Hey. Sorry about the long delay. I got caught up in another one of my fics.
Okay then. I think that we should get started on this!!
Kuro: Coughcoughdisclaimercoughcough.
Nagem: Aw, do I have to?
Kuro: Yeah.
Nagem: Fine, I don't own . . . NOTHING!! Ahem, scuze me, I don't own anything.
"No," Shuichi whispered. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
Jeroun pitied Shuichi. It wasn't everyday that someone you used to know and trust with everything threatened you and your friends. Jeroun reached over to Shuichi, putting his hand on the youko's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Jeorun whispered to Shuichi. "I should have told you sooner."
"It wasn't you," Shuichi said. "I was too foolish to listen when you needed to talk." Jeroun had to admit (but wouldn't say it aloud) that Shuichi was correct in that matter. "What puzzles me is that I couldn't feel his energy and know it was him."
"He masked it," Jeroun said. "He didn't want anyone to know he was alive until he was strong enough to make a good comeback." Shuichi smiled.
"He was always good at masking his energy," he said fondly, remembering. Then their attention was caught by everyone else who was recovering from Kuronue's attack.
"Geez," Yusuke said. "That guy knows how to make an escape. I can't even feel his ki anymore." Kuwabara blinked, having run over to "protect" Yukina and the other girls, earning himself a good whack on the head when he ran straight into Shizuru. Even Hiei was up on his feet, ready to draw his katana and fight with the others. Koenma, Jorge, and the jailkeeper all stared at where Kuronue had been just a few moments ago.
"Yusuke," Shuichi began, but Koenma interrupted him.
"Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Ku-Shuichi," he said. "I want you to go and arrest that demon! I want him dead or alive!"
"But why so harsh penalties?"
"He broke out of jail, Yusuke!" Botan shrieked. Jeroun wondered why no one was mentioning Kuronue's past with Youko Kurama. Probably because they didn't want to draw attention to Shuichi, who was currently trying to get a word in with Botan's shrieks, Koenma's rantings, and Yusuke's questions.
"He was good for the five months that he was here," Yusuke said. "Do you remember the time he helped us search for information on a demon we were after?"
"Yusuke, you heard Botan, he broke out of jail! There's no higher felon than that, save for murder!!" Koenma looked pleadingly at Yusuke, then gathered himself. "I want him dead or alive by tomorrow morning, or you're all going to be very displeased at where you find yourselves." (A/N: yeah, I know, it doesn't sound too good, but it was all I could think of!) With that, Koenma, Botan, Jorge, and the jailkeeper oni left. Everyone was silent until Keiko coughed and cleared her throat.
"Yusuke, if you have to catch this guy by tomorrow morning, then we should leave and let you guys get to work," Keiko said. Yusuke nodded, and one by one the girls filed out the door until only Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Shuichi, and Jeroun were left.
"Jeroun, if you want to stay here, I know you guys were friends," Yusuke began. Jeroun shook his head firmly thinking, (Shuichi was closer to him than I was, and if he can bear hunting Kuronue, than so can I.) Shuichi swallowed hard.
"We should split up to find him," Shuichi said. "It would let us cover more ground."
"Okay then," Yusuke said. "Kuwabara and Hiei, you guys come with me. Jeroun, Shuichi, you two work together."
"Why do I have to be with the baka?" Hiei asked.
"Because it'll take both you and me to make sure he doesn't mess up," Yusuke said.
"Urameshi!"
"Only telling the truth, Kuwabara."
"Fine, but he'd better not do anything stupid," Hiei said as the five walked outside. Jeroun saw Shuichi breifly sniff at the air before turning to his teammates.
"You guys go that way," he said, pointing to the lighted city. "And we'll go in this direction." He pointed the other way, to the darker, more suburban part of town.
"All right then," Yusuke said. "You know what to do if you find him." Shuichi nodded, and both teams went off in their separate directions.
Half an hour later, both teams were getting nowhere. Jeroun made this quite clear to Shuichi with his constant complaints.
"Shuichi," he began.
"Call me Kurama," his redheaded partner told him.
"Okay then, Kurama. I can't feel Kuronue's energy anywhere, and we haven't heard anything from the others yet," Jeroun said. "Can we turn back now?"
"Not yet," Kurama (A/N: I finally get to call him Kurama!! Yay! ^___^) said. "I know he went this way. It's just a matter of time before we find him."
"Then why did you want to go this way," Jeroun said. "I would think that you wouldn't want to fight someone who used to be close to you."
"Usually I wouldn't," Kurama told him. "But if I left him to fight Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei, then he would die. I don't want him to die when I can prevent it." Jeroun thought about the other time he had thought Kuronue was dead. Yeah, he didn't know too much about it, but hey, from the stories that he had heard, he could guess what it was like. "Here." Kurama stopped running. Jeroun crashed into his back. Suddenly they could both feel Kuronue's energy.
"That's him," Jeroun said. "He's in that thing you call a park. But I can't tell exactly where he is."
"There's two parts of the park," Kurama said. "You go check out one, and I'll search the other." Jeroun nodded, and they both, upon entering the park, ran off in separate directions. Kurama knew this might not be the best idea, but this was the only way they could find Kuronue before he tried to make an escape to the Makai. Thinking about this, Kurama pushed himself and ran faster. To anyone who might have seen him, all he was was a blood-red blur. After about ten minutes of nothing but worrying and running at the same time, he could see the outline of Kuronue in the trees. The chimera sensed him and turned.
"Shuichi," he said.
"Ku-ro-nue," Kurama panted in return. (A/N: That really didn't sound right now that I think about it. REMEMBER! NON-YAOI!!) "Please . . . you have to . . . listen to me. It's for your own good."
"Like how you lied about how you didn't know that I was the runaway?" Kuronue questioned. He pulled out a throwing blade (A/N: You know, like the imposter does in the movie. Could someone tell me what those are called??) and waved it around threateningly.
"That was before I knew who you were," Kurama said. "Please, just come in quietly with me and I'll try to make it so that you're not killed."
"You have to fight me and win if you want me to come in with you, Shuichi," Kuronue said. "How about we fight using special terms?"
"What?"
"We each use our weapon of choice, but the weapons are coated with a poison-" Kuronue pulled out a small vile "-that kills you within an hour of entering your system. Therefore, the first person to draw blood is the winner, and the loser dies within the hour."
"No," Kurama said. "I won't kill you."
"If you were to bring me in then you would anyway," Kuronue stated. He had a point, Kurama had to admit. But he didn't have time to think about that. "Fight!" Kuronue threw the blade at his former partner, and cut Kurama's arm as he blocked the blow. Blood spurted from the wound, and Kuronue grinned. But something was wrong. Kurama's body was reacting immediately to the poison. Frightened, Kuronue tackled Kurama, knocking the subdued youko into the bushes. "Shuichi, what's going on? It's supposed to take an hour!"
"Ku-ro-nue." With each syllable, the voice got deeper. Scared out of his wits, Kuronue reached in and pulled Kurama out of the bushes. No matter what happened, the chimera had grown to like the kitsune, and had actually planned on giving him the antidote. But, if Kurama died before Kuronue could find it. . . .
"Shuichi," Kuronue begged. "Please, I didn't really want you to die."
"Kuronue." The voice was firm, hard, and waaaaaay to familiar. Startled, Kuronue looked his captive in the eye. There was one thing different about Kurama's eyes this time.
They were a brilliant gold. Fun! 'Nother cliffie, sorry, but I promise that this'll be the next story I update. Depending on what happens, it might be tomorrow or Thursday (today's Tuesday) But I can't guarantee anything yet. Really! I am sorry! I just want to get on the internet and post this before I go to bed . . . and it's kinda late. And I'm really tired. Damn alarm clock.
Kuro: Nagem, you're ranting again. Do you know you do this in your sleep?
Nagem: *blushes* I do not! And how would you know?
Kuro: Well . . . I . . . uh . . . Please review!
Nagem: Kuronue . . .
Kuro: Coughcoughdisclaimercoughcough.
Nagem: Aw, do I have to?
Kuro: Yeah.
Nagem: Fine, I don't own . . . NOTHING!! Ahem, scuze me, I don't own anything.
"No," Shuichi whispered. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
Jeroun pitied Shuichi. It wasn't everyday that someone you used to know and trust with everything threatened you and your friends. Jeroun reached over to Shuichi, putting his hand on the youko's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Jeorun whispered to Shuichi. "I should have told you sooner."
"It wasn't you," Shuichi said. "I was too foolish to listen when you needed to talk." Jeroun had to admit (but wouldn't say it aloud) that Shuichi was correct in that matter. "What puzzles me is that I couldn't feel his energy and know it was him."
"He masked it," Jeroun said. "He didn't want anyone to know he was alive until he was strong enough to make a good comeback." Shuichi smiled.
"He was always good at masking his energy," he said fondly, remembering. Then their attention was caught by everyone else who was recovering from Kuronue's attack.
"Geez," Yusuke said. "That guy knows how to make an escape. I can't even feel his ki anymore." Kuwabara blinked, having run over to "protect" Yukina and the other girls, earning himself a good whack on the head when he ran straight into Shizuru. Even Hiei was up on his feet, ready to draw his katana and fight with the others. Koenma, Jorge, and the jailkeeper all stared at where Kuronue had been just a few moments ago.
"Yusuke," Shuichi began, but Koenma interrupted him.
"Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Ku-Shuichi," he said. "I want you to go and arrest that demon! I want him dead or alive!"
"But why so harsh penalties?"
"He broke out of jail, Yusuke!" Botan shrieked. Jeroun wondered why no one was mentioning Kuronue's past with Youko Kurama. Probably because they didn't want to draw attention to Shuichi, who was currently trying to get a word in with Botan's shrieks, Koenma's rantings, and Yusuke's questions.
"He was good for the five months that he was here," Yusuke said. "Do you remember the time he helped us search for information on a demon we were after?"
"Yusuke, you heard Botan, he broke out of jail! There's no higher felon than that, save for murder!!" Koenma looked pleadingly at Yusuke, then gathered himself. "I want him dead or alive by tomorrow morning, or you're all going to be very displeased at where you find yourselves." (A/N: yeah, I know, it doesn't sound too good, but it was all I could think of!) With that, Koenma, Botan, Jorge, and the jailkeeper oni left. Everyone was silent until Keiko coughed and cleared her throat.
"Yusuke, if you have to catch this guy by tomorrow morning, then we should leave and let you guys get to work," Keiko said. Yusuke nodded, and one by one the girls filed out the door until only Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Shuichi, and Jeroun were left.
"Jeroun, if you want to stay here, I know you guys were friends," Yusuke began. Jeroun shook his head firmly thinking, (Shuichi was closer to him than I was, and if he can bear hunting Kuronue, than so can I.) Shuichi swallowed hard.
"We should split up to find him," Shuichi said. "It would let us cover more ground."
"Okay then," Yusuke said. "Kuwabara and Hiei, you guys come with me. Jeroun, Shuichi, you two work together."
"Why do I have to be with the baka?" Hiei asked.
"Because it'll take both you and me to make sure he doesn't mess up," Yusuke said.
"Urameshi!"
"Only telling the truth, Kuwabara."
"Fine, but he'd better not do anything stupid," Hiei said as the five walked outside. Jeroun saw Shuichi breifly sniff at the air before turning to his teammates.
"You guys go that way," he said, pointing to the lighted city. "And we'll go in this direction." He pointed the other way, to the darker, more suburban part of town.
"All right then," Yusuke said. "You know what to do if you find him." Shuichi nodded, and both teams went off in their separate directions.
Half an hour later, both teams were getting nowhere. Jeroun made this quite clear to Shuichi with his constant complaints.
"Shuichi," he began.
"Call me Kurama," his redheaded partner told him.
"Okay then, Kurama. I can't feel Kuronue's energy anywhere, and we haven't heard anything from the others yet," Jeroun said. "Can we turn back now?"
"Not yet," Kurama (A/N: I finally get to call him Kurama!! Yay! ^___^) said. "I know he went this way. It's just a matter of time before we find him."
"Then why did you want to go this way," Jeroun said. "I would think that you wouldn't want to fight someone who used to be close to you."
"Usually I wouldn't," Kurama told him. "But if I left him to fight Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei, then he would die. I don't want him to die when I can prevent it." Jeroun thought about the other time he had thought Kuronue was dead. Yeah, he didn't know too much about it, but hey, from the stories that he had heard, he could guess what it was like. "Here." Kurama stopped running. Jeroun crashed into his back. Suddenly they could both feel Kuronue's energy.
"That's him," Jeroun said. "He's in that thing you call a park. But I can't tell exactly where he is."
"There's two parts of the park," Kurama said. "You go check out one, and I'll search the other." Jeroun nodded, and they both, upon entering the park, ran off in separate directions. Kurama knew this might not be the best idea, but this was the only way they could find Kuronue before he tried to make an escape to the Makai. Thinking about this, Kurama pushed himself and ran faster. To anyone who might have seen him, all he was was a blood-red blur. After about ten minutes of nothing but worrying and running at the same time, he could see the outline of Kuronue in the trees. The chimera sensed him and turned.
"Shuichi," he said.
"Ku-ro-nue," Kurama panted in return. (A/N: That really didn't sound right now that I think about it. REMEMBER! NON-YAOI!!) "Please . . . you have to . . . listen to me. It's for your own good."
"Like how you lied about how you didn't know that I was the runaway?" Kuronue questioned. He pulled out a throwing blade (A/N: You know, like the imposter does in the movie. Could someone tell me what those are called??) and waved it around threateningly.
"That was before I knew who you were," Kurama said. "Please, just come in quietly with me and I'll try to make it so that you're not killed."
"You have to fight me and win if you want me to come in with you, Shuichi," Kuronue said. "How about we fight using special terms?"
"What?"
"We each use our weapon of choice, but the weapons are coated with a poison-" Kuronue pulled out a small vile "-that kills you within an hour of entering your system. Therefore, the first person to draw blood is the winner, and the loser dies within the hour."
"No," Kurama said. "I won't kill you."
"If you were to bring me in then you would anyway," Kuronue stated. He had a point, Kurama had to admit. But he didn't have time to think about that. "Fight!" Kuronue threw the blade at his former partner, and cut Kurama's arm as he blocked the blow. Blood spurted from the wound, and Kuronue grinned. But something was wrong. Kurama's body was reacting immediately to the poison. Frightened, Kuronue tackled Kurama, knocking the subdued youko into the bushes. "Shuichi, what's going on? It's supposed to take an hour!"
"Ku-ro-nue." With each syllable, the voice got deeper. Scared out of his wits, Kuronue reached in and pulled Kurama out of the bushes. No matter what happened, the chimera had grown to like the kitsune, and had actually planned on giving him the antidote. But, if Kurama died before Kuronue could find it. . . .
"Shuichi," Kuronue begged. "Please, I didn't really want you to die."
"Kuronue." The voice was firm, hard, and waaaaaay to familiar. Startled, Kuronue looked his captive in the eye. There was one thing different about Kurama's eyes this time.
They were a brilliant gold. Fun! 'Nother cliffie, sorry, but I promise that this'll be the next story I update. Depending on what happens, it might be tomorrow or Thursday (today's Tuesday) But I can't guarantee anything yet. Really! I am sorry! I just want to get on the internet and post this before I go to bed . . . and it's kinda late. And I'm really tired. Damn alarm clock.
Kuro: Nagem, you're ranting again. Do you know you do this in your sleep?
Nagem: *blushes* I do not! And how would you know?
Kuro: Well . . . I . . . uh . . . Please review!
Nagem: Kuronue . . .