He didn't reply and immediately she thought: they've got him and now they're coming for me.
She dropped the communication gear and ran in the completely opposite direction.
She suddenly realized she might be alone for the rest of her life.
As she stopped to catch her breath, she looked back…
"You were always the quiet one."
"How long have you been following me?"
"Long enough. Farewell, fox."
-x-x-x-x-
He'd never seen so many homeless people in one place, and it was nearly depressing. The humanity within him sighed. This was a secluded and private place?
"Hey, you're pretty. Wanna lay down with me for a while?"
Kurama avoided eye contact with the man who catcalled at him, and continued walking. He pursed his lips while his gaze was fixed straight ahead. He pushed his hands into the pockets of his orange jacket, half-zipped giving view to a white shirt underneath.
Shortly after continuing to wander through a homeless camp, he finally caught sight of the person he was looking for.
"Lord Koenma, Botan. It's nice to see you."
The teenaged form of Koenma raised his hand to his friend, giving out a cheerful "yo!"
Kurama stopped right before them, relaxing his pose. "Quite an interesting location to hold a meeting. What seems to be the occasion?"
Botan pulled a mirror from the sleeve of her robe, getting right down to business. Instantly, Kurama noticed it. His eyes narrowed.
"I can guess by your expression that you haven't lost an idea of what this is?" Koenma asked.
Kurama cleared his throat. "The Mirror of Forlorn Hope. I had nearly forgotten about it."
Botan giggled innocently before her cheerful voice followed it. "We patched it up. Looks good as new, wouldn't you think?" Kurama nodded slightly.
"I need you to take it with you, Kurama," Koenma added.
Kurama tilted his head slightly. "I don't understand, sir. Shouldn't it remain locked in the vault with the rest of the items?"
"Yes, you are correct," Koenma said with a closed-eye smile. "Yusuke's on a mission and you're the next best thing when he's gone. Besides, this mission is better left up to you."
"I understand," Kurama said with a nod. His hands fell out of his pockets and into lose fists at his sides. "What must I do?"
Botan and Koenma exchanged glances for a brief moment before their cheerful demeanor left them. Botan stepped forward, tilting the mirror faintly toward Kurama. Its surface shown in the sunlight before an image appeared to the red haired boy, causing a visible agitation in him.
"What did you see, Kurama?" Koenma asked as his arms crossed behind his back.
Kurama remained silent, staring at what he saw in the mirror. His expression held recognition, disbelief, and nearly fear. "That isn't what I want…"
"No, you are correct. It's what I want."
Botan blinked in confusion. She hadn't heard anything about the mission besides to offer the mirror to Kurama. Her gaze turned to Koenma to see a steely serious appearance now.
"…" Kurama closed his mouth that was previously hung open, and he tensed up. "Explain."
Koenma sighed behind his pacifier. "Find this person. It's a given they no longer look like that. What she may look like is a gamble, of course. I can't pinpoint where she is, I just know it's somewhere here. You're familiar with her. So you'll have an advantage."
"Why is she alive?"
Koenma sat in thought with his arms crossed for a while, then opened his eyes. "Because my father doesn't know she still exists."
Kurama's face twisted with a cringe. His fist tightened up enough for his nails to dig into the palm of his hand. "And what will you do with her once she is located?"
Koenma took another bout of silence. After some time, he spoke. "Kill her."
Botan started to feel pain from Kurama's reaction. Kurama recognized the girl and was not happy about the order to kill her. It seemed like that was the furthest thing on his mind when it came to her. Was she a comrade? You don't kill your former comrades…
"I understand," Kurama finally answered, upset to say so. "Shall I be the one to deliver the killing touch?"
Koenma turned around, his red scarf twirling behind him. "I'll leave that option to you. Let's head back, Botan."
"Yes, sir," Botan said in a forced enthusiastic manner. She gave a sympathetic glance to Kurama before trotting after her boss. Fog rolled through and engulfed the pair, and Kurama watched as they disappeared with the wind.
The red head let out another pained sound, conflict brewing within him. His face screwed up in more dissatisfaction, unsure of how he's going to pull this off. If he was the one to kill her, it would at least be painless and quick. Left to the Spirit World, they would torture her. Was this a test of his will and obedience? Koenma had to have dug way into the past to find a connection between the two of them.
After a long, long while, Kurama had calmed himself. This could also be a good thing. There could be a silver lining in this. But honestly… could he really pull it off?
-x-x-x-x-
Yusuke was sitting on the roof of his school, staring idly at the clouds as they passed by. He had no idea how long he'd been sitting here. It was a wonder he never had sunburn with as much exposure he gave himself to the sun. The door underneath him opened up with a bang, and his friend's voice resounded through the air.
"Urameshi! Where are you?! I know you're here, I can sense your spirit energy…"
Yusuke sighed out and sat up. "Yeah, yeah, whaddya want?"
Kuwabara took a few steps forward and turned around to see Yusuke sitting atop the small building that held the door. "Man, I thought you were on a mission!"
Yusuke sneered, then jumped down to level with the blue uniformed oaf. "I finished that a couple days ago. Still not in the mood to go to class."
"Does anyone else know you're back?"
Yusuke looked at his surroundings. "Don't look like it."
Kuwabara sighed. "No wonder Keiko is always pissed off…"
Yusuke glared at Kuwabara, then sighed. "It was so easy. Everything is always so easy anymore. Nothing makes sense anymore."
Kuwabara squinted his eyes, trying to find a hidden meaning in his words. "Are you having a midlife crisis or something?"
Yusuke threw a punch at his friend's face, nearly hitting him if he didn't dodge in time. Without another word, Yusuke was heading to the door. "I'm going to Genkai's. I just can't handle real life right now."
"You think you can just walk away from all your problems?! You're such a loser! Always going to be a loser, you hear me! Keiko won't marry a loser!"
Kuwabara's words fell on deaf ears as the door closed with a loud click. He grunted in annoyance. Today was the last day of the week class would fall on… So maybe skipping the rest of the day wasn't a bad idea… Genkai does have all the cool things…
He contemplated for a while longer, before the chilling words of his sister hung in his head, her very serious threats to harm him in ways unheard of in even the most popular forms of torture… Yeah… he should finish classes for the day…
-x-x-x-x-
Meanwhile, in the last corner of the city, Hiei was sleeping in a tree.