Yusuke went to bed that night feeling strangely vulnerable. He knew well enough that Hiei was not a person he could call his best friend, and that often the demon preferred to leave without being noticed, but for Hiei to make a sudden exit in that manner was not his style. In fact, Yusuke wasn't even sure that Hiei had intended such an exit. There was a look of utter surprise and horror upon the fire demon's face when the bolt had crashed into him that had made Yusuke fearful for a moment. Was it a new trick he'd cooked up, or was Hiei in trouble?

The question haunted Yusuke through the night. Terrible dreams plagued his sleep. Dark visions of death and betrayal, all ending in a hopeless swirl of defeat and broken trust. The surreal images were more frightening than anything a realistic image could have told Yusuke, and the fact that he'd not eaten anything awkward to promote such strange premonitions only heightened his worries.

When morning broke in a dizzying array of bright reds and piercing oranges, Yusuke found himself being stared down by a cheery pair of pink eyes. Yelling out in surprise, he rolled over and met the floor face to face.

"Good morning, sleepy head." greeted the strangely accented voice.

"Morning, Botan." Yusuke grumbled, his head not yet lifted from the floor. "What do you want? Isn't it a little early for the bosses regular doughnut run?"

"Now now!" stated the young woman, batting her eyes and sticking a finger to her cheek in the quaint manner that was undeniably the bubbly Botan from head to toe. "That won't do. Koenma's wondering what happened to Hiei last night."

"Uh, Hiei?" Yusuke asked, pushing himself up and pulling himself back into bed.

"Yes silly. Hiei. You know; short, black hair, bad temper, three eyes. Sort of hard to miss really. Especially that last part. You've only known him for, what? At least a year now?"

"Yeah yeah, a shade under five feet, bad attitude, a regular ass on occasion; I know who you're talking about Botan." Yusuke frowned. Stretching and yawning, he tried to feign that he didn't really give a damn. "So, what do you want?"

"Koenma is worried."

"About Hiei?" Yusuke nearly choked to death on the air he was breathing. "Since when? I'd think Binkie Breath would be happy to not have him to worry about."

"Well, that might have been the case before Hiei became such a valuable asset to your team, Yusuke." Botan stated. A surprising glimmer of concern flickered in her eyes, and even Yusuke had to admit that despite Hiei's temper, they'd come to care about him. He was, after all, a member of the team.

"He just disappeared," Yusuke stated, leaning back on his pillows, head resting in his folded arms. "A flash of lightening and 'poof', the little jerk is gone."

"Bolt of lightening, eh?" Botan repeated inquisitively. "That's not good."

"What do ya mean?" Yusuke frowned. "I wouldn't be surprised to find that this was just a trick of his, if you ask me."

"Well yes, one could say that," Botan went on, "if this hadn't been happening before."

"What?!" Yusuke sat straight up on his bed. "What do you mean, happening before?"

"I mean that demons all over have been disappearing in the same manner. Strong, powerful demons. One minute they're there, their signal, their energy signature and everything, and then a storm breezes by, and after that they're gone."

"Gone?" Yusuke repeated.

"That's right, smart boy." Botan frowned, bopping his nose with a finger. "And Hiei's not the first to go. The strange thing is it's not just here. It's happening everywhere!"

"I thought you established that fact already?" Yusuke pointed out blatantly. Botan gave a cheesy grin. The one she gave when she knew something and wasn't telling. Yusuke raised an eyebrow, impatiently awaiting whatever information she was hiding which was only going to be revealed in due time.

"Well, you see, the thing is Yusuke..." she trailed off, as if trying to decide how best to word what she was about to say. "You know how there is a spirit world and a human world?"

"Naturally." he answered.

"Well, along with the different worlds, there are also different....well....sort of like dimensions."

"Dimensions?" Yusuke frowned. "Why am I not liking this?"

"Oh it gets rich, Yusuke." Botan warned. "You see, Spirit World obviously oversees all of this because, well, every dimension and realm has it's dead, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well, so Koenma has a certain amount of control over each and every dimension. One of the bits he does control is his ability to keep a lookout for almost any and all demons."

"All right, I follow."

"Well, demons have been disappearing not only in this world, but in others as well."

"WHAT!?!" Yusuke leapt from the bed in a state of rage. "Are you telling me there's more than one world we're dealing with? Well where the hell are they all going?"

"Well, um...we don't know, Yusuke." Botan admitted with a sad sigh. "We can't trace them."

"So what does that mean for Hiei?"

"That means...he's on his own until we can find where everyone is going." Botan dropped her gaze in sad concern. Yusuke, on the other hand, was very angry. He slammed his fist hard into the nearest wall he could find and gritted his teeth.

"That's not good enough, Botan!" he snarled. "Hiei could be dead by then!"

"Now, Yusuke!" Botan lectured, frowning at the uncharacteristic pessimistic behavior. "You know darn well that Hiei can take care of himself."

"YEAH, IN A NORMAL SITUATION!" Yusuke was hollering now. "WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THE HELL HE IS OR WHO WE'RE DEALING WITH! FOR ALL WE KNOW SOMEONE'S GATHERING RANDOM DEMONS INTO A HELL PIT SOMEWHERE AND KILLING THEM FOR SPORT!"

"Now Yusuke, do calm yourself!" Botan pleaded. "We don't know anything yet and I would very much like it if you kept your cool. So would Koenma. Kurama doesn't know yet."

"Damn it..." Yusuke cursed. "When is Koenma planning on telling him?"

"Uh," Yusuke turned to look in Botan's direction. A frown formed into his already darkening features at the sound of her hesitancy. "Actually, Koenma requested that you do it."

"WHAT!?!" Yusuke yelled. "Hell no! He'll take my head off with his freaking Rose Whip, no matter who's there to see it."

"Now Yusuke, give Kurama some credit. He's not prone to angry outbursts like some people we know." Botan accused. "Now come on. Koenma is very busy trying to get to the bottom of this. The least you could do is try and find Kurama and tell him that Hiei is missing."

Yusuke sighed, leaning his body against the wall and angling his head so that he might take a peak at the rising sun.

"Fine," Yusuke spat. "But if he kills me, I swear I'll give you hell about it."

Botan grinned brightly. "Wouldn't be much different then now, would it Yusuke?"

Yusuke threw on a jacket that evening after school had ended and began walking toward Kurama's house. It took a while since he lived so far away, but Yusuke's head was too far elsewhere to notice the time it had taken him to pass Kurama's house. He thought to stop and see if Kurama was home, but then he remembered being told that Kurama rarely came home on time from school. He stayed after to do extra research or to get ahead on work.

"Lousy show off." Yusuke grumbled, jamming his hands deep into his pockets and frowning at his street shoes. "It's bad enough he's already as smart as he is. He has to make the rest of us idiots look bad as well."

Suddenly, Yusuke thought back to Keiko. In a way she was the same way. The top of her class, always staying after for Student Council work and what not. She was a regular genius herself. But she never made anyone around her feel stupid. It wasn't that different with Kurama. He never really made anyone feel ignorant, it was just understandable that he was a supremely intelligent being. Of course, having been demon in a sort of 'past life' helped in that area.

As all these different thoughts swept through Yusuke's mind, he absently struck the side of a student while walking.

"Huh, oh sorry." he muttered as he continued on. But as he started walking again, Yusuke felt a hand grip tightly down upon his shoulder and squeeze. Hard.

"I don't think you are, punk." came the response. Yusuke sighed. He didn't really have time for a fight.

"Maybe I'm not." Yusuke responded. "What's it to you?"

"Well, I think maybe we should teach you some manners."

The man was tall. Taller than Yusuke, which really wasn't an impossible feat. He had blonde curly hair and dull green eyes, and the look of an ogre. Probably had the brains of one too. He had a few cronies, at least two on each shoulder, with him, giving the supposed odds to the group instead of Yusuke.

"Maybe another time." Yusuke stated.

"Oh no, I think not."

In no time, a fist was flying toward Yusuke's head from his right. The experienced fighter easily dodged the blow. He wrapped his left hand around the wrist, and then with his right elbow dealt a blow to his attacker's ribs, sending him down to the ground for a good period of time.

Then it was the man in the middle's turn. He lashed out his foot high enough to take Yusuke's head for a good spin around his shoulders. But his business having been done with attacker number one, Yusuke was well ready for the next launch. He dodged the foot easily and using both hands (left hand around the knee, another on the mans...well....you know,) Yusuke lifted him and then let him drop hard enough for the others to get the point.

"Anybody else want a piece of the action?" Yusuke grinned. Suddenly his blood was boiling, and his mission forgotten. The young man was now completely focused in on the fight. Until a large shadow fell over him from behind. "Oh, crap," Yusuke sighed, gritting his teeth. "Who's this? You're fifth minion?"

"Something like that," came the answer behind him. Two large hands gripped his shoulders and squeezed hard. Whoever this was, they were no student. But they were undeniably human. An adult?

"Yusuke!" a familiar voice yelled.

Suddenly the hands fell and so did their owner. Unconscious to the ground, for at least a few moments.

"Hey Kurama!" Yusuke greeted with a childish grin. "Funny running into you here."

"I suppose." Answered the young man. He stood before Yusuke with a raised eyebrow, his school case held tightly in one hand. Yusuke guessed he'd used it to knock out the grown man who was about to use Yusuke as a throw rug. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for a friend."

Kurama chuckled. "Would I be that friend or am I mistaken?"

"No, right as usual Kurama."

The young red head smiled. "Are you going my way?" he asked.

"Yeah. I passed your place a while back I think. I wasn't really paying attention."

Kurama smiled, as though he would expect no less of his companion.

"Well, seeing as to we're both going in that direction, you can tell me whatever it is you needed to."

"All right." Yusuke grinned. They each nodded to one another, and with a look up and down the street they bolted from the scene. Two kids and one adult lay unconscious, and neither one felt like being questioned over the matter.

"So, what is it that you needed?" Kurama asked as they neared his house.

"Uh," Yusuke stopped. They'd not talked about it during their bolt to safety, nor on the rest of their casual stroll home. "What I wanted to tell you?"

Kurama nodded. "You don't usually come all this way to find me for a nice chat, Yusuke. I assumed something was wrong."

"Uh," Yusuke's brain went numb. So did part of his body. How did you tell a guy his best friend was missing? Just like that, he supposed. "Kurama, I have to tell you something..."

"Yes."

"Last night I...Keiko and I went out and...we were confronted by this man." Yusuke stopped, struggling for words that would not come.

Kurama frowned. "Is Keiko all right?"

"Yeah!" Yusuke breathed. "Fine. Just fine."

"Oh," Kurama smiled. "Well, that's good."

"But that's not what I wanted to tell you."

"No, I wouldn't think so." Kurama grinned. They were stopped in front of his place now, and Yusuke knew that this was it.

"Well, Hiei came to our rescue, sort of speak, and well, afterward he...disappeared."

"Your attacker?"

"No. Hiei."

"Oh," Kurama eyed Yusuke awkwardly. "Well, Hiei was always one for quiet exits."

"No no, you don't understand. Not like that. I mean...a storm blew through almost immediately after and...I don't really know what happened. Some lightening came down and zapped him and...suddenly...no more Hiei."

At that point, Kurama fell silent. His eyes were widening as Yusuke built up to this point. but now they seemed only a fraction of a second away from falling out of Kurama's head.

"He's....dead?"

"I don't know." Yusuke answered. He gazed down at the sidewalk, unable to meet his friend's gaze. "He was there, then gone. And I don't think this was a trick of his either."

"No." Kurama answered immediately. "No, Hiei was not a master of that element. He had nothing to do with whatever happened."

Yusuke nodded. "Well, Koenma wanted me to tell you. He's trying to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. Apparently Hiei's not the only one to disappear like this. All over the place, and different dimensions."

"Different dimensions?" Kurama frowned.

"Uh, yeah. At least that's what Botan said. Um look, I don't really know how to make you feel better about what's happened to Hiei, but...when Koenma figures it out I'll take care of them personally."

"I'm sure you will," Kurama stated, his gaze not quite focusing on anything in particular at the moment. Yusuke nodded and started off to leave, but Kurama called after him one last time before entering his home.

"Yusuke!"

"Yeah?"

Kurama gazed deeply at the young fighter, setting Yusuke a little off ease. "If Koenma can get you to wherever these demons are being sent...tell him that I will be coming with you."

Yusuke smiled and nodded his head to reassure him. "No prob."

With that, Kurama nodded and headed inside. Yusuke also started home, feeling slightly better, and yet at the same time, incredibly worse.

Author's Note: Ah what writing at to in the morning doesn't do for you. Right? Well, here it is. When is this story ever going to get started? Don't worry, the action's coming. As soon as I go get some food.