See? What did I say? I told you this chapter would come out sooner!

Please read my Gundam SEED fan fiction if you like the series. It is good and I, personally, love the ending! Thank you kindly.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kurama looked at where Tsume was before it went dark. He heard her cussing under her breath. She suddenly spoke up. "This is pretty awkward…isn't it? The second time we've been trapped somewhere together. It's the exact same thing."

"Well…it's not really. The first time, we didn't really know we were trapped…but I know what you mean." He heard Tsume chuckle.

"Okay fine. You're right. This isn't the same..."

"What do you mean? Are we different from before?"

"I meant that we aren't unknowingly trapped by a demon wall thing, but now that you've mentioned it…" Tsume scooted closer toward Kurama. "We are a bit different from last time."

Kurama heard Tsume approach, but didn't move at all. "How do you figure?"

"Well…" she started to say, embarrassed and red in the dark. Tsume was beginning to believe she was so red, she was able to glow. "Since then…we've been closer I guess. We've… well…kis-" She was interrupted by the sound of something falling over and smashing. Tsume had knocked over the lantern left over. "Oh no, I'm so sorry." She moved away from the red-headed boy, accidentally cutting herself on some broken glass. "Ouch. Crud…"

Kurama found and lit a match and held it to Tsume's face, then to her bleeding hand. He picked up and held her hand in his. The light was dim so he couldn't tell the wound was a very small one. "Are you okay?"

Tsume coughed and laughed nervously. "Yes…yes! I'm fine. It's just a scratch." But it stings a whole lot, she thought to herself.

Kurama looked at Tsume's hands and it had finally hit him that he was holding them. He let them go quickly and turned his face away. "Let's continue looking for the information. This could take some time…"

"It's way too…err…d-dark in here." Tsume looked at the small, flickering match. A thought hit her. She focused her Spirit Energy and made a sword that seemed to be on fire (see story 2, chapter 9). The flames lit up the whole room. Carefully, Tsume placed it so it would stand up and picked up a book. "How's this?"

"I-It's better…" Kurama picked up a book as well. "I guess we should get this over with…"
-
Ume smacked herself in the forehead in frustration. "We've searched every human library, every demon in the city, and asked Botan and Koenma, but we've come up with nothing! This is horrible. What if Kurama and Tsume haven't found anything out either? What will happen then?"The group sat in the very back table of a small, nearly empty café, separated from the few other people there. Kuwabara silently sipped his soda in slight fear. Hiei gazed at his straw funnily and threw it to the side, chugging down his drink without it; his eyes closed calmly. Yusuke motioned his arms in an up and down motion, showing that he thought Ume should calm down. The other people in the café looked at the youngsters with annoyed looks that showed how much they wanted the girl to shut up and let them enjoy themselves in peace. Yusuke tried to interrupt. "We could just wait and-"

"Is Tsume just going to stay in the Demon World?" At the sound of 'demon', the people rolled their eyes in disbelief, and tried to ignore Ume. She continued to panic.

"Well maybe they found-" Yusuke tried to speak up again.

"What about school and all of our friendships? For Pete's sake! What about Kurama?"

"Wait. What about Kurama?" Yusuke asked. Kuwabara stopped sucking on his straw and swallowed his last gulp loudly, grinning. Hiei opened his eyes suddenly and he gazed at Ume with curiosity.

"What? What about him?" Ume asked, trying her best to sound confused. Yusuke and Kuwabara laughed despite the serious situation at hand. "Well, we're all friends…well, except maybe Hiei…" She let out a stupid and edgy laugh. "…and Kurama would be upset at losing any friend and…umm…" She had no idea what excuse to tell. Ume didn't want to say anything further about the two's relationship, even though it was already obvious to the boys. "Who cares anyways? The point is," Ume continuously jabbed her right index finger onto her left palm to further her statement. "We need to do something about this." Ume chugged down her cup of tea to excuse herself from talking anymore.

Hiei raised his glass higher up, swallowing the last of his foamy drink. "Kurama was a thief; and a good one. He knows other demons with information, there's no doubt about that. The two will find something. Now stop your worrying. It's giving me a headache."

Yusuke groaned loudly. "That's what I've been trying to say all along!!"

Ume looked at him. "You didn't say anything."

Kuwabara looked at Hiei's serious face and began to crack up again. "You've got a little something on your face." Kuwabara pointed at his own face, above his own lips. Hiei touched the spot on his face and found some white cream from his drink. "Why don't you ask Ume to go and wipe off with her lips?" Yusuke chuckled a little, feeling better about being ignored earlier.

They both, apparently and unfortunately, knew about…well…Hiei's and my…Jeez. Was it that obvious we had…Ume's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Hiei throwing Kuwabara on the floor. The others that were in the café slammed down money on the table and took their leave in fury and irritation.

"Jeez." Ume said to her friends while trying to keep Hiei from killing Kuwabara in broad daylight with witnesses. "What's their problem?"

Kuwabara crawled away from Hiei desperately while Hiei tried to worm his way from Ume's grip. Yusuke sat back in his chair, making it tilt backwards. "You are clueless to everything around you when a friend's in trouble." Yusuke sighed. "Like right now. You probably don't even know you are holding Hiei."

"Shut up. I am not that clueless……umm……" Ume looked down at Hiei and raised her arms in the air swiftly. She held them up high above her head with her elbow at an angle, so it sort of looked like the police had told her she was under arrest. Hiei tumbled forward in surprise and nearly crashed into Kuwabara. More people began to leave the café.
-
They spent what seemed like hours, reading. Every now and then, when the silence was completely unbearable, Tsume would look up at her trusted friend, and maybe…something much more. She'd look back at the text in the books before Kurama realized she was watching. Kurama would often see her looking and smirk. Tsume would laugh on the inside and they'd both return to reading; slower than before no doubt.

Out of nowhere, a deep, grim frown crossed Kurama's face. "What's wrong?" Tsume asked, catching the scowl when she had looked up at him for the millionth time. "Did you find something out already?"

Kurama dragged his finger along the words of the book his friend had written and read out loud. "'There is only one demon I have ever known or met with such astonishing. I've spent quite some time studying him and following him. It's great and interesting, but sadly, I'll never see him after this. He's an unstable demon; a little wrong in the head. He had a child following him around. The little one didn't seem special at all; as a matter a fact, he seemed downright weak. Back on the main subject…A scarring past could be what caused the problems; a disappointment, maybe even a lover.'" Kurama paused for a brief moment at that last word. He took a deep breath before continuing again. "'The power, in action and used the way it was, is something I'd never forget.'" Tsume scoffed.

"'It was enough…no, more than that, to destroy one's mind from the inside out, to drive one into complete insanity. Before I forget, I must write this all down. As far as I could tell, as long as he stays in the same world as his victim, he can enter their mind. He whispers to them and virtually controls their movements I believe. He uses their weaknesses and doubts to turn one against their allies and do his bidding'" Kurama's eyes strayed from the book at the sound of Tsume gasping softly. She shook in anticipation. Finally, they had an answer. Who was this demon? Was there a weakness or an end to this madness? They were about to find out.

"'Though, a powerful and strategic move, there are always downsides to such influence. As I have written, it only works if they are in the same world. It is completely different if he is in the Human World and the victim is in the Demon or Spirit. His powers do not reach that far. Secondly, the power takes a lot out of him. After each use, he is blacks out. Each use doesn't seem to last incredibly long either. If the victim's will is strong enough and their trust in their friend can withhold, the demon's control will have no affect. The only way, as far as I have been able to see, to stop this beast, is to destroy him.'" Kurama let the last few words trail off. His eyes widened as he stared at the black, inky words. Tsume nudged him and urged him to continue to read out loud. "'The demon's name, as I've heard his little, what I assume, child calls him is 'Senren'.'"