Yutaan: ACK! bow, bow GOMEN NASAI GOMEN NASAI! I am SO sorry; I thought I was going to have time to upload this chapter before I went to Ohio (I was planning to update every week). But, I didn't, I'm SORRY! pant pant

Okay, thank you to EVERYBODY who reviewed!!!! dives into pile of reviews and hugs them MWEEDAH! REVIEWS MAKE 'TAAN-CHAN HAPPYYYYYY!

Ashley: She's a spazz. We love this chapter. Read on! She doesn't own nothing.

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NOT WHAT IT SEEMS

Chapter Two: Kurama's Dead?

Hiei gasped and dove headfirst into the murky, frigid water. His katana weighed him down, dragging him down towards bottom, but he struggled against it, searching, searching... He was forced to surface, choking for air, then dove again, looking for any sign, empty hands clawing at the water.

There! A tangle of long red hair swirled beneath him. Hiei seized a slackened arm and dragged his catch upward, aiming for the shimmering disk of sunlight above him.

Hiei's foot struck rock; his head broke the surface. Gasping and choking, he dragged the limp body up onto dry land. But there were no coughs, no whimpers, other than his own. He turned the body over and stared into lifeless eyes.

"Oh my god!" He lifted the body into his arms. It was shockingly light, seeming to weigh hardly more than a feather. Limp limbs flopped against his chest; tangled red hair swept the ground, dripping water. No movement! No breathing!

Hiei shot to his feet and ran out of the grove of trees, his precious folded still and silent against his chest. Black stones rolled from his eyes, echoing his panicked footsteps with sharp staccato clacks.

He ran to passerby, screaming for help. "Help me! Ambulance! No – no breathing – Please!" People stared at him, moving away. No couldn't they see - ....

He grabbed one woman's arm, begging her, "Can't you help?! Do something! There's no heartbeat!. The woman eyed the wet redheaded body and wrenched her arm away, stabbing at Hiei with the words:

"Get away from me, you freak."

Hiei stumbled away from the center of town. He saw familiar faces, but they blurred as he tore past them, his feet carrying him up a well-known path... The path to the redheaded boy who could fix any hurt, kiss away wounds, wipe any mishap into the past....

Hiei burst into the yard, seeming so empty now. Even the roses looked pallid and half-dead, reflecting the tragedy. The sun chilled his skin, biting at him with twisting teeth, sorrow gnawing even more ferociously at his insides.

Sobbing, clutching the cold body, Hiei fell to his knees in the center of the yard, screaming to the sky: "KURAMAAAAAA!"

A door slammed. "What?" Kurama asked. Spotting Hiei kneeling in his backyard, a resigned look crossed his face. "You dropped your Raggedy Ann doll in the pond again, didn't you?"

Hiei nodded tearfully, holding out the doll. Kurama sighed, took it, wrung it out, kissed it, and handed it back. "All better?"

Hiei eyed Raggedy Ann and put his thumb in his mouth. He nodded. "All better."

PS: Neko-chan or Chibi-chan... I NEED TO KNOW ONI'S ADDRESS! I want to send her stuff... sniff.