Chapter 4

"That'll be easy. I know who has them."

They all turned to stare at him with shocked looks.

"What?!"

Yusuke smirked as they all stared wide eyed at him.

"It was one of my first missions as Spirit Detective."

He gave a confident nod. This'll be like taking candy from a baby.

"Well? Who is it?"

"Yeah Urameshi, tell us already!"

Was everyone still living in the same place as his world? Eh, he'd find them eventually. He already had once before.

Yusuke thought aloud "The hardest to find will be Hiei so we should find Kurama first. Kurama will know how to find him and that other dude."

The three of them exchange confused glances.

Keiko broke the silence "Why would Kurama steal the artifacts again?"

"Wait- What?" Again? What does that mean?

Keiko saw the confused look plastered across his face.

"He already stole them before. Why would he give them back and then take them again?"

Is it possible-?

"Did you have to fight him for them?" Yusuke could feel the hairs on the back of his neck start to stand up.

Keiko blinked at him a few times, thinking.

"No. He gave all the artifacts back just a few days after I tracked him down."

"Shit." Muttered the detective.

I guess this means that me dying isn't the only thing different here.

"Wait, did you say he gave you all three?"

Keiko nodded.

"So what happened with Hiei?"

"Who?" Asked Kuwabara, matching the equally confused look that Keiko was giving him.

The former Spirit Detective looked off into the direction of town, pondering for a moment.

"... Maybe they didn't meet each other here."

Kuwabara stared at him for a few seconds then frowned.

"So you don't know who has them?"

Yusuke shook his head.

"The artifacts were only stolen once in my world." He scratched his chin. "Who else could want them?"

The redhead huffed. "Great. Now we're back to step one."

Keiko ran a hand through her hair. The days activities had ruined the style she had set into it this morning.

"We got them back once before. We can do it again."

He reluctantly nodded, letting out a sigh. It looked as though a nap might help the quickly souring mood of their larger friend.

Sakura lightly tapped the still unconscious demon with her oar. "I better be getting this guy to Spirit world. We'll see if we can get any information out of him there."

Keiko and Kuwabara waved their goodbyes as Sakura disappeared with the demon. They all stared at the empty spot for a short time.

Yusuke stretched, trying to work out the tiredness settling into his muscles. "Whelp, we better get going." The sooner this is over, the sooner I can go home.

"Where are we going?" Keiko straightened her outfit knocking some of the dust and dirt off from her battle.

He looked at her and Kuwabara over his shoulder as he started off in the direction of town.

"To find Kurama."

Keiko and Kuwabara shot each other a puzzled look.

"Why?" Inquired Keiko.

Yusuke replied, still walking away. "Because he's the smartest person I know. If anybody can figure out who has the artifacts, it'll be Kurama." At least I hope.

Keiko followed after Yusuke, Kuwabara right behind her. "Assuming he's still the same Kurama as the one you know." She stated flatly.

Yusuke shrugged. "It's worth a shot at least."

The sun had already set by the time they had made it back into town.

"Maybe we should see Kurama tomorrow." Keiko broke the silence.

That would probably be the best idea. Kurama's house was still a good distance away. It would be the middle of the night by the time they got there. The buses in this side of town weren't exactly known for being fast. Not to mention that most bus drivers didn't seem too keen on picking up passengers that look like thugs, even if he was reformed. People are just so judgmental.

Kurama might not be too happy about them showing up that late.

"We should call it a night."

Yusuke nodded reluctantly. Tomorrow would be a new day and hopefully it won't suck as much as today had. Oh who was he kidding. The universe had decided a long time ago that Yusuke Urameshi wasn't allowed to have any easy days.

An audible growl met the ears of the trio.

Everyone stopped and turned their attention to Yusuke.

That's right. He hadn't eaten anything since this morning. Great.

"I think we should call it dinner." Kuwabara piped up.

Keiko checked her watch "I should be heading home. I'll see you boys tomorrow."

"I'll meet you by the school." Keiko called back as they all waved their goodbyes.

Yusuke and Kuwabara walked in silence for a bit before Kuwabara finally broke the awkwardness.

"Soooooo... Ramen?"

Looking up at the redhead, Yusuke suddenly remembered the time that he had died. Kuwabara had been a wreck. He had never seen the big goof so devastated. Sure, he could be pretty emotional, but that was the first time Yusuke had ever actually seen him cry. They were best friends after all, even if they had never shown it in a conventional way. Did this Kuwabara feel the same way?

The hopeful yet sad look in his friend's eyes said it all.

"Yeah. Ramen sounds good."

Kuwabara picked up his pace. "Cool. There's a place just down the road that I really like. They have a cat that you can pet while you wait for your food."

Of course they do.

Maybe being stuck here for a little while wouldn't be too bad.