Note: This story is POV from Yusuke.
--------------------
I looked up, frowning slightly, shielding the lamp light from my eyes. I stared at the front door of Kurama's house, once more chiding myself for returning. Grunting softly, I turned towards the direction that would lead me home, sullenly walking along the deserted street. Thoughts of the last week rushed through my mind, and I struggled to force them away. With the thoughts came anger and frustration, and following them...
Pausing in my steps, I turned, as if a voice had called to me. But I knew that was impossible. It was a voice I knew that would never be heard again. As I stood, however, my eyes caught sight of a familiar red head, perched upon the sill of a window, towards the back of the house. My breath caught a moment in my throat, and quickly, I headed once more for home, hands balled into fists within the pockets of my jeans.
************
A week ago:
I sat, perched on the edge of my bed, head dipping now and then in automatic response to Keiko's words. I really wasn't paying too much attention, it was after all, about school. Besides, I had other things to worry about; like what I was going to eat for dinner.
"Yusuke! You haven't heard a word I've said!" That harshness, and the fact that Keiko was practically in my face, snapped me back from thoughts of steaming.
"Yes I have!" A bold-faced lie.. but she was a girl. Then again... she was also Keiko.
"You brat! You have not!" Nearly glaring at me, Keiko sat back down in the chair across from my bed, arms folded across her chest, the skirt of her fuku showing a bit of her white panties beneath. I couldn't help myself, my gaze gravitated upon the flash of white, and the thought of what treasures it guarded. Grinning now, I was once more unaware of anything Keiko was saying... I was also unaware of the looks that I was receiving, or the fact that there was a rather large textbook gravitating towards my bug-eyed head. That is... until it landed its mark.
"What the hell was that for?" was all I could manage, rubbing the slow growing lump that would be part of my visage for the next few days.
"You know what that was for. Hmph!" She half turned, head tossed back, eyes shut, probably imagining all kinds of insults were I to say one more thing in my defense. I tilted my head, hand once more dropping to settle into my lap toying with a fold of my jeans momentarily. With a sigh, I shrugged, though she couldn't see it, before settling back onto the bed, propped upon my elbows.
We sat like this, in silence, she to her thoughts, and I to mine. Today had been unusually irritating. Something just didn't feel right. Like a centipede with only fifty legs. But I hadn't heard from Botan, or Koenma for quite awhile. Maybe that was it. I was restless, I was agitated, I was listless... I was bored.
Looking towards the window, I laid upon the already rumpled sheets of my bed, arms rising to fold beneath my head. With a sigh, I closed my eyes, feeling rather tired suddenly. Only a few moments was I able to lay still, before Keiko's voice broke the silence, soft and low.
"Yusuke?" She didn't wait for a reply, "I was thinking. Valentine's Day is coming up.. "
"...And?"
"Well. I thought that you might want to take me out or something. You know. Spend the day together."
I opened one eye to find her staring expectantly at my face, a hopeful expression hidden behind her gaze. Boy, at times like this, she sure could get on my nerves. Koenma hadn't contacted me in a few days, and who knows what could be happening at this very second outside of these walls, and all SHE wanted to do was talk about mushy Valentine's day.
Before I could reply, I heard my mother's voice. Also another that I recognized, but couldn't place at the moment. Keiko's words had put me on edge slightly, and I was trying to keep the evidence off of my face. A moment later, Kurama was standing in the doorway. He nodded to me, and then said a few words of hello to Keiko, before crossing my room, and taking a seat on the floor.
"What's up Kurama?" I asked quickly, much relieved for the interruption after all of Keiko's ramblings. I shifted my weight, laying on my side now, palm resting on my cheek as I gazed across to the red-head. He smiled back at me.. but it was not right. It was forced.. and it was noticeably so. I shifted my eyes from his face as Keiko rose and mentioned a sudden need to speak with my mother, before hurrying out of the room. Shifting yet again once the door was closed, I moved to the edge of the bed, leveling my eyes to Kurama's.
"Kurama, are you okay?"
He shook his head slowly as he lowered his eyes somewhere around my feet. I only blinked watching him like this. The last time we were alone in my room... Again I shifted my eyes. I didn't think that he had come to talk about those times. That was quite a while ago... before Hiei.
"Hiei has left for a while, yet I feel something is wrong, Yusuke."
I sigh intangibly. It was something about Hiei. In a way I was relieved... but I felt in that instant there was more to it. Kurama only troubled me with these things when he could not find a solution himself, or needed reassurance that his conclusion was only logical. I did not have to wait long to find out the rest of his reasoning, either.
"He left a note saying he had things to do, and wouldn't be back for a while. I can't name it, but I have a feeling something is wrong."
He paused a moment, and this drew my eyes back, but he continued before I said anything.
"We had plans, you know..."
I nodded. What more could I do. I didn't want to worry him by disclosing that I had felt a little off myself. Besides, there were a few unanswered questions. "Did he say where he was going?"
Kurama was the one to shake his head this time, lifting his eyes to me once again, "No, I only found a letter from him."
Following this, Kurama told me about the last few days spent with Hiei. About getting kicked out of the store, and a few other things.
"What if Hiei is just trying to surprise you with something special for your night alone?" I had to ask it, if only to ease Kurama's heart a bit. But that was promptly discouraged with Kurama's response that he had been told Hiei was getting him a big fat nothing. Loveable guy, really. A few more moments were spent, ideas tossed up, only to sail away on the breeze it felt. Nothing seemed to fit this sudden disappearance. It wasn't like Hiei... of course it wasn't totally unlike him either. The only thing the two of us seemed to find remotely likely was the fact that conflicts in the Makai had drawn his attention. But even that was a bit farfetched. He hadn't had anything to tend to immediately within the Makai for quite some time.
Kurama stayed for a while longer, but he seemed disheartened that a resolution had not been reached. He bade his goodbyes, and left, wearing an expression that I had not really witnessed on Kurama's face. He was very worried about the little fire demon.
With a loud sigh, I tossed myself back upon the bed, puzzled, and even a bit worried myself. What could have caused Hiei to do such a thing to Kurama... I supposed the only answer was to find him, and ask myself. So, I stood, and crossed out of the room, answering the barrage of 'Where are you going? When will you be back? Yusuke answer me!' with a hasty 'Eventually'.
As the sun fell, I sighed again. I was standing, nearly alone, on a street, the entire day since I left my house, really in vain. There had been no sign of Hiei anywhere. I started, after leaving my house, passed by Kurama's place, the only thing out of the ordinary, was the open window towards the back of the house, spotting a flash of red hair through the fluttering of the curtains.
I kept walking.
With a shake of my head, I looked up, slightly surprised that my wanderings had led me to the store that Kurama had told me about. I looked down and kicked at the curb. I was restless as ever, and for the life of me couldn't figure out why.
Frustrated, I returned to my house, passing my mother with a grunt, and threw open the door to my room. Once again I was mildly shocked, as I found Keiko laying on my bed, asleep. Shutting the door a little quieter, I took the chair that she had been sitting in hours before, looking upon her. Her hair was sleep rumpled, as well as her fuku, and once again the white beneath taunted me from afar. Without the distraction of a book making a rough landing on my face, my gaze held fast there. A few moments later I was in bed with her, a pleased smile on her face as she was roused.
----
The next morning, I was awake before the sun, sitting bare-chested once more in the chair present. Kieko was once again asleep, the sheets pulled to cover her naked form. Biting softly upon my lip, I tried to force bitter thoughts from my mind.
The night wasn't a good one, plagued by images of Hiei, failing in some sort of battle. A battle that did not leave him victorious. Surely I was overreacting to the conversation that Kurama and I had... was it only yesterday?
It had been.
Frowning, I rose, grabbed the closest thing that resembled a shirt, and left my house once again, while Keiko and my mother still slept. I made my way to Kurama's house, and spoke with his mother for a few minutes. She was worried about him too.
Sneaking towards his room, so as not to disturb him should he still be asleep, I cracked the door to find him near the window. I thought he was awake at first, but the slow, rhythmic breathing led me to a different conclusion. Softly shutting the door once more, I returned to his mother's side, and told her goodbye, saying that Kurama was still sleeping, leaving out the part of his choice of places to do so.
Having nowhere to really go, and nothing really to look for, save for one misplaced fire daemon, I aimlessly wandered the town, asking random people if they had seen anything. Disheartened, I made my way back to the store Kurama had mentioned. Venturing in, I made no point in browsing, and went straight to the clerk behind the counter. I was greeted warmly, but soon after I asked her about Hiei with a fine description, I was promptly asked to leave. Stupid girl.
The day wore on, with no results, and I ventured home once more. I passed my mother without a word, and went straight for my own room. Within, I found Keiko no longer there, but a note was lying on the pillow, the soft breeze from the half open window ruffling the paper slightly. Snatching it up with one hand, I read it, shrugged, and tossed it to the floor, myself falling to the perfectly made bed. Stupid Keiko.
With my face buried within the pillow, my thoughts focused on the note that Hiei had left. What was so important that he had to up and leave, and be so vague about it. Stupid Hiei.
----
I slept in a dull stupor that night, remembering nothing of my dreams, if I had any at all. When I awoke, I was still in my clothes, the window still half open, the bed no longer a picture of perfection. With a grunt, I pushed myself to a sitting position, my legs swung haphazardly off the bedside. Staring unfocused at the floor, I wasn't aware of my mother calling my name, until she poked her head within the room, looking mildly upset. Or perhaps she had gotten up earlier than I, and had already started drinking. Either or, I paid her only half a mind, answering he question with a reasonable answer, and her words forgotten as soon as her face was out of sight.
Once again, I went out that day. I ran into Keiko during the course, and after some conversation, I let her tag along. We walked all over the place, stopping here and there when Keiko saw something she liked. Window- shopping, she called it. I rolled my eyes, and walked farther along each time she stopped, not heeding her callings about being left behind.
We went to Kurama's house again, but his mother told us he wasn't feeling well. She had taken a cold cloth to him the previous night, among other things. She was worried. And Kurama was ill. This was not looking good. For their sake, I told them I had remembered something suddenly I had forgotten my mother had asked me to get for her, and left a moment later.
This was not looking good, and I had to find Hiei. I didn't know why, I just had to. From far off, I thought I heard his voice, that taunting clear tone that he used so often. Hurrying along towards it, I hoped I would find the owner quickly.
----
I didn't sleep that night. Hiei's voice kept haunting my thoughts, though, there were no words attached to the murmur in my head. It was like he was talking to me from behind a thick wall, and all that could be made out were the tones of his voice as the words fluctuated. I hoped Kurama wasn't "hearing" the same thing. It was driving ME nuts, and he was already not so good.
After an hour last night, I returned to his house, making excuses for not coming back with what I had left to purchase. I shrugged it off, and walked Kieko home, explaining little of why I had left. I returned home shortly after, and was awake to see the rise of the sun. Four days had passed since Kurama first came to me, and I had not seen him in those four days. I made it a point to see him today. I had to talk to him again, though I didn't exactly know why.
I rose, showered, and found some clothes. I was just getting ready to head out, I doubted myself, but only for a moment.
Twenty minutes later, I was in Kurama's house again, fidgeting slightly as I sat talking with his mother. I had peeked in to see him and he had groaned.
"Kurama?" I called softly, but he only rolled over and appeared to be sleeping still, so I left him, waiting until he would wake up.
The conversation with Shiori was strained and tense, but with all that I had not found, and all that she knew, it was not to be unexpected. She had made some tea, and I idly sipped it, staring in turn at a window, and her face, nodding and interjecting where appropriate.
A scream interrupted our talk, and we both made a dash for Kurama's bedroom, Shiori arriving a split second before I did. She reached quickly for the cold cloth by the bed, pressing it firmly to his forehead, and guiding him back down. I watched even more tensely as she told me he had a fever, and reasoned the scream to be delirium. I wasn't so easily persuaded, but I accepted her words. I left her to tend to her son, feeling awkward and unsettled myself, my chest tight and breaths quick.
My brow was soaked with sweat, even though the day was overcast and the wind was cooling to the skin. Those moments spent in Kurama's room were odd, and the feeling of foreboding stayed with me, even as I settled down on my bed, pulling the covers over me, even though the sun had not yet wounds its way past the clouds into the horizon. Something was wrong, Kurama and I both knew it, but what, was yet to be seen.
************
The Present
I returned to my room, and sat staring at the wall, legs folded beneath me on the torn sheets of my bed. The chair was again propped against the door, blocking entry into my room. I didn't want to see anyone, least of all Keiko, but I imagined she had not been by to see me anyway. I looked up at my window, staring out into the cloudless sky. It was the night after Valentine's Day, and I had not moved from this spot since yesterday... since I got back from Kurama's.
Koenma had sent for me two days before Valentine's. The day after I had left Kurama's house. The day after I had left that horrible scream that was so unsettling. Botan had been there, and by her downfallen expression, I knew that something bad had happened, though I didn't let myself believe that it could have been about Hiei...
Yesterday morning, I could bear it no longer, and went to Kurama's once more. I woke him gently, his wild eyes searching my face. I said nothing, and bowed my head, closing my eyes tightly. I struggled to hold back the tears, as I extended what was left of Hiei's sword to Kurama. The blade was broken in half, the silvery glint of the thing muted by the stains of faded crimson.
I opened my eyes as I heard Kurama fall to his knees, and I swallowed the lump in my throat, watching him there. I offered what Koenma had told me, my voice flat and hollow, my hands shaking as they held the battered katana of the fire deamon. I cursed my own self as I watched Kurama. If only I had searched longer, tried harder. Something. Anything. I laid blame upon myself, even though by Koenma's story, there would have been nothing that I could have done, no way that I could have reached him.
Kurama allowed me to keep the blade, claiming he had other things to remind him of Hiei. I only nodded, offering it once more just before I went. It was refused again and I left there after, clutching it tightly in my hands. Now it sat, upon a black satin pillow, on the floor next to my bed. And it was here my hard gaze landed once more.
I stared hard at it, my thoughts ranging through time as far back as when Hiei and I had first met, to now.. to thoughts of Kurama, and his little lost valentine.
--------------------
I looked up, frowning slightly, shielding the lamp light from my eyes. I stared at the front door of Kurama's house, once more chiding myself for returning. Grunting softly, I turned towards the direction that would lead me home, sullenly walking along the deserted street. Thoughts of the last week rushed through my mind, and I struggled to force them away. With the thoughts came anger and frustration, and following them...
Pausing in my steps, I turned, as if a voice had called to me. But I knew that was impossible. It was a voice I knew that would never be heard again. As I stood, however, my eyes caught sight of a familiar red head, perched upon the sill of a window, towards the back of the house. My breath caught a moment in my throat, and quickly, I headed once more for home, hands balled into fists within the pockets of my jeans.
************
A week ago:
I sat, perched on the edge of my bed, head dipping now and then in automatic response to Keiko's words. I really wasn't paying too much attention, it was after all, about school. Besides, I had other things to worry about; like what I was going to eat for dinner.
"Yusuke! You haven't heard a word I've said!" That harshness, and the fact that Keiko was practically in my face, snapped me back from thoughts of steaming.
"Yes I have!" A bold-faced lie.. but she was a girl. Then again... she was also Keiko.
"You brat! You have not!" Nearly glaring at me, Keiko sat back down in the chair across from my bed, arms folded across her chest, the skirt of her fuku showing a bit of her white panties beneath. I couldn't help myself, my gaze gravitated upon the flash of white, and the thought of what treasures it guarded. Grinning now, I was once more unaware of anything Keiko was saying... I was also unaware of the looks that I was receiving, or the fact that there was a rather large textbook gravitating towards my bug-eyed head. That is... until it landed its mark.
"What the hell was that for?" was all I could manage, rubbing the slow growing lump that would be part of my visage for the next few days.
"You know what that was for. Hmph!" She half turned, head tossed back, eyes shut, probably imagining all kinds of insults were I to say one more thing in my defense. I tilted my head, hand once more dropping to settle into my lap toying with a fold of my jeans momentarily. With a sigh, I shrugged, though she couldn't see it, before settling back onto the bed, propped upon my elbows.
We sat like this, in silence, she to her thoughts, and I to mine. Today had been unusually irritating. Something just didn't feel right. Like a centipede with only fifty legs. But I hadn't heard from Botan, or Koenma for quite awhile. Maybe that was it. I was restless, I was agitated, I was listless... I was bored.
Looking towards the window, I laid upon the already rumpled sheets of my bed, arms rising to fold beneath my head. With a sigh, I closed my eyes, feeling rather tired suddenly. Only a few moments was I able to lay still, before Keiko's voice broke the silence, soft and low.
"Yusuke?" She didn't wait for a reply, "I was thinking. Valentine's Day is coming up.. "
"...And?"
"Well. I thought that you might want to take me out or something. You know. Spend the day together."
I opened one eye to find her staring expectantly at my face, a hopeful expression hidden behind her gaze. Boy, at times like this, she sure could get on my nerves. Koenma hadn't contacted me in a few days, and who knows what could be happening at this very second outside of these walls, and all SHE wanted to do was talk about mushy Valentine's day.
Before I could reply, I heard my mother's voice. Also another that I recognized, but couldn't place at the moment. Keiko's words had put me on edge slightly, and I was trying to keep the evidence off of my face. A moment later, Kurama was standing in the doorway. He nodded to me, and then said a few words of hello to Keiko, before crossing my room, and taking a seat on the floor.
"What's up Kurama?" I asked quickly, much relieved for the interruption after all of Keiko's ramblings. I shifted my weight, laying on my side now, palm resting on my cheek as I gazed across to the red-head. He smiled back at me.. but it was not right. It was forced.. and it was noticeably so. I shifted my eyes from his face as Keiko rose and mentioned a sudden need to speak with my mother, before hurrying out of the room. Shifting yet again once the door was closed, I moved to the edge of the bed, leveling my eyes to Kurama's.
"Kurama, are you okay?"
He shook his head slowly as he lowered his eyes somewhere around my feet. I only blinked watching him like this. The last time we were alone in my room... Again I shifted my eyes. I didn't think that he had come to talk about those times. That was quite a while ago... before Hiei.
"Hiei has left for a while, yet I feel something is wrong, Yusuke."
I sigh intangibly. It was something about Hiei. In a way I was relieved... but I felt in that instant there was more to it. Kurama only troubled me with these things when he could not find a solution himself, or needed reassurance that his conclusion was only logical. I did not have to wait long to find out the rest of his reasoning, either.
"He left a note saying he had things to do, and wouldn't be back for a while. I can't name it, but I have a feeling something is wrong."
He paused a moment, and this drew my eyes back, but he continued before I said anything.
"We had plans, you know..."
I nodded. What more could I do. I didn't want to worry him by disclosing that I had felt a little off myself. Besides, there were a few unanswered questions. "Did he say where he was going?"
Kurama was the one to shake his head this time, lifting his eyes to me once again, "No, I only found a letter from him."
Following this, Kurama told me about the last few days spent with Hiei. About getting kicked out of the store, and a few other things.
"What if Hiei is just trying to surprise you with something special for your night alone?" I had to ask it, if only to ease Kurama's heart a bit. But that was promptly discouraged with Kurama's response that he had been told Hiei was getting him a big fat nothing. Loveable guy, really. A few more moments were spent, ideas tossed up, only to sail away on the breeze it felt. Nothing seemed to fit this sudden disappearance. It wasn't like Hiei... of course it wasn't totally unlike him either. The only thing the two of us seemed to find remotely likely was the fact that conflicts in the Makai had drawn his attention. But even that was a bit farfetched. He hadn't had anything to tend to immediately within the Makai for quite some time.
Kurama stayed for a while longer, but he seemed disheartened that a resolution had not been reached. He bade his goodbyes, and left, wearing an expression that I had not really witnessed on Kurama's face. He was very worried about the little fire demon.
With a loud sigh, I tossed myself back upon the bed, puzzled, and even a bit worried myself. What could have caused Hiei to do such a thing to Kurama... I supposed the only answer was to find him, and ask myself. So, I stood, and crossed out of the room, answering the barrage of 'Where are you going? When will you be back? Yusuke answer me!' with a hasty 'Eventually'.
As the sun fell, I sighed again. I was standing, nearly alone, on a street, the entire day since I left my house, really in vain. There had been no sign of Hiei anywhere. I started, after leaving my house, passed by Kurama's place, the only thing out of the ordinary, was the open window towards the back of the house, spotting a flash of red hair through the fluttering of the curtains.
I kept walking.
With a shake of my head, I looked up, slightly surprised that my wanderings had led me to the store that Kurama had told me about. I looked down and kicked at the curb. I was restless as ever, and for the life of me couldn't figure out why.
Frustrated, I returned to my house, passing my mother with a grunt, and threw open the door to my room. Once again I was mildly shocked, as I found Keiko laying on my bed, asleep. Shutting the door a little quieter, I took the chair that she had been sitting in hours before, looking upon her. Her hair was sleep rumpled, as well as her fuku, and once again the white beneath taunted me from afar. Without the distraction of a book making a rough landing on my face, my gaze held fast there. A few moments later I was in bed with her, a pleased smile on her face as she was roused.
----
The next morning, I was awake before the sun, sitting bare-chested once more in the chair present. Kieko was once again asleep, the sheets pulled to cover her naked form. Biting softly upon my lip, I tried to force bitter thoughts from my mind.
The night wasn't a good one, plagued by images of Hiei, failing in some sort of battle. A battle that did not leave him victorious. Surely I was overreacting to the conversation that Kurama and I had... was it only yesterday?
It had been.
Frowning, I rose, grabbed the closest thing that resembled a shirt, and left my house once again, while Keiko and my mother still slept. I made my way to Kurama's house, and spoke with his mother for a few minutes. She was worried about him too.
Sneaking towards his room, so as not to disturb him should he still be asleep, I cracked the door to find him near the window. I thought he was awake at first, but the slow, rhythmic breathing led me to a different conclusion. Softly shutting the door once more, I returned to his mother's side, and told her goodbye, saying that Kurama was still sleeping, leaving out the part of his choice of places to do so.
Having nowhere to really go, and nothing really to look for, save for one misplaced fire daemon, I aimlessly wandered the town, asking random people if they had seen anything. Disheartened, I made my way back to the store Kurama had mentioned. Venturing in, I made no point in browsing, and went straight to the clerk behind the counter. I was greeted warmly, but soon after I asked her about Hiei with a fine description, I was promptly asked to leave. Stupid girl.
The day wore on, with no results, and I ventured home once more. I passed my mother without a word, and went straight for my own room. Within, I found Keiko no longer there, but a note was lying on the pillow, the soft breeze from the half open window ruffling the paper slightly. Snatching it up with one hand, I read it, shrugged, and tossed it to the floor, myself falling to the perfectly made bed. Stupid Keiko.
With my face buried within the pillow, my thoughts focused on the note that Hiei had left. What was so important that he had to up and leave, and be so vague about it. Stupid Hiei.
----
I slept in a dull stupor that night, remembering nothing of my dreams, if I had any at all. When I awoke, I was still in my clothes, the window still half open, the bed no longer a picture of perfection. With a grunt, I pushed myself to a sitting position, my legs swung haphazardly off the bedside. Staring unfocused at the floor, I wasn't aware of my mother calling my name, until she poked her head within the room, looking mildly upset. Or perhaps she had gotten up earlier than I, and had already started drinking. Either or, I paid her only half a mind, answering he question with a reasonable answer, and her words forgotten as soon as her face was out of sight.
Once again, I went out that day. I ran into Keiko during the course, and after some conversation, I let her tag along. We walked all over the place, stopping here and there when Keiko saw something she liked. Window- shopping, she called it. I rolled my eyes, and walked farther along each time she stopped, not heeding her callings about being left behind.
We went to Kurama's house again, but his mother told us he wasn't feeling well. She had taken a cold cloth to him the previous night, among other things. She was worried. And Kurama was ill. This was not looking good. For their sake, I told them I had remembered something suddenly I had forgotten my mother had asked me to get for her, and left a moment later.
This was not looking good, and I had to find Hiei. I didn't know why, I just had to. From far off, I thought I heard his voice, that taunting clear tone that he used so often. Hurrying along towards it, I hoped I would find the owner quickly.
----
I didn't sleep that night. Hiei's voice kept haunting my thoughts, though, there were no words attached to the murmur in my head. It was like he was talking to me from behind a thick wall, and all that could be made out were the tones of his voice as the words fluctuated. I hoped Kurama wasn't "hearing" the same thing. It was driving ME nuts, and he was already not so good.
After an hour last night, I returned to his house, making excuses for not coming back with what I had left to purchase. I shrugged it off, and walked Kieko home, explaining little of why I had left. I returned home shortly after, and was awake to see the rise of the sun. Four days had passed since Kurama first came to me, and I had not seen him in those four days. I made it a point to see him today. I had to talk to him again, though I didn't exactly know why.
I rose, showered, and found some clothes. I was just getting ready to head out, I doubted myself, but only for a moment.
Twenty minutes later, I was in Kurama's house again, fidgeting slightly as I sat talking with his mother. I had peeked in to see him and he had groaned.
"Kurama?" I called softly, but he only rolled over and appeared to be sleeping still, so I left him, waiting until he would wake up.
The conversation with Shiori was strained and tense, but with all that I had not found, and all that she knew, it was not to be unexpected. She had made some tea, and I idly sipped it, staring in turn at a window, and her face, nodding and interjecting where appropriate.
A scream interrupted our talk, and we both made a dash for Kurama's bedroom, Shiori arriving a split second before I did. She reached quickly for the cold cloth by the bed, pressing it firmly to his forehead, and guiding him back down. I watched even more tensely as she told me he had a fever, and reasoned the scream to be delirium. I wasn't so easily persuaded, but I accepted her words. I left her to tend to her son, feeling awkward and unsettled myself, my chest tight and breaths quick.
My brow was soaked with sweat, even though the day was overcast and the wind was cooling to the skin. Those moments spent in Kurama's room were odd, and the feeling of foreboding stayed with me, even as I settled down on my bed, pulling the covers over me, even though the sun had not yet wounds its way past the clouds into the horizon. Something was wrong, Kurama and I both knew it, but what, was yet to be seen.
************
The Present
I returned to my room, and sat staring at the wall, legs folded beneath me on the torn sheets of my bed. The chair was again propped against the door, blocking entry into my room. I didn't want to see anyone, least of all Keiko, but I imagined she had not been by to see me anyway. I looked up at my window, staring out into the cloudless sky. It was the night after Valentine's Day, and I had not moved from this spot since yesterday... since I got back from Kurama's.
Koenma had sent for me two days before Valentine's. The day after I had left Kurama's house. The day after I had left that horrible scream that was so unsettling. Botan had been there, and by her downfallen expression, I knew that something bad had happened, though I didn't let myself believe that it could have been about Hiei...
Yesterday morning, I could bear it no longer, and went to Kurama's once more. I woke him gently, his wild eyes searching my face. I said nothing, and bowed my head, closing my eyes tightly. I struggled to hold back the tears, as I extended what was left of Hiei's sword to Kurama. The blade was broken in half, the silvery glint of the thing muted by the stains of faded crimson.
I opened my eyes as I heard Kurama fall to his knees, and I swallowed the lump in my throat, watching him there. I offered what Koenma had told me, my voice flat and hollow, my hands shaking as they held the battered katana of the fire deamon. I cursed my own self as I watched Kurama. If only I had searched longer, tried harder. Something. Anything. I laid blame upon myself, even though by Koenma's story, there would have been nothing that I could have done, no way that I could have reached him.
Kurama allowed me to keep the blade, claiming he had other things to remind him of Hiei. I only nodded, offering it once more just before I went. It was refused again and I left there after, clutching it tightly in my hands. Now it sat, upon a black satin pillow, on the floor next to my bed. And it was here my hard gaze landed once more.
I stared hard at it, my thoughts ranging through time as far back as when Hiei and I had first met, to now.. to thoughts of Kurama, and his little lost valentine.