Okay, I feel I must be honest. Things will take a turn for the worse in this fic. I won't be super descriptive on death parts because I don't like having characters die, but everything that happens will happen for a reason. Do expect a good ending. In fact, you might be surprised at how it ends.
Chapter Three: The Plague Begins
The next weekend, same place in the park
"Okay. Still no information, right?" Yusuke's voice held little enthusiasm as they were doing their routine info trade.
"Correct. We still have no lead as to where this demon maybe hiding."
"Yeah. All we have is the not-so-new kid's red eyes."
"His name was Hideki, Kuwabara."
"Right. Hey, I noticed he wasn't staring at you yesterday."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Actually, he didn't look so great."
"Really?"
Hiei shifted in the branch above, "look. I say it's a waste of time looking for him. If he was going to do something by now, he would have already done it. Besides, he might not even be in this city anymore."
"Hiei has a point. Perhaps we should speak with Koenma and tell him there is nothing we can do right now."
Suddenly that group hears a loud shriek in the distance. They all turned their heads in that direction, but it was too far to see from where they were. Kurama was the first to speak, "I think we should investigate." They all got up and ran to investigate.
In the city
The four came to the place they heard the shriek and found an awful sight. A young boy was crouched over coughing up blood; he was also covered in several black and purple spots. Several people were around him trying to figure out what was wrong. The shriek came from a young woman who was close to him when he fell and started coughing up the blood. Yusuke and Kuwabara were about to get close to investigate, but Kurama stopped them, "stay back! I recognize those symptoms."
"What's wrong with him, Kurama?"
"He's got the bubonic plague."
"Well, then we should definitely get him to a hospital."
"No. We should wait for them to get here. There's no telling how many people he has already infected, but this is definitely not something that we can help with."
"Wait! Am I seeing things or is that Hideki?" Kuwabara was the first that noticed the boy's identity.
"You're right, Kuwabara!" After Yusuke spoke Hideki looked up. He still had the look of complete control despite his condition. In fact, he was even smiling as he got up. Much to everyone's dissatisfaction, Hideki began walking toward Yusuke. "Hey! Stay back!"
"Urameshi."
"What?"
"Look at him. He coming at us in desperation. We've got to do what we can to help him." Kuwabara was, again, determined to help.
Yusuke looked back at Hideki and noticed that his expression had indeed changed. Hideki looked in pain, and he did seem to be looking at them with a last look of hope. "Hey, Kurama. Don't you know of anything that can help cure this plague?"
"No. Only medical science can help him, but they can only help him if they catch the plague early. I don't suppose you know how long he has been ill?"
Kuwabara spoke, "He didn't look too great yesterday."
"Then if he got it yesterday, there is no hope."
Hideki had managed to get up close to the four. "Hey, Yusuke. I just want to say that it was fun knowing you like this. I hope you don't think too badly of me."
Kuwabara seemed to be in deep thought. Hiei had his Jagan eye opened underneath his bandana trying to look into his mind. However, Hiei gasped as he discovered that he couldn't penetrate into his mind.
"What's wrong Hiei?" Kurama asked.
Hiei whispers softly, "I can't penetrate his mind."
Yusuke overheard this but didn't say anything. Finally, Kuwabara spoke up, "do you think maybe Yukina's healing power can cure him?"
Hiei glared at him for even thinking to put Yukina at risk, "No."
Hideki started walking off. Yusuke noticed this and spoke up, "is it a good idea to have him walking around like that?"
Hiei spoke to the rest of them, "I think I know who our demon is." The other three turned to look at him. "But this isn't the place to discuss it. We should go back to the park."
Back at the park
"Okay. Let me guess who you think is the demon. You think it's Hideki, right?"
"Yes."
"Okay, why?"
"I tried looking into his mind with my Jagan eye; however, I couldn't penetrate to see. Only strong-minded demons can do that."
"Well, I don't see how that can be. I mean, he was dying." Kuwabara did have logical reasoning there.
"Think about it. You said he arrived the same day you got this assignment. He's got crimson eyes. He was examining Yusuke constantly. I can't penetrate his mind. And now he has a plague that can spread like a wildfire. I say there's more to that kid than what meets the eye." Hiei's reasoning sounded much better.
"You've got a point Hiei. I think we need to get a word with Koenma before we do anything because if this all was just coincidence, then we would reveal too much to him."
"Then you've got permission to do it."
They all turn to see Botan. "I've already heard everything and so has Koenma. He has the same suspicion that Hiei has. So do what you need to."
"Alright. Finally some action!" Yusuke jumps up from his sitting position. They all begin to search for Hideki.
Atop a building
"Hehheh. Everything is going according to plan."