Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ All in the name of curiosity ❯ Chapter 2

Notes: Alright people, I know I have been neglecting this fic. Not so many people are commenting on it at all, but I know there are a few people reading it. I'm sorry I haven't gottent o Updating it sooner than this. I will be getting into the main body of the story soon, Don't worry! *thoughts*

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, thouh I do own any original characters!

Warnings: They are all in the last chapter I believe. I will not be repeating them.

All in the name of curiosity.

By: Skeren Dreamera

Part two- What do you mean, missing!?

A light blue haired woman with pink eyes named Botan came hurrying into the room where a brown haired and golden eyed teen with the letters JR on his forehead and an item resembling a pacifier in his mouth was stamping away at his papers. The godling for once was not in his infant form. For the last few missions that he had sent his team on, Koenma had been changing to his teen form without any obvious reason. Botan looked over the paper pushing godling now though and gnawed at her lip pensively, her constant supply of chatter grinding to a halt for once. The only person she had with her was Kuwabara, a tall, not so handsome carrot top redhead, who at the moment seemed very, very confused.

"Koenma-sama?" Botan's pretty voice was tense, and she wrung her hands together in front of her while she forced a smile. "I sort of had a little problem getting the boys.."

Koenma looked up then, having opened his mouth to begin his briefing only to see just Kuwabara. "What? Where are they Botan?"

"Well, you see Koenma-sama.... I could only locate Kuwabara there..." She gave him another smile, gesturing at Kuwabara.

Koenma looked from Kuwabara to Botan, before sighing and abruptly becoming a toddler in an oversize hat. "Alright Botan, did you look everywhere?"

She nodded quickly, her blue ponytail bobbing in place, before she looked over at Kuwabara, then back to Koenma. "Well Koenma-sama, Kuwabara here told me that he saw Yuusuke a couple days ago.. But he hasn't seen anyone since then.. I think maybe, Koenma-sama.. Well, they might have been kidnapped.."

Kuwabara took that moment to speak up, moving towards the desk where Koenma was sitting. Koenma looked like he was stunned by the very idea and as such merely stared at Kuwabara as he spoke. "Ok, Kurama had a field trip a couple days ago with his school, he was all happy and saw me at the mall so he decided to tell me aaaaall about it. That night Yuusuke asked me if I saw Kurama, but he didn't tell me why he was lookin, said somethin about homework." Kuwabara looked at the other two then abruptly went from serious to idiotically grinning. "I, the great Kuwabara, shall find out what has happened to my comrades!"

Throughout his speech the other two had been paying close attention, amazed that he was, for once, contributing something useful, only to ruin the entire thing with that last statement, making the other two wince.

A blue oni took that pause to hurry into the room, an armload of paperwork in hand that he immediately sat down on Koenma's desk. He glanced around the room, saw that they were three people short and moved to stand by Koenma's desk, having that feeling he gets when something really important is happening.

Koenma saw him and spoke directly to him. "George, could you find some sort of record that would tell me what happened to my other three detectives?"

With a brisk nod, George was out of the room again, hurrying away into the hustle and bustle outside the room.

Koenma looked from one of them to the other and closed his eyes, raising a hand to rub at his face. "Botan, please, take Kuwabara and see if maybe they aren't still in the Ningenkai, because I have a feeling they aren't anymore. And make sure to bring that boy back with you, we might just have a rescue on our hands."

With that, Botan took Kuwabara and left as quickly as she had arrived, leaving Koenma to think about all the possibilities of what could be happening to his other detectives. *Three days. They've been missing three days and we were all too busy to notice... At least I know you're all still alive, but for how long?*

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Three hours later they had no progress to speak of. Koenma had requested that everyone that could possibly be help get gathered up, and the results were not promising. Koenma looked around his office with a deep sigh as he considered each person. There was Kuwabara's sister, Shizuru, who was coolly leaning back on the wall by the doorway, observing Koenma as he observed the others. Next there was Yukina, a slightly pensive expression on her face where she stood by Kuwabara, waiting to know what was going on. Lastly there was Keiko, who was just getting off of Botan's oar and was headed directly for Koenma.

"Alright, Koenma, you know what's going on, right? Where is Yuusuke?" Keiko's voice rose on every word, ending on a teary shouting note as she leaned over Koenma's desk. "What's going on? I know you never tell me these things until my life is in danger, but I haven't seen Yuusuke in days!"

Koenma visibly winced when he saw the tears in the girl's eyes, and sighed softly, his voice coming out gentle. "Keiko. I'm sorry, but I really don't know what has happened to Yuusuke. That's why you are here. I want you to help us find him and get him back, safe and sound."

She gave him a dubious look, then cast a glance over her shoulder as she drew a shuddering breath into her lungs. *I can do this.* Backing away from the desk, she felt a hand gently touch her arm. She turned her head to look, a soft smile coming to her face as she saw the ice maiden by her side, concern written all over her beautiful and delicate face. Keiko sighed a bit, resting her hand over the smaller girl's.

George returned before anyone else could say a word, waving a file frantically through the air as he charged through the crowd in Koenma's office without even sparing them a blink. "I think I might have found them!"

Koenma stood on his chair, taking the papers from his secretary without a word, then flopped back into his chair, spreading the paper's quickly over his desk as he looked through them, ignoring the silence that had fallen over the room. He was still in his infant form, his giant hat blocking any hopes the others might have had to reading over his shoulder for the information.

Shizuru didn't like that state of affairs and resolved to fix it promptly. "Well? Where are they? Do you know what happened?"

Koenma tried to speak, his mouth working for a moment before he leaned back, bringing his tiny hands to his face to hide his horrified expression, his head tipped down. *Regain your composure Koenma, you can't help anyone if you let their pain hinder you.* Taking a few deep calming breaths, Koenma looked around the room, his expression far graver than any of the others had before seen. "They are alive. But only barely. They found their ki signatures, but it is tightly confined, and they are bordering on death. They have been for more than a day now.." He trailed off, swallowing and unable to prevent his voice from shaking. "They've been tortured, and it's bad. But it's not all.. Kurama... We must be careful. He might hurt one of you... He isn't himself."

Botan stared around the room, wide eyed, and catching similar expressions on Keiko and Kuwabara's faces. Suprizingly, it was the little ice maiden and Shizuru who seemed the least affected, at least on the outside. Shizuru seemed to withdraw into a shell, but Yukina.. Yukina's expression took on a hardness that none of the others had seen before. Botan knew she wasn't a young girl, but she was so sweet she usually forgot what kind of culture the girl came from. That side of her personality was showing how as her face became closed.

Moving forward, Yukina smiled slightly, but there was a disturbing glint in it. "Tell me where my brother and his friends are." Hearing a startled sound from behind her Yukina grinned a little wider. "I'm not an idiot, you think I couldn't tell who my own twin was?" Dismissing the topic, she turned back to the matter at hand. "They obviously aren't in the Ningenkai or in the Reikai, otherwise we wouldn't be here. So tell us what you know, and Botan will take us to go rescue them."

Koenma looked back into the blue haired girl's face, staring into eyes that were the same color and shape of Hiei's. "I'll go with you. You guys will need me. The place is very well guarded, I know that much, and there are many ki signatures surrounding the place where theirs are. We need to go. Now. We don't have time to plan before we get there. No time at all.." They couldn't disagree with him, trailing after the suddenly older figure, both in body and spirit, as he moved quickly from his office.

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Botan managed to arrange everyone so that they all fit on her oar. It was a unique fit, the blue haired girls together in the middle, Keiko perched on front, Kuwabara crammed on the very end, while Shizuru stood behind Yukina holding her shoulders, and Koenma in child form sat on Yukina's lap. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but they made it to their destination in one piece. Unfortunately, their goal of not needing a plan and just going in to get them rapidly disintegrated upon seeing the highly guarded fortress.

After everyone piled from the oar, they gathered close together again. Koenma looked at who he had to work with and couldn't help wincing as he considered the group. "Alright, I know what Kuwabara and Botan can do, what about the rest of you?"

Yukina made an ice crystal in her hand, holding it up. Keiko shook her head a little and shrugged, holding out empty hands, and Shizuru grinned. She was the one who spoke up. "I can help, don't worry about me. So, who's going to deal with those guards while the rest of us go save our missing detectives?"

Koenma looked around a little then nodded to himself. "Shizuru, you and Botan deal with the guards, the rest of you, with me. We all meet back here, though I have the feeling we may need a little help getting all three back home." Nodding a little, he gestured to the castle below. "Let's go."

There were a series of nods as Botan gesture Shizuru onto her oar, the pair flying down over the guards down below even as the remaining people in the group turned to face Koenma. He was the closest thing they had to a leader at the moment. "Yukina, think you can handle discouraging people from approaching us? Kuwabara will deal with anyone who gets too close, while I will shield us.. Try not to overdo it, they might need healing." As he received a few more nods, he looked to Keiko, who had gotten a large stick, and was holding it with a large amount of confidence. "Good, you can come then. Everyone, lets go get our comrades.

They all moved quickly as chaos broke out below, Botan and Shizuru's voices loud in the air as they taunted the guards. The pair was making a suprizing amount of progress in knocking their aggressors out. The larger group of rescuers paid the two girls only the briefest of attention as they moved through the gate, somehow escaping the notice of the guards as they moved past them in the opposite direction. That particular fact was due to Koenma, as he shielded them from view. Once they were in, he could drop it, but not until then. Aside from the rush at the front gate, the grounds were disturbingly empty. It was as though the place had been emptied out just for their arrival, and the thought sent chills down Koenma's spine.

"I don't like this.. I'm not sensing anything, but that doesn't mean there isn't a trap." Kuwabara whispered to the others, unknowingly echoing Koenma's thoughts. "But.. I think I feel something that way. It feels like Kurama, but it's all messed up." He pointed down the left corridor as they came to a fork, turning the group down that hallway.

It wasn't until they had nearly reached the source of their friends' signatures that Jelexian stepped out into the hallway, a faint smile curving his lips as he looked over them. "I wondered when you would show up. Pera. Leave the boy alone and come out here. We have company!"

Kuwabara lunged forward towards the man, causing the beautiful and demented demon to leap back, clearing the doorframe for a woman who was nearly his double in appearance to come through. She wasn't alone however, as she had a small, black haired girl, and a slender blond flanking her and pulling the door securely shut behind them.

"Stop running away and fight me like a man!" Kuwabara swung again, the demon playfully dodging his swings as he drew him away from the rest of his group.

"I'm not a man. I'm a pretty little kitty cat! Surely you do not mean to harm me, do you?" Jelexian batted his eyes ducking under yet another swing as he laughed, seeing the outrage on Kuwabara's face.

*Why do I always end up with the cat demon people??* Kuwabara lunged forward again, not realizing the ploy behind the cat demon's dodging.

Only a few feet behind Kuwabara, a slightly different fight was starting. Keiko, Koenma, and Yukina each was faced by an opponent. The short black haired girl moved immediately towards Yukina, a wide grin on her faced as she bounded towards the ice maiden.

"I know those eyes! Those red eyes are the very same as the little bound demon inside aren't they? I wasn't allowed to play with him, but maybe if I beat you, they'll let me keep you!" The black haired girl giggled before Yukina formed a globe of ice, throwing it at the girl.

"You people touched my brother? Nobody is allowed to do that to my brother!" The outburst was a shock to her comrades, causing a pause before anyone else started moving at the Koorime lunged at the little black haired girl, causing a blast of fire to come at her, only to be deflected in a wave of cold.

As the fire and ice pair fought, a wave of air started blowing through the hall, the temperature wildly changing as the inexperienced pair fought. Keiko got the privilege of dealing with the willowy blond, who said nothing. All she got the chance to do was hit and retreat though, as nothing she tried got the woman to even slow down, causing her to also move away from the group.

Koenma and the curly haired woman designated as Pera eyed each other for a moment. Koenma moved just quickly enough to bring up a ki shield, deflecting the claws that came towards his face. "Really, they are better off with us. You can find replacements for them elsewhere." The woman grinned, circling the godling as she spoke, a feral grin gracing her elegant features.

"They are going home." The blowing winds from the fight to his left only amplified the effect of his words as a golden glow flickered off his skin, extending out from him towards the woman in front of him, a wry smile on his face. "You can do absolutely nothing to stop me."

Pera narrowed her eyes at him and lunged forwards again, trying to hurt the glowing godling. It proved to be a fatal mistake. He was angry. Not as bad as he could be, but that sharp edge was just enough to bring forward a power he hadn't ever known he had before. Love did the strangest things. When the woman touched him her face revealed horror, shock, then nothing at all as the golden glow swept over her skin. Only a few seconds after she touched him did the glow pull away leaving the woman to fall to the ground dead. Death was nothing new to Koenma, but he'd done that, just one touch and the woman fell dead. That was enough to cause him to look around. He saw one of the now dead woman's minions attacking Keiko and hurried over, grabbing onto the blond as his glow started to fade and drawing her death into his hands as well. He was simply releasing their souls to be judged. Keiko gave him a thankful look before they both moved towards the door beyond which their loved ones lay trapped.

Yukina in the meantime had managed to overpower the frail fire demon by drawing on her nearly completely non-existent flame. As she had ice, so she had fire. Her brother was the same, if he were to ever allow the chill to touch him as she let the warmth touch her. The sudden change in attacks from ice to fire startled the little black haired girl, and she drew back, allowing Yukina to get one of her chilly attacks in. The black haired woman fell only a moment after her companions, allowing Yukina to beat her two companions to the door. The three looked at each other before heir gazes turned out from the door, looking for the last member of their rescue party. They didn't know what they would find on the other side, and they had to be ready for more enemies to meet them.

Kuwabara yelled at his opponent, who had long since stopped dodging and started attacking. "You won't get away from me!"

"You have yet to actually hurt me!" He drew a sharp breath, feeling the echo as Pera's soul was ripped lose of her body. His eyes widened as he looked to the little human who he was fighting, his eyes narrowing as he backed quickly away. "But, I will leave you be for now. I will be back though, never forget it!" Without another word, the slender demon fled, his elegant voice fading into the walls as he disappeared around a corner silently.

Kuwabara shook his head; the departing hit to his head having stunned him so the demon could escape. He ran around the same corner and slid to a stop, seeing an empty hallway. "You coward!!" The shout echoed around the angry detective, but he gave up the chase as a lost cause, turning on his heel to return to the door that his friends lay behind, seeing the other three gazing at the door and trying to determine what suprizes may lay behind it.

Kuwabara stopped in front of his three fellow rescuers a faint frown on his face. "He ran away."

"Doesn't matter. We will get him eventually. Our first loyalty is to the three people on the other side of this door. Ready?" Koenma looked at the three people with him, concern evident in his eyes.

"As much as I can be." Keiko shifted in place, biting on her lip.

Yukina was oddly calm. She merely nodded a little. "Yes, open the door."

Kuwabara leaned forward, twisting the knob on the door that stood between him and his teammates. The room inside was utterly silent for a moment, and then they were greeted with a feral growl. The sight that greeted the four was both beautiful and horrible. The room smelled sharply of sex and blood, leaving to the imagination what had been done in the few days between their abduction and then. Unfortunately, the range of things seemed endless.

Kurama wore all the chains and wards that had bound him since the first hour of his capture, but he'd pulled a large portion of the bells free of his hair, leaving it half in braids and half a tangled mass. He had only one chain truly binding him into place, and it led away from the collar around his neck to the wall. His dark green eyes were wild, and he looked towards them as a threat, with no recognition in his gaze. Hiei was near Kurama's crouched form, well within his reach, but apparently unconscious. Kurama also had blood slicking his hands and chest, his back bearing fresh claw and knife marks, but his face remained untouched aside from the smears of dried brown that scored his cheeks.

Hiei was worse to look at. He had many more wards than the red haired fox, and his blood was still bright against his skin, fresher. He was fully chained, bound into a crouch against a post of the bed near the wall, and a knife discarded near him. Even as they looked over the pair Hiei's dark ruby eyes opened, looking towards the group in the doorway. His reaction to seeing them was a shaky laugh before he looked away. Kurama took that as some sort of signal, moving between Hiei and them.

Yuusuke wasn't visible from the door, so the group moved towards the pair they could see. It only took three steps to bring Yuusuke into sight. He was bound to the ground amid the mounds of pillows, the only one without any blood coloring his body, but he was shimmering from some other wetness. Tears streaked his pale face and he held his eyes tightly shut. It was the motion of someone awake and waiting, not of someone seeing their rescuers.

Having taken in the positions of their team, Koenma spoke, holding a hand out to the other three to remain silent as of yet. "We've come to get you out of here."

"Deal with Yuusuke first. We will both be fine for another moment... But he got the most attention." Hiei's deep voice was husky from holding back screams for days on end, and he looked back to the group in the door, seeing who each person was. He was ashamed to find his sister there. He never wanted her to see him this way. Any remaining chance to tell her was lost in his mind now, because he would never let her be shamed by him like that.

Koenma nodded a little, then moved towards Yuusuke and crouching near him. When he got closer he saw the damage that the wards had done. There were burns under the wards where his power had been constrained, and was forced to lash back at him. The wards themselves also having inflicted damage for being against his skin in such a way. "Yuusuke, open your eyes. I won't touch you." Even as he spoke, Koenma moved around Yuusuke, detaching the chains carefully and avoiding touching him.

Yuusuke slowly opened his eyes, the tension abruptly leaving him as he saw that it was Koenma. *It's a guy. He was safe.* Taking long slow breaths to calm himself before moving the half demon slowly sat up. "Koenma..?"

Koenma nodded a little and slowly moved a hand towards him, knowing that he needed to pay some care to his detective at the moment. "May I remove your wards Yuusuke?"

Yuusuke nodded, a faint smile flickering on his face before disappearing again. "Please, I can't get them off on my own, I tried." His voice was a mere whisper, and while he hadn't been there long enough to break, he no longer had the confidence he once had.

Koenma nodded a little, not realizing that Keiko was moving closer to them. He ran his fingers over the bindings, and undid the chains, pulling them free of Yuusuke, then slowly reaching up to undo the collar, leaving the boy sitting naked in front of him.

"Yuusuke!" Keiko had gotten close enough to see the damage, and her startled cry was enough to make the object of her attention cringe.

Moving quickly, Yuusuke recoiled away from his girlfriend, snatching a pillow up and using up as though to ward her off. He was no longer chained down, and he could now defend himself, he wouldn't let anymore of those women touch him. He refused to let them use him anymore.

Koenma was baffled by the sudden change from cautious but grateful, to completely terrified and defensive. "Yuusuke, it's just Keiko, you know she wouldn't try to hurt you right?"

"Don't let her get near me, please!" Yuusuke didn't answer Koenma, but instead chose to retreat behind him. Jelexian never had touched him. It was the women. So many of them, and they hurt him and made him do things he never wanted to do. He would not be allowing this one near him, no matter how close they were just the week before. He just couldn't do it.

"Kuwabara, could you come here so I can deal with the bonds on the other two, please? He can't deal with Keiko." Koenma turned a little, carefully touching Yuusuke's hair, shocked to find the boy didn't even start at his touch, but ran from Keiko.

"Oh Yuusuke.. What did they do to you?" Keiko backed away from her boyfriend, her voice a mournful whisper as she retreated back to the doorway with Yukina, Kuwabara coming forward where she had been.

"Yuusuke, c'mon man, let's find you some clothes, alright?" Kuwabara kept his voice soft, and he moved up beside Koenma, offering him a hand that was soon taken. They had yet to find that this room was slightly off, and these boys had been here for a few weeks rather than a few days, but they would learn soon.

"Alright." Yuusuke let Kuwabara draw him to his feet, but he nearly collapsed the moment he was standing, causing the taller boy to grab around his waist.

Yuusuke let out a low sound but rather than retreating grabbed the taller boy, trying to hide in his grip from the terror that the last few weeks had been to him.

Seeing the way that Yuusuke clung to him, Kuwabara took off his jacket, draping it around Yuusuke. "Just take that for now, alright man? We'll talk once we get you out of here."

Koenma moved away from the two friends to approach Hiei and Kurama. Easier said than done, however. Kurama growled at him and strained his chain the moment he got close enough.

"Hiei.. What did they do to Kurama? I can't get near you." Koenma looked up to find sad and pained ruby eyes watching him from the bedpost.

"They haven't let many drugs wear off of him since we got here a few weeks ago.. I think it has damaged him for the time being. If you can get to me and undo the chain holding me in place, I can get to you to remove the actual wards." Hiei spoke softly, turning his attention from Koenma to Kurama.

Seeing the usually intelligent green gaze turned wild like that disturbed Koenma, but he decided to follow Hiei's advice, circling around the bed and moving quickly across it to undo the chains that were attached together behind Hiei's neck, then retreating before the wild Kitsune could strike. "Why are you not that bad off Hiei?"

"I've been in this position before. They could do nothing I had not already been through." The response was a hiss, and Hiei watched Koenma retreat before moving from the bed, wavering steps bringing him out of Kurama's reach. The green-eyed fox tried to follow and let out a soft whine when he found he could not. "Be calm fox, I am not abandoning you."

Koenma watched the entire interaction as he undid the myriad of chains and wards, his fingers undoing what kept them so well in place. It was only when he finished undoing the collar that he drew back, looking towards Kurama. "Do you have the strength to undo his wards, or should I try myself?"

"No, I can do it, you just find our things. I am fairly certain they are close by. What took you all so long?" Hiei knelt down by Kurama as he spoke, petting his head a little as he removed the wards, expending a slight amount of Ki to undo them as he did. He was careful to keep a hand wound amid the decorative braids as he pulled the final ward loose. Hiei considered how many wards they had dripping off of them and realized that it was really a wonder the wards hadn't killed them.

"We realized you were gone within a few days, then we came to get you. It was by no means longer than a week, at least, not to us." Koenma looked back to the doorway, seeing that the girls had made themselves useful after they realized that Koenma was talking to them first, and got them their clothes.

Yukina didn't wait for an invitation to come closer, Hiei's things tucked under her arm, and Kurama's possessions in her hand. "I am going to heal you, brother. I don't care if you think you don't need it either."

Hiei gave her a fairly shocked look, at least for him, meaning he raised a brow and opened his mouth just slightly. Kurama turned his head to look at Yukina, but after only one faint growl, did nothing against her as she healed them both, then handed Hiei his clothes. Hiei didn't know what to do with the shock that she already knew who he was.

Oddly enough, Kurama had no trouble getting dressed once he was handed his outfit, nor did he have any troubles understanding them. He had a wildness in his eyes that was never there before, but otherwise, he seemed oddly calm, so long as Hiei kept the grip in his hair, making it pull if he moved too quickly for Hiei to notice in time.

That was how the group was as they found Botan and Shizuru, having navigated the silent and empty halls back out to the front gate, where only the two women were.

Kuwabara, who had passed Yuusuke back over to Koenma once the man had dealt with Hiei's bindings, looked askance at his sister. "Where are all those guards?"

Shizuru smirked, a slight grin taking her face. "They ran away."

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The hardest part of the entire rescue had been getting everyone back where they were supposed to be. Hiei and Kurama couldn't be separated, but Kurama had to be taken back to his mother. Yuusuke needed to calm down about females before he could see his mother again, but Botan was sent to tell his mother that he was safe.

That was how the group came to be installed in Genkai's temple for the night. She had looked at Kurama and fed him a few counter drugs, bringing him out of the wild state, though, strangely, he refused to allow Hiei out of his sight even then, staying within arms length of him whenever he moved from one place to another. All three abducted team members were given clean clothing and were given time to wash and get clean before that night.

Dinner was subdued, though everyone from the rescue attempt was no longer present. Koenma managed to stay, but Botan, Shizuru and Kuwabara all left to deal with their assorted tasks. Keiko would have stayed, but each time she went anywhere near him, Yuusuke cringed away. So, she went home as well, telling her parents that she was sorry that she had to leave so suddenly that morning.

That night, once they were alone, Hiei tugged gently on Kurama's now brushed and cleaned hair, mystified why that caused the redhead to groan softly and lean into the pull. "Kurama."

"Yes?" He turned his head around on his pillow, facing Hiei's pallet near his own, nowhere near sleep.

"I will never be angry at you for that time. I care about you. Understand me? I usually try and hide my feelings, you know this. I love you though. If you need forgiveness for what happened there, then you have it. I can see you are not the same as before." Hiei stopped talking a faint sigh on his lips as he ran his fingers through to red locks on Kurama's head, the now clear green eyes closing as they filled with tears.

"I don't deserve your love Hiei. I love you as well.. I just can't forget.. I did things that should never have happened that way to you.. Even if you forgive me, I cannot forgive myself. Just let me atone my own way to you Hiei, please." Kurama turned his face back into the pillow, his sobs silent as they shook him.

"Kurama... Silly fox." Hiei sighed on the gentle statement, pulling his pallet closer then rolling the fox into his arms. "Just go to sleep. No one will touch either you or I anymore, so rest now. We are safe here."

Nodding through his tears, Kurama curled into the chest of his smaller companion, and cried himself to sleep.

To be continued.