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Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. Please don't assume that they are or I'll end up getting sued. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi, Studio Perroit, and any other person who helped in the creation of this wonderful series. Thank you for giving me my Hiei-san!!
Goodbye my friend
It's not the end
-Goodbye, Spice Girls
Chapter 1
Kurama awakened early, feeling the lack of heat. Hiei was up early for once. Surprising, as he usually opted for the luxury of sleeping in when he was in the Ningenkai. Smiling, the redhead stretched and got out of bed, pulling on a pair of pants. Hiei was in the kitchen, fully clothed and rummaging through the refrigerator. Kurama grinned lightly, but the smile faded as he saw the bag on the counter.
"You're leaving?" he asked, knowing that he was right.
Hiei started, bumping his head on one of the shelves in the refrigerator. "K'so! Dammit, Kurama!" He closed the refrigerator and looked at his lover, who was staring at the sanjiyan's bag with a dejected look on his beautiful face. "Mukuro's having problems. I have to go." Kurama's lower lip began to tremble threateningly. Hiei sighed in annoyance; if Kurama started to cry now, he'd have to comfort him. Then he'd never get out of there. "You know I owe her! I'll be back in a few days. She's having problems with Yomi and needs me to help keep watch over the border."
Kurama stopped pouting immediately, his face turning pale. "Yomi?! Gods, no! Don't go! Please don't go! Yomi's got to be up to no good!" He walked over to Hiei and swept him up in a bone-crushing hug. "I don't want to lose you!"
The short Jaganshi somehow managed to squirm out of his grasp. "K'so, Kurama! You know me better than that! You can't get rid of me that easily!"
The redhead smiled slightly. "I worry about you." He frowned again. "Especially when Yomi's involved."
Hiei just snorted. "I'll be fine. Nothing's going to happen anyway. Yomi bluffs like this all the time. Maybe he's getting senile or something."
Kurama smiled, reassured. "You're right Hiei. Nothing will happen."
Kurama missed Hiei. His lover had been gone for a week. The redhead had been hoping that Hiei would be back before a week was up. The phone suddenly rang. Sighing, Kurama answered it. "Moshi moshi. Minamino Shuuichi residence."
A familiar, upset-sounding feminine voice answered him. "Kurama."
Kurama's hand tightened on the phone. It was Mukuro. She never called him. Something was wrong with Hiei; he knew it in his heart. The redhead made an effort to stay calm. And failed utterly. "What is it, Mukuro?! What happened to Hiei?!"
"I'm sorry, Kurama. Yomi attacked Hiei's group unexpectedly. We only found out when they failed to report in this morning. I sent someone to check up on them. They had all been slaughtered." Kurama gasped weakly, barely holding back a cry of despair and disbelief. Tears began to course down his cheeks. Mukuro quickly continued. "We didn't find Hiei's body among the dead, and there was evidence of the Kokuryhurra. He may have been taken prisoner by Yomi." That meant that he would be tortured to death, or worse. "We're launching an attack against Yomi in retribution. I thought that perhaps you would join us. For revenge."
For Hiei. Kurama barely managed to choke back a sob. "Hai. The Urameshi Team is coming. Yomi will pay!" The half-youko hung up quickly and collapsed, sobbing bitterly. Hiei can't be dead! he thought over and over again, not wanting to believe it, but knowing, and hoping, that if Yomi had him, he was. It was hopeless. Yomi would have killed him.
Kurama wished that he had somehow delayed Hiei from leaving. Maybe it would have prevented this. He should have cried, or seduced him, or done something. Anything but let him leave.
After regaining a margin of self-control, Kurama called Yuusuke. Yuusuke and Kuwabara had discovered Kurama and Hiei's relationship soon after it had begun. They had harassed Hiei unmercifully for weeks, until finally, the fire demon had avoided their company. After a while, they had accepted the relationship and had apologized to Hiei, but Hiei still maintained a distance from the two social misfits. They had lost the fire demon's trust and, quite possibly, his friendship.
Kurama outlined what Mukuro had told him for Yuusuke. "I'm going to kill Yomi for this, with or without your help!"
"K'so. I'm sorry, Kurama." There was a pause. "Lemme call Kuwabara and we'll take a trip to the Makai."
"Thank you, Yuusuke," Kurama mumbled. "I'll get ready and meet you at the temple." He hung up, feeling depressed and utterly alone. The redhead shoved some packages of seeds in a bag, along with some clothes and his first-aid kit, just in case. Just in case they were injured...and just in case they found Hiei alive. He considered for a moment, then threw in some of Hiei's clothes too. Considering that he was with Yomi, Hiei would probably need some clothes. If they found him, Kurama reflected bitterly. Then he went to the temple.
Genkai had died years before, but Yukina continued to live at the temple, caring for it. In fact, when Kurama got there, she was the only one there.
"Konnichi wa, Kurama-san! How are you?" She was bubbling with happiness and innocence. Kurama didn't answer, but just looked at the ground. "What is wrong, Kurama-san?"
Kurama took a breath. Yukina still did not know that Hiei was her brother, so he could tell her what had happened without her becoming too devastated. At least, not as devastated as he was. "It's Hiei. He went to the Makai to help defend Mukuro's territory against Yomi. His troops were attacked and slaughtered. He's missing. And he's probably dead."
"No! Hiei-san can't be dead!" Yukina gasped, tear gems falling from her ruby-red eyes. "Oh, Kurama-san, I'm so sorry." She tried to stifle a sob and failed.
Kurama nodded weakly, turning away to avoid crying himself. "Arigato."
Yuusuke and Kuwabara entered the temple grounds. "Hey, Kurama," Yuusuke yelled. "Let's get going!"
"Yes, let's go," Kurama mumbled, hoping that this trip to the Makai would prove fruitful, but fearing in his heart that they would find nothing. But, in this case, with Yomi involved, maybe finding the irate little fire demon would be worse than finding nothing...
The three reached the edge of Mukuro's territory just as it was getting dark. Yuusuke looked at Kurama worriedly. The kitsune hadn't spoken at all throughout the trip. That wasn't like Kurama; he usually tried to lighten the mood before a mission. Yuusuke was becoming concerned about him. Besides, Kuwabara had filled up the silence with corny jokes, and that definitely wasn't good.
Mukuro met them at the border and smiled half-heartedly at Kurama, who ignored her. "I'm sorry, Kurama. This was unexpected."
"You're telling me?!" the kitsune muttered moodily.
Mukuro sighed and gave up at trying to be cordial. "We attack Yomi at dawn. We do not know his territory well enough to risk attempting an invasion in the dark." She glanced at Kurama with her one good eye. "That goes for everyone." Kurama snorted derisively. Mukuro raised an eyebrow, but continued. "You might as well get some sleep, 'cause we're stuck here for now. You'll need it. We'll be fighting all day tomorrow, and we'll continue fighting until we're rid of Yomi."
"I want to see the battlefield first," Kurama said suddenly.
Mukuro looked at the kitsune sharply, startled by his request. After a moment, her face softened a bit. Kurama doesn't want to believe that his lover is probably dead, she thought pityingly. Seeing the battlefield would probably convince him. "I'll take you there."
The four stepped onto the battlefield where, the night before, a thousand youkai had been slaughtered. They covered their noses; a day under the hot Makai sun had not done the bodies of these poor youkai any good, and the stench was nearly overpowering.
They had found Hiei's cloak hanging in a tree at the edge of the field. Kurama grabbed it, hugging it close. Then he walked through the battlefield, extending his ki, feeling for the residue of a specific ki. The ki of his lover. The redhead found it near the center of the battlefield, surrounded by the bodies of around a hundred youkai that had obviously been 'employed' by Yomi. Kurama smiled bitterly. Hiei had not gone down easily; that much was obvious.
Then Kurama felt another familiar ki residue near Hiei's. It was a sickening reddish-brown color. Yomi. The blind youkai's ki mingled with Hiei where they had fought. Then both trails disappeared suddenly, near a blood stain in the dirt. And Hiei's katana. Kurama fell to his knees and picked it up, tears running down his face. Hiei's blood, too. "Hiei..." Kurama whispered.
Yuusuke came over and knelt beside him. "I'm sure he's alright, Kurama. Not much can hurt Hiei."
Kurama looked at the ningen. "Yomi can. Yomi is an expert at torture." The redhead's eyes flicked to the bloodstain. "If Yomi had him..."
"Don't," Yuusuke snapped. "We're going to find him, Kurama. Then we'll kill Yomi."
Kurama smiled bitterly. "Thanks for trying, Yuusuke, but I'm not so sure that Hiei's still alive..."
Kuwabara clumsily stepped over a few bodies, stumbling toward the two. "Wow! Hiei sure did make a mess." Kurama looked away. "Heh. Don't worry, Kurama. He's too much of a jerk to be dead."
The kitsune glared at him. "Don't ever say that about Hiei!" Kurama got to his feet and stalked away, toward camp.
Yuusuke also glared at Kuwabara. "Nice going, idiot." He stalked after Kurama.
"Hey! Wait up, guys!" Kuwabara called, running after them, totally oblvious to the fact that they were pissed at him. The idiot tripped over a body and fell, landing on a severed head. "Ahhh!!!" he shrieked, jumping up and running, miraculously not tripping over anything else, including his own feet, on his way off the battlefield.
Mukuro, who had been watching the entire ephisode from a distance, shook her head and went after the three.
I'm sorry!!
Actually...no, not really. I live to torture Hiei. It's my life (pitiful, isn't it?). Ahhh...Ignore me...*sighs* Yeah, like that's gonna work. They'll always listen to you talk to yourself. Shut up! They're reading and I'm typing. Leave me alone! Go away, goaway, goawaygoawaygoaway!!! Fine, fine, fine! I'm leaving! Seesh, of all the minds that I choose to drive insane, it had to be hers. Finally. I hate it when he does that. Stupid voices...
On to Chapter 2
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