My blue rose: I can't believe it's been one and a half years since I updated this. At this rate the story will be complete sometime after my fortieth birthday! I went back through the chapters and added some stuff and tried to fix my verb tense switching problems. So I suggest you all go back and reread the story… or not, as the changes I made don't really affect the central plot at all.

Here's to hoping my next update won't take so long!

Chapter 11: In Which We Finally Find Out Who the Bad Guy Is

Drawing youki into my limbs to increase my speed I sprinted as fast as I possibly could, following the train tracks that led to Mushiyori city. Any human who happened to glimpse me would only see a brown red blur for a microsecond. It would take me two minuets to get to the city at this speed. Another minute to reach the city outskirts and find the cave.

Then I would have to search for him. The cave system was large, and although Koenma had the entrance sealed up after the incident with Sensui, there was still a labyrinth of tunnels and passageways to search. None of which I remembered. It would take hours. Hours my little brother didn't have.

I was moving so fast that I skidded thirty meters when I attempted to stop before the cave. The entrance is, just as expected, covered with large rocks and tightly packed soil. I am even able to detect a faint barrier that Koenma must have put up to prevent humans from wanting to clear the entryway.

I have grown far stronger than I was when we fought Sensui. I am stronger now than I ever had been as Youko Kurama. If I do thid right I will not need hours of searching. I press my hand against the rough stone, concentrating. I should be able to sense him through the debris.

Nothing. Nothing but the faint tingling of Koenma's barrier. Damn It!

I punched the rock and it shattered into a thousand little pieces. I realize I am breathing heavy and my hands are trembling. I need to slow down. I draw a deep breath and let it out slowly. I am not thinking straight. I sit down and continue breathing slowly and deeply.

Youko Kurama's rule number three: Logic is panic's prey.

How would I normally go about this? I can not sense anything. Nevertheless, that does not necessarily mean he is not there. He could be too far out of range for me to detect. He could be too weak for me to detect. The "Tree of Wicked Thoughts" might have reduced his power so much by now that he is little more than a regenerating husk. Or he might not be here at all.

Good. Now how would I go about ascertaining which one of my hypothesis' are correct? I could search the caves but, even at full speed that would take time, more time than I am willing to spend. I could get help, Kaito Yu, Kido Asato and Yanagisawa Mitsunari all live in Mushiyori city and are familiar with the cave. However, they can not use their powers for speed and even to get them all here would take hours. Hours in which I would not be searching.

Youko Kurama's rule number four: Fight smarter not harder.

Smiling, I stand up. I can not believe I did not think of this before! Perhaps my life has become too mundane lately. I have almost forgotten who I am. When manpower fails, there is always plant power. Reaching into the earth with my youki I call on every tree seed and bush in the area to grow and sprout.

Then, with an exhilarating thrust of energy send every vine, branch and stem into the cave. I can feel them pierce through the solid rock and into the hollow cavity. Tree limbs, larger around than I am, fill the hundreds of tunnels mortared with delicate shoots the size of my hair.

Now I know every centimeter of miles of cave, below, above and all around me. I can feel it in my mind. And I feel that it is completely and utterly empty. So… the elder Touguro escaped, and has kidnapped my brother in an attempt at revenge. He must have had help. He could not have escaped from the "Tree of Wicked Thoughts" by himself.

I can feel the smile on my face and I know that if anyone could see it, it would look feral. More suited to Youko Kurama than Minamino Shuichi. Well, I seems as if the elder Touguro does not know about Youko Kurama's rule number one: Never underestimate your opponent. I imagine he will dearly regret not knowing about Youko Kurama's rule number two:

Revenge is best served tenfold.