"Koenma, are you certain?" Boton sounded uncertain, her voice as high pitched as the shade of blue in her hair. "B-But, that means… We need to get them in here, now!"

"Please, Boton. There is no need to yell. Go, get them,"

Footsteps faded down the hall, the overall mood suppressing.

"What is it, King Enma Jr.?" Kurama placed his hands on the back of a chair, eyeing the papers that littered the leader's desk.

"We've received information on the demon." Koenma jumped out of the chair, standing on the desk, as though proximity could show them how important the information was.

"Don't drag it out," Hiei stood beside Kurama, arms linked behind his back. His annoyance at being called in and treated like a faithful dog was obvious.

"It seems that the demon Konchu has infected Urameshi's spirit energy, and is using that to alter his motions as well as his emotions." Koenma waved his finger as he explained, his pacifier moving around to keep up with his words. "However, before you go on suggesting what you see as simple solutions, there is no way to just take the demon effects out of Urameshi. See, Urameshi will need to report to the demon in order to receive another dose of this mind altering power, and therefore, you must keep a watch on him."

"We had already planned that." Hiei replied bluntly, shifting to cross his arms in the front.

"I'm still talking!" Koenma objected to the interruption before continuing on. "Here's the kicker," He paused, waiting to have full attention and drag out the suspense. "Not only does the demon have power over Urameshi, but he also affects anyone who comes in contact with the detective." Koenma gave a satisfied slurp on his pacifier before continuing on with his drawn out speech. "Now, according to our careful calculations, we're almost certain that Urameshi came into contact with this demon sometime approximately a week ago."

"That's hardly precise," Hiei commented.

"How does it affect others?" Kurama asked calmly. A week around would mean that the entire team had been subjected to it at the gathering just a few nights ago, with the chinks game.

"Well, it is to a lesser effect than how Yusuke is affected. One might say that it plays simply on emotions. I've not seen or heard of it affecting spirit energy." Koenma nodded slightly. "This would mean that it would draw the exposed to do something that, given normal circumstances, they would not normally do. Are you following?"

Hiei glanced at Kurama from the corner of his eyes. That would explain the suicide attempt.

Kurama carefully avoided looking at Hiei. That explained everything. The gentle words, the kisses; Hiei was simply under someone else's control. His grip on the back of the chair tightened, his knuckles growing white. They were all staring at him, he could feel it. Mocking him, he was certain. Never had he wanted to flee the room more.

"Well, what are you standing around for?" Koenma demanded. "That's all I know about the demon, so go track Urameshi and find out what's going on!"

Kurama spun on heel, rushing from the room before anyone could stop him for casual conversation. His steps rang hollow in the halls as he tried to outrun his own thoughts.

Yusuke sat up, his head pounding. He had a feeling that he should have been doing something, but his body was in terrible pain. What had he been doing lately? He tried to remember the day before, but it was all blank. Struggling to force memory recall sent his body into spasms of pain.

With a cry, he gave up on the attempt, instead struggling to his feet.

What shall I do today? Saturday meant no school. This brought a smile to his face, but it melted away when he saw his reflection in the bathroom.

"You're a fucking mess," He told himself, restraining from breaking the mirror with his fist. He turned the shower on, stepping under the water. The image of himself: dried blood on his face, he was almost certain his nose was broken, his hair a greasy limp mess, wasn't leaving his mind. Sure, people woke up ugly in the morning, but this was above and beyond.

His body didn't look much better. A few random bruises littered the skin, he was certain there were some deep scratches on his back.

I don't remember getting any of this.

He stepped out of the hot down pour, yanking a towel down from the rack. He dried himself, wincing as he tried to crack his nose back into place.

He eyed his reflection as he tugged on pants; much better now. He reached for the brush, intending to fix his hair, when his vision went black.

"Where did he go?" Kuwabara whined, his hands on his knees as he panted. He had been following Yusuke down some side street, when he had just vanished.

"Are you following me?" Yusuke was leaning on the wall behind him, a smirk dancing on his features.

"Wh-How did you get there?" He demanded, his eyes narrowing.

Yusuke laughed, pushing himself up. "Really, Kuwabara, you're just as stupid as ever."

"I know you're not Urameshi! It doesn't matter what you say!"

Yusuke laughed again. "Come on, Kazuma, are you blind and stupid? I guess they didn't tell you, eh? Just like us to leave you out of the loop. What'd they say, that it was some stupid demon? I suppose they told you not to kill me as well." He grinned. "Of course, Koenma must have thought up some elaborate excuse. When in truth, I quit. I told him I was playing his game anymore, might have killed a few of his staff to get the point across. I found someone else, someone who is much superior to Koenma. I'm tired of doing his dirty work, and he sends you to try and kill my new master?" His laughter echoed the narrow alley.

Kuwabara looked shocked. "Urameshi, what are you trying to say?" His hands balled into fists. Should he believe his friend or the toddler? When put in that context, Yusuke seemed like the perfect person to believe. But if the demon was talking through him-

"Spirit gun!"

Kuwabara stumbled backwards as the blinding pain flowed through his body.

"You're so stupid, believing what's obviously a lie," Yusuke gave his body a kick. "Don't worry, I won't kill you. You may prove useful later."