A/N: Wow, that took awhile to update.  Sorry for the delay, I pretty much work full time now and don't have much time to do anything else. What to say about this chapter...hmmm, well it has a pretty major development, there's some more character development, and I wrote it at work during a slow day.  I'm such a rebel.  Enjoy.

Chapter 12 – The Good Side of Evil

"I don't think she's getting any better."

"Of course she is. Her fever broke, didn't it?"

"Yeah but look at her. She's pale, she's cold, and she looks dead."

"From what I gather, she was dead already, wasn't she?  She's not really human.  So how do we know she's getting worse?"

Kagome was getting very frustrated.  "If we don't do something soon, she really will die."
"How can a dead person die again?"

She clenched her fist.  "She's not dead dead, she's just not human.

She's a spiritual being, right?  How else can you describe her?"

"Just stop worrying. She'll be fine."

"How can I not worry?  It's been almost two days and those two haven't come back.  What if something happened to them, too?"

Inuyasha sighed.  "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

Without waiting for a reply, he picked the unconscious girl up and hoisted her onto his back. Botan made a small noise of displeasure but was otherwise still. "Grab your stuff and let's get going."

At Kagome's confused look he continued, "We're going to find them. You’re driving me insane and I'm pretty tired of waiting on them too, so let's go."

Kagome smiled but then frowned. "I'm not sure it's ok to move her."

"It doesn't matter, I'm not waiting anymore."

She sighed, but had to admit she was glad to be taking some action. She had been afraid of moving Botan, but at this point she wasn't sure she had a choice. Something had almost certainly happened to Yusuke and Hiei, and she just hoped they weren't too late.

***

"Yusuke, wake up."

At first he wasn't sure what he was hearing; all he could hear was a loud ringing in his ears. The voice seemed to break through that, but it was a quiet voice, and he didn't know if he was imagining it or not. He tried to open his eyes but it felt like they were swollen shut. His whole body felt numb for some reason, but he could feel a cold floor beneath him. His mind felt fogged; he couldn't remember what had happened.

That voice again. "Wake up."

A hand started shaking him and he finally managed to open his eyes.

Hiei was standing over him, looking annoyed.

"What's going on?" He sat up, groaning, and looked around. They were in a large, empty room with only one window and a small lamp that provided the only light. It was otherwise dark.

"Where are we?"

"You don't remember what happened?"

He rubbed his head, which had started hurting. "Not really."

"Do you remember the ogres?"

Ogres?  Did he remember?  Yes, he thought he could remember walking, on their way to find...Koenma?  And ogres came out of nowhere, attacked them. Hiei took down several with his sword. Yusuke blasted a few more. The fight had been going exceptionally well with no problems, and then all of a sudden, nothing. The next thing he knew he was waking up somewhere else, and Hiei had been caught, too.

"I'm really confused. How did we get beaten and captured by a bunch of stupid ogres?"

Hiei shrugged, not seeming to care. "Does it matter? We need to focus on getting out of here first. I'm not sure how, as this place has no doors. My sword has been taken, and I cannot transform."

"Magical barrier?"

"Possibly. See if you can fire the spirit gun."

Nodding, Yusuke tried to concentrate his spirit energy into one finger.

A strange feeling came over him, almost like nausea, but not strong enough to make the energy

dissolve. He could feel the energy, strong and vibrant, but it wouldn't focus. Sweat formed on his forehead. He began to feel like he was going to pass out, so he stopped and sat back
down, feeling drained.

"Nothing.  Dammit, this isn't good.  So what do we do now?"

"We wait. Whoever brought us here will have to eventually show up and tell us what they want."

"Or they'll show up and try to kill us."

"If they wanted to kill us, they would have done it already."

Yusuke sighed and went over to the window. All he could see was darkness, as clouds covered the moon.

"I wonder how long we've been gone," Yusuke said.

"I'm not sure. I was knocked out, as well, and I don't know for how long. I'm sure it was awhile."

Yusuke started pacing. "I hope Botan hasn't died yet.  I wonder if they

went back to the village."

"I doubt they would leave us."

"You're right. Which means they'll be looking for us."

"Indeed."

Yusuke smirked. "Dog-boy ought to be able to sniff us out. That kind of makes me feel better, but not by much. And I'm hungry."

Hiei said nothing, apparently not wanting to talk anymore. The fire demon relaxed against a wall, his eyes closed. Yusuke was bored, and he had such great company.

Might as well relax too, he thought. Not a thing I can do at this point. Still it drives me insane. I wonder how the others are doing...Kurama and Kuwabara. I hope Kuwabara hasn't done anything stupid. And that Kurama...I still want to beat his ass.  He's never done anything like that before. Neither has Koenma...makes me wonder why the hell he even asked me to go back to being a spirit detective if he doesn't even trust me.

Yusuke shook his head, trying to brush away the negative thoughts.  He hated the feeling he got when he thought of how Koenma and Kurama had hidden things from him and virtually trapped him in this place.  He hated thinking that it wasn't even worth it for him to be there...and if he made it through this unsettling case, he was going to quit.  He didn't want to.  Being a spirit detective had been his life before the ordeal with Sensui, and then the battle in the demonic world. That whole mess was behind him after he'd finally decided to come back to the human world. He thought the others had come to trust him.

But now with the whole 'sacred jewel' thing, it was like they were afraid he was going to go nuts and kill them all. He didn't know if it was really that bad, but they didn't trust him. And the most disturbing thought was that they had a reason.

 I know how to control my demon side now.  I won't go crazy.  I won't.  I've only really gone crazy once, and it saved our asses didn't it?  So what's the big deal?

The big deal was that he was scared. 

He'd never admit it in a million years, but this world was like a bomb about to go off.  And he was feeling the flame get closer and closer.

***

"Ugh, this is terrible!" Kagome exclaimed, covering her nose. "The smell!"

"How do you think I feel?" Inuyasha replied, looking ill.  "I think I can pick up their scent, but its faint. The dead ogre smell sort of prevails."

"You're telling me.  Looks like they got into a fight. So we're on the right track."

Inuyasha nodded and took another step forward...and suddenly stopped.

"Wait," he said.

Kagome stopped short. "What is it?"

He sniffed the air and made a low, growling noise in his throat.

Kagome felt her heart pound. Something was wrong.

"I smell something," he replied. "It doesn't smell right.  It smells...old. Ancient. Almost without scent, but it's there, like a presence that doesn't belong."

"What could it be?"

"I don't know. But whatever it was, I think it may have taken Yusuke and Hiei."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because their scent stops here."

***

Yusuke didn't know how long he'd been dozing, but he awoke with a start, not really sure what had disturbed him.  At first he thought they might be under attack again, but once he came to his senses, he realized they were alone still.  But something was different...and then he saw why.

There was a door to their room, and it was open.

He was immediately on his feet when he noticed Hiei was still asleep.

He nudged the fire demon slowly, not wanting to alarm him, but Hiei slept on.  Annoyed, Yusuke shook his shoulder.  Still nothing.

"Hiei, wake up!" he called.  "Wake up, dammit, there's a door."

Hiei's head nodded, and he snorted. Actually snorted.

Yusuke blinked and stood there for a moment. His teeth bit into his lip so hard, he was sure he was drawing blood. He bolted for the door, stood outside it and busted into a fit of laughter.

"Oh man that was priceless," he said to no one in particular.  "I can't go back in there without laughing more."

Yusuke then realized he was standing in the middle of a dimly lit hallway with several burning torches. He looked back and forth, half-expecting to see something leap at him from the shadows.  Nothing did, of course, and he began to walk.  Hiei could just continue to sleep; he'd be back to get him later.

An unknown amount of time later, he decided that he was lost.  The place was a maze.  He had run into several dead ends and dark hallways, which he wasn't even going to bother going down because he couldn't see at all.  He sighed and leaned up against a wall, thinking that now he wouldn't even be able to get back to Hiei.

While he was sitting and thinking, the torches went out.  His eyes went wide, and his heart began to race.

This wasn't just ordinary darkness.  This was advanced darkness.

He was afraid to move at first, and then chided himself for being such a baby.  If there were anything or anyone else, they wouldn't be able to see, either.  So he started moving again, not really knowing what he was looking for.

And then his eye caught sight of something disappearing around a corner. He thought it was a light.  Naturally, he began following it, first at a hesitant walk, and then he started running, never really seeming to be able to keep up with it. And then he saw it...a person shrouded in a dark cloak, carrying a lighted candle.  He almost shouted to him...or her...but something made him think again. 

He continued following the stranger as he or she led him through the series of mazes.  He wondered if he was being toyed with, as a cat toys with her prey.  It sort of had that feel to it...that he was being led straight into a waiting pair of jaws filled with gleaming white teeth.

Finally the person disappeared into a room. Naturally, he followed, that feeling of dread growing stronger.  He knew he should listen to his gut instincts, which were screaming at him at this point not to go into that room. But he didn't think he really had a choice.

Indeed, as soon as he entered the room, the door melted away behind him and he felt his hands and feet suddenly bound with unseen material.  He struggled, inwardly and outwardly cursing himself and whoever was doing this. The person in question was standing across from him in another dark room lit only by the small candle still in hand. 

Yusuke, still struggling, said, "Who are you?"

There was no reply, but Yusuke could see part of his face...and the small smile on his lips.

"I would ask the same of you," came the reply at last.  "Or rather...what are you?"

Yusuke stopped struggling and contemplated quickly the implications of that question. 

"Well, if you have to ask that question, I would say you already know," Yusuke said.  "Is that why you had us attacked?  Who are you?"

"I tell my name to no one, especially not demons.  Not even half-demons."  There was a bitter edge in the soft, silken voice.  It was a male, but sounded like a young male, a teenager not much older than Yusuke.

"Ok, so tell me why you bothered bringing us here rather than just killing us?"

That smile again, this time accompanied by a small chuckle.  "You demons fascinate me.  So powerful yet so easily overtaken.  Those ogres didn't stand a chance, and without them as a distraction I never could have captured you."

Yusuke felt ill.  Did this guy have more demons tied up somewhere?  His own personal torture chamber? He sounded like a sick freak.

"Um, listen, I'm sure we are very fascinating, however, I need to be going now."

A sinister laugh. "Why should I let you go when doing that would be the same as killing those innocent people?"

Yusuke felt something resembling rage build up inside of him as he remembered the black tape of human travesties and sins.  He remembered Sensui's own pain and rage against the human race, to which he had belonged.  Yusuke, who did not belong to either race, at times felt pity and anger towards both.

"Humans are no more innocent than demons...demons just tend to show their evil side a bit more.  Why do you think these are times of war?  There are men who would stop at nothing for a demon's power simply because there are innocent people he could control.  Singling out one race against another is just ignorance.”

There was a pause before the stranger replied, “That’s interesting logic coming from a half-breed killer.”

“I’m no killer,” Yusuke said, gritting his teeth.  He tried not to remember standing over Sensui with a clenched fist, the horrible realization of what he’d done washing over him in a torrent.

“Your eyes say something else.  Which is it?  Are you a killer or are you a ‘good’ demon?”

Yusuke felt his face heat up in anger and he began to yell, “I’m just me, dammit!  I’m Yusuke Urameshi. I’m 18 years old!  I’m a high school dropout!  I work for the spirit world!  I get treated like shit by people I thought were my friends!  I – “

“What did you say?”

Yusuke’s eyes were flashing.  “What did I say?  I said I’m Yusuke Urameshi – “

“No, about working for the spirit world.  What did you mean by that?”

Yusuke fell silent.  The spirit world…that’s right, it doesn’t exist in this era.  What do I say now?

“I mean what I said.  I work for the spirit world and its rulers. Or, what it was.  Or will be.  I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.  I doubt you’d believe me if I told you, anyway.” 

There was silence now from the mysterious stranger as he still stood shrouded in the cloak and only a candle for light.  Yusuke watched him, wondering what was going on.

“The spirit world would never employ the help of demons.  Never.” The stranger’s voice was now laced with extreme hatred.

“Well it did.  ‘Course, they didn’t know I was a demon at the time.”

“Silence!” the stranger bellowed.  “I can’t believe the spirit world would ever employ the help of a demon, even a half-demon, and besides, the spirit world is destroyed!”

“I know it’s destroyed.  It was destroyed years ago.  Centuries ago.”  Yusuke really didn’t want to play history lesson at the moment.  “It is destroyed, but it’s still there.  One day it will be restored.  Right now what’s going on is the demon world is overrunning the human world, and I was sent here by the spirit world to restore the Shikon jewel to de…I mean, help fix the problem.”

There was another pause of silence. “Everyone knows of the jewel.  Any demon knows of the jewel, and all demons want it to magnify their power.”

“But I don’t,” Yusuke replied.  “Look, I’m sick of talking to you.  Why don’t you just let me and my friend go?  And why didn’t you bring him in here too for a nice chat session?”

“Because he did not intrigue me as much as you do,” the stranger replied.  “Somehow…I feel inclined to believe you, even though I shouldn’t.  I’m not sure how you can prove that you work for the spirit world…except that you would have to know your employer.”

Finally the stranger removed the hood of the cloak, revealing his face.  Yusuke’s eyes widened.

Brown hair, thin lips, and pale face…as well as hard, unyielding golden eyes. 

“Koenma…”

*********

Pretty predictable, but hey, at least they finally found Koenma.  No I will not tell you who the pairings are.  There will be pairings but we're not even close to being there yet, people.  Sit back, relax, and go read some PWP on Adultfanfiction.net.  You'll feel better.