A/N: Yay! Chapter seven is finally here! You wouldn't believe how much time school and homework takes up, ya know? But I finally got it done, so kudos for me!

Chapter Seven

"Look, Madison followed after somebody, presumably one of the shooters just before you guys got here and there's-"

"Sir, we'll find your friend as soon as possible." The officer interrupted Kurama's worried rant, scribbling something down on the paper in front of her before turning and leaving. Sounds drifted from her radio, something about one of the vans having got away with a hostage. Kurama was sitting in a chair, letting one of the medics examined the wounds on his head. He blinked, trying to clear his rapidly blurring vision.

"Hey, Kurama, she'll be okay." Yusuke was seated in a chair close by, holding an ice pack to his knuckles. "Yeah Kurama. She's not exactly helpless." Kuwabara piped up reassuringly, wincing as a paramedic cleaned a cut above his eye. Kurama nodded weakly, his eyes fluttering closed as he slumped down in the chair. "Kurama!" Yusuke yelled, leaping to his friend's side.

"I'm sorry sir; I need you to stay back." A paramedic appeared out of nowhere, pushing Yusuke back to his chair. Two other paramedics were bent over Kurama, yelling out commands for a stretcher and an ambulance. Kuwabara and Yusuke could do nothing but watch as their friend was wheeled out of their sights. 'Kurama…' Yusuke sighed, standing up. "Come on Kuwabara. Let's follow them to the hospital."

Meanwhile, down in the basement…

Madison banged on the door that she had just managed to find, which was locked. "Hello! Somebody out there? Dammit, HELLO!!" She yelled, banging some more. She waited for what seemed like an eternity, but still there was no response. She sighed, turning around so her back was against the wall and slid down into a sitting position. "Tell me, what did I do to deserve this?" She groaned, resting her arms on top of her knees and then burying her face in her goose-bump covered arms; it was getting awfully cold down there. Her whole right arm had gone pretty much completely numb, which was part good and part bad. Good because no pain, but bad because being this cold probably meant that somebody had been playing with the temperature controls; on purpose. "Somebody up there hates me…" She groaned into her arms.

Moments later, she could hear faint footsteps. She forced her legs to move and scrambled onto her feet, pounding on the door. "Hello! Is anyone out there?! I'm in here!!" She yelled. The footsteps faded further and finally disappeared. Madison sank back down onto her knees, holding her right arm close to her body. A burning sensation had taken up residence there, as well as a throbbing; the overwhelming urge to go to sleep wasn't helping much either. She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to shake the feeling. "Snap out of it." She chided herself, shaking her head vigorously. She froze as the door slowly creaked open.

"First you expect Kurama and those Ningens to baby-sit you, now it's my turn?"

Madison gasped threw her good arm around Hiei's legs happily. "HieiI'veneverbeensohappytoseeyouinmyentirelife!!" She squealed without pausing, continuing to hug his legs gleefully. Hiei twitched uncomfortably. "Get off me." He snapped, not quite as harsh as it sounded, shaking her grasp. She gained control of herself again, standing up. "Is everyone else okay?" She asked, walking carefully through the doorway. Hiei followed, his hands shoved in his pockets, shrugging. "Kurama was taken to the hospital for-"

Madie had already taken off tearing up the service stairs.

"A mild concussion." Hiei finished, casually ambling after her. One of two things would happen. A: she would figure out that it was faster to just have Hiei take her and would come back. B: she would run all the way to the hospital and save him the trouble of having to take her. He rather hoped it would be the latter. He was quite aware, however, that were he to let her walk the whole way, he would have a very nasty Kurama and Koenma on his hands. He sighed, deciding to save himself trouble in the long run.

"We really need to have a talk..." Madison grumbled, blushing as she sat in Hiei's arms outside Kurama's window. Hiei smirked, waiting till the nurse had left the room before jumping over to and through the window. He landed lightly at the end of the bed. Madison waited barely a second before blurting out without thinking "Are you ever going to let go of me, or does Kurama have a rival?" She promptly found herself making nice with the law of gravity. "Ouchie…" She mumbled, her eyes following as Hiei stalked over to the window. "There, I did my share." He disappeared as Madison pulled herself up.

Kurama smiled at her from his position on the bed with a bandage wrapped around his head. "What happened to you?" He asked. Madison came round the side of the bed, sitting down in a chair. "Truthfully speaking, I should be asking you that. But, whatever. I got myself locked down in the basement is all." She looked down at the floor. Kurama raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing down in the basement?" He queried, noticing as she continued to rub gently at her arm. "I followed this one…guy…" She muttered, not meeting his gaze. Kurama sighed, deciding not to press the matter further. "At least you were safe when the police came."

Madison nodded, looking up at him. "What about you?" Kurama smiled reassuringly. "It's nothing, just a mild concussion. I'm only here overnight for observation." Madison glared playfully at him. "'Just a mild concussion' he says." She said mockingly. "And yet you won't believe me when I say I'm fine, eh?" Kurama chuckled. "Ah, but I heal rather quickly." He pointed out. Madison rolled her eyes, pretending to pout. "Blah blah blah." She grumbled.

Laughter danced in Kurama's eyes. "How's your arm?" He asked, switching the subject suddenly. Madison shrugged. "It could be better." She admitted quietly. "But nothing to worry about. A few days, a few bandages, it'll be right as rain." Kurama sighed, feeling a wave of guilt sweep over him as he remembered how she'd gotten the injury in the first place.

"Hey."

He snapped out of his daze as he realized she was sitting on his lap, straddling his legs. "Huh?" She smirked, shaking her head. "Jeez, someone has more of a concussion than they believe." Kurama chuckled, shaking his head. "What did you need?" Madison tapped her pointer fingers together, thinking momentarily before she shrugged. "Nothin." She rolled over on the bed, pulling the covers over herself and snuggling against his warmth. "G'night." She mumbled as unconsciousness overtook her. Kurama's green eyes looked down at her, and they had sadness in them. "Why did I let this happen…when you're going to be leaving…" He whispered, settling in for the night.

During the night…

While the sleep itself was rather peaceful, she was woken up suddenly to a loud crashing noise coming from outside. She blinked her bleary eyes, sitting up. There was another crash, and a bright flash of light. A sudden gust of wind sent shivers up her arms. Madie groaned, slipping out of the bed and making her way over to the window. "How did this get open?" She whispered, leaning out to grab the open windows.

Next morning….

Kurama awoke slowly, his head feeling much better than it had the night before. "Madison?" He called drowsily, forcing his sleep-filled eyes open. He looked around the room when there was no response. "Must have gone to get some food." He pushed himself into a sitting position, yawning. He reached down and grabbed the edge of the blanket on the side where Madison had been sleeping, which had been pushed back when she crawled out. He paused, feeling around the area where she had been sleeping; it was cold. "Uh?" He looked over at the window; it was open. His eyes narrowed, and he quickly crawled out of the bed, shivering as his feet hit the cold tile floors. He poked his head out of the window, looking around. "Mmm. She probably went home." He closed the window, shrugging. There was a knock on the door, and a nurse poked her head in. "Minamino-san? Your mother's here."

He was released a few hours later, and after assuring his mother a hundred times that he was alright he set off for Rina's home. Minutes later he was knocking on the front door. "Hello?" Rina opened the door. Straggles of hair was hanging around her face, her clothes were wrinkled, and she looked like she hadn't slept a wink. Kurama was quite shocked, in fact, at her appearance. "Shuiichi! Where's Madison?" The distraught woman asked breathlessly, faint color coming into her pale cheeks. Kurama's eyebrows furrowed together. "S-she hasn't come home?" He asked in surprise, feeling a knot settle in his stomach.

Rina shook her head dolefully, opening the door wider and motioning for him to come in. "I haven't seen or heard from her since yesterday when she went to the mall with you. I heard about that awful shooting, and that Madison was at the mall, but she didn't call me. I've been trying everywhere I could think of, but so far everyone's response was pretty much the same: no." Kurama entered the house numbly. He was pretty sure that Madison had fallen asleep on his bed, but sometimes between after he'd fallen asleep and this morning she had disappeared. Hiei would be the best person to talk to, but at the moment he had pressing matters. "Ah, Satou-san, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. She did mention something last night about following a possible lead about her family. She probably just got caught up with her investigation and forgot to call." He hurried to comfort the distraught woman, hoping to alleviate her fears with these little white lies.

Rina sank down into a chair, swirling her cold coffee. "You're probably right, Shuiichi." She took a deep breath, straightening up. "Yes, that's probably right." She looked down at her silver watch, gasping. "My goodness, look at the time! I have a shift to get on. If you'll excuse me." She stood up, bowing slightly and exiting the room. Kurama fetched his shoes, glad that her nurses training had finally taken over. It would be much easier for everyone if she was calm. He took off walking towards the park at a hurried pace, the knot settling itself in his stomach again. While what he had said had been enough to alleviate Rina's fears, he knew it wasn't really the truth. Madison's whereabouts were still a complete mystery. "Hiei." He sat down on a bench, knowing Hiei would show himself momentarily.

He was right. Hiei landed silently out of the tree, walking up behind the red head. "Hn." He grunted, showing he was actually paying attention. Kurama folded his arms together, watching two squirrels chase each other. "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to Madison after you dropped her off, would you?" Hiei's face didn't change at all. "Why would I wish to know that?" He asked blankly. Kurama brushed some hair out of his eyes, turning sideways on the bench so he was partially looking at Hiei. "She's been missing since sometime last night. I thought she might have said something to you, or that you might have been keeping an eye on her." He emphasized the last part; Hiei snorted. "Why would I wish to keep an eye on her after I left her in your care? I figured even injured you could still have protected her."

Kurama sighed, half-expecting that sort of remark. "Answer me this. Do you have any idea where she may be right now?"

"Hn." Kurama felt the knot in his stomach tightening as Hiei continued. "Last night I sensed a demonic aura, but it disappeared within thirty seconds. I checked out the area and it was clear." Kurama closed his eyes, forcing his brain to function calmly. "I have a feeling Kuroda may be behind this. If that's the case, then we should probably get to the Makai. Fast." He stood up, opening his communicator. "Wait."

Kurama looked at Hiei, his hand ready to open it. "What is it?" He asked.

Hiei walked over, his hands in his pockets. "The humans will slow us down. And we're not trying to start a war, just extract the girl." Kurama thought about it a moment before nodding and slowly returning the communicator to his pocket. "You have a point." Yusuke and Kuwabara weren't exactly the best when it came to keeping their mouths shut. Neither was Hiei, but he at least could back up his threats.

Madison watched the demon out of the corner of her eye. She was sitting at the end of a long table, candles lit the stone room, and a demon was sitting at the other end, eating. He had short, spikey, black hair, and although you couldn't see them right now he had dark grey eyes. "Please, eat up." He hissed, sending shivers up Madison's back. She looked down at the food, but she had no stomach for it. "Uh, no thanks." She mumbled, shoving the plate away.

It took her a few minutes to build up courage, but she managed to eventually. "What do you want with me?" She asked, glad that she didn't stutter. The demon didn't respond to her; didn't even seem to hear her. She cleared her throat, praying she could keep up this façade of having even a minimal amount of courage. "Excuse me, did you-" She stopped as he suddenly loomed over her. "Yess, I heard you, ningen." He smirked down at her, almost as if he could smell her fear.

'Actually he probably can…'

'Not helping.' Madison pointed out to the voice. She had gotten somewhat numb to the voice in her head. She still had no idea who it was, but what the heck. Did it really matter? She shrugged, forgetting momentarily where she was.

"Getting cocky now, are we?"

Her eyes snapped open as she felt a hand grabbing her upper arm. "Eh?!" She jerked back, the edge of the table pressing painfully into her ribcage.

"If you're not going to eat, I may as well kill you right here and now!"

Madison's eyes saw a flash of silver, and her eyes widened dramatically.

'Do you not comprehend? He means to KILL you, baka! Do something!'

The words seemed to stir something deep inside Madison, and she felt a sudden surge of courage and strength sweep over her. "FREAK!" She yelled, lunging forward suddenly, catching the demon off guard.

"Insolent girl!" His arm slammed into her stomach, sending her flying. She crashed into the table, knocking it over in the process. She couldn't move even when she heard the demon approaching her because she had had the wind knocked out of her. She lay on the floor, gasping for breath like a fish out of water. The demon stood over her, growling in annoyance. "That was foolish." He spat, kicking her in the stomach. Her muscles spasmed, and she curled into a protective ball.

"That's enough."

Madison's eyes flew open at the sound of Kuroda's voice behind her. He hadn't even raised his voice, yet the demon standing over Madie shrank back, a frightened look on his face. "Y-yes master." He stuttered, fleeing the room.

Madison gathered the courage to turn her head far enough that she could see Kuroda. He was wearing black pants, a black button-up shirt, and a strange gold chain disappeared under the shirt. The demon's yellow eyes seem calm, and yet sharper than a scalpel. Madison swallowed, trying to will her body into action; it wouldn't respond. Kuroda reached down and pulled her unresisting body onto its feet. "There now. That's better, isn't it?" He smirked, and Madie felt a shiver run up her spine.

Something inside her began stirring, causing Madison to back away from the demon near her suddenly. Kuroda's eyes narrowed into slits. "What do you think you're doing?" He hissed, advancing. The closer he got the harder the girl found it to breathe. Her whole body felt like an inferno, and the world began to spin. "What the hell…" She murmured, her eyes closing. Power surged through her body, and dark green aura exploded from her body, forcing Kuroda to take a step back. He brought an arm up in front of his face, shielding it. When he lowered it, a jolt ran through his whole body. Madison seemed to be standing before him, but she was different. Green hair adorned her head, her nails had extended into claws, and she seemed to have grown taller by a few inches. When her eyelids opened her eyes were no longer blue but green. Kuroda involuntarily took a step back. Her eyes were no longer that of someone who was submissive or afraid; defiance was the only thing running through them.

"Y-you came." Kuroda, strangely enough, stuttered slightly when he spoke to her.

'Madison' smirked, placing her hands on her hips. "You didn't think I'd stay locked up forever, did you?" Her voice was calm, and cold.

Kuroda regained his composure, straightening up. "It would have been much easier on you if you hadn't. You would have died quicker. Akane."

Akane snorted, her eyes gleaming. "Those words are hardly befitting when your opponent knows your weaknesses." She said smoothly, taking a step forward.

Kuroda didn't back down. "But that's a two way street. Besides, we both know it'll take you a little while still to regain your strength. Before that, your life is pretty much in my hands."

Akane chuckled to herself, flicking her hair out of her face. "Is that a fact? I happen to disagree, wouldn't you?" While she had been speaking she had continued to move forward, and as she finished she lunged, her hand reaching out for his neck. With a quick duck and charge he dodged her attack and slammed his fist into her stomach. Her face momentarily blanched, even while she brought her other arm forward, grasping at his neck. He twisted out of it, ignoring the pain shooting through his neck as her claws raked through his flesh. He stumbled backwards, sending a foot flying towards her face. She jerked backwards, tripping over a small box and landing with a thump on the floor. Kuroda was on her instantaneously, a short sword seeming to have appeared in his hand as if by magic. Both of Akane's hands jerked upwards, grabbing his wrist as she attempted to stop him from plunging it into her heart.

It was a battle of strengths, and unfortunately Kuroda was winning. The point slowly descended inch by inch, and Akane realized it. Her eyes darted around briefly before she took her life into her hands. The same instant that she released her grip on his wrist she rolled her entire body to left. The blade came crashing down onto the stone floor, cutting through the flesh on her back in the process. In the moment it took Kuroda to recover and slash at her again she was already on her feet, and her fist connected squarely with his jaw. Kuroda stumbled back, a cracking noise telling him she certainly hadn't lost her touch.

One arm came up to shield his injured jaw while the other one connected squarely with her stomach, sending her flying across the room. She crashed into the wall, sliding onto the ground, a cracking noise causing a smile to play onto his lips. "You're still as frail as ever, aren't you?" He said sarcastically, stepping forward. Akane's hands had fallen above her head, and her eyes moved under her closed eyelids. Kuroda took another step, and then she struck. Quick as lightning she grabbed the rope underneath her hands, throwing it around his neck and catching the other end. She sprung off the ground towards him, her knee (nearly) connecting with his neck. Kuroda blocked at the last minute, grabbing her leg and slamming her down into the ground. Blood spurted from her mouth, and she felt the air rushing out of her lungs.

Kuroda picked up the sword, not hesitating to plunge it downwards into her body. He missed his original target however, as Akane shoved the point towards the left side of her body. The blade plunged through her shoulder as she simultaneously kicked her legs off the ground, one foot connecting with Kuroda's already injured jaw. He stumbled back, clutching his mouth. Akane lay on the ground a moment, trying to rid her lungs of the fire running through them and get oxygen back into them. She felt breath returning to her just as the door into the room crashed open. Kuroda's eyes darted around, assessing the situation. "This isn't over yet Akane." He said quietly, closing his eyes as black mist began surrounding him. "Get back here coward!" She yelled, ripping the sword out of her shoulder and springing towards him, ignoring the fire now running through her shoulder.

She met only with thin air however, and she stumbled through his after image. "That.. that.." She began to curse him in several tongues, leaning against the table, the sword clattering to the ground.

"Madison?" Kurama said in disbelief, staring at her.

Akane turned her green eyes on him, her shoulder pounding. "No…" She whispered, her eyes closing and collapsing to the floor. Yusuke caught her before she hit the ground. "Uh, Kurama, you mind explaining?" He asked, lifting her light frame up in his arms. Kurama looked down at the girl's closed eyes. "I think that's better done by her than me. We should get that wound taken care of." He turned and walked out the door.

Madison's eyes opened slowly. She couldn't quite make out who, but someone was sitting next to the bed. She tried to move her left arm, but she couldn't feel her left shoulder. She blinked her eyes a few times, bringing everything back into focus. "Hiei?" She said quietly, using her right arm to push herself into a sitting position; she nearly stopped when she felt a sharp pain through her ribs, but she hid it. His head swiveled towards her, his arms crossed. "So you decided to stop hiding and wake up. Finally." He grumbled, standing up and walking towards the stairs. It was then that Madison realized that she was back in her room at Rina's. "You don't have to whine just because you got stuck baby-sitting…" She mumbled, leaning back against the pillow. Her eyes traveled down to the bandage wrapped around her shoulder. She could see hints of red, and she gulped as curiosity got the better of her and she reached for the bandage.

"I shouldn't do that if I were you."

Her head jerked up as she heard Kurama's voice. "Kurama!" She slid her legs over the side of the bed, wrapping an arm around her ribs as they protested in the foulest of languages. Kurama was wearing a half-way buttoned up white shirt, with matching slacks. "You really shouldn't be standing. You cracked a couple ribs, and one of them is broken." He commented, walking towards her.

Madison smiled weakly. "That would explain the stabbing pain in that general area, now wouldn't it? But I don't need to rest, really. The best thing for me is to be up and moving. I'll be right as rain in no time." She smiled strongly, straightening up. Kurama pushed her gently back onto the bed. "Not quite yet. I came up to check on the bandaging." Madison shrugged with her right shoulder, sitting back grudgingly against the pillows. "Whatever." She turned her face away as he gently unwound the bandage. She thankfully couldn't feel the wound, but she distinctly felt the disinfectant he put on the wound. Her eyes bugged, and her fingers gripped the sheets. Kurama hurried and finished his administrations, adding the final touch by changing the bandage. "Feeling will begin coming back into that pretty soon."

Madison pulled the shoulder of her light blue yukata back up, nodding. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." She assured him, watching as he gathered up the used wrap, taking it over to the trash can. He returned to the bed, standing and watching her. "Yusuke and Kuwabara are downstairs, kinda eager to see you. Shall we go down?" Madison nodded, pushing herself carefully off the bed.

"Madison!" Yusuke and Kuwabara chorused in unison, looking up from the headlocks they had each other in. Madison gave a small wave with her good arm, raising an eyebrow. "Just don't kill each other, Rina wouldn't like that." She walked over to the fridge and pulled out some soda. "Want some?" She said over her shoulder to Kurama, tossing him a can after he gave her the affirmative. She shut the door, leaning against the cabinets. "So, fill me in. What happened? It's a little bit hazy on my end." Kurama took a sip of his soda before answering her. "When I awoke you were no where to be seen. After I got out of the hospital I figured that something had probably happened to you, so I recruited the help of Hiei to find you, Yusuke and Kuwabara rather forced themselves upon us. But it seems we came a little bit too late, eh? You had already accomplished our work for us."

Madison looked down at her hand. "Much as I'd really love to take the credit for that, it wasn't…me..it was.." She searched the darkness that was her memories whilst with Kuroda; one name came out of the darkness. "Akane." She said finally, her brows furrowed. "He kept calling me Akane."

A/N: Mwahaha! Well there was chapter seven. Not go ahead and click that little button down there and review! Really, I'd like to know your thoughts, I'm not just saying that. Good, bad, whatever, just let me know that somebody is still reading this. Jaa ne!

11/6 - Whoops! I realized a slight inconsistency in this chapter. Originally Kurama and Hiei and agreed not to bring Yusuke and Kuwabara along with, then they did bring them. To top it off, as Kurama is bandaging Madison, he says that he recruited the S.D.'s help! My bad...Anyway, tis fixed now. Chapter eight is less than a page worth from being done!!!!