Yusuke and Kuwabara were both asleep when they came back. Kurama sighed, shaking his head. "You'd think they were at home or something."

Mayumi took a deep breath and began talking in a very loud voice. "WELL IT'S TOO BAD THEY'RE ASLEEP, ISN'T IT? I GUESS THAT KURAMA AND ME ARE THE ONLY ONES THAT ARE GONNA KICK ASS TONIGHT--"

The two boys sprang up like they had been awake the whole time. Yusuke brushed some dirt off his jacket.

Mayumi looked around. "Where's Hiei?"

Kuwabara shrugged. "I don't keep tabs on the midget."

"Midget, who?"

The tall boy gulped as Hiei landed in front of him. He half-expected the youkai to launch a Black Dragon Wave on him like he did to Zeru at the Ankoku Bujitsukai, but Hiei just smiled.

"We should get going."

They walked in silence. Kurama's head was spinning.

'It's strange...how she acted so calm before tonight...she must have known that someone she once knew was here, and she already knew about Hiei...could it be that she had forgotten?'

Forgotten. The very thought of the word sent a chill down his spine. How awful, how terrible the feeling must be, to not be acknowledged by the ones you loved because your existence had slipped their minds.

He could have never forgotten about Mayumi, even if he had wanted to. He remembered every last detail of her...her long, silky tresses, the way her blue eyes sparkled when she smiled, her smell--a mixture of rainwater and lavender blossoms.



How could she have forgotten about him?

Mayumi's voice came into his head.

'I never forgot about you, Kurama.'

He glanced at Mayumi and opened his mouth to speak. She shook her head, a movement that was almost indistinguishable, and silently put a finger to her lips.

'If that's the case, why didn't you say something about it before?'

'Why did YOU never say anything about it?'

Kurama couldn't think of anything to...well, think. This WAS a telepathic conversation, after all.

They were both silent for a while. Then Mayumi's voice came into his head again.

'I saw you die, Kurama. If you saw me die like that, would you want to think about it?'

The girl had a good point.

'The truth is, Kurama, I didn't want to accept the fact that you were here.'

'Why not?' Kurama's reply was indignant. 'Do you mean to tell me that I spent seventeen years just looking for you, waiting for you to come here, and then you tell me you wished that I wasn't here?'

'No, Kurama, of course not.' Her reply was quiet. 'I just thought...what if you were taken away from me? Again? And what if I was the cause?'

The red haired boy glanced at her again and saw a tear roll silently down her cheek. She brushed it away quickly so that nobody else could see.

'I couldn't live with a burden like that on my soul.'

--------------------------------

Hiei was walking next to Kurama. Of course he heard the whole conversation, careful not to let his thoughts reach into their paths. They would probably kill him for eavesdropping on a VERY private conversation, even though they had stopped communicating.

'I could probably have Kurama let me go unscathed,' he thought dully. 'But Mayumi...if she ever knew I heard that from her...'

He shuddered slightly, remembering what she could do with her Reiki. He saw that only once, and kuso, that had been the scariest thing he, Hiei, had ever seen.

The fire youkai pitied Daisuke at that moment. When they got there, he was going to catch hell.