Decisions

The party lasted all night for Yuusuke and his teammates, having just returned from yet another tough mission Koenma had sent them on. Keiko and Yukina talked about the wonderful decorations Botan had helped put up in Yuusuke's appartment. Hiei sat on the windowsill looking out at the darkening night sky. Kurama stood with Yuusuke and Kuwabara in the kitchen. Yuusuke was bent over with his head in the fridge, looking for something to eat.

"Come on, Yuusuke," Kuwabara said, complaining a bit. "Let's just get some pizza."

"Found it!" Yuusuke yelled as he pulled a large box from the fridge. He turned around and looked at Kurama and Kuwabara with a stupid smile on his face.

"Found what?" Kurama asked, looking at the decorated box in Yuusuke's hands.

"It's the cake Keiko brought," Yuusuke said, walking passed them and into the living room where everyone sat and talked.

"Yuusuke, what's that?" Yukina asked, walking over to stand beside him as he sat the box on the table. Keiko and Botan joined him at the table.

"It's a cake." He replied, pulling the cake from the box and setting it in the middle of the table.

After everyone, including Hiei, had a piece of cake, they sat around talking and eating. Yukina sat beside Yuusuke on his couch, delicately eating her small slice of cake. Her blue hair fell elegantly down on her shoulders. Despite the watchful eyes of Hiei, she never knew that he was in fact the brother she wanted to find. She smiled sweetly at Yuusuke, who smiled back.

Kuwabara glared at Yuusuke. ~Why is she smiling at him? Why is he smiling back?~

"I'm so happy you and Kazuma returned safely from your mission," Yukina said, smiling at both Yuusuke and Kuwabara. "Keiko hasn't been this happy for a month."

Keiko smiled happily at Yuusuke. "It's glad to see you four safe and out of danger."

"Don't worry about us, Keiko," Kurama said, eating the last bit of his piece of cake.

"I can't help it, Kurama, when the four of you are gone and are fighting powerful enemies," Keiko said, sighing, "a girl can't help but worry about her friends."

They all laughed at what Keiko said, except for Hiei.

"What?" Keiko asked, "It's true."

As the night wore on, Keiko and Yukina went back to Keiko's appartment. Shizuru came to take Kuwabara home, leaving Yuusuke, Kurama and Hiei alone. Yuusuke was half-asleep on his couch, when Kurama decided leave. Hiei slept on the windowsil, leaning against the panes of glass. The empty plate was still in his hands when his hand and arm fell limp at his side.

Small quiet breaths left Hiei's small child-like body as he stretched on the sill. He sighed quietly as he slept until he realized that only he and Yuusuke were in the appartment. Quietly, he listened to Yuusuke as he watched the dark-haired human sleep on the couch. He could hear the quiet mumbling of sleep-talk coming from Yuusuke. On silent feet, he stepped over to the couch and looked down at the pale face.

"Go away, Keiko." Yuusuke murmured in his sleep, unaware of Hiei's listening ears. "I wanna talk to Hiei." Yuusuke tried to roll over onto his side but fell onto the floor instead. Opening one eyes he looked around on the floor but saw nothing. He stood slowly and made his way to his room.

Hiei followed eagerly, wanting to find out if what he talked about in his sleep was of any importance to him. He sat in the corner of his room, averting his eyes when Yuusuke stripped down to only boxers and crawled into his bed.

"Guess everyone went home." Yuusuke said to himself before falling asleep.

Hiei listened as Yuusuke began to snore. For awhile, Yuusuke slept quietly, except for the occasional snore. Then he began to talk again.

"Wait!" He yelled, rolling over. "Don't go! Please, Hiei." Yuusuke seemed disturbed by the images he was seeing in his sleep. "I want to stay with you."

Hiei heard the quiet whimpers of a depressed sleeper. ~Stay? With me?~ Hiei's thought confused him as did the ramblings of the sleeping human. Hesitantly, he stepped over the Yuusuke's bedside and watched Yuusuke chest heave up and down as he cried.

"Why did you go? You knew!" Yuusuke yelled again, moving on the bed again. "You knew! Hiei!"

"What happened, Yuusuke?" Hiei asked silently, unaware that Yuusuke had heard the small youko's voice.

Yuusuke woke and looked at the dark figured that stood beside his bedside.

Hiei had not bothered to move from his spot. If something was going to happen to himself, he wanted to know that it was. "What happened?" He asked again.

"You died, Hiei," Yuusuke said, pushing himself up to a sitting position as he stared at him. "You went off alone to find something to make you stronger and you never returned."

Hiei stared at the sleepy-eyed human. ~Die?~

"I don't want you to go, Hiei." Yuusuke said suddenly, looking away from Hiei. "It would be too much for me."

"You don't want me to go?" Hiei asked, his red eyes looking at the tears that left marks on Yuusuke's cheek.

"I'm not sure if I want you here for me or for your sister," Yuusuke said, "sometimes when I look at you, I think of something I can't have. I-I don't know what to do."

Hiei stared, blankly at Yuusuke, as though he didn't understand what he had just said.

"I'm sorry," Yuusuke said, turning back to look at the small youko. "I shouldn't have said that to you. It was foolish of me." He tried to smile but failed.

Hiei reached up, hesitantly and wiped a tear from Yuusuke's eye. "If it is true, that I shall die, then I will stay here with you and not go anywhere without you."

Yuusuke's jaw dropped. "Wha-?"

Hiei put his hand on his mouth to quiet him. "I'll let you sleep." He stepped over to the window and opened it. After slipping out into the dark night sky, he sat on the nearest treebranch and fell asleep.

Yuusuke laid down again and pulled his blanket over his head. Despite how much he tried, he could not will himself to sleep. He kept remembering what Hiei had said to him. 'I will stay here with you.' ~Did he mean what he said? Would he stay with me?~ As he thought of the small youko doing something for someone else, he slowly drifted to a night of fitful sleep.

--Next Day--

The bright morning sun shined in Yuusuke's window and onto his sleepy face. Yawning, he stretched then pulled his blanket over his head to hide from the sun.

"Yuusuke! Wake up!" Keiko yelled from outside his door. "You're lazy! Get out of bed now!"

Yuusuke moaned as he tried to cover his ears to tone down the level of Keiko's voice. He had not gotten a lot of sleep from the night before.

"Go away, Keiko!" Yuusuke yelled from under the blanket.

"No!" She yelled back. "You're going to school today! I don't want any excuses."

He heard her receeding footsteps as she walked away from his door. When he pushed the blanket off of him, he was surprised to see Hiei standing by his beside. The small youko seemed not to be disturbed by Yuusuke's appearance.

"What are you doing here?" Yuusuke asked, nearly falling off his bed.

"To make sure you got up, Keiko didn't seem to happy with you." Hiei said, moving away from his bedside to stand by the door.

Yuusuke watched Hiei's small form stood beside the tall door. "What's wrong?"

Hiei stared at the quiet door, then suddenly he was away and out the window.

Keiko opened the door and stared down at Yuusuke. She yelled a little bit then averted her eyes. "Get dressed and downstairs in ten minutes, Yuusuke. If you arent't down in that much time, I'm coming back up." With that she left again.

Yuusuke sighed then stood. Walking over to his dresser, opening the middle drawer, he heard Hiei return to his room. He pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt. He walked passed, Hiei who stood by the open window, and into the bathroom off his room.

Hiei heard the water inside the shower turn on and Yuusuke's yelp as the old water poured over him. He waited while Yuusuke washed and dressed. He guessed that at least five minutes had gone by when Yuusuke finally stepped from the bathroom.

"She has a good hold on you, doesn't she?" Hiei asked, smirking when Yuusuke grimaced.

"She does this every morning but she doesn't learn." Yuusuke said, drying his hair with a towel. "I leave school once we get there, so what's the point in going?"

Hiei chuckled. "You should go downstairs, before she gets really angry with you."

Yuusuke glared at Hiei before obeying. He walked from the room and down the hall to the kitchen. Keiko sat the table wtih his mother, who seemed to be sleeping.

"Yuusuke!" Keiko yelled, not bothering to keep her voice down so not to disturb Yuusuke's mother. "Go change! Now!"

Yuusuke grunted then went to his room to change. When he opened the door to his room, he found Hiei sleeping curled up on his bed. Quietly, he changed into his usual green uniform that he wore to school. In a small bag he had a change of clothes that he'd change into when he got out of the school. Before leaving his room he turned and looked at the small, sleeping youko on his bed and sighed. ~Why had Hiei not gone to Kurama's to sleep?~

Keiko sighed when she saw him. They walked to school together, Yuusuke walked a bit behind Keiko. At school, Yuusuke found a chance to escape from both Keiko and school. After changing into his blue jeans and white short sleeve shirt, he began to walked down the sidewalk away from the school. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked.

"Why does she even try to make me go to school? She knows that I'll just leave once I get a chance," he grumbled, staring at the ground as he walked.

"What are you doing, Yuusuke?"

Yuusuke recognized Kurama's voice from behind him. He stopped and turned around, looking at the red-haired half-demon. Smiling, he greeted his friend.

"Is something wrong?" Kurama asked as he went to walk beside Yuusuke. "You don't seem to be happy at the moment."

"It's Keiko, she always tries to make me go to school," he replied, half-sulking.

"Well, a good education will allow you to get a good job and lead you to a healthy career." Kurama said, glancing at the human.

"Hmph." Yuusuke looked away.

"She's only looking out for your best interests." The youko pointed out, grinning.

Silence stretched between them as they walked toward the park.

"Why didn't Hiei go with you last night?" Yuusuke asked, glancing at Kurama.

"He was sleeping nicely on the windowsil," Kurama said, "he doesn't sleep well anymore, so I wanted him to sleep as best he could."

"Oh," Yuusuke sighed then said, "he sounded like he was sleeping fine this morning."

"Really?" Kurama asked, glancing at Yuusuke with a smile.

"He fell asleep in my bed this morning after I went to meet Keiko in the kitchen," he replied, then stopped, looking at Kurama. "Nothing happened, if that's what you're thinking!"

"I didn't say anything," the youko chuckled.

"What do you think I should do? It's not like I can leave him in my bed all day," Yuusuke said, sighing, "my mom has to come home soon."

"Don't worry, Yuusuke," Kurama siad, "I'm sure Hiei will get out before your mom finds him in your bed."

When Yuusuke turned to walk towards the park again, he nearly ran into Hiei. Hiei stood in front of Yuusuke, wearing a yellow shirt that was too big for him and a pair of dark blue jeans. He yawned.

~This isn't like Hiei, he never acted his way before,~ Kurama thought, seeing how Hiei began to talk with Yuusuke. ~What's wrong with him?~ As the three walked, Kurama stayed behind them and watched how Hiei acted with Yuusuke. Something was definitly bothering both of them, but neither wanted to tell him the truth about this something. Kurama noticed that whenever Yuusuke wanted to do something, Hiei went right along with the idea. In his mind, Kurama had a good idea that something was going to happen to the other one if one was not there to protect them.

People who walked passed them, stared at the pair. Hiei was laughing along with Yuusuke, a thing that Hiei never did with anyone, demon or human unless death was-- ~That's it,~ Kurama thought, ~Death is what's bothering them. One will die if the other leaves.~

"Come on, Kurama," Yuusuke yelled when they entered the park. "You're slowing down back there."

Hiei saw the face Kurama had made before the smile replaced his expression. ~He knows.~ Hiei thought as he looked up at Yuusuke. ~But how much does he know?~

"Coming," the tall youko said, catching up to the pair. "What were you planning on doing today, Yuusuke?"

"Stay out of trouble until Keiko finds me," Yuusuke said, then smiled. "If she finds you two with me, you'll both be yelled at. Kurama for not being at his own school and Hiei for not going to school in the first place."

"Hmph." Hiei crossed his arms as they found a spot along the stream to sit. The splashing water seemed to sooth his body as he listened to the wind. ~How much would Kurama be willing to tell me of what he knows?~ He thought, glancing back at the red-haired youko, who now lounged against a tree.

Yuusuke laid on the ground with his hands behind his head, looking up at the blue sky. Sighing, he closed his eyes and began to rest. ~If he were to die, what would I do?~ Yuusuke asked himself. ~Is there anything I can do without him?~

A dream came to Yuusuke. ~He found Hiei laying on the ground, blood spilled from his mouth. His shirt was torn where there were four deep gash wounds on his stomach. Tears spilled down Yuusuke's cheeks as he picked Hiei's head up to lay it on his lap. A few tears dripped down off Yuusuke's chin and fell onto Hiei's forehead. Yuusuke's heart wrenched the entire time he watched Hiei's pale face.

He sat with Hiei's head in his lap when the demon that killed Hiei growled behind him. Turning around, he saw the shadowed and snarling face of the demon. Blood-red eyes stared down at the mourning human, drool dripped down onto the ground behind Yuusuke. The demon rose his clawed hand and slashed at his trembling body.~

Yuusuke yelled and woke, sitting up in the park. Hiei was at his side in a moment, sensing that something was wrong.

"What happened?" Hiei asked, clearly concerned.

Kurama stood behind Yuusuke, listening.

"I saw it," Yuusuke said, looking at Hiei. "The moment the demon killed you, I was there after you died. I saw his blood-red demon eyes staring down at me as I held your limp body. He raised his hand and slashed at me." Yuusuke began to tremble. "I don't want to see those images again, Hiei."

Hiei reached out, hesitantly, and took the trembling human into his arms. Looking up at Kurama, he saw a concerned look on his face.

"It seems that he has had these dreams before," Kurama said, glancing down at them. "Is this why you follow him everywhere?"

"One death should not be the death of teammates," Hiei said, resting his chin on Yuusuke's head.

~'Teammates'?!~ "If your death causes his, then it is a good idea for you to stay with him," Kurama said, kneeling. "We should get him home before someone sees him like this. We don't want to ruin his reputation at school."

Hiei nodded in agreement and allowed Kurama to take Yuusuke onto his back. They arrived at Yuusuke's appartment in no time at all, luckily Atsuko wasn't home. With Yuusuke's key, Kurama got the door open despite the extra weight on his back. Kurama took Yuusuke's to his room and laid him on his bed. Sweat poured down Yuusuke's face as he lay in bed.

"Yuusuke!" Keiko's voice rang throughout the house. "I know you're here! I saw you leave school!" Keiko's footsteps could be heard coming toward his room.

Hiei and Kurama had no time to escape before Keiko opened the door and entered.

Seeing them both, she got madder. "Why aren't you at school?" She asked Kurama. "What are you doing here?" She yelled at Hiei, even he stepped back away from her. His current state took away some of his usual anger.

"I--I was just making sure Yuusuke was okay," the red-haired demon replied, trying to smile.

"Better come back later," Keiko said, "after I'm done with him, I don't know if he'll be able to walk."

Kurama put a hand on Hiei's shoulder.

"And you," Keiko said, pointing her finger at Hiei, "you should know better than to go and follow Yuusuke everywhere. I see you around him all the time, you're just a bad influence on him."

She pushed her way passed him and gasped when she saw Yuusuke. Turning to Kurama, she asked, "what happened?"

"Nothing, he'll be okay, he just needs some quiet," he replied, shooing her out of the room.

Hiei stood staring at the door after it closed for a moment before looking down at Yuusuke's pale face. ~What's wrong with me? I don't know what to do. Keiko loves him but what is this that I feel?~ He sat on a chair beside Yuusuke's bed and watched his face. His hair had grown some since their last mission, Hiei noticed, he reached out to brush away the hair from his face. A shiver ran up his spine when he touched Yuusuke's sweaty brow.

The rest of the week was spent like that, Hiei stayed with Yuusuke in his room alone when Keiko and Kurama were at school. When Kurama was dismissed from school, he'd stop by for a moment then leave. Keiko stayed with them for awhile, determined to find out what was wrong with him, but no one told her. All they said that it was nothing for her to worry about.

On the fifth day of this cycle, Hiei watched the moon while waiting for Yuusuke to wake. Sighing, he listened to the human's slow breathing as it quickened and slowed in his sleep. Hiei turned around looked down at him, his beautiful face as the blue moonlight shined down on his face. He yearned to touch his beautiful face, to touch those lips of his without any worry of the consequences that would be on him.

He reached down, hesitantly, with his hand then stopped not to far from Yuusuke's face. ~What would he say? What would happen if I . . . ?~ Hiei touched Yuusuke's face and sighed when the only response he got was a quiet sigh. He picked the blankets up off Yuusuke and laid down beside the human. Yuusuke stirred but didn't move off the bed away from Hiei. Hiei laid up against him and closed his eyes.

Yuusuke woke and found himself laying with his arm over Hiei's chest. His eyes widened when his saw the small child-like face laying beside him on his bed. Slowly he got off his bed and went over to his window. The sun was high in the light afternoon sky. As he watched the sky, he saw the light clouds grow dark and form one over the entire city. He saw a lightning bolt form in the sky and shoot down to the ground but never faded.

After staring at the strange lightning bolt for awhile, he went over to Hiei and woke him.

"Hiei, look at the light," Yuusuke said to the sleepy youko. "It doesn't go away."

"That's lightning," Hiei said before he took the bandage from his forehead. As he surveyed the light, his eyed widened. "That isn't lightning, that's someone spirit energy. Whoever is making that light is very powerful."

"Who could make such a thing?" Yuusuke asked, mezmerized by the glowing yellow light.

Hiei shruged. ~Something's wrong. No one in the Makai has that ability that I'm aware of.~ He opened the window and jumped out onto the tree. Looking back at Yuusuke, he waved for him to follow. Yuusuke followed Hiei toward the light. He kept up with the small youko, perhaps that was because he was still tired from before. Once they reached the light, they were surprised to see Kurama and Kuwabara ariving, too. The light extended from the ground to the dark clouds. A light rain began to fall on them as they surveyed the strange light.

From the light, a shadowed figured stepped out from the light. A cape blew in the light wind that seemed to come from the column of light.

"You are quite a bunch of fools," the figure said, laughing. "Coming to your own doom, it's nice not to have to search for my prey but seeing you here relieves me of that duty."

"Who are you?" Kuwabara asked, stepping forward.

"Glad you asked," the figure said, raising one hand. The column of light behind him disappeared into his palms. Grinning he said, "My name is Hui, I am a lightning demon." He bowed slightly after his introduction.

"Hui?" Hiei asked, looking at Kurama then at Yuusuke.

"What do you want?!" Kurama asked, leering at the man.

"I want . . ." Hui pointed forward at Yuusuke. "Him."

Yuusuke took a step backwards. "Me?"

"And. . ." He pointed at Hiei. "Him."

Hiei stepped back beside Yuusuke.

Kurama looked at the pair and back at the figure. ~Why those two?~

"You two will die after I take your spirit energy from you," he laughed as he walked toward them.

Kuwabara ran up to punch the guy but was shocked and thrown back. Kurama decided not to try his luck and fight this guy.

Hui continued toward Yuusuke and Hiei, when he neared them, a roped of lightning tightened around the pair. They screamed as the lightning rope sucked the energy from them. Hui laughed harder when both Hiei and Yuusuke fell to the ground unconscious.

"I'll take these two with me for right now," he said as he raised them from the ground with yellow lightning cords. "Come join them if you want."

Kurama watched as Hui disappeared with Hiei and Yuusuke with him. Turning back he saw Kuwabara pushing himself up from the ground.

"Where'd he take them?" Kuwabara asked as he brushed himself off and stood beside the red-haired demon.

"Somewhere that we're not going to be able to find them," he replied, turning away to walk back home.

"How can you be so calm about this, Kurama?" Kuwabara yelled, following him. "I don't get you!"

"Kuwabara, you don't understand! Hui took them to the deepest reaches of the Makai where only he can go," Kurama said, turning to look at Kuwabara. "If we go searching for them, we'll never find them because Hui can move his hideout at any given moment. It would be useless for us to do so."

Kuwabara stopped and stared at the red-head. "Do you mean that we have to sit here and wait for them to come home?"

"No, we go to Koenma and find out more about Hui," Kurama said, "I only know a little about him."

~Hui's Hideout~

Hui stood outside the cell which contained Hiei and Yuusuke. The two still lay unconscious against the fall wall. Hui waited. His red hair stuck up toward the ceiling, matching the deep red color of his eyes.

Yuusuke moaned as he opened one yell, looking around, he saw Hiei leaning against his shoulder. He raised his hands and shook Hiei awake. Hiei woke and looked up at Yuusuke.

"Good, you're awake." Hui said, grinning. "I'd hate to do this when you're unconscious."

Both Yuusuke and Hiei turned to look at the lightning demon.

He appeared in front of them, staring down at Yuusuke. "I can sense that you're the stronger of the pair, Genkai has done a good job of teaching you." He reached down and pulled Yuusuke up to his face. "I'll start with you."

Yuusuke struggled but couldn't get out of his hold. Hiei tried to move but was held down by Hui's spirit energy.

A red glow surrounded Yuusuke as Hui began to suck the spirit energy from his body. Yuusuke yelled in pain as the process was going on. Hiei hated himself for not being able to help Yuusuke when he needed his help. Hui dropped Yuusuke when there was nothing else to take. Yuusuke laid on the stone floor, breathing in deep breaths that didn't ease the pain that still ran through his body. Then Hui grabbed the small fire demon and lifted him as he did Yuusuke.

"You won't be as much trouble," he said, his red spirit energy began its process.

Hiei yelled as Yuusuke did, pain peirced his bones and his mind. When Hiei's pain receeded from his body, he saw the blurry vision of Hui standing over him, laughing. He took a deep breath and watched Hui leave his sights.

"Yuusuke . . ." Hiei whispered, struggling to look at his human friend. "Are you okay?"

"I don't feel like myself, Hiei," Yuusuke replied, whispering as he looked at Hiei. "What happened to me?"

"Nothing, we're just going to be tired for awhile," the small youko replied, laying down next to him. "We'll be okay if we just sleep for awhile."

Yuusuke sighed as he closed his eyes and began to rest. "I feel so weak."

"Just rest, Yuusuke."

~Spirit World~

Kurama and Kuwabara arrived at the spirit world, surprising both Botan and Koenma. Botan's greeting was as cheerful as ever until she saw the grim faces they wore.

"What's wrong?" Botan asked when they reached Koenma's desk.

"A lightning demon named Hui took Hiei and Yuusuke," Kurama said, "but if we went after them, we'd die before we found them."

Koenma nodded. "Hui the lightning demon is a very powerful demon that many have been killed by. It is very rare that one might find his hideout which seems to move from the likiest location to the most unlikiest place. I've heard of this demon but have been lucky enough to not have been encountered by him." He sighed. "If you say that Yuusuke and Hiei have been taken by him, it a likely chance that they will be dead when we finally find them."

Kuwabara paled as did Botan.

"What?!" Botan's eyes began to tear up. "Die?!"

"Yes, Botan," Koenma said, calmly, "if we do not do something quick, Hui will devour their souls along with their spirit energy. I fear that we may be too late."

"How so we find this hideout, if it moves?" Kuwabara asked, nearly screaming his question.

"You wait."

"Wait?! Where?" Kuwabara yelled, still angered.

"In the Makai." Koenma turned his chair away from them. "If you sit tight and wait, his fortresses location will be known to you in a few hours."

Kurama nodded and began to walk away. Kuwabara looked at Kurama then followed. They reached the Makai later than they had hoped, Kuwabara hesitated slightly when he was to enter the Makai. Once there, they did just as Koenma said, they waited. As they waited, Kuwabara got grouchy and began to be loud.

"Quiet down, Kuwabara, you don't want to attract any more attention than you already are," Kurama said, staring at the red-haired human.

"Quiet down?! You want me to quiet down?" He yelled, "I can't do that. We've been waiting for two hours!"

"Patience is a virtue."

Kuwabara dropped to his butt and crossed his arms. "Hmph."

They waited awhile longer in the Makai, waiting for some moment when they'd find out where the fortress belonging to Hui was going to be. As the day went on they were without hope, Kuwabara was beginning to think that Koenma was lying to them. When the sun was beginning to set when a loud crack startled both Kurama and Kuwabara. A tall shadowed building appeared in front of them, Kurama turned and looked at Kuwabara. An astonished look covered his stupid human face as he stared at the fortress. They hesitated when they began their way toward the building.

~Inside~

Hiei woke with Yuusuke at his side, despite the length of time both of them had slept, Hiei was still exhausted. He could see that Yuusuke, too, still needed some rest to gain enough energy to move. Sighing, he pushed himself up agianst the wall and watched the slow rise and fall of Yuusuke's chest. ~What did we do to deserve this? Is this our punishment for being the strongest?~ He looked up at the ceiling. ~I don't deserved to be cared for by you, Yuusuke,~ he thought, glancing down at the dark-haired human. ~You want someone better than me. Someone who'll be able to take care of you.~

"Hiei?" Yuusuke's quiet voice asked. "Do you feel that?"

Hiei paused and looked around. "Is that Kurama?"

Yuusuke struggled to push himself to lean against the wall beside Hiei. "I think so but my energy is still weak." He sighed. "Could we get out of here?"

"We're still too weak to do anything, Yuusuke." Hiei said, looking at him. "I don't know if we can get conjour enough energy to stand right now."

Yuusuke turned his head toward the ceiling. "I wonder if it is really Kurama."

Kurama and Kuwabara snuck their way through the fortress, following the weak auras of Yuusuke's and Hiei's spirit energy. The weakness of their auras gave both red-heads a grim feeling of their situation. ~Will we be able to find Yuusuke and Hiei? Will we be able to get them home?~ Kurama shook his head. He did not want to think about the consequences of his actions or the possible endings of their rescue attempt.

Kuwabara followed the grim-faced Kurama as they race down the halls of the castle. He was surprised that there was no one to fight, no one to kill or to get passed. Something felt strange to him.

"Kurama?"

"What?"

"Why do you think we haven't encountered any enemies?" Kuwabara asked as they ran.

"Hui is not one for taking guards," was the reply. "He thinks of them as vermin as he thinks of us as them as well."

Kuwabara stared at him. "Do you mean that they could be dead right now because he thinks of them as vermin?"

Kurama shook his head again. "No, they are still alive but barely. He will not kill them because when their strength and energy return, he can take it away again to become even stronger. He didn't take us because he wanted extras incase they died."

Kuwabara gulped at that. ~Extras?~

"It's nice to have visitors," Hui's voice said, echoing through the halls. Kurama and Kuwabara stopped and looked around. "And such strong ones, too."

"Where are you?" Kuwabara yelled, raising his fist.

"I thought you'd want to know that," Hui said again. "Let's play a game. If you find them before two hours of your time is up, I'll let them go. I don't think I have to tell you what will happen if you don't make it." Hui laughed!

Kurama turned to look at his friend. "Fine."

"What? You can't be serious, Kurama," he yelled, "we can't risk their lives to paly a game."

"We have to try," Kurama said, "if we don't he might outright kill them because we've come. Very little is none about this guy."

Kuwabara quieted.

"Don't doddle." Hui's laughter echoed through the halls.

Again, they began their search for their friends.

Hiei and Yuusuke leaned against eachother. Sighing, Yuusuke turned to look at the small youko.

"I can feel my strength returning, Hiei," he said, raising his hands to stretch his fingers. "How is your strength returning?"

"Good, quick but I fear that this will not be a good thing," Hiei replied, "if he took our strength once, I bet he'll do it again once we regain all of our strength."

"Let's just think of the positives, okay, Hiei?"

Hiei nodded.

"Besides, Kurama and Kuwabara are on their way here." Yuusuke said, glancing at the darkened hallway. "They'll help us out of here."

"I wouldn't count on that one, human." Hui said as he appeared out of the darkened hallway. "They have just two hours to find you, this fortress is a labrynth of dead-ends. It will take them quick a long time to find this place."

Yuusuke stared at him, disbeliving what he was hearing. ~A game? Why was he playing a game?~

"What are you talking about?" Hiei asked, switching his gaze from the wall to the tall demon. "This isn't a game! We aren't just toys!"

Hui laughed. "I doubt that! You're mine! I can do anything I want with--"

"No, you don't actually." Kurama's youko voice came from the hallway. "People and demons are not toys to be played with by others."

"Yeah!" Kuwabara appeared beside the white-haired youko.

Hui turned to look at the two, a suprised look covered his face. "What?! How is this possible? No one can make it through my labrinth!"

"You're quite wrong about that," Youko Kurama said, taking a few steps forward. "Once we got a lock on your spirit energy, it was very easy to find where you were keeping Yuusuke and Hiei."

"Die!" Hui struck the ground in front of them with a lightning attack.

Youko Kurama kept him busy while Kuwabara tried to pick the lock keeping Yuusuke and Hiei in the cell. Once the door popped open, Yuusuke's spirit energy seem to seep back into him as did Hiei's. Yuusuke stood and brushed the dirt from his jeans and stared at Hui. Hiei stood beside Yuusuke.

"Hui!" Yuusuke yelled, raising his finger. "You shouldn't've done what you did to me and my friends!" He steadied himself then yelled, "Spirit gun!"

His energy blast struck Hui in the back, causing him to fall on the ground in pain.

Yuusuke breathed deep.

Hiei caught him when he began to collapse. "I guess he was just too tired."

While Yuusuke, Hiei and Kuwabara ran out of the castle, Youko Kurama finished Hui off then moved to follow them. It took them no time at all to find their way out of the rundown building. They reached the human world and delivered Yuusuke to his home, luckily neither his mother or Keiko were at his home.

Yuusuke laid sleeping in his bed for a while before Kuwabara or Kurama left. Hiei stayed behind, sitting on the windowsil while Yuusuke slept on his bed.

~Why is it so simple for humans to show their emotins toward one another?~ Hiei asked himself, turning to stare at the moonlit sky. ~Why can't I tell him how I feel? Is it because of my usual attitiude or because I don't know how to say it?~

Smiling, Hiei fell asleep as he listened to Yuusuke sweet snoring.

*~* Done *~*