Chapter Twelve: Vivid

Hiei was in awe; all he could do was smile. Without thinking, he hugged Soko tightly. "Thank you!" he said, sounding like a small child. Soko smiled as he put an arm around Hiei. Hiei crawled into the passenger seat and buckled in. He smiled as he looked out the window. "Does Koenma know you're bringing me back?"

"No," Soko said. "It's a surprise." He smiled at Hiei. Hiei nodded happily as he turned back to the window. Not knowing how long he had been asleep, he just assumed they were at least half way there. Soko smiled at Hiei. "Hey Hiei," he said.

"Hm?" Hiei turned to him.

"Did you find your reason to live?" Soko asked gently. Slowly Hiei nodded. "Well?" Soko asked. Hiei began to speak…

XXXXXX

Yukina shivered as she tightened the blanket around her. Kuwabara looked at her.

"You okay?" he asked, scooting closer to her.

"I don't know," she said as he put an arm around her. "I just have this sudden chill."

"Probably just a cold," Kuwabara suggested. "You'll get better soon." Yukina smiled at him. She cuddled up to him, resting her head on his chest.

"Kazuma," she said in a low tone.

"Hm?"

"Could you take me to see my brother?" She looked at him with pleading eyes. Smiling, he nodded. She hugged him tightly and they both got up to leave.

XXXXXX

Yukina excitedly led Kuwabara into the center. He only smiled at her. When they reached the reception desk, the woman behind it smiled.

"Hello," she greeted. "Who are you visiting?"

"Hiei Jaganshi," Kuwabara answered as he held Yukina's hand. The woman looked through a list on the clipboard.

"I'm sorry," she said, turning to them. "But he checked out this morning."

"By who?" Kuwabara asked suspiciously. The woman shrugged.

"It does say who…" Yukina looked up at Kuwabara nervously. He smiled at her, keeping her calm.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'm sure it was Koenma." He thanked the woman and they left. When they were out of the building, Kuwabara called Kurama on his cell phone.

"Hello?" Kurama answered.

"Kurama, is the gang there?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes," Kurama answered. "Everyone's here except you, Yukina and well…Hiei…"

"Damn!" Kuwabara cursed.

"What's wrong?" Kurama asked. Kuwabara told him what the woman had said. "But Hiei's not here!" Kurama said in a panic.

"Well," Kuwabara said. "We have to assume the worst." They were both silent, thinking the same them. "Tell Koenma to check for any portals or whatever demons use to get to and from the human world."

"Right!" Kurama agreed.

"Meet you guys soon!" They both hung up. Kuwabara drove the car as fast as he could back to Kurama's house…

XXXXXX

Soko smiled at Hiei. He had fallen asleep again. A chuckled eluded his lips; he could help it…he was so close…

The cave came into view and he pulled off the road. He parked, shut off the car, got out, and got Hiei from the other side. He carried him into the cave and to the end of it. He smiled when he got there. Everything was set up, just like Lani had promised. The proper array of candles and chalk drawings, the chant was written on the wall, and last, but not least, the reverse scroll.

Soko walked into the middle of the circle and held Hiei firmly in one arm as he picked the scroll up with the other. Using this mouth, he tore it in half and placed one piece on his chest and the other on Hiei's. Using little spirit energy, he lit all the candles. Next, taking a deep breath he shouted the chant on the wall. The cave floor under him lit up and began to shake. He held onto Hiei tightly. Eventually the light blinded him and he had to shut his eyes.

As the transportation came to an end, he felt his demonic strength returning. Hiei obviously felt it too, since he squirmed a bit in his sleep. Soko only smiled and began to laugh evilly as he felt the firm ground under his feet again.

He opened his eyes when the light faded. The darkness of the forest told him he was back home in the Demon World. He looked down at Hiei and smiled at the Jagan on his forehead. Hiei began to squirm in his sleep, obviously suffering from a nightmare…

"Shh…" he whispered. "Everything's okay…Master Kiren is here…"

XXXXXX

"Did you find anything?" Yukina asked worriedly. They were all standing in Koenma's office. Koenma was at his desk, looking at the search results.

"No," he said. "The computer came up with five hundred results."

"Fine hundred portals!" Yusuke shouted. "Your computer's fucked!"

"What are we gonna do?" Kayko asked.

"There only one thing we can do," Kurama said. He closed his eyes. "We have to check each point."

"Won't that take too much time?" Botan asked.

"It'll take time," Kuwabara said. "But it's the only choice we got." Everyone became silent.

"Well, let's get started." Koenma said. "The girls and I will stay here while you guys check out the sites."

"How are we suppose to go back and forth across Japan without taking years?" Yusuke asked.

"With these," Koenma said. He grabbed three rings from a drawer in his desk. "These rings will help you get to any destination within a minute and without using spirit energy! You just put it on," He put the ring on. "Put your hands together, like you're praying," He did that too. "And think of where you wanna go." He disappeared. Everyone stared in awe. "See?" Koenma asked, reappearing behind Yusuke.

"Impressive." Kurama said. Koenma gave each of boys one.

"Can't we just think 'To Hiei' and it'll take us there?" Kuwabara asked. Koenma shook his head.

"It doesn't work like that," he explained. "If I wanted to go to Kurama's house, I would have to think of his address." Kuwabara only nodded. "Also," Koenma continued walking back to his desk. "Take these." He gave them each a silver earring. "They're transmitters. This way we'll be able to tell you where to go." The boys nodded as they put them on. "Ready?" Koenma asked. The boys nodded again. "If you see anything weird, let us know. I'll pull it up on screen." With that, he them their own coordinates and they were off.

"We're coming Hiei," Kurama thought.

"Hang on, man." Yusuke thought.

"You die and I'll fucking kill you!" Kuwabara mentally threatened.

XXXXXX

Hiei awoke in his room. He yawned softly as he crawled out of bed. "Sure is quiet," he thought. "I thought everything would be lively with me arriving home," A smile quickly spread across his face. "I'm home," he whispered. "I'm home!" he said a little louder. Excitedly, he ran out of his room and down the hall to Yukina's room, the last one on the left. "Yukina!" he shouted as he opened the door. "I'm—!" He stopped. No one was inside and it was a very sad excuse for a room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were filthy with dust. A tattered mattress and black lay in the corner to serve as a bed. The windows were on the high walls, right under the ceiling, only about six inches long and a foot wide.

"Who's Yukina?" a hoarse voice asked from behind Hiei. Slowly Hiei turned and gasped at the sight of Kiren.

"No…" he whispered. Yellow eyes lit up as Hiei took a step back. Kiren laughed lightly. He ran his fingers through his brown hair.

"Oh Hiei," he said. "I was afraid I'd never get you back. He too a step toward Hiei, who didn't bother to take a step back or try to run, instead he just hung his head and began to sob. Kiren gently wrapped his arms around Hiei and held him close. A twisted smile came across his lips as he pictured Hiei, as the small child he used to be. "Everything will go back to the way things were..." Kiren thought with a sick chuckle.