*Kurama runs frantically into Anemone's room, breathing hard...Hiei leans
against Anemone's drawyers, arms folded, looking at Kurama oddly. Anemone,
at computer, preparing to write*
Hiei: speak of the devil...we were just talking about you...
Kurama: *breathing heavily* you two...could acutally...hold up a...conversation...on your...own...?
Anemone: it isn't that hard, Kurama...I mean, the guy probably considers my house to be his second home, knowing how often he breaks in *Hiei glares in annoyance*...it's not unlikely that we would grow used to each other...
Hiei: but anyway, the hell have you been, Kitsune? I've been waiting here for like an hour, and she won't start writing unless we're both here, for some reason...all we end up doing while she writes is listening to music, watching TV or eating...
Anemone: well, you obviously enjoy doing it cuz that's what you've BEEN doing since waaaaaaaaaaaaaay before I started writing fanfictions...
Hiei: is it my fault you let me watch your TV?
Anemone: no...but it is your fault that the TV blew up while I was writing a couple nights ago...
Hiei: so I hit a couple wrong buttons...
Anemone: that and you slit it through with your Katana...
Kurama: calm...down...you two...
Hiei: that reminds me...why the hell are you so out of breath?
Kurama: girls...many girls...thousands...chasing me through city...me run, me get here, me seek sanctuary in Mone's room 'til safe for me to venture out...
Hiei: hahaha!
Anemone: *stifles snicker* okay, Kurama dear...maybe all the girls will leave by the time I'm done writing...
Kurama: thanks, Mones...can, can I...lie...lie down...?
Anemone: sure...Hiei got some corn chips on my bed *glares at Hiei* like three minutes ago...so maybe you should brush them off...
Kurama: duly noted...
Hiei: ningen, he's here...story?
Anemone: what's your hurry?
Hiei: long intro...too long...story!
Anemone: jeez, okay, okay...Kurama what do you-
Kurama: *in her bed, one arm flopping off over side of bed, drooling on other arm* zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
Anemone: ...right...nevermind...here you go, patient readers...chapter 4, enjoy.
Chapter 4: A Time for Reflection
Kurama stalked the streets slowly, thoughts racing madly through his usually calm mind. The fox's scarlet locks blew lightly in the shifting breezes, and his green eyes stung with frustration. A blush stained his cheeks as his thoughts drifted slowly to Botan...for some reason, ever since he saved her and held her close in his arms...ever since those brief seconds her destiny was tampered with...Kurama had lacked his calm, stable self, and was slowly revealing a shaky, tense side hidden brilliantly by his loose nature. 'What is happening to me?' the fox demanded of himself sharply. 'Why is it that I can't focus...and that I constantly find myself thinking about-'
'Botan?' Hiei's voice was thrown into Kurama's fray of thoughts. The fox sighed heavily and called loudly over his shoulder, "What do you want, you eavesdropping little demon?!"
"Well," Hiei snorted in irritation straight above Kurama's head, perched lightly upon a traffic system. "You're sure friendly, today, Kurama..."
With a short, sharp breath, the Kitsune sighed deeply and shook his head slow as if it weighed more than his shoulders could bear. "Sorry, Hiei...I'm just, not myself..."
"You could say that again," Hiei leapt gently from his high perch and with a soft landing in front of Kurama, the little demon regained his composure. "Ever since that whole fire escape scenario three nights ago, you've eaten less, slept less, talked less..."
"And obviously you've stalked me more..." the fox's emerald eyes curled back in annoyance.
"Hn...You've just made it that much easier," Hiei smirked viciously. Kurama sighed a weighed sigh and began to walk a weighed walk. Hiei's keen, scarlet eyes sharpened at Kurama's exiting form, and before the demon could stop himself, Hiei had blurted out something he wanted originally to deal with on his own, and not drag his best friend into. "That fire escape's collapse wasn't an accident," Hiei shouted against his supreme will, pricking up in an awkward silence and a complete realization as Kurama froze, turning to face Hiei with a look of complete horror and confusion.
"What?" the fox growled lowly, but not in intimidation...at least, not intimidating for Hiei. The short demon really only regretted putting more on Kurama's weighed mind--not that he showed his regret--and he really only said it without a blink of consideration to get Kurama's attention. Well, now he had it.
"After you left the annoying spirit guide up in the apartment, I returned to the spot of the fire escape to investigate...well, my snooping paid off and I found several, almost obvious clues to prove that it's fall wasn't a natural effect due to rusting and aging of the wires and bolts."
"What clues?" the fox's tone had eased, and a serious, yet calm air took hold of him.
"Allow me to show you, Kitsune...keep up." Hiei ordered softly, and with that, his entire form melted into the air and he had flown. Kurama grunted gently as he kicked off for a bolt towards Keiko's apartment building.
%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
Hiei stood with a broad chest and an impatient glare as he waited the arrival of Kurama on his little perch at the roof of the apartment building. 'Hn...' he thought venomously. 'He's slower than I thought...'
At the very thought, Kurama's figure quickly appeared on the scene, not a heavy breath to rack his lungs or a drop of sweat to bead his temple from the long run. The fox jerked his sights upward at his short friend, who responded with a slight smirk and a soft grunt. Hiei then melted into the air yet again, and reappeared at the fox's side, eyes cast for the red rust stains tinting the spot where Keiko's fire escape was once placed.
"If you look closely," Hiei said slowly, neither him nor the fox taking their eyes off the spot. "You can tell the tears in the wires weren't natural."
"I see...let us investigate, then..."
%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
Both demons dug their fingers deep into the brick wall of the outside building, just where the fire escape once stood, leaning outward each with one hand hanging loose. Kurama clasped a broken wire in his tight grip, examining it with the most tender attention possible, his green eyes flashing with focus as he studied the tiny slits in each fiber. "You're right, Hiei...these didn't break naturally...they look as if they were slit through with some kind of sword, or dagger...or possibly, an arrow-head...a jagged one, to allow the fibers to show as uneven and to make it appear as if it was all an accident...but, even though the fibers are of different sizes, they all have a clean cut and all slant in the same direction...I take it that was the obvious clue you mentioned?"
"It is...and another," Hiei grunted in response, leaning downward from his slant and focused on the rust stain where the bolts of the fire escape once was. "Look closely, Kitsune...the bolts were dug out, with a sharp weapon..."
"Yes, they were...and the craftmanship is reckless...you can see the shape of a dagger blade, or some sort of long arrow-head creased into the loose brick dust made when they dug into it..."
"And, one other..." Hiei's clenched fist slowly curled open to reveal several of the bolts from the fire escape. "These are completely slit through...they didn't snap on own, but were sliced...very evenly through...perfect edges on both ends, not a snag or jag to be seen..."
"Yes...these predicaments were completely planned and acted upon...but, why..." Kurama sighed to himself in thought.
"Kurama," Hiei eyed him sharply. "Do you not think it is a huge coincidence that this happened when we were in a three-mile radius of this place?"
"What do you mean?" Kurama's emerald eyes narrowed low in suspicion.
"I mean, these clues are of a demon's hand...no human could possibly slice bolts with this precision without either the girls noticing sooner or without some sort of lazer tool...and, we've many enemies in the Spirit World...some known to escape the Spirit World's boundaries in the attempt to simply hunt the two of us down..."
"You're saying this is all a plot to get to you and me?" Kurama eyed his short friend in suspicion. "How do you know that for certain?"
"I don't...but after what happened to the Spirit Guide and Keiko, my Jagon Eye sensed the presence of evil looming about the ally behind the building...a strong demon, fast, too, for I had just missed him." when Kurama responded in utter silence, Hiei's eyes set firm and his voice leaked in a serious tone. "Kurama, I know the demon who is after us...I've met him before."
***************************************************
a/n: oo! I'm loving this...the suspense, it's killing me...sorry if you hate cliffhangers, but I'll try to have the next chapter up within a day or two, hopefully no later than two, because lol i got this one review telling me that it was inhuman to leave cliffhangers like this...sorry! but, I sorta got writer's block...but do not fret! As I said before, I will strain to have chapter 5 up within a day or two, starting it when I get home from school tomorrow...*tomorrow being thursday*...please review and please don't be flamy...latr
Hiei: speak of the devil...we were just talking about you...
Kurama: *breathing heavily* you two...could acutally...hold up a...conversation...on your...own...?
Anemone: it isn't that hard, Kurama...I mean, the guy probably considers my house to be his second home, knowing how often he breaks in *Hiei glares in annoyance*...it's not unlikely that we would grow used to each other...
Hiei: but anyway, the hell have you been, Kitsune? I've been waiting here for like an hour, and she won't start writing unless we're both here, for some reason...all we end up doing while she writes is listening to music, watching TV or eating...
Anemone: well, you obviously enjoy doing it cuz that's what you've BEEN doing since waaaaaaaaaaaaaay before I started writing fanfictions...
Hiei: is it my fault you let me watch your TV?
Anemone: no...but it is your fault that the TV blew up while I was writing a couple nights ago...
Hiei: so I hit a couple wrong buttons...
Anemone: that and you slit it through with your Katana...
Kurama: calm...down...you two...
Hiei: that reminds me...why the hell are you so out of breath?
Kurama: girls...many girls...thousands...chasing me through city...me run, me get here, me seek sanctuary in Mone's room 'til safe for me to venture out...
Hiei: hahaha!
Anemone: *stifles snicker* okay, Kurama dear...maybe all the girls will leave by the time I'm done writing...
Kurama: thanks, Mones...can, can I...lie...lie down...?
Anemone: sure...Hiei got some corn chips on my bed *glares at Hiei* like three minutes ago...so maybe you should brush them off...
Kurama: duly noted...
Hiei: ningen, he's here...story?
Anemone: what's your hurry?
Hiei: long intro...too long...story!
Anemone: jeez, okay, okay...Kurama what do you-
Kurama: *in her bed, one arm flopping off over side of bed, drooling on other arm* zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
Anemone: ...right...nevermind...here you go, patient readers...chapter 4, enjoy.
Chapter 4: A Time for Reflection
Kurama stalked the streets slowly, thoughts racing madly through his usually calm mind. The fox's scarlet locks blew lightly in the shifting breezes, and his green eyes stung with frustration. A blush stained his cheeks as his thoughts drifted slowly to Botan...for some reason, ever since he saved her and held her close in his arms...ever since those brief seconds her destiny was tampered with...Kurama had lacked his calm, stable self, and was slowly revealing a shaky, tense side hidden brilliantly by his loose nature. 'What is happening to me?' the fox demanded of himself sharply. 'Why is it that I can't focus...and that I constantly find myself thinking about-'
'Botan?' Hiei's voice was thrown into Kurama's fray of thoughts. The fox sighed heavily and called loudly over his shoulder, "What do you want, you eavesdropping little demon?!"
"Well," Hiei snorted in irritation straight above Kurama's head, perched lightly upon a traffic system. "You're sure friendly, today, Kurama..."
With a short, sharp breath, the Kitsune sighed deeply and shook his head slow as if it weighed more than his shoulders could bear. "Sorry, Hiei...I'm just, not myself..."
"You could say that again," Hiei leapt gently from his high perch and with a soft landing in front of Kurama, the little demon regained his composure. "Ever since that whole fire escape scenario three nights ago, you've eaten less, slept less, talked less..."
"And obviously you've stalked me more..." the fox's emerald eyes curled back in annoyance.
"Hn...You've just made it that much easier," Hiei smirked viciously. Kurama sighed a weighed sigh and began to walk a weighed walk. Hiei's keen, scarlet eyes sharpened at Kurama's exiting form, and before the demon could stop himself, Hiei had blurted out something he wanted originally to deal with on his own, and not drag his best friend into. "That fire escape's collapse wasn't an accident," Hiei shouted against his supreme will, pricking up in an awkward silence and a complete realization as Kurama froze, turning to face Hiei with a look of complete horror and confusion.
"What?" the fox growled lowly, but not in intimidation...at least, not intimidating for Hiei. The short demon really only regretted putting more on Kurama's weighed mind--not that he showed his regret--and he really only said it without a blink of consideration to get Kurama's attention. Well, now he had it.
"After you left the annoying spirit guide up in the apartment, I returned to the spot of the fire escape to investigate...well, my snooping paid off and I found several, almost obvious clues to prove that it's fall wasn't a natural effect due to rusting and aging of the wires and bolts."
"What clues?" the fox's tone had eased, and a serious, yet calm air took hold of him.
"Allow me to show you, Kitsune...keep up." Hiei ordered softly, and with that, his entire form melted into the air and he had flown. Kurama grunted gently as he kicked off for a bolt towards Keiko's apartment building.
%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
Hiei stood with a broad chest and an impatient glare as he waited the arrival of Kurama on his little perch at the roof of the apartment building. 'Hn...' he thought venomously. 'He's slower than I thought...'
At the very thought, Kurama's figure quickly appeared on the scene, not a heavy breath to rack his lungs or a drop of sweat to bead his temple from the long run. The fox jerked his sights upward at his short friend, who responded with a slight smirk and a soft grunt. Hiei then melted into the air yet again, and reappeared at the fox's side, eyes cast for the red rust stains tinting the spot where Keiko's fire escape was once placed.
"If you look closely," Hiei said slowly, neither him nor the fox taking their eyes off the spot. "You can tell the tears in the wires weren't natural."
"I see...let us investigate, then..."
%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%~%
Both demons dug their fingers deep into the brick wall of the outside building, just where the fire escape once stood, leaning outward each with one hand hanging loose. Kurama clasped a broken wire in his tight grip, examining it with the most tender attention possible, his green eyes flashing with focus as he studied the tiny slits in each fiber. "You're right, Hiei...these didn't break naturally...they look as if they were slit through with some kind of sword, or dagger...or possibly, an arrow-head...a jagged one, to allow the fibers to show as uneven and to make it appear as if it was all an accident...but, even though the fibers are of different sizes, they all have a clean cut and all slant in the same direction...I take it that was the obvious clue you mentioned?"
"It is...and another," Hiei grunted in response, leaning downward from his slant and focused on the rust stain where the bolts of the fire escape once was. "Look closely, Kitsune...the bolts were dug out, with a sharp weapon..."
"Yes, they were...and the craftmanship is reckless...you can see the shape of a dagger blade, or some sort of long arrow-head creased into the loose brick dust made when they dug into it..."
"And, one other..." Hiei's clenched fist slowly curled open to reveal several of the bolts from the fire escape. "These are completely slit through...they didn't snap on own, but were sliced...very evenly through...perfect edges on both ends, not a snag or jag to be seen..."
"Yes...these predicaments were completely planned and acted upon...but, why..." Kurama sighed to himself in thought.
"Kurama," Hiei eyed him sharply. "Do you not think it is a huge coincidence that this happened when we were in a three-mile radius of this place?"
"What do you mean?" Kurama's emerald eyes narrowed low in suspicion.
"I mean, these clues are of a demon's hand...no human could possibly slice bolts with this precision without either the girls noticing sooner or without some sort of lazer tool...and, we've many enemies in the Spirit World...some known to escape the Spirit World's boundaries in the attempt to simply hunt the two of us down..."
"You're saying this is all a plot to get to you and me?" Kurama eyed his short friend in suspicion. "How do you know that for certain?"
"I don't...but after what happened to the Spirit Guide and Keiko, my Jagon Eye sensed the presence of evil looming about the ally behind the building...a strong demon, fast, too, for I had just missed him." when Kurama responded in utter silence, Hiei's eyes set firm and his voice leaked in a serious tone. "Kurama, I know the demon who is after us...I've met him before."
***************************************************
a/n: oo! I'm loving this...the suspense, it's killing me...sorry if you hate cliffhangers, but I'll try to have the next chapter up within a day or two, hopefully no later than two, because lol i got this one review telling me that it was inhuman to leave cliffhangers like this...sorry! but, I sorta got writer's block...but do not fret! As I said before, I will strain to have chapter 5 up within a day or two, starting it when I get home from school tomorrow...*tomorrow being thursday*...please review and please don't be flamy...latr