The slight satisfaction Hiei had after watching Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Kurama being followed by his summons was waning. It wasn't good enough! Sure they were annoyed, but this was revenge. He had a few summons he could use that wouldn't kill any of them, but Kurama knew about the firebirds, and he couldn't use the dragons. There were the wolves... They would kill the fuzzballs, though, so they would wait.

He could control someone else again...they were near a town after all. The idiotic low-class demons did seem to think that they could be a challenge for Yusuke... Hiei had his pride. He wasn't about to control some piece of who-knows-what just for Yusuke's sake. He could just control Yusuke. He had already found a way in, and he always left himself a back door for uncertain times just in case. The others would notice unless he did it while they were sleeping. Kurama would feel it; he and Yusuke would have to be asleep, but one of them was always on guard duty, and Kuwabara's sixth sense was pretty good. If he did it while Yusuke was on watch... He could, but he would risk Yusuke finding out and being discovered once he dropped control.

If they got to some place where they all could sleep at the same time...but where? How many reputable hotels were there in Makai? There was an old feudal castle some miles east, probably all the gold had been scraped off by now. The castle...Kurama! There had been gold and treasures, so Kurama and Kuronue probably had stashed their more-than-fair share in some cave or something before they moved it to Kurama's more permanent residence. Then again, they might have spent it all by now. Hiei decided that it was worth a try.

Hiei ghosted across Kurama's mind, careful to leave a faint presence of peace and calm and no hint of himself. He reached past Kurama's barriers and whispered about caves and safety and Kuronue, hoping Kurama's brilliant mind wouldn't let him down. Yusuke noticed Kurama pause.

"Ne, Kurama? We going the wrong way?"

"No, Yusuke. I was just thinking."

"Really? You were thinking? You? Don't do it too much; you'll end up like Kuwabara. Did you know that he does his homework sometimes?" Yusuke gasped dramatically giving Kurama a sidelong glance. "Really, what's up?"

Kurama chuckled. "It is getting late. We should go somewhere."

Somewhere safe, where you can all sleep. Hiei whispered again.

Yusuke looked puzzled. "What's wrong with here?"

"It's too open. We should try to get somewhere. I just have a bad feeling about it."

"You're the one who's been around here," said Kuwabara. "Don't you know somewhere?"

Somewhere safe, like with Kuronue.

Kurama whipped around. "Never mind. I think we're being followed."

Yusuke looked blank. "How can you tell?"

"I hadn't thought about sleeping all day, then suddenly I had this weird feeling like we needed to find safe shelter. I don't think it's natural."

"Is it like the earthquake thing? The one where all the animals can sense bad stuff coming?" Kuwabara asked.

"No... It feels familiar but forced."

"I guess we'd better sleep somewhere totally open tonight, eh?" said Yusuke.

The three walked on, puzzling over their stalker and why they couldn't sense him and what if it was someone from Club W. Now half a mile away, Hiei swore and kicked things. It had been a great idea, but now they were alerted to his presence. Settling onto the branch of a tree, Hiei closed his eyes and waited for some foolish demon to come by and bother him. "Stress therapy," the humans called it.

When no demon appeared to be stupid enough to walk by a tree giving off such a fiercely powerful killer's intent, Hiei resigned himself to the fact that he would have to get up if he wanted to do anything. The trio was almost to the border town, and it sounded like they wouldn't be going much farther. Hiei had picked up the location of their destination; it was two days away yet, maybe three. He was fast enough to get there nearly overnight if he ran as quickly as he could. Hiei had a plan.

It was uncomplicated, really. They wouldn't get anywhere if they couldn't find an informant. Hiei grinned wickedly. There wouldn't be any informants by the time Hiei was done.

Hiei strolled into the city past the armored guards. They didn't even notice their brains shut off. They collapsed in a heap. Hiei allowed himself to grin. He was feeling better already. He flitted along alleyways, sealing a barrier around the city so nobody would be able to escape. It was tricky, making someone's heart pop out of their ribcage, but Hiei persevered. He knew he was being unnecessarily mean, but his revenge on Yusuke just wasn't working! Somehow, the feeling of inadequacy welled up. Hiei's youki spiked, sending residents of the nearby homes into a panic. Even among demons, B-class was pretty strong. Toguro had been B-class. Hiei had been training hard since then. In the years that had passed, he was almost S-class. Some of the weaker demons vaporized completely in the heat of his aura. Buildings spontaneously combusted. Soon, the entire city was burning rubble and ash. He turned north, toward the next city.

Kuwabara shivered. "Uh, guys? I think there's something wrong. I feel all tingly."

"Dude, I told you not to eat the weird plant unless you asked Kurama."

"Shut up, Urameshi. It's not that. It feels evil."

The sudden youki spike had them all running.

"That felt like Hiei!" Kurama shouted.

"The shrimp? What's he doing here?"

"I assume he has been told of our mission. Koenma said he might get here early."

"Yeah, and what's he doing?" Yusuke demanded. "That much youki isn't normal. He might be in trouble."

"Hiei? He's probably making the trouble. I'd be more worried about the city!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

It took them ten minutes to reach the charred city. There really was nothing left. Kuwabara turned away as they came to a section that smelled like burnt flesh.

"Dude, what happened to Hiei? I've never seen him like this before." said Yusuke softly as they surveyed the wreckage.

"Guys, I don't think he did this. Hiei might be mean and stuff, but he wouldn't do this."

"That is a possibility," Kurama added. "There are many ways for someone to make their aura feel like someone else's. It's probably the same person that's been stalking us. They're probably trying to lure us into a trap."

"Do you think it's someone targeting Reikai Tantei?" asked Yusuke.

"It could be. Club W has the money and the power necessary to pull this off. Whoever is trying to impersonate Hiei couldn't have done this alone. We'd better go around. It'll take us another day, but we won't be as likely to run into whoever did this."