Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I don't own it, please don't sue...I'm already broke enough as it is.
A/N: I know this was a long time in coming, but I was kind of busy with my recent Harry Potter obssession; and FAKE...and Samurai Champloo...Anyway, this was supposed to be longer, but I just couldn't find the time (or the ideas) to add on to this chapter, and I thought I should update before the few fans of this fic abandoned it Not much action, but you do learn a bit more.

A Rose By Any Other Name
Part 5

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Kurama regarded him incredulously. His eyes were wide and faintly accusatory, but the young prince did not respond; all he did was gaze back at Kurama with steady eyes, acting as if nothing unusual was taking place.

It was Kurama who spoke first.

"You…you know how to solve this problem?" His voice came out shakier than he'd intended.

"Well…yes. At least, I think I might. There're no guarantees, but if what I have in mind works, then yes, it would solve the 'problem'."

"What do you mean?" Kurama had backed down and settled back into his chair, his hands trembling slightly. He didn't dare hope that it could be this easy; he knew Rin too well. And Koenma, too, for that matter.

"About the potion that Rin gave Hiei—what did it do to him?" Koenma asked, instead of answering Kurama's question.

Kurama rubbed his eyes tiredly and tried to think. "It…lowered his barriers, somewhat. I mean, I could never imagine Hiei just walking into a demon's domain, just like he did, and then start trusting him like that. I knew he must've been influenced by something; or else, I would've thought he'd gone crazy."

Koenma smiled slightly.

"Well, we might have a solution to this problem. It'll be aggravating and dull, probably frustrating, too, but I think we might be able to find something."

"What is it?" Kurama asked, curious and excited, and maybe just a little—hopeful? He was glad that they could finally do something that might add a bit of an advantage on his side; from the way he had seen it, Rin was going to win, game over, Hiei will be lost forever…

He didn't realize that he had been excluding the rest of their team and had instead focused solely on Hiei in this particular train of thought.

But this, he thought. This might actually work, whatever it was. From his experience, Koenma's plans were usually good—in theory—and, while not always working exactly as expected, would still give them the results they were looking for. Sometimes even better. So he had high hopes.

"You know about the dungeons and jails in Spirit World, right?" Koenma asked.

Kurama nodded, thinking back to the time that he, himself, feared the thought of spending a sentence in Spirit World's 'jails'. They were dreadful places, or so he heard.

"Well, we get a lot of interesting demons in these places. They come from all over, you know, and you can learn a bit from them. They know quite a lot. Most of them are old, since our sentences are usually very long, and you can learn a bit. Some of them are even…" he trailed off; his face was suddenly thoughtful, as if he were considering his next words carefully.

"Some of them even display unusual knowledge of potion and spells; ancient ones, so malicious in nature that Mukuro, Raizen, and even Yomi have made them illegal in the Makai."

Kurama finally caught on. "You have a demon that's knowledgeable when it comes to potions?"

"We're not exactly sure—they don't really like to talk to us. But they slip up now and then, and give us advice about some of our more obscure cases, when they forget themselves. From what we've seen, the particular demon we're talking about seems to know a lot about potions, especially old, and usually forbidden, ones. It seems likely that he used to be a potions master in Makai before he ended up here."

"You think he might know what Rin used on Hiei?" Kurama furrowed his brow, trying to think ahead.

"Not just identify it—find an antidote. And, seeing as Rin is so fond of his potions, we might find out what he's planning, too."

"I don't know…" Kurama hesitated. "We'd be taking a big risk, trusting this demon to give us the right information. He could easily decide to double cross us and escape."

"Yes," Koenma said, his face showing a grim determination that was uncharacteristic of him. "But it's a risk I'm willing to take. I can't let Rin take three of my four best detectives, after all. Besides, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei don't deserve whatever it is Rin might have planned for them."

Seeing the prince's resolute face, Kurama found that he had to agree.

"All right," he said decisively. "It may not be the cleverest or the most complicated plan, but at least we've got one. Bring me to his cell."

The two stood up and left the Prince's office, leaving the door slightly ajar—whispering, it seemed, of the unknown ahead, and the safety they'd left behind.

"Tell me, Kurama," Rin said lazily, "how does it feel to lose the people you care about most? To watch them caged and trapped with no way out—and when there's only one path you can take? Really, tell me."

He was drunk; not on alcohol or any other external substance, but on the feeling of delight that had filled him ever since he realized that his plan was going to work. Revenge was sweet. Oh, yes, it was. And now he was sitting on a cavern floor, with nothing but books and potions and three passed out detectives for company. It had only been a matter of time before he cracked and started talking to himself (more specifically, talking to other people, with the partsof the other people filled by him). It was a rather interesting activity to take part in.

Shadows played lazily on the wall across from him, creating vague images that came and went in a second. He watched, fascinated, for a few moments before he shook himself and got up. His face was a mask of bitter defeat—bitterness that, surprisingly, did not hold much rancor/

"What the hell am I doing?" He asked. Predictably, no one answered; there was only silence.

"What the hell am I doing?" He repeated, this time with noticeably less heart. "Did I really think this thing was going to work? That I was going to fool Kurama?" He sighed tiredly and raked a hand through his hair. He shut his eyes wearily, shoulders slumping. "I really am crazy," he murmured, sinking back into the floor.

For a while, he just watched the shadows on the wall. Vaguely he remembered sensing Hiei shifting slightly, but he didn't move. He just sat.

And he waited. It was only a matter of time before that damn kitsune showed up, most likely with a complicated and daring plan that he would never see coming, the way only Kurama could. If he searched through his heart, rather thoroughly, he would have been surprised to find that he didn't really mind it. That is, he wouldn't mind if Kurama would beat him in this little escapade. But he, unable to look into his heart, didn't realize it just yet.

So he watched, and waited to see what Kurama would have coming.

He was sure it was going to be good.

Hiei lay, stirring slightly in his unconscious state. He was experiencing a weird in-mind experience, at which he felt as if half of his mind was awake, and the other half was still passed out and senseless. The part of him that was awake urged him to get up, beat Rin to a pulp, and untie his hands (which he had just noticed were bound), not necessarily in that order.

He half-remembered reading something about a potion, and seeing green eyes staring back at him from a dark corner. He also recalled feeling very disconsolate, and very pessimistic. Thankfully, he couldn't remember why. If he had, he'd probably give up trying to do anything altogether.

The half of his brain that was of use decided to try to get his body to move; experimentally, he tried to wiggle his fingers. It occurred to him too late that his eyes were shut, and, therefore, he couldn't tell if he had really wiggled his fingers or not. He growled slightly in the back of his throat (he realized that, as useless as he was now, he could at least talk or make noise, which could be help him later on). He was mad and frustrated and feeling quite powerless; it was a new feeling for him, and he didn't like it very much. Why is it that I don't remember anything 10 minutes before this happened? He thought to himself. It can't be amnesia because I remember everything else—the kidnapping, Rin, Kurama, the book…

And suddenly, he remembered. The book of fairy tales; Rin and Kurama's story; the potion. He kind of wished he hadn't remembered. Somehow, he thought it would have been easier that way.

I can't believe I acted so stupidly—how Rin just lured me in with that line about Yukina. It was so obvious!

I really hope Kurama's gone to do something useful. And that the stupid kitsune was smart enough to think of a plan.

He tried to think of a possible way to get out of the binds that Rin had put on him—upon examination, he found that his eyes were blindfolded (obviously), his hands and feet were very tightly bound, and that he appeared to be sitting against a wall. Overall, it wasn't a very good situation to be in; at least, if you were human and didn't possess any powers. Luckily, Hiei was a demon, and a powerful one. He didn't really think that his fire would work, since Rin would have taken precautions for it, but he decided to try anyway. It at least gave him something to do. After a few experimental tries, he concluded that he had guessed right—whatever Rin had done to the ropes, they wouldn't let him do anything with his powers.

It didn't occur to him that maybe it wasn't charms that held him back, but the potion that controlled his actions and his will; the nature of the potion itself would try to prevent him from trying to escape. It stirred within his veins, still active but slowly losing some of its hold on him. Hiei's thoughts were focused on his current predicament, however, and he didn't notice, or note, any of these things.

That kitsune had better have something planned, he thought grimly. Or else all three of us will probably never get out of this cave.

"So, Koenma," Kurama started complacently as they walked by the cells of the Makai prison. "What exactly do you know about this demon?"

Koenma hesitated slightly, and he chewed his pacifier in a thoughtful manner. "Not much, to be honest. We don't know much about the regular dealings of demons in the Makai to begin with; we only pick up enough to identify the most infamous or notorious criminals. Like you."

Kurama chuckled. "Well, if you hadn't heard of me back in those days, I think I would've been very offended," he said, looking around him curiously as they passed through the prison's maze of hallways. "Do these hallways ever end?" he thought aloud, looking intrigued.

Koenma grinned. "We think so, although no one has ever been able to prove that—and come back alive, at least."

Kurama grimaced in response. "I think even I would've had a hard time getting out of these hallways—not that I couldn't," he ended in a slightly smug tone.

"You were a bit of a show-off back then, weren't you?" Koenma said teasingly. "Considering how much you encouraged talk about you, it was kind of hard not to take notice."

They stopped at a small fork in the corridor; Kurama realized belatedly just how dark and foreboding it suddenly seemed in the hallway. He sincerely hoped it wasn't a sign.

Koenma considered the two paths for a moment, before walking toward the right and motioning for Kurama to follow. They walked in companionable silence for a while, before Kurama broke the silence, picking up their conversation where they'd left off.

"I was pretty full of myself, wasn't I?" he said in a self-mocking tone.

He and Koenma laughed. "It feels weird, sometimes, to think of how I was back then and how much I've changed."

"Forgive me for saying it, but I think I like you better now than before," Koenma said dryly.

Kurama smiled for a second, and then sobered. "If you don't mind, I think maybe we should talk about our situation." He paused for a second, looking down the hallway, before adding, "I'd like to be prepared when I meet the prisoner."

"Yes, I guess you're right," Koenma answered, walking a bit faster than before. Kurama cast him a surprised glance, but he didn't question him, and merely quickened his pace as well.

"So," he said casually, walking side by side with the prince, "what is it that you know about this particular demon?"

Koenma shrugged. "Just the basics, really—he was convicted of theft, though we're sure he's committed worse crimes."

His dark face indicated what kind of 'crimes' he meant. Kurama looked around anxiously, staring at the stone wall on his right and wondering what would be in store for both of them. Their steps echoed in the large hallway, and, turning back, he realized again how easy it could be to get lost in the prison's hallways. The thought of it made him shiver, and he almost missed the beginning of Koenma's response.

"He looks very old, and you know what that means for a demon—he's probably a few thousand years old, considering how long their life spans are. He's also got a bit of a—strange sense of humor. From what I recall, he has what humans call 'dry wit'." Koenma rambled on and on, listing the various characteristics and idiosyncrasies he'd managed to find out about the demon.

Kurama listened with half an ear, noting interesting facts here and there, but otherwise tuning out most of the prince's speech. During Koenma's long rant, he noticed that the cells that were situated on the sides of the corridors, which were usually close together, were placed farther apart in this area of the prison; it must have taken them hours to get this far. Taking a closer look, he thought that there was about 20 feet of space in between each one. Curious, he asked Koenma about it.

"I noticed that the farther we go in, the more space there is between each cell—why is that?" His voice was quietly observant, almost casual.

Koenma looked startled. "Oh, that's because only the oldest prisoners are kept this far inside. After all, the younger demons are usually the ones we have to watch out for; we keep them in the front, where we can see them easily. And the cells here are larger than most because the demons are old and haven't committed any crimes in years, so we give them a break and let them have more space." The end of his explanation was met with thoughtful silence, and Kurama gazed thoughtfully in front of him.

"This demon—the one that we're meeting; what exactly is his name?" He asked softly.

"His name is Takeda," said a wheezing voice to his right, and both of them froze. Slowly, both of them turned. There was the demon Takeda, standing behind the bars of his cell, ragged but looking smug. "It's about time you got here. I've been expecting you." He grinned, a knowing look in his eye.

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