The next day, Yusuke sat next to Botan and on the glowing screen of the Spirit World Communicator was the leader of the Spirit World himself.
"I had no idea what was happening to him, Yusuke. I have already said that." Koenma repeated with a sigh.
"Yeah, like I'm going to believe that. You know everything that goes on in Spirit World and Human World and you have no idea what was going on."
Botan looked uneasily between her boss and her ward.
Since summoning her and demanding an instant conference with Koenma, Yusuke had said nothing except that something had happened with Kurama and that Kurama was now gone, Hiei was asleep and deeply injured as was a human boy named Tohru Higashii. Kurama's human mother was there as well, but asleep due to a potion Yusuke had demanded out of Botan.
It was the middle of the night.
Through the window of the Spirit Detective's apartment, the moon was full and strangely bright.
"Why don't you tell me what happened instead of accussing me of knowing something I simply do not, Yusuke?" Koenma said and Yusuke huffed and glared at him.
"Fine."
So he told Koenma everything; the night he had raced into the construction yard to find Kurama unconcious and Hiei injured. The strange blast of youki (which Koenma admitted to knowing about due to reports from Human World, although he hadn't known Hiei the source), Kurama with fox ears and tail, Kurama with golden eyes, Kurama not himself....
He told him everything, concluding with the strange, anti-climatic way he had left after raging about his confinement to the human world when Hiei had given him the simple and perhaps slightly cold advice to simply leave if that's what he so wanted.
"So where is he?" Yusuke demanded, his fists slamming down on the desk.
Botan frowned more.
Koenma, on the other hand didn't seem affected. "I do not know, Yusuke. I will have my eyes in the Human and Spirit World try to find him, but it will take a few hours at the least, a few days at the most. If Hiei were awake he could tell you in an instant, I imagine, seeing that his jagan is useful in that way."
"But Hiei was the one who told him to go!"
"Everyone had their reasons. I imagine, even Hiei. I do not believe that he truly wanted Kurama to leave."
"And why would you think that?" Yusuke said.
"No reason." Koenma said, holding up his hands and blushing.
Yusuke pointed at him and he would have started in on the lord of the dead there again if Botan hadn't reached over him and said, "Thanks, Koenma. Please do call back when you have anything, OK?"
"Of course, Botan." Koenma said and the screen went blank.
"Why'd you do that?" Yusuke growled, turning to the blue-haired girl.
"He told you everything he knew. There was no point in yelling at him all over again, Yusuke."
"So what?"
"Yusuke...I know you're worried..." Yusuke frowned. "Come on. Let's go see if maybe Hiei will wake up and find him."
"Alright." Yusuke said after a moment, "Let's try, but that bastard hasn't woken up since he drove Kurama away."
"Yusuke..."
Yusuke sighed. "Let's just go already. I don't like waiting, remember? And this whole situation has already really pissed me off. When we finally find Kurama, whichever Kurama, I'll have to tell him just that."
...to be continued....