I do not own the characters that I choose to use in this fan fiction…

Hiei stood on the grass of the lawn where he and the rest of his team were currently facing off against an S class demon. Botan had sought them out, screaming about some monstrous apparition attacking Genkai's shrine that they either had to neutralize, or terminate. The fire demon licked his lips in expectation. Personally, he hoped for the latter. He was tired of being nice to the scum who kept waltzing over the border seeking out a fight with the mazoku, but this time it was a powerful demon that would prove to be a good challenge. That, and the fact this abhorrence was attacking his twin sister's home, were good enough reasons in his book to have a little fun and go a little overboard with this particular demon. Slowly drawing his sword, the small jaganshi began to flip it around, tossing it into the air and catching it with ease. With every twist, the smirk on the demon's face grew wider, until finally, he caught the grip, and pounced forward.

Yusuke turned just in time to see Hiei lunging toward their new playmate, and immediately shot a small blast from his spirit gun in hopes of distracting the creature long enough for Hiei to get in a solid cut. The plan almost worked, but this demon had other capabilities besides brute strength. Sweeping up his right arm, the enemy demon called the moisture out of the grass around him creating two large shields of ice on either side, protecting him from both spirit gun, and sword. The fire apparition landed on the shield, and quickly leapt up into the air. Curling his fist down in front of him, he collected his fiery energy, and began throwing balls of flame down at their adversary.

Kurama stood below, his green eyes shut in concentration, summoning all the plants in the field to come to his aid while Kuwabara stood by, prepared to defend the fox should an attack come their way. Then, eyes opening with an emerald flash, Kurama shot forth vines and creepers of every size towards the unprotected feet of their foe. The S class demon shook under the attacks coming from the three surrounding him, but he was not done yet. He didn't come to defeat them, only to send a message. Kneeling, the large apparition stuck both shields into the ground, creating a temporary barricade for himself. Folding his hands together except for his index fingers which he placed in front of his face, the demon began to seek out the pathway to the minds of his enemies. Once established, the creature gave a wicked smirk, and then screamed out loud, pouring every ounce of demon energy into the links he had forged with their minds.

All four boys crumpled onto the ground in pain, each clutching their aching skulls. The girls screamed from the doorway of the shrine, each calling out the name of the team member they cared about most. Hiei unwillingly found himself listening to their shouts, unconsciously hoping for someone to check on him.

"Yusuke!" was Keiko's cry.

"Kurama!" was Botan's.

"Kazuma!" ugh… why Yukina insisted on caring about the stupid oaf was beyond him.

Even through the fog of pain, Hiei felt his mouth twist into a wry smile as he noted that no one had called his name. But what was he to expect? He had no one to love him as family, or otherwise. Who would call out for something like him? His whole body trembling with effort, the fire demon slowly made it to his feet, sword in unsteady hands and dragging along the ground, Hiei approached the demon. The water apparition gave the small jaganshi a smile of amusement, and merely laid the demon out on the lawn with one brutal punch.

"HIEI!" all three girls screamed.

'Oh sure…" he thought ruefully. 'Now they say something.'

He skidded along the grass, his head still splitting from pain, and his sword flew out from beyond his reach. Opening his eyes, Hiei once again tried to rise to his feet, but whatever mental whammy that this water demon was doing to them, was sapping him of his strength. Fire and water never mix, and that especially goes for their energies. If Hiei got caught by one solid hit he would be weakened, but in this case, if the apparition was able to hold him with his demon energy without allowing him access to escape, then his ki was no better than a candle in a bathtub. 'Well' the fire apparition amended quickly 'maybe it's more, no better than a bonfire in a rainstorm, that one works better.'

Hiei shook his head at that last thought. The girls, especially Yukina, were in danger, and he was changing his thoughts to better suit his ego? 'I've been hanging around Yusuke too long.' He thought as he once again tried to gain his feet so to continue the fight, but Kuwabara had already beaten him to it, and the lumbering oaf had somehow used his psychic powers to block the whammy, and start to charge their enemy. Spirit sword raised high; the human took off screaming across the lawn, rushing towards the water user, intent to kill gleaming in his eyes. Their enemy barely had time to laugh before he swatted the psychic away, catapulting him back into the ground. Then an evil grin lit the evil apparition's face, and he began to advance on the shrine where the girls stood shaking in fear.

"No!" Yusuke growled, weak arms shoving his aching body and splitting head up.

The water user barely looked over his shoulder to increase the pressure on the four boys, causing them to once again crumple into the grass screaming. The pain causing tears to dance in the corners of his eyes, Hiei stretched out his arm, trying to reach out for his trusted blade. But his body moved far too slowly, because the demon had already reached the front steps. Raising his arms above his head, the evil apparition gathered his energy and summoned a large ax made of water chilled into ice. Muscles rippling down his arms, he brought the blade down, sending the girls scurrying in all directions. Botan and Keiko fell on the floor of the porch screaming, causing the enemy demon raise his ax again, this time in their direction.

"Leave them alone!"

All eyes turned to look at the owner of the yell, and were surprised to see Yukina. Her body and eyes glowed as she called forth her ki energy, and her hair whipped around her by an unseen wind. Raising pale delicate hands, she summoned twenty razor sharp icicles, and flung them at her attacker, but the man in question merely demolished them with his weapon, and then as time seemed to slow down, he swung his ax, and sent the young Koorime flying. Yukina hit the wooden support beams surrounding the porch, and fell to the ground. No one moved, no one breathed, and Hiei's wide red eyes could only stare in shock at her still form. As waves of blood began to run down her face from her forehead, a deep and violent anger shook the half Koorime, in a way that he had ever felt before.

The shackles that had gripped his mind in its agonizing chains were shattered as he rose to his feet. Furious ki energy flowed off him in waves as his eyes began to glow. He clenched his fists hard enough that blood soon began to drip from between his fingers. Thunder boomed, and lightening began to crackle overhead. As Hiei's enraged growls grew to vicious snarls, a powerful tornado of electricity and ki energy formed around the small jaganshi; fixing glowing gold eyes on his opponent, Hiei spat on the ground in front of him.

"How dare you!" he shouted "How dare you come here, and hurt my family!"

Throwing his head back, the fire demon let loose an outraged scream to the heavens. The energy tornado whipped harder and harder around his body, and the golden glow had grown to envelope his body. Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara stared in shock as their small friend went through his metamorphosis. The enemy merely gazed on the jaganshi, a knowing smirk decorating his face as he waited, body trembling with excitement and expectation. As quickly as it started, the glow diminished, forming to the same shape as the jaganshi until it was absorbed into his skin. The wind dyed down, revealing an astonishing change in the young demon.

Hair once jet black, now stood even higher, stained a golden blonde. His ruby red gaze was now a fiery yellow with hints of silver. His angry fists were now battle ready, with bright electricity dancing along his wrist and arms. A gold aura had replaced his usual black flames, and it crackled around him without restraint. A collective shudder rippled through all who were now watching the fire demon in his new form. The power he had at his disposal was immense to say the least, but they could tell that he held no control, and could easily destroy friends along with their enemy. But Hiei didn't acknowledge his lack of control, his mind was blank, and a red veil had fallen over his eyes. He no longer had rational thought; the only thing on his mind was killing the jerk that had hurt his twin.

With another feral snarl escaping his lips, the small demon dove forwards, and landed a solid punch of their enemy's jaw; an explosion of ki energy accompanying the sound of breaking bone. Fast as the lightening that had struck during his transformation, Hiei attacked on every side of the apparition, pummeling him with his loaded fists. Ki energy boomed and crackled as the fire demon handed out the physical representation of his intense fury.

Yusuke gaped at the change in his friend, and then a feeling of horror made his heart clench in his chest. Hiei's strange new energy was reaching out and destroying anything within a ten foot radius. A crater was slowly forming around them as they fought, and the shrine was being disintegrated with each passing minute. The former detective knew that he needed to do something quickly if they wanted to survive Hiei's explosive attacks. Scrambling to his feet, Yusuke yelled for Kurama, then dove into the dangerous circle surrounding his enraged friend. The former detective grunted with pain as he and the kitsune wrapped their arms around Hiei's small torso, peeling him off of the S class demon. Once he was detached, the jaganshi began thrashing against his two friends, trying to get his hands on the enemy.

The two teens held onto their fiery friend, until what felt like an eternity later, the glow finally began to dim, leaving Hiei trembling in their arms. He shuddered and gasped as his body convulsed, trying to grow accustomed to the extreme change between energies. He couldn't describe it. One moment he felt like he had ten times the strength of even Mukuro, and then he felt weak as a newborn child the next. Not to mention his body was going through a shocking amount of pain due to the arrival of the new energy. Hiei had no idea where it came from, but one thing was for sure, it wasn't of demon origin. And right now, after tasting the anguish of his body rejecting the power that seemed to have woken inside him, he wished for the fainting spell that usually accompanied the Darkness Flame technique.

Yusuke and Kurama laid Hiei out on the grass, the kitsune immediately checking over his agonized friend. The former detective glanced up looking for their enemy, but the crater where they had left his pummeled form was empty. Shaking his head in confusion and frustration, the black haired teen turned back to the fox, his eyes full of concern.

"What on earth just happened here Kurama?" Yusuke growled.

"I'm not sure," Kurama replied turning worried emerald eyes on his friend. "What Hiei just did should be impossible."

"What do you mean?"

The kitsune sighed, raising his arms in a helpless gesture before using them to slap his thighs in confusion. "He accessed something that felt an awful lot like human spirit energy!" Kurama exclaimed. "But at the same time, it didn't feel human at all! So to answer your question Yusuke, I have no idea what I mean, or how it happened, or even what it was that happened!"

"Oh great," Yusuke groaned. "You know we're in trouble if even you don't know how to explain it."

On the ground, the small jaganshi's body began to shake violently. Eyes wide, Kurama leaned forward to grab a hold of their friend, only to be electrocuted by the golden aura, now laced with black flame. Jumping back, the kitsune grabbed his leader by the collar and jumped them to a safe distance before a large explosion of energy shook the grounds. Hiei's back arched in pain as dark black energy shot into the air as a fiery column. His eyes were clenched shut in anguish as his mouth stretched wide with the scream now ripping itself from his throat; until finally his body lay still on the grass, with only the gold glow slowly fading around it.

"O-kaaay," Yusuke snarled, pointing an unbelieving finger towards their unconscious friend. "Can you explain THAT?!"

Kurama cast an incredulous look at the mazoku before lying back onto the grass with a groan. "I can only guess, Yusuke," he said with a voice dripping with longsuffering, "and my best guess would be that his body couldn't successfully fuse the two energies together."

"And that means what exactly?"

"It basically means," the kitsune continued tiredly, "that his body couldn't house both types of energy. There has to either be only demon energy, or only whatever energy that was. In essence it is like when you get food poisoning, it hurts you, so you expel it."

Yusuke sat back as he processed this new information. "So you're saying that Hiei just puked up all his demon energy, and now only has that whacked out stuff that turns him blonde inside his body."

"That is the general idea." came the mentally exhausted reply.

The former detective looked around, his gaze resting on the changed jaganshi, and then on the mess they had to clean up before Genkai returned from the mountains. Heaving a sigh, the teen lay down next to the kitsune, and covered his face with both arms.

"Why do I have the feeling that we are going to really regret today?"

…..

Far away in a desert somewhere in the middle of China, two warriors faced each other, preparing to do battle. One had a serious face, with a furrowed brow etched in determination. Black spiky hair reached for the sky as he studied his opponent, looking for any kind of opening that he could use against him. The other had a more open face, with a mouth ready to smile, and eyes wide with the innocence that only an optimist can have. Both wore smiles of expectation, and both stood ready to begin their fight.

"Well Vegeta," one warrior spoke, his kind face taking on a mischievous smirk, "learn anything new since we last fought? Or is this going to be a repeat of last time?"

"As a matter of fact I have," the warrior called Vegeta snarled playfully, "and this will not be a repeat Kakarot. I assure you, this time, you will be the one who is surprised at its conclusion."

"I don't know, Vegeta," Goku chuckled jovially. "You've been saying that for quite a few years, I'm beginning to think you're all talk."

"Then let's stop talking!"

With a cry, Vegeta flashed out of sight, only to appear above the other warrior. Goku immediately blocked the punch with his forearms above his head, before sending his friend flying with a blast of pure ki energy. The hotheaded warrior flipped through the air a few times, and then used his energy to blast yet again in a frontal assault at his rival. Goku merely stepped out of the way, and then back flipped his way across the plain. Vegeta landed gracefully on the ground, his face scrunched in an almost childish display of supreme irritation.

"Will you just attack already!" he screamed.

Goku laughed at his friend's annoyed expression before giving a carefree shrug. "I just wanted to make you feel like you were doing well, that's all," he chuckled.

"For heaven's sake Kakarot, stop holding back, and fight me like a man!"

Goku couldn't stop the laughter that was creeping up his throat. He didn't mean to be so cruel to his friend, but Vegeta was just so easy to tease, and you always got such fantastic results! He couldn't resist the temptation to poke fun at the guy whenever the opportunity presented itself. Over on the other side of the field, Vegeta's left eyebrow twitched more and more violently with every guffaw that rang across the space between them. Resisting the urge to stomp his foot like a petulant child and start screaming, the Saiyan warrior merely began to power up, his hands held out in front of him as a large ball of energy began to grow.

His intense gaze riveted on the laughing figure of his longtime rival before him, Vegeta allowed himself one cruel smile.

"Let's see how you like this!" he shouted.

But before either could attack or defend a massive feeling of an unexpected change fell on their consciousnesses. Both warriors froze as they realized that somehow, somewhere, someone had just attained the Super Saiyan transformation. Carefully analyzing the undeniably Saiyan energy, they searched for its location. Without a word, both raised their ki, and flew together as one, towards the location of the birthplace for a new Super Saiyan.