felt his nuclei beat in 
synchronization with his excited breathing. <Once I get a hold of that 
guy, I'll be fucking invincible! I've got to beat him!>

     "Iehog, you fool! You'll get us all killed!" another demon head 
cried in absolute terror and panic.

     A demon with a deadpanned face merely sighed. "Fuck that. It's 
already too late," he said in monotone as he consigned himself to his 
inevitable fate.

     Yusuke and Iehog charged... the large, raging fire of youki 
fighting to survive against the face of a torrential downpour of reiki.

     It was a losing battle from the start... Iehog's fate was sealed.

     But he would not allow it... he would never allow it.

     "NOOOOOOOO!!!" the samurai spirit said as he grabbed his mystical 
sword and charged at the two combatants, a determined glint in his 
violet eyes. "Sessha will not allow this senseless bloodshed to 
commence! This unworthy one, Himura Kenshin of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, 
will stop this at once!"




***




     Yusuke, right in the middle of running and preparing a punch to 
stop the world, skidded to a halt, just seconds away from crashing into 
Iehog. Yusuke glared at this newly-materialized Kenshin and threw up his 
arms. "What the hell was that for? I'm trying to protect your sword 
here!" He shouted.  "You should be thanking me for getting rid of these 
pieces of shit!"

     The hollering on the part of Yusuke had no apparent effect on the 
demeanor of Kenshin, who only shook his head. "I thank you for your 
efforts to keep me and this world from harm, that I do. But that 
doesn't give you the right to senselessly exterminate those who would do
bad things. If that were true, no one would be alive." Kenshin turned
to see all seven or eight heads on Iehog trembling.  "Leave. You've 
lost, and I don't know how long I'll be able to control the boy when 
he's at full power."

     The last sentence prompted a laugh from Yusuke.  "Pal, if I was at 
full power I'd have hair down to my ass and a couple hundred tattoos 
around my body." He grunted and faced the monstrosity of Iehog. "But 
yeah, the samurai's got a point. Beat it."

     Despite their ramblings, Iehog's new friends didn't need much in 
the way of encouragement, and in a manner similar to a three-legged 
race, he scrambled out of the cave.  Iehik glowered at Kenshin and 
Yusuke before realizing that it was probably a lost cause-- If the boy 
could dispatch of his entire squad, even channeled within Iehog, than
this would have to wait.  "You think you've won, you worthless human...
but you didn't," he growled.  Yusuke had to resist the urge to chase him 
down as he scrambled out of the cave, but he still got a good laugh out 
of it.

     After all the threats to him had vanished, Yusuke sighed and laid 
down against the side of the cave to rest. Kenshin, still enjoying the 
wonders of being physical, began touching various objects and watching 
bugs scamper around. He jumped almost five feet into the air, however, 
when Yusuke began screaming at him. "Why'd you stop me from killing 
them? You know as well as I do that those things don't deserve the air 
they're breathing."

     Kenshin turned around, his face a strange mixture of pleasantness 
and resolve. "You aren't to determine who can breathe and who can't," he 
said in a subdued voice, then bowed. "But I am truly grateful to you for 
keeping my sword safe."

     "What's with you and not killing?" Yusuke muttered, flicking a 
stone around the floor of the cavern. "Sometimes people deserve it."

     "Perhaps, but that doesn't mean that wanton killing-- which is what
you were doing-- should go on. I've killed far too many over the years,
and I'm not going to let the weak be destroyed by the strong, which you 
most certainly are," Kenshin said, sighing as well.  It seemed as though 
every time he ran into a powerful but arrogant fighter, as this boy 
appeared to be, he had to give this mixture of speech and lecture. <Ah 
well,> he thought.

     Yusuke, in turn, rolled his eyes. "Geez, you've got more morals 
than Kurama, but at least he knew when killing was necessary," he said, 
flashing back to when Kurama gave a certain demon named Roto the fate 
he deserved. "But enough of that." He continued, standing up. "Your 
sword is safe, so let's just get it back to Koenma so he can patch 
things up. Besides, I'm sure some friends of mine will want to take a 
look at that."

     The samurai smiled. "Yes, that would be nice.  I haven't been able 
to experience the living world in...." He took a second to calculate the 
numbers. "It's been over a hundred years. It will be nice to do that 
again... by the way, what did you say your name was?"

     "Urameshi. Urameshi Yusuke." Was the reply of Yusuke, who was 
already beginning to exit the cave. "And you're... Kenshin, right?"

     "Yes," Kenshin said, following the young man out the cave entrance. 
The two made their way out of the cave in near silence, as both felt 
awkward dealing with one who was so different than them, and each had 
different thoughts running through their mind. Yusuke was looking 
forward to getting home and playing some video games with Kuwabara, who
was probably studying for some crappy test right now, and Kenshin was 
wondering what this all meant, seeing that his peace had been 
undisturbed for a considerable amount of time now.

     The short exit from the cave was soon completed, and Yusuke watched 
as Kenshin gazed at the sky in wonder. "Oh, this is pure beauty," he 
said, sticking his sword back in his sheath and bending down.  He 
examined a blade of grass swaying to the wind and almost began crying. 
"We see these lovely pieces of nature all the time in the spirit world, 
but that doesn't compare to the majesty of seeing them as they truly
are."  Kenshin's eye caught a raccoon scurrying up a tree. "Oh, I bet 
Kaoru would like that... no, that's not nice." He grinned to himself.

     Yusuke, who had arched an eyebrow watching Kenshin's spectacle, 
still glanced up to the sky to look at it as well. "Yeah, it's a pretty 
nice night," he said.  When he looked down he saw Kenshin standing back 
up and grinning stupidly, ear to ear. "It's a shame that I won't be in 
this form for too long. Once the situation is cleared of danger, I'll be
able to inhabit the sword again for perhaps another century.  I'd do 
anything to see my friends and family back on Earth for a day."

     Yusuke couldn't resist a little laugh. "Hey, you never know. I've 
died twice and was able to return to life both times. Maybe you'll get 
lucky too, Kenshin."

     The samurai was taken aback. "Oro?  How did that happen?" He asked.

     "It was pretty crazy, actually.  You see...." Yusuke's long-winded 
story was interrupted by the sound of something flashing past them in 
the wind. After making a few laps around the cave, it stopped right in
front of Yusuke and Kenshin. Though Kenshin was greatly surprised at 
what it was, Yusuke didn't break a sweat.  It was just a familiar 
blue-haired, pink-robed girl flying an oar... nothing special or weird 
about that.

     "Yusuke, we've got trouble!" The girl wailed.

     "What?  What's the big deal, Botan?  I got the sword, it's safe and 
the owner's safe too. Oh, by the way... Kenshin, Botan. Botan, Kenshin." 
Yusuke hurried through the introductions.

     Kenshin bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, my lady. But what, pray 
tell, is the trouble? Is it about my being out of the sword?"

     Botan shook her head. "Right now that's the least of our worries! 
Both of you, grab onto my oar. I'll take you to the spirit world and
Koenma will explain everything to you. Kuwabara's already there."

     The last part surprised Yusuke.  Usually Koenma was content to send 
just one of his four most trusted soldiers out to right some wrong, but 
if he was gathering more than one, than something really was going on. 
He turned to Kenshin. "Come on, let's go," he said, maintaining his 
nonchalant attitude. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll get this
over with."

     "Very well." Kenshin nodded.  The two climbed on the oar behind 
Botan, and the guide girl instantly soared into the air, away from 
anyone's sight.




***




     "Why the hell did you have to go and run away like that?!?" Iehog 
grumbled loudly to his big brother, already transformed in his normal 
mode. All the other surviving members of their trooped had their heads 
bowed, apparently humbled and humiliated from their latest exploits... 
that, or they were fully feeling the side-effects of Iehog's body 
fusion technique... which was total exhaustion.

     "Silence, you fool! You yourself was so eager to run away like the
multi-legged bug that you really are!" Iehik rejoined, brooding heavily.

     "It was those cowardly excuses for demons fused in my body that
ran! I never run from a fight!" Iehog proudly said.

     "That's why I call you stupid," was Iehik's witty comeback. "You 
don't know the better part of valor." Seeing the blank look on his 
younger brother's face, Iehik sighed. "You saw how powerful that young 
ningen was... we were outmatched hands-down... of course we had to 
escape."

     "So that's the deal?! We waste ten years of our lives so we'll just
run away at the first sign of trouble? With all due respect, big 
brother... that's fucked up!!!"

     "Stop SHOUTING!" Iehik screamed loud enough to wake most of their
exhausted troops. Willing himself to calm down enough to make the veins 
in his head shrink in size, the elder demon replied in a more relaxed
manner.

     "There's no need to worry... I have connections. Apparently, there 
are people... powerful people... who actually want lower class demons 
like us to corrupt the Demon's Sword. Besides... I've already 
researched thoroughly about the artifact... everything is going to be 
alright."

     Iehog still looked dubiously at his brother. "Really? Are you 
completely sure?"

     Iehik chuckled. "Don't worry, Iehog. I have a plan."

     The rest of their demon companions groaned upon hearing the 
familiar slogan of their supposed leader.
       



***




     "Ah, Yusuke... yosh! You've made it! And you've brought the sword 
and its guardian too. That's nice." Koenma said amicably as he greeted 
the spirit detective and his red-haired companion. "This is the perfect 
time for us to attain the abilities of the Demon's Sword."

     Yusuke skeptically looked at Koenma as he cleaned his ear with his
pinky. "What the heck is this all about, Koenma? I thought this was just
a clean-cut, artifact-gathering type of mission... nothing more to it. 
You certainly didn't say anything about..." Yusuke paused for a while as 
he thumbed towards Kenshin's direction, "him."

     "Ah, of course. I understand," Koenma said soothingly under the 
palpable atmosphere of a threat derived from Yusuke's rather... 
excitable demeanor. "Well, actually, the sword was supposed to be kept 
sealed and some such for centuries to come because of its direct effect 
on demons... it's...."

     Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah... it's bad for it to go 
to the wrong hands, blah blah blah, the entirety of the human world will 
be in peril, yackity-smackety-smack. Fuck that, Koenma... what's the 
real deal behind the sword without the Spirit World red tape?"

     "Anooo... sumimasen...." Kenshin politely started, finally getting
the attention of both demon descendant and the Son of the Lord of the 
Dead. "I _was_ sort of wondering why I am still in a physical form." He 
gestured toward the sword. "This is my 'true' form now... how did I get 
_this_ semi-flesh and blood type of form... my form when I was still 
alive?"

     Koenma helplessly shrugged. "I suppose the reason why you were 
summoned again was because of the incredible amount of reiki Yusuke 
could handle... his almost unlimited potential and spiritual ability 
reacted to the sword in a different way to the way it reacts to 
low-level youki or even higher-echelon demons." 

     Feeling the intensity of Yusuke's 'what the fuck?' gaze, Koenma 
continued, stating, "I suppose you could consider Himura-san's 
manifestation in reaction to your reiki to... well... you and Puu's 
spiritual connection. To put it in even simpler terms... whilst you 
still remain near the Demon Sword, Yusuke, Himura-san will remain in the
physical realm. Understand?" 

     Yusuke rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, whatever... 
say, were's Kuwabara?"

     Koenma didn't seem to hear Yusuke as he commented, "Come to think
of it, reiki is supposedly the power emanating from the human soul 
itself... while youki is mostly a destructive power, I daresay that 
reiki is more of a power emanating from life and creation... thus 
Himura-san's present... er... physical manifestation of sorts.
Furthermore...."

     "HEY! Are you even listening to me?!?" Yusuke screamed at Koenma, 
absently swinging Kenshin's sword...

     "ORO!?!" ...while Kenshin was still wearing it. "W-wait a minute de
gozaru yo! Calm down, please!" The spirit dislodged himself from his 
precarious position, unwillingly relinquishing hold of his precious 
weapon to a rather excitable young man. 

     Yusuke made a face. "Man, I don't want to lug this sword around! 
It's just not my style. Why not let Kuwabara and Hiei handle it? I'm not 
used to walking around with a lame ass sword." He flung the weapon away 
carelessly, much to everyone else's surprise.

     "Yusuke, you moron!" Koenma practically screamed, his pacifier 
nearly falling on the ground. "What do you think you're doing?!"

     Kenshin nimbly caught the demon sword from Yusuke's unceremonious 
toss, a pathetic look on his face. "Mou! That's not a very nice thing to 
say and do. This unworthy one is rather fond of this sword... sessha has 
been for more than a hundred years."

     Yusuke shrugged. "Nothing personal, I guess... it's not just my 
style of fighting, Besides, I'm sure Kuwabara will actually look forward 
to having a real swordsman teach some neat tricks with that sword of 
yours."

     "No, that's out of the question!" Koenma suddenly exclaimed, glad 
that he was finally able to get into the conversation. "The effects of 
the demon sword on high-level humans and demons are still mostly unknown. 
There has been recorded facts of low-level demons getting high-level 
powers... we could only _imagine_ what that sword could do in the hands 
of the likes of you."

     Yusuke merely harrumphed in reply while Kenshin rubbed the back of 
his head sheepishly.

     "So, for the time being you'll be under observation, Yusuke... or
rather the effects you have over the sword will be under observation... 
and that's an order," Koenma continued.   

     "Feh. There you go again, bitchin' me about missions and shit. I 
don't even want to go through such bitchin' with my mom," the teenaged 
boy sulkily said, but no other contentions nor disputations were heard 
from him.

     Kenshin humbly bowed at Yusuke. "This unworthy one is honored to be
of help to you... sessha never realized you were actually a Reikai 
Tantei. Sessha is certain that our time spent together will be--"
 
     "Save it, scrub," Yusuke offhandedly said. "Let me make this 
clear... I hate going about things half-baked and half-heartedly, so 
none of that moral high ground shit and just because you don't have the 
guts nor ability to protect yourself" 

     Kenshin merely blinked. "I see, de gozaru."

     Yusuke patted the smaller man's head patronizingly. "Not that it's 
your fault or anything, wimpy... I'm just saying that you shouldn't get 
in my way. If a guy has to die for somebody to live, that's just that. 
Got it?"

     "This lowly one understands, de gozaru," Kenshin said, nodding. 
"But I will still protect who I have to protect."

     "Feh," Yusuke scoffed. "For someone so wimpy, you sure are 
pigheaded." He smirked. "But I guess you're kind of cool that way."

     "So everything is set? Good." Koenma said, nodding to himself in a 
self-congratulatory manner. "Yusuke, take care of the sword... I'm sure 
you and Himura-san will get along fine." Almost as if it was an 
afterthought, the Son of the Lord of the Dead idly commented, "Oh, by 
the way... Botan'll now get you to your next mission as soon as 
possible. It's quite simple enough... capture an escaped demon of sorts. 
Kuwabara's already on it. Go."

     "...." Kenshin and Yusuke both chorused.

     "Hey, wait a minute!? So that's why Kuwabara isn't here? Why the 
hell didn't you tell us earlier?" Yusuke ranted, seething.

     Koenma shifted from his seat uncomfortably. "Well, right now it's 
more important for you to take care of the sword than capturing a 
low-level demon. Besides, like I've said, Kuwabara's already on it. I'm 
sure he's handling it quite fine... there's no need to worry."




***




     Kazuma Kuwabara unceremoniously fell on his posterior for the 
umpteenth time against the myriad of afterimages of his opponent. "Damn 
you, you motherfuckin' bastard!"

     A deep, booming laugh answered the curly-haired teenager's 
despairing curses. "It's about time that I've had some payback from that 
Reikai Tantei Urameshi Yusuke...." He brushed up his thick, red mane
hanging over his forehead, revealing a whitened face decorated with 
various blue tattoes. "It's about time Randou got his due."

     Kuwabara grunted as he climbed to his feet.  It seemed odd that the 
bastard Randou had grown stronger, particularly since he had spent a few 
years behind whatever Koenma's version of prison was.  He wiped his left 
hand across his lip. Yup, he noticed, a little blood was trickling down 
his arm. Kazuma wasn't worried at the sight of the red liquid, being
more annoyed than anxious really as he glared at the demon.

     "You got your due a long time ago, bastard." Kuwabara muttered.  
"What makes you think you can beat me this time?" Instantly a yellow rod 
of gleaming energy formed in his right fist. "I can control my powers 
ten times better than when we last fought!  Not only that, I defeated 
one of the Toguro brothers!"

     Randou only laughed. "Yes, I heard of your exploits in the Ankoku 
Bujutsukai. Impressive, I must admit. But...." he said the last word as 
he rose in the air, above the thick trees that populated the park outside 
of town they were in. "You still cannot defeat me." A flash of glowing 
red light suddenly appeared and encased his somewhat small body. Soon 
Randou was completely absorbed in an orb of blood red energy. "How many 
of my techniques did you see that day?  Two?  Three? I've got ninety-six
more to show you."

     Kuwabara bared his teeth. "Bring it on, bastard!" He charged
through some shrubs, sword outstretched like a knight on horseback would 
carry a lance.  When he was within striking distance, he rocketed the 
spirit sword to twice its length.  As it made contact with the energy 
surrounding Randou, however, it instantly dissipated.

     "Wha..." Kuwabara gasped. Randou laughed again. "You're even 
more pathetic than before!" He roared, diving down and planting a huge 
kick on Kuwabara's face. That, combined with the searing pain of the red 
energy the young man came into contact with, catapulted him fifteen feet 
backwards, stopped only by a huge rock to catch him.

     "Can't you realize..." Randou began, patiently waiting for Kuwabara 
to climb to his feet, "that Urameshi beat me only by stupid luck?  It 
was a fluke, plain and simple.  But you won't be so lucky." He grinned. 
As he spoke, the orb of energy began shrinking dramatically.  By the 
time his opponent had climbed to his feet, the red light was the size of
a basketball, hovering above Randou's hand.

     "I shouldn't be surprised that you survived that attack," Randou 
said.  "However, you'll never survive my Blood Fire Wave!" He shouted. 
As he said the last three words, the ball of energy burst into a 
thousand beams of destructive power, all aimed at Kuwabara. The attack 
lasted a few seconds, and when the smoke that formed had cleared, Randou 
could make out the embers of a few fires that had consequently started.

     The demon turned around, content with his revenge. "Pity. I expected 
more of a fight...."

     "And you're getting one, you fuck!" Kuwabara screamed from above.
Randou turned back around to see Kuwabara waiting atop the long branch 
of a tall tree nearby, with a fifteen-foot tall spirit sword next to 
him. Randou narrowed his eyes, seething with anger.  The boy had used 
his sword as a pole vault to avoid the attack. Before Randou could 
respond with a dodge, Kuwabara had leapt from the tree and dealt his own
roundhouse kick to the head of Randou, causing the demon to fly 
backwards a few feet, stopping when he grabbed onto another tree to 
lessen the damage of the crash.

Randou got up, breathing heavily.  There was a huge gash on his cheek, 
and blood was flowing freely. <How could a human kick do this much 
damage to me,> he thought incredulously. <Either I truly have been 
weakened as a result of prison, or....> Randou eyed the human. <Maybe he 
truly has gotten stronger,> he grudgingly thought. <No matter, I can 
still win easily.>

     Wiping his nose, Randou stood up. <Very good, ningen. But now,> he 
moved into his attack stance, "...The real fight begins."

     Kuwabara followed by bowing into his own fighting stance. "Bring it 
on, bastard."




***




     Yusuke yawned. "Well, if Kuwabara's on the scene then there's no 
point of me being here. So if you'll excuse me..." He glared at Kenshin 
and Koenma. "I'll be heading home."  He looked up before Koenma could 
give any resistance. "Botan!" he called.

     Within an instant Botan appeared on her oar, grinning from ear to 
ear. "Yes, Yusuke?  Did I miss anything important?"

     "No, I just want you to take me back to the Human World. Keiko 
wants me to see a movie with her, and I'm already late."  Yusuke 
groaned.

     "Movie?" Kenshin queried curiously. "Sessha has heard a couple of 
things about these 'movies' in the spirit world, here and there. What 
exactly are they, pardon my asking?"

     Yusuke, not in the mood for a lesson in modern technology, just 
shrugged. "Think a play, but not live and recorded electronically so 
that you can watch it over and over again."

     Kenshin was still confused, but nodded dumbly.  

     Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Figures. Botan, just take me home."  He 
was met with a whack to his head from Botan's oar. He glared at her 
angrily. "Hey! What was that for!?"

     "You could be a little more polite when people ask you things like 
that!" the ferry-girl lectured, fuming. "And anyway, I've got a couple 
of things to take care of first. You're free to follow me until then.  
It'll take only a minute."

     Koenma shook his head. "W-wait a minute...!"

     Botan winked at him. "Don't worry, Koenma. We'll be right back."

     With that the two exited through the doorway.  Kenshin grinned at
the ruler of the afterlife. "It appears that you've got a quite a 
handful with that Yusuke, Koenma-dono, if you don't mind my saying so."

     Koenma sighed. "You don't know the half of it." He climbed onto his 
desk, still not at eye contact with the short spirit. "But tell me,  
Himura-san, why did you put up with Yusuke there?  He was being very
rude."

     Kenshin cocked his head. "Oro? I don't fully understand what you 
mean, Koenma-dono," the red-haired phantom admitted, scratching at his 
nose.

     "I mean that you know I saw you in the Bakamatsu, slaying dozens of 
men at a time.  If you just worked at your ki a bit, you could probably 
beat Yusuke, or at least put up a hell of a fight." Koenma rolled his 
eyes. "He certainly shouldn't be patting you on the head or anything 
stupid like that."

     The former rurouni laughed. "Pardon my saying, but you seem to
forget, Koenma-dono, that I saw countless others like him when I was 
alive. Young, powerful, energetic, always seeking to understand their 
world by showing off their power.  It truly doesn't bother me-- if 
doing so makes them feel better, then so be it."

     The baby-faced spirit sighed again. "I suppose you're right. 
Still, it wouldn't hurt to give Yusuke a little humility."

     "I think we should shift to more important matters." Kenshin said,
his face turning serious and glancing around quickly to see if anyone 
was listening. "Koenma-dono, you know as well as I do that it's very 
rare for some random small demons to suddenly appear and be after my 
sword."

     Koenma's shoulders fell as he nodded. "Yes, yes, I've been thinking 
about that all day.  It'd be understandable if a high-level demon or 
human had gotten wind of your sword and tracked it down, but some 
nothing demons...." He thought for a second. "No, it just doesn't add 
up."

     Kenshin nodded. "Pardon my saying, but I fear that someone might 
have heard about the power of my sword and sent those weak demons to 
test its strength. You said yourself that it can amplify power 
tremendously."

     "Yes..." Koenma looked up at the samurai, his eyes wide with worry. 
"Himura-san, it appears as though you'll have to take up your sword 
again. Something is clearly at work here.  Something powerful."

     Kenshin kneeled to the ruler of the afterlife. "I would be glad to,
Koenma-dono... sessha will do anything to protect the innocent souls 
within this realm." 

     Koenma smiled. "Of course. It'd be for the best... and you're not
exactly alone anymore. I understand that guarding a demonic sword can be
lonely work--" Koenma's sentence was interrupted by the swinging open of
the door and a nearly naked blue demon charging in, waving a piece of 
paper.

     "Koenma-sama!  Koenma-sama!" he shouted, nearly hitting Kenshin 
with the horn on his forehead as he ran past him.

     "What? What is it, Jorge?" Koenma growled. "I'm busy here!"

     "This...This note..." Jorge pointed at the piece of paper, slightly 
out of breath. "It has the information you requested. It's from Kurama!"




***



 
To be Continued...


Next: The battle of the demons, Kurama's information
and the true nature of the Demon's Sword.

Ah... yes. My first cooperative, round-robin fanfic. ^-^ Feels
good to get back to writing after such a long sabbatical due to
college life and stuff. 

Many thanks go to my co-author Danyal Herder for writing half of 
the stuff here in the first chapter of Youto Shinnoken and for
the "Yahiko's Sakabatou" manga forwards. Much coolness, dude... 
much coolness. 

I dedicate this fic to the original author... SeventhOne, this 
concept rocks. ^-^ 

Disclaimer: All characters used in this fanfic (save some others) 
are the rightful property of Yoshishiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV,
St. Pierrot, Nobuhiro Watsuki and Sony. Don't sue me please, 
I'm very poor.

Ja ne!
C. Casta�eda


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