*A/N: let's see… I couldn't really decide how to start this next chapter and I was in a major writers block. But after reading some of the reviews I got, it suddenly became clear. So without further ado or however you spell it, let the chapter begin….*
Chapter Four: Hiei Sold
"So, let's see. If I was Hiei, where would I be?" Yusuke muttered out loud. He walked through town, heading towards one of the parks. He glanced at the mall as he passed, watching all the people bustle about, doing their shopping and hanging out. "Well, not in there, that's for sure. That's the last place he would be. Way too many people, even for my comfort. Man, it's Saturday for crying out loud! Couldn't Hiei wait until a school day to go missing? At least then we would be doing something productive and more valuable with our time than going to class."
"Wow, that last sentence almost sounded intelligent." said a calm yet sarcastic voice behind him. Yusuke turned to see Shizuru coming out of the mall's main entrance.
"Hey, Shizuru. What are you doing here?" Yusuke said, walking back to her.
Shizuru shrugged, taking a puff of her cigarette. "Well, since I came out of the mall with shopping bags I would think it was pretty obvious that I was shopping."
Yusuke rolled his eyes but didn't comment. Even though she was Kuwabara's older sister, she could be pretty scary when she was pissed. "Yeah, I guess it was pretty obvious. So, are you on your way home or not yet?"
"Not yet. I have a few other things I need to do first." Shizuru said, taking another puff. "Say, where's my baby bro? He said this morning that he was going over to Kurama's house because that was where you guys were."
"Oh, yeah." Yusuke said. "Well, he was with us but we're all split up right now. We're looking for Hiei."
Shizuru raised an eyebrow. "Shorty did quite a number on my bro, from what I saw when he came home yesterday. Why in the world would he go looking for him, is he that eager to die?"
"Well, actually." Yusuke confessed. "It's part of a mission. See, a bunch of humans and demons have been disappearing recently and now Hiei's missing, too. Koenma thinks that Hiei's disappearance might be linked with the others and so he thinks that if we find Hiei, we'll find the one who's doing this."
"I guess that makes sense." Shizuru said after a moment of thought. "But why are you over here? Knowing Shorty, he would rather be where there are trees, not people. I would think one of the parks or the forest would be your best bet."
Yusuke nodded. "Yeah, I know. I'm actually headed towards the park near the library right now. If I can't find him there, then I'll just keep going to the next one until I either find him or run out of parks. Kuwabara and Kurama split up and took opposite ends of the forest. We were going to meet up back at Kurama's house in a few hours."
"I see. Well good luck. I'll catch you guys later and tell Kazuma not to stay out too late, and if he's going to stay the night somewhere, to call first." Then she turned and walked away.
"Sure, see ya." Yusuke said, then turned and started heading in the direction of the park. About an hour later, Yusuke still hadn't found Hiei. "Damn it, where the hell is he?!" Yusuke yelled, after finishing off his third park. He had about two more parks to go and he was getting bored and hungry. "Well, better head to the next one." He muttered before taking off again.
***
Kurama continued to search the forest, trying to pick up Hiei's energy. So far, he hadn't been able to feel anything even close to Hiei's energy and now he only had less than an hour left to search. He searched all of the tree tops and behind every boulder and anywhere else he could think to look but no dice.
"This is very odd." He muttered to himself. "Where could he have gone? I don't sense any odd energy waves. Everything feels relatively normal." Yet something wasn't quite right. If only he had bothered to pay closer attention to where Hiei went when he was keeping track of him. That would have helped greatly. "Well, I'm not going to find him just standing here."
A few moments later, as Kurama was about to call it a day, a noise to his right made him stop. He walked over to where it had come from and stopped when a young looking squirrel ran out from behind a bush and up a nearby tree. Kurama was about to turn and head back when something shiny caught his attention. Looking back, he saw it again, hidden under the bush the squirrel had run out of. Kneeling down, he reached under and grabbed it, pulling it out. It was a sword, a sword that Kurama recognized very well. After all, he and Yusuke had to keep Hiei from using it on Kuwabara the other day when he had practically pulverized him. Abruptly, he stood and searched for anything else, anything that would tell him where to find Hiei.
Twenty minutes later, after constant searching, Kurama was forced to give up. Taking a deep sigh, he reluctantly turned and, taking the sword with him, headed back home.
***
Hiei slammed his fist into the window once more. Again, the window shattered, and then mended itself, looking brand new and undamaged. He was becoming very aggravated and tired. He had been trying for the past half hour to fight his way out but everything he smashed would mend itself again. He'd tried to break through the walls, the windows, even climbing out of the chimney. It was almost like a lid on the top of the chimney even though he could easily see the sky as he climbed up. And what was more, he was getting hungry. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten.
Hiei walked into the kitchen. He knew there wouldn't be anything edible here but decided to check anyways. As he expected, when he opened the fridge, everything was plastic and glued to the shelves. The inside wasn't even cold. He opened every cupboard, getting the same result each time.
Turning away in disgust, he heard a knock on the front door. When he answered it, the demon that had done this to him was standing on the other side with a mocking grin on his bright orange face. "Having fun?" he teased. "Getting settled in, are we?"
Hiei glared at him and tried to close the door in his face. The demon caught it and flung it open with enough force to push Hiei back a few steps. He walked into the room, as though he owned the place. In the doll house, he was at least seven feet tall, his purple hair lightly brushing the ceiling. Yet when he had been standing outside the door, he had been at least twelve feet compared to Hiei's current state. He turned to face Hiei. Before he could speak, Hiei snarled, "Change me back!"
"No." the demon said flatly. "No, I don't think I will. Actually I came to give you a bit of good news. Would you like to hear it?"
Hiei glared at him. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.
The demon grinned smugly, clearly enjoying his power over Hiei. "I've decided to let you out into the world." He said dramatically.
Hiei raised his eyebrows is shock. Could he actually be getting set free? Was he being released? Then he narrowed his eyes at the demon suspiciously. "What's the catch?"
The demon's grin turned unpleasant and he raised his hands in the air, spreading them wide. "The only thing required is this." His hands glowed a strange green color. Suddenly the glow turned into a flash, blinding Hiei. When he could see again, he realized that he was lying on his back and the demon was standing over him. He tried to stand but couldn't move. His body was completely stiff. The demon laughed at him. "You have to take your new house with you. And since it is a doll house, and you are now a doll, you need to start acting like one. You won't do it on your own so I decided to help you out. Let's see, how long should I keep you this way? How about for a full twenty-four hours?"
Hiei tried to glare at the demon. The demon laughed. "I agree. Twenty-four hours seems to short. Let's try twenty-five hours." Then he picked Hiei up and placed him on the hard plastic couch. "There, all nice and comfy." Then he walked out of the doll house and grew back to his original height. He picked up the doll house, carefully making sure nothing moved out of place and locking the house so it wouldn't accidently open. "Now, let's go find us a nice little toy store." He said, and then headed out the front door of the real version of the doll house.
***
"Why should I have to look for that murderous shrimp?" Kuwabara mumbled yet again. He had been searching this side of the forest for over an hour and a half and so far no sign of Hiei. He was getting tired and hungry by the time he stopped. "I can't find him anywhere. And I'm starving!" Then he walked out of the forest and headed back into town. Walking down the street, he suddenly felt a strange feeling. Looking around he spotted a tall man, probably about seven feet or so, with long purple hair and orange skin, walking toward a small toy store, a large pink doll house in his arms. "He doesn't look human." he muttered to himself.
As if hearing him, the man turned and grinned pleasantly at him. "Hello, there, young man. Do you happen to have any siblings that would like this here doll house? I can sell it to you real cheap. How about thirty dollars?"
Kuwabara shook his head. "Sorry, the only sibling I have is my older sister, and she doesn't play with dolls."
"Well, would you like it anyways? You could give it to a friend's sibling. Or you can give it as a gift." The man coaxed. "Thirty dollars, what do you say?"
Kuwabara shook his head again. "Sorry, no thanks."
The man wouldn't give up. "How about twenty five dollars? That's a reasonable price, right? I'll even throw in the doll."
"I said no." Kuwabara started to get irritated. Then he asked. "Why are you orange, too much sun?"
The man shrugged. "Just decided to look different than everyone else. I'm an artist, you know. I created this house and the doll."
"Oh." Said Kuwabara. "Well, I can't buy that but the toy store might."
The man nodded. "Yes, I was on my way there when I felt someone staring at me. Well, goodbye then." Then he turned and continued on towards the toy store.
After a moment, Kuwabara turned and started to walk away as a woman and her little daughter walked into the store.
Kuwabara walked down the street until he saw a store window advertising "Mini Meatballs on a Stick. Five for a Dollar, Ten for Two." Kuwabara put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a few dollars and some change. Not wanting to wait until he got to Kurama's house, Kuwabara went in. Several minutes later, Kuwabara came out of the store holding a foam bowl of meatballs in one hand and an empty stick in the other, happily chewing. "That's much better." He said.
Kuwabara continued walking, enjoying his food, when he heard a loud squeal of delight behind him. Startled by the sudden sound, he turned to see a small girl with her mother, holding a doll house in her small arms. He realized that that was the little girl and mother that had gone into the toy store when he left. And apparently, she had bought the doll house that weird man had tried to sell him.
Kuwabara was about to turn around and continue walking when something caught his eye. The little girl had tilted the house to get a better look inside. Kuwabara was able to see inside and what he saw shocked him. Inside the house was a little couch next to a staircase and sitting on the couch was a little doll. It had black spiky hair with a white starburst on his bangs and a white headband around his forehead. It had a scowl on his small face and he was wearing a black muscle shirt and black pants with several white belts. The doll looked very much like, "Hiei?" Kuwabara muttered.
*A/N: This one took forever to write. I had to rewrite this chapter over and over until I was satisfied with it. I'm still not that happy but it's better than the first draft. Please review and let me know what you think. I promise I will get the next chapter up soon.