Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ In Omnia Paratus ❯ This Is Really Weird ( Chapter 5 )

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Sam's first thought when he opened his eyes was, When did I fall asleep? He sat up slowly, looking over at Dean, who was snoring quietly on the other side of the room, and then got to his feet and headed directly to the bedroom door, with the idea of finding Yusuke and the others.

 

The scent of food hit like a brick wall as soon as he stepped into the hall, and realized with a growl of his stomach that he hadn't eaten in almost two days. He followed the smell eagerly and found everyone in the kitchen. Kuwabara and Yusuke were at the table, which was covered in food, deep in discussion, while Yukina and Genkai stood at the stove, and Hiei was nowhere to be found.

 

“Morning,” Yusuke greeted, motioning for Sam to sit down. “You hungry?” He didn't wait for a reply, but rather grabbed a plate and began to pile food onto it. As soon as Sam pulled up a chair, he found himself facing a massive heap that could fill him up ten times over. Sam considered mentioning the size of it, but when his stomach made itself known again, he decided that maybe he could finish it off.

 

“Coffee?” Kuwabara asked. “Dean still asleep?”

 

“Mm-hmm,” Sam replied to both questions, his mouth too full to actually form a full sentence. When Kuwabara brought him a cup, he somehow managed to down a mouthful of what Dean called Black Liquid Hope without pausing in shoving food into his mouth.

 

“Jeez, would a napkin slow you down at all?” Genkai asked, coming over to shove one at him. Sam took the hint and tried to slow down a little, but within five seconds he was back to eating at hyper speed.

 

Although, that may not be just a figure of speech anymore… Sam thought, his stomach churning involuntarily. He faltered for a moment, but his appetite managed to overcome even the current situation, and soon he began stuffing himself with fervor again.

 

A few minutes later, once Sam had made a sizeable dent in the plate's contents and he had managed to slow to something resembling normal speed, he asked casually, “Where's Hiei?”

 

If anyone was surprised at him addressing Hiei as if he were human, they didn't comment. Instead, Yusuke shrugged and said, “I dunno. We don't keep tabs on him. He'll leave for days at a time and then just show up when he feels like it. Dunno where he goes. Not sure I want to…”

 

“But isn't he going with us to California?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well, what if he doesn't come back today?”

 

“Oh, don't worry about that,” Yukina said, giggling. “He knows when you guys leave. He'll be here.”

 

“What makes you so sure?” Sam asked.

 

“Oh, trust me—he will.” Yukina giggled again, and Sam watched, mystified, as she went to add to the plates on the table.

 

“Uh…okay…so tell me about this guy we're going to meet,” Sam said, changing the subject.

 

Yusuke grinned. “Now that is an inexhaustible subject. Well, his name is Kurama—to us, anyway—but to his mother and the people at his school he's Suuichi Minamono.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Can't tell you that.”

 

“You guys really like your secrets, huh?”

 

“No, not really, actually, but I won't give information that isn't mine to give. Anyway, Kurama is probably the nicest guy you'll ever meet—and the most annoyingly polite—and as I said, he's a genius.”

 

“So why is he in California and not here?” Sam asked.

 

“He got sent to this college in Sunnydale—tiny, tiny town a few hours from L.A.—on an assignment for Koenma, about a month ago. No telling when he's coming back. We all really miss him, but hey, part of the job, right?”

 

Sam sighed heavily and poked at his food with his fork, his appetite fading suddenly. “Yeah…I think I know what you mean.”

 

XXX

 

Dean's mind started running even before he was fully awake. His first thought was, I really hope that was all a dream… Then he opened his eyes, and the second he saw the ceiling design that was quite unlike any ceiling design in California or basically anywhere outside Japan or Korea or China or one of those places, he sighed and knew that all the craziness had actually taken place.

 

After lying there for a while, turning it all over in his mind, he rolled over on his side and saw that Sam wasn't in his bed.

 

When he skidded into the kitchen five minutes later, clothes thrown on haphazardly, hair sticking up all over the place, it was to find Sam sitting at the table with Yusuke, Kuwabara, Genkai and Yukina, an almost-empty plate in front of him. He looked up instantly, though, at the sound of Dean's steps, and smiled. “Hey. Food's still warm if you want anything.”

 

Dean grunted in reply and went to grab a plate. “How long you been up?”

 

“About an hour. We've been making plans.”

 

“Huh. It feel so nice to be included. Hey, how's Hiei getting to California?”

 

“What do you mean?” Yusuke asked. “He's going the same way you two are, obviously.”

 

“Really? He doesn't seem to be the airplane type of…person.”

 

“Well, that's fine, `cause you're not taking a plane.”

 

“Oh…wait…what?”

 

XXX

 

Dean stared with his mouth open at the ten-foot portal in front of him. “I don't believe this.”

 

“That…is incredible,” Sam said in awe, taking a small step forward and peering at the shimmering, enormous thing.

 

Yusuke, who was standing a little bit behind them, shrugged. “It'll get you to Point B.”

 

“So do you pull up gigantic portals in your backyard using only the power of your mind on a daily basis?” Sam asked with a determined sort of casualty.

 

“Not often, actually. We don't need it unless for some reason Koenma needs to meet with us face to face. Plus people might notice if we use it too much, and that would be just…bad.”

 

“Yeah, I can see why…”

 

“Excuse me,” Dean broke in suddenly. “We're not actually using this thing, are we? You were just kidding about that…right?” When Yusuke just stared at him, Dean closed his eyes and groaned. “Damn…”

 

XXX

 

Hiei wandered back to the temple around one in the afternoon without saying a word to anyone. But his silence seemed…different, somehow. He seemed tense—excited, if it was possible for him to be excited. He wouldn't speak, even to his sister, but that was okay, because after Yukina's first attempt, no one had tried talking to him.

 

But they didn't seem upset—no, on the contrary, they all seemed profoundly happy about something. Yusuke walked around smirking in a satisfied sort of way, and every once in a while Kuwabara would murmur something in Japanese that would cause Yusuke to laugh loudly while Hiei scowled at them without a word. Even grumpy Genkai seemed happier than usual, though her biting sarcasm was undiminished.

 

Meanwhile, Dean was having a massive freak-out and trying to hide it—and failing miserably—while Sam was constantly worrying about his alleged “new ability.” He had never wanted to disbelieve anything so badly, but the fact was, there had been a lot of things happening to him lately, so really, why had he even pretended to think it would all stop with the nightmares and—whatever those other things were? He really had no choice but to believe it, and that meant that he now had to be constantly on his guard, lest he get out of control and hurt someone.

 

All in all, it was a very irritably group that proceeded to the portal late in the afternoon. No one said anything at all as Hiei raised his hand and opened the portal. Once it appeared, Hiei took a step back and made a gesture that clearly indicated that one of them should go first.

 

The brothers exchanged a look, then Sam sighed, threw back his shoulders, took a deep breath, and stepped forward to face whatever was coming next.

 

XXX

 

“Dude…that…was so wrong.”

 

“Aw, come on, it wasn't that bad,” Sam chuckled as he appeared through the portal next to Dean.

 

“Are you kidding? Felt like I was gonna explode into a jillion little pieces.”

 

“Well, you should get used to it, because this may not be the last time you have to use one of those,” the demon, Hiei, said, appearing beside them and sealing the portal up as he spoke. “Come.”

 

“Where are we?” Dean asked, ignoring the order.

 

“You don't recognize your own country, then?” Hiei snapped, already walking away.

 

Sam snorted, but when Dean looked at him his face was carefully blank, though his eyes sparkled with carefully-concealed amusement. Shaking his head, Dean followed Hiei, muttering under his breath. “Well, where are we going, then?” he demanded as he caught up to Hiei, who was setting a quick pace, walking as if he knew exactly where he was going.

 

“The University of Sunnydale, California. It isn't a long walk—I know humans aren't usually good with those,” Hiei added mockingly.

 

“Okay, little man, this whole toleration thing has to go both ways or it won't work at all. So just don't bait me and I won't kill you in your sleep.”

 

“Don't do me any favors,” Hiei said flatly. “I'm sticking with you two because I have to, but I don't have to like being around you. I'll deal with you, but I am not your friend. So you'll just have to deal with being `baited' whether you like it or not.”

 

Dean scowled as he heard Sam laughing a few feet behind, unable to contain it any longer.

 

XXX

 

U.C. Sunnydale was rather quiet today. With midterms over and spring break almost there, few people had seen fit to stick around. Of course, some were still there, but not many, and the school was as quiet as the grave.

 

“Are you sure this is where we're supposed to be?” Dean asked as he, Sam and Hiei entered the courtyard.

 

Hiei just motioned for them to follow without answering, and Dean and Sam really had no choice but to follow.

 

“Have you ever been here before?” Sam asked, half-jogging to keep up with the demon.

 

“No.”

 

“Well, then, do you know where you're going?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Uh…how?”

 

“I know, all right? Hurry up.”

 

“What is it with him?” Dean asked quietly to Sam.

 

Sam shrugged. “He's in a hurry.”

 

“That's not what I meant, geek. Why is he being civil to you and not me?”

 

Sam quirked an eyebrow. “Because you hate him.”

 

“Well, yeah, but…so do you!” When Sam looked away uncomfortably, Dean's brow wrinkled. “Don't you?”

 

“Well…I…”

 

“Sam?”

 

“Look, man, can't we talk about this later? Y'know, when he's not around?”

 

Dean shrugged, though he looked slightly annoyed. “Whatever.”

 

Sam looked ready to pursue the subject despite his own words, but just as he started to speak they entered the main building and Hiei stopped for a moment before turning sharply to the left and continuing on.

 

“What, is he smelling his way?” Dean asked, disgruntled. Sam gave him a stern look and followed after Hiei. Dean glared at his brother's back but had no choice but to tag along. Hiei led them down a couple of hallways, finally stopping at a set of double doors.

 

“He's in there,” the small demon said quietly. Looking at him, Dean could have sworn that he was suddenly several shades paler than before. His voice shook ever so slightly, and he seemed to be having actual trouble holding on to his stoicism. Determined to see what could cause this kind of reaction in a demon, Dean stepped up next to him and looked into the room.

 

He deduced immediately that it was the dining hall, crammed as it was with tables and benches. But where there would normally have been a hundred-some students, there were only twenty or so people scattered at tables across the hall. The group nearest the door was made up of three people—a girl with long blond hair, a redheaded girl with short hair, and another redhead with much longer hair. The blond was sitting opposite the other two, and so noticed the three in the doorway first.

 

Frowning slightly, she leaned over and said something to her friends, who looked too.

 

The one with the shorter hair didn't seem to recognize any of them, but the other redhead's mouth dropped open, and he stared straight at Hiei as if Dean and Sam didn't exist. For an agonizing amount of time, there was no sound or movement.

 

Just when Dean felt that he would have to speak or explode, the silence was broken by a shriek from the redhead. “Hiei?”

 

Dean turned to look at Hiei, just as the demon dashed into the hall—at normal, human speed, but still very quick. The redhead opened his arms once Hiei was within reach and lifted him straight off the ground in a hug. Dean waited for the inevitable death or serious injury of the redhead, but it never came. Instead, Hiei allowed the hug—he returned it.

 

And if that was shocking, Dean practically experienced a coronary when the redhead suddenly pulled Hiei's head down and planted a kiss directly on his lips.

 

“Oh, my God!”

 

XXX

 

“So…did you know Kurama was gay?” Willow asked Tara lightly.

 

“No clue,” Tara replied, watching Kurama with interest. “Although we really should have, now that I think of it, but…hey, who're they?”

 

Willow shrugged as she looked at the two guys who were staring with popping eyes at Hiei and Kurama. “Come on, let's go find out,” she said, pushing back her chair and standing up.

 

Kurama and the spiky-haired young man broke apart as Willow and Tara headed toward them. The other guy seemed suddenly aware of the audience, and he pushed Kurama gently away, keeping a hand on his shoulder. But Kurama would apparently have none of it, and slung an arm around his boyfriend to pull him close again.

 

“Um…hi,” Tara said once they were within range.

 

Kurama turned quickly, arm still wrapped firmly around the other one. He was grinning like a fiend and suddenly looked years younger and many times happier. “Oh! Hey, guys! Sorry, I—erm—forgot…this is Hiei. Hiei, I'd like you to met Willow Rosenberg and Tara McClay.”

 

“Hi…nice to meet you,” Tara said, Willow echoing her. They waited for Hiei to bring the other two forward, but Hiei didn't even say anything in reply to the introductions.

 

“Ahem…Hiei?” Kurama prompted gently, and Hiei sighed.”

 

“It's nice to meet you, too.” He said it grudgingly and without smiling, but his eyes were very different from his face, and Tara knew somehow that he was actually very happy.

 

XXX

 

“So…Hiei is…in a relationship. That is just…”

 

“Weird,” Sam said, finishing his brother's sentence. “And I guess that's…Kurama…as well as Hiei's…relationship.”

 

“So Hiei is in a relationship…and gay?”

 

“…Looks like it.”

 

“That is just…”

 

“Weird.”

 

As Dean started to say something else, the redheaded guy looked to the doorway and cleared his throat pointedly, and seemed to give Hiei a silent hint. Hiei picked it up quickly and motioned for Dean and Sam to come forward.

 

“You've probably guessed that this is Kurama. Kura, this is Dean and that's Sam.”

 

“You two are brothers?” Kurama asked as he reached out to shake Sam's hand, then Dean's.

 

“Yeah, how'd you know?” Sam asked in surprise. “People can't usually tell.”

 

Kurama shrugged. “You have a…what's the word? Vibe. You have a brothers' vibe.”

 

“Wow, we're vibing you? Cool…” Dean smirked.

 

“Who's older?”

 

Dean looked at the girl Kurama had introduced as Tara, and felt a smile spread across his face. “That'd be me. Older, wiser, and, well, let's face it, better looking.”

 

“Um…okay…well…it's nice to meet you.”

 

“What are you doing here, Hiei?” Kurama asked, dragging Hiei over to sit. He added something in Japanese that made Hiei slap him gently over the head and caused Sam to blush deeply. “What'd he say?” Dean muttered as they went over to join the others.

 

“Oh, he just wanted to know why we're here, too,” Sam said quickly.

 

“Uh-huh. And?”

 

“He also thinks we're…well…uh…oh, look, a chair!”

 

That was weird…and…unresponsive…

 

Kurama and Hiei were deep in Japanese conversation by the time Dean sat down, while Sam, Willow and Tara looked on, trying to seem as if they knew what was going on.

 

It was hard to say how long the foreign conversation would have lasted if Willow's pager hadn't gone off. “Tara, Giles needs us ASAP. Uh, work. Research and whatnot.”

 

“Oh…okay. I guess we have to go then,” Tara said, looking only slightly disappointed. “It was really nice meeting you. Hope to see you again soon. Bye, Kurama!”

 

Dean watched the two run off with a lopsided grin on his face. “What nice, nice girls…”

 

Kurama looked from the retreating figures to Dean's face. “You do know they're together, don't you?”

 

Dean's smile grew for a moment before fading entirely. “What?”

 

“They're together. You know, in love. With each other.”

 

“…What?”

 

“They're gay, Dean,” Sam said, grinning again at the look on Dean's face.

 

The news having finally sunken in upon the second repeat, Dean groaned and lowered his head to the table. “First my baby gets taken away and now this. I cannot win…”

 

“Your baby?” Kurama asked.

 

“His car,” Sam explained. “He had to leave it at the airport and he's pining.”

 

“You make it sound stupid, but she's probably missing me too.”

 

“Dean, cares should not have pronouns. And the Impala's fine.”

 

“Easy for you to say…” Dean said in long-suffering tones.

 

Kurama looked from one Winchester to the other and smiled slightly. “Americans are…very strange. All right, so Hiei managed to lay down the basics for me within the last two and a half minutes, but now that the other two are gone I can hear the whole story. He says you know our story, and that you, Sam, need my help, but that's all I know. If you don't mind I'd like to hear the rest now…”

 

XXX

 

Rupert Giles was a very British man, with a very British apartment—if apartments could be British. However, as stodgy and European as he could be, like all people, he had a few odd interests.

 

“Fascinating…”

 

Interests such as very ugly, slimy, disgusting, demonic, but “fascinating” creatures.

 

“What's fascinating?” Willow asked as she walked into the apartment, Tara on her heels.

Rupert—known only as Giles in most circles, lest the ozone layer dissolve and the earth implode—looked up from the books spread out over his kitchen table. “Willow, Tara. Good. There's tea on the stove.”

 

“You act as if we had a choice. What's up?”

 

“The usual. Demons, monsters, et cetera.”

 

Tara, who had gone over to pour herself tea, spoke up. “I'm needing more here.”

 

“Hey, where's Buffy?” Willow asked suddenly before Giles could answer.

 

“She and Spike are off…somewhere. I've paged her, but there's no telling with that girl. And as for why I called you, I need you to patrol with Buffy tonight. And Xander, too, if I can reach him, though I really don't know what he could do to help.”

 

“Huh. Okay. We can probably find time for that. Any special reason?”

 

“Yes, as a matter of fact,” Giles said, gesturing to his books. “According to all of these, there's a demon that lives under Sunnydale. It's nameless, known only by drawings, as far as I can tell, but I do know that it comes to the surface every fifty years, and according to my charts it's coming up tonight.”

 

“Interesting. Is it evil?” Tara asked.

 

“Obviously. It's a soul-collector. Or if it doesn't collect them it still takes them out of bodies. I don't know what it does with them, but the point is, if it comes out tonight it must be killed before it gets what it wants.”

 

“Well, at least we can say it's not gonna be a dull night,” Willow said, shrugging. “So is that it?”

 

“Yes, that's why I called. I hope I didn't interrupt anything?”

 

“Oh, yeah, you did. Our psych professor was running around campus in a skirt and no shirt and my modern poetry professor was in a Speedo.”

 

“Rather creepy, considering that they're both extremely old men.”

 

“Yeah, I'm never going to either of those classes again…no, actually, we were just hanging out with this new exchange student from Japan—really interesting guy—but by the time you called someone who actually spoke Japanese joined us so Tara and I became sort of pointless. But we have a psych midterm deal in half an hour, so we have to go soon.”

 

“Ah, yes, of course. Go do your midterm, whatever that is. I'll keep paging Buffy and Xander.”

 

“Okay, see ya tonight then.”

 

“It's a date.”

 

“Okay, I'm very uncomfortable with you saying that.”

 

“Right. My apologies. I'll see you both tonight.”

 

XXX

 

Kurama was silent for a long time after hearing the whole story. His face was unreadable—the Winchesters would soon figure out that he could mask his thoughts as well as Hiei or better when he wanted to—but his fingers, tapping unceasingly on the wooden tabletop, betrayed his agitation.

 

“This is…very strange,” he said finally.

 

“Gee, you're smart. Why don't you and Sam here form a club?” Dean said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

 

Hiei growled low in his throat, but Kurama only smiled. “Maybe we should.”

 

The ease with which he took the implied insult threw Dean, and if he had been thinking clearly he might have realized that this was Kurama's intent. As it was, he just looked at the other man in bewilderment.

 

“You don't know what's going on, then?” Sam asked, much more politely than his brother, although his insides were jumping all over the place as they had been for days.

 

“I'm afraid not. But then, no one could be expected to pull a solution to such a puzzle out of the air.”

 

“Can't you help us at all?” Dean asked.

 

“You still haven't told me what you need my help with,” Kurama replied. “What is it you want to know?”

 

“How to make it go away,” Dean replied instantly.

 

“Or at least how to control it,” Sam added. “And why it's happening. I'd like to know that most of all.”

 

“And why did you come to me? Don't be mistaken, I'm thrilled to see Hiei and since you're what brought him here I'm thrilled about that too, but why not just go to Koenma or someone else with thousands of books on the subject of strange abilities?”

 

Hiei was the one who answered that question, in Japanese, and Kurama nodded. “Well, I'm not sure what I can do at the moment, but if you give me time—”

 

“We may not have much of that,” Dean said.

 

“Sure,” Sam answered at the same time. “We'll find a motel.”

 

“But—”

 

“We'll find a motel,” Sam repeated firmly, this time speaking directly to Dean. “We know you're here for a reason, and that it's important, and we don't want to keep you from it. But…”

 

“I understand. You don't have unlimited time to spend here. Here, call this number—” He scribbled something on a sheet from his notebook and slid it across the table to Dean. “—tomorrow evening, and we'll talk.”

 

Dean tore the piece of paper with Kurama's number on it in half, snatched Kurama's pencil off the table, wrote on one half, and tossed it and the pencil back. “My number. Just in case.”

 

Kurama pocketed the paper and smiled in that slightly disconcerting—but still oddly pleasant—way.

 

XXX

 

“Home sweet home,” Sam said with a sigh as he stepped into the third-rate motel room where he and Dean would be staying—check-out date, indefinite.

 

Dean grunted and went to throw his stuff on one of the beds without answering.

 

“Something wrong?” Sam asked cautiously, reading his brother's silence like a book.

 

“You're an idiot,” Dean snapped, almost before Sam got all the words out.

 

“What? Why?” Sam asked in confusion.

 

“`What? Why?'” Dean mocked. “Those are demons, Sam!”

 

“Huh? But Kurama—”

 

“Is about a hundred times older than he looks.”

 

“How d'you figure that?”

 

“Oh, come on, Sam! He only looks, like, twenty years old, but the eyes tell all and his are old! And plus he seems geekier than you so he can't be all human.”

 

“So you don't know for sure.”

 

“Trust me. I've seen enough demons to know that he is one. You should have seen it too, but under the circumstances I get why you didn't. That's not the point, anyway.”

 

“Well, then, what is the point, Dean?”

 

“We can't trust them!” Dean said angrily, now throwing clothes into drawers at random.

 

“Says the guy who gave them his cell number!”

 

“Also not the point. You're too friendly with them. Especially Hiei.”

 

“God, could you have any more of a superiority complex?” Sam said, finally losing his temper. “They're trying to help me! Both of them! I know you'd rather be out fighting instead of sticking around this place with me, but no one's making you stay.”

 

“Hey. Don't eve go there, Sammy. I'm not the one who abandons people, remember?”

 

Dean regretted the words the moment they were out, but there was no taking them back. Sam stared at him for a long, terrible minute, his hand clenching and unclenching as if he longed to hit his brother. Dean almost wished he would.

 

Then Sam turned toward the door and said quietly, “I'll being back food for dinner,” and was gone.

 

XXX

 

“And now here we are, back at my oh-so-lovely rented apartment, paid for courtesy of the loon that sent me here.”

 

Hiei squeezed Kurama's hand and smiled a little. “Wow. This town is really…boring.”

 

“Seems to be, yes.” Hiei yelped in surprise when Kurama suddenly pulled him closer and enveloped him in a hug. “But you're here now, so things are bound to liven up. Hey, have I told you I love you since you got here?”

 

“Twice. But I'm never above hearing it.”

 

Kurama chuckled and leaned over for a kiss. “I love you.”

 

“Same here. So should we go inside or walk some more?”

 

“I'm up for anything as long as you do it with me.”

 

“Sap. Let's walk, then—I'm all wound up.”

 

Kurama laughed aloud at this. “I never thought I'd hear you say `all wound up.'”

 

“Well, not all the changes you brought have been good.”

 

“And you're absolutely certain you don't want to add to that?”

 

“…Just most of them?”

 

“Very good.”

 

“The two of us are absolutely sickening, you know.”

 

“Yes, we are. C'mon, let's go.”

 

XXX

 

“God, I love this show.”

 

“It's nothing but a cooking show with two fat ladies, Wil,” Alexander “Xander” Harris said, grinning.

 

“But they are hilarious far ladies,” Tara said.

 

“Oh, look, the little one's in a side car!” Buffy Summers giggled.

 

“Hey, aren't we supposed to be meeting Giles?” Tara asked suddenly.

 

“Oh, the sun's barely gone down, he'll wait. I just want to finish this ep—”

 

THUD. “WILLOW!”

 

Willow, Xander, Buffy and Tara all jumped to their feet at the same time, staring at the door, which was being pounded on rather loudly.

 

“WILLOW!” THUD, THUD, THUD! The frantic edge to the shouts was enough to send Willow running for the door.

 

“WIL—”

 

The shout was cut off as Willow pulled the door open, and they all beheld Kurama standing in the dorm-building hallway, looking utterly terrified and completely unhinged. He held a sleeping Hiei in his arms, and he seemed to be holding on incredibly tight.

 

As soon as he saw Willow, Kurama looked up at the ceiling and said something that sounded very prayer-like in Japanese. Then he went on to repeat it in English: “Thank all the gods…I need your help.”

 

“Kurama, what—?”

 

“Please, Willow, I know we just met and everything, but I have no on else to go to—”

 

“Kurama, what's wrong?” Willow asked, keeping her voice calm and reasonable in an attempt to affect to Kurama.

 

“Hiei. He—we were walking and we were attacked and he won't wake up.”

 

Willow looked down at the still form in Kurama's arms and noticed for the first time that Hiei looked…wrong, somehow. Much paler than he should have—white, actually. He had no color at all below his hairline. And he was far to still—not even a twitch. He looked…

 

“Here, lay him down on my bed. Kurama…”

 

“Don't. He's still alive,” Kurama said as he went past Tara, Buffy and Xander, who were still staring at him, two trying to figure out who he was, one merely surprised, and laid Hiei gently down on the bed. “You see, I failed to clarify what it was that attacked us.” He seemed to be trying to stay away from sheer panic, but his voice still seemed to be on the brink of hysteria. “It wasn't human, it was a demon.”

 

After a moment of silence, Xander spoke up. “Okay, everyone here did just hear him state very calmly that he and his friend were attacked by a demon, right?”

 

“Boyfriend. Hiei is his boyfriend,” Tara corrected. “And yes, I heard him. What about you, Buffy?”

 

“YES! SHE HEARD ME! EVERYONE IN THIS DAMN ROOM HEARD ME SAY WE WERE ATTACKED BY A DEMON! NOW CAN WE PLEASE CONCENTRATE ON GETTING MY LOVER'S SOUL BACK INTO HIS BODY?” Kurama shouted, wincing as his voice echoed back at him and he realized how loud he was. “Look, I'm sorry, I'm just…I've never been as scared or as mad or as…nauseous…as I feel right now…”

 

“Wait, did you mention a soul?”

 

“Yes. I killed the demon that attacked us, but first it ripped his soul out and I need you to help me put it back.”

 

“Okay, you do know how crazy you sound, right?”

 

“Don't play games with me, Rosenberg.”

 

“Well, what makes you think I can help, anyway?”

 

“Because I know what you are!”

 

“W-what?”

 

“Willow, I know that you're a witch and that Tara's a witch and that the girl standing over there is Buffy and that she's a vampire slayer and that Xander does…nothing…but he's your best friend and he helps you guys fight demons and you all should find these kinds of things normal and I know I do but it's not usually the love of my life that gets the short, crappy end of the stick in these things and this has got to be the longest sentence in the world but damn it, I need your help and I'm waiting for your answer!”

 

“But…how…?”

 

“Please, Willow, not now! I promise I'll explain, I do, but please, help Hiei before he runs out of time!”

 

Buffy spoke up then. “Wil, I don't like this. We have no idea who he is. He could be dangerous. And—”

 

But Kurama could see that Willow wasn't listening. She was staring at him and him only, sizing him up.

 

“Okay,” she said softly. “Okay, I'll help you.”

 

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AN: Okay, so was that the crappiest chapter ever? I honestly can't tell! It seemed…HORRIBLE to me. Or most of it anyway. I just couldn't get the words the way I wanted them! But I guess it'll have to do, because I tried as hard as I could and if it still sucks there's nothing I can do about it. I must have feedback! Review, please!!!

 

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“It is well, when one is judging…to remember that he is judging you with the same godlike and superior impartiality.” -Arnold Bennet

 

“Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.” -Will Rogers