WOOT! My first two-digit chapter!

Chapter Ten...Bloodlust

Hiei lay Kurama's body down on the stone floor of the cave after his arm had long since fallen asleep. It was dark now. The dolls' master must be out their, either searching for his puppets, or looking for the team, assuming they've been weakened. Hiei came up to the waterfall, and put his arm through it to split the water so he could see outside. It was only then he realized how high up they were. Kurama climbed all that way with his stomach hanging out of him?

Hiei looked behind him at the sleeping fox. His clothes were blood-stained red, almost completly. Hiei sighed and looked back outside, the water starting to numb his arm. He quickly pulled it back inside, not because of the coldness, but because he'd seen a light nearby, most likely an enemy who sensed youki nearby. Wait... youki? Hiei was repressing his youki signature for just that purpose, but Kurama's was sensible, and not only that, getting for pronounced.

The hiyoukai looked back at the fox once more, surprised. He hadn't noticed Kurama's power level going up. But then he realized it was probably due to the enegry he had exchanged for his earlier that day...

In his sleep, Kurama felt a weight crawl on top of him. His first thought that maybe it was a youkai Hiei had accidently let through, but that thought was quickly replaced with something else, "Get off me, Hiei."

"Oh, you're awake?"

The fox opened his eyes to see, indeed, the smaller demon was laying on top of him. It was dark, meaning he'd been alseep for a while. But that didn't really matter as Kurama's emerald eyes stared into amused crimson ones just above them. They were close, too close, "Yes, I'm awake. Why're you on me?"

"...You were being awfully loud," was his only answer. Hiei's expression had gone serious. Kurama was confused, "Care to elaborate that?" Hiei readjusted himself so his weight was on his elbows, "We almost were caught up here because your youryoku was starting to flare."

"What?"

Hiei sighed annoyedly. He closed his eyes for a bit, then sat up on Kurama's stomach. The fox wanted to sit up as well, but the current position didn't allow it, "When I first saw you again in that jail cell, you easily could have been put in a headlock by a baby."

A rude way of saying I'm weak, but it's, sadly, probably true, "And?"

"Well...," Hiei said thoughtfully, then leaned in close to the fox's face, "You seem to be getting closer to what your level was before you got shot. And it almost caused us to be found. I find that ironic."

Kurama's eyes slanted, "Yes, but... do you find our current position neccessary?" Hiei moved even closer, so that they could feel the other's breath on their face, and their lips just beyond reach, "Do you?" the hiyoukai answered. Kurama pressed his palms against Hiei's firm chest to push the demon off. The fox then walked over to the entrance of the cave, and the to stayed in silence for several minutes.

"What's so funny?" Hiei asked from the floor, as the fox started to laugh quietly. Kurama looked down at him, his eyes laughing, "Oh, nothing," he smirked, "Just you seem to be for up front than I remember," he walks over to Hiei, who stares up at him, "Do you remember yourself? I was always the aggressor," Hiei grimaced at his, "Come to think of it, you used to be about this height to me, didn't you?"

Hiei quickly stood up, at looked at the fox with an odd expression, "Why do you bring this up now?"

"You're the one who started bringing up strange subjects," Kurama answered. He wasn't sure what Hiei's face was trying to convey. He'd never been sensitive about his height before, why would that be different now? Or maybe...

"Shut it," Hiei said, his voice laced with venom, making the shortest hairs on Kurama nape stand up straight, "We should leave now," he said in his normal tone. Kurama looked back at him with the corner of his eye. Something wasn't right..., "Alright..."

It annerved Kurama how... stiffly... Hiei walked over to the water. Had he really said something wrong? It's been five years, maybe Hiei has changed as much as Kurama has, "Five years..."

"What?" Hiei asked annoyedly as the fox whispered to himself. Kurama looked at Hiei, with a sad look in his eye, "Five years... of wasted time... I'm such an idiot," Kurama explained.

Hiei remained quiet for a moment, then, "Yes, you are," he said in a finishing tone. Kurama just stared at his back, taking the comment in. He looked back to the end of the cave, lost in thought. He only looks back to Hiei when he feels an odd pressure on his scalp. The hiyoukai had a lock of the fox's hair in his painful grasp, "Hiei, what?"

"You don't even remember why you left, do you, fox?" Hiei's eyes narrowed, and the grip on Kurama's hair got tighter. Kurama was confused. Of course he knew why he left... right? As he came to think of it, details of that days were hazy, but he had always blamed that on the alchohal he had later injested. But... Was Hiei suggesting something else?

"Because if you did," Hiei continued, "You would have ran the moment you saw a chance to escape in that jail," his voice was dangerously low, so low that Kurama had to strain to hear him even though their voices echoed slightly in the cave.

"I guess I don't remember," Kurama said back, "You can remind me, if you think it important," Hiei's face was dark. They stood there, Kurama was still in pain, but chose not to say anything. And with every second, the fox became more anxious... and scared.

Finally, Hiei breathed in deeply. He pulled at Kurama's hair, so hard that Kurama cried out, and he was thrown to the floor, "You are truly idiotic. You didn't want to face the truth, so you blocked it out of your mind, making up another story," the hiyoukai stepped toward the fallen Kurama, who stared up at him from the floor in disbelief. The fox suddenly became self-conscious and stood up defiently. He was a meer inch from the water.

"Hiei...," he tried to say.

"Don't call me that," Hiei growled, "You need to get away from me, now."

"I don't... understand."

Hiei's hands flew out, as he pushes against Kurama, making the fox loose his balance. Kurama falls through the falling water, which hurt like rocks pelting him. Hiei couldn't see what happened next, but it was obvious...

Kuwabara lay on the grass, completly wiped out. The youkai dolls had completly drained him of reiki. They were aparently told to kill him as well, seeing as he was a human. He smiled slightly. At least Yukina should be safe. She's a youkai; different from most, but one all the same.

"Sleeping on the job, already? Tsk, and you call yourself a man...," Kuwabara sat straight up, prepared for battle, "Geez, skiddish much?" the human stared stupidly at Yusuke's laughing, but tired face.

"U...URAMESHI!" Kuwabara stood up, looking down at his friend, "How dare you startle me, and act all familiar!"

"Startle? Scared, is more like it," the hanyou smirked as the ningen fumed, "But seriously man. I have something to ask you."

"What is it?"

"You know Kurama's ki signature, right?"

"Uhm, sorta, yeah. Why?"

"Have you noticed... It faltering lately?"

"Faltering?"

"Yeah... Like... He has reiki... but lately..."

"Youki? Yeah, I noticed that, but I always thought it was because he was sorta youkai and sorta ningen..."

"BAKA! That's only possible for hanyou, dumbass!"

"Well, sor-ry if I don't know this crap, Urameshi!"

"God, you're useless!" they stared at eachother in a stale mate for a long moment, until Kuwabara broke the silence, "Hey... Urameshi?"

"Hm?"

"You haven't seen Yukina at all, have you? 'Cuz I haven't been able to sense her at all lately."

"Maybe it's 'cuz you're so tired and helpless..."

"Shut it! Have you?"

"Nope."

The sun showed it's first signs if rising, in a light blue outline of the far away mountains. Hiei walked slowly through the forest some time later. He had been overcome with an immense pain in his side after he had pushed Kurama off of the cliff. He didn't bother seeing if Kurama was alright, he thought it would be pointless.

"You are rather rash, aren't you?"

Hiei stopped and breathed in, then faced Mukuro, whom had been following him for some time now, "Elaborate."

Mukuro sighes, "I mean... What you did... to Kurama... It was quite uncalled for, you do realize..."

"I know!... It's just... I..."

"Acted before thinking?" Mukuro finished. Hiei gritted his teeth and turned away. Mukuro looked up, in a somber way. She knew all about Hiei and Kurama's story, thanks to the fact Hiei needed to vent his frustrations by the time she had come along, "My word, you act like such a man...," Hiei looked at her with a definate glare, "In case you hadn't noticed, I am a man."

"Really? Because doing that to Kurama was quite a way of chickening out."

"Would you make up your mind!"

"It's not my fault men are too simple to figure out womans' thought," she was trying to piss the hiyoukai off on purpose. He was bottling up his feelings right now, and it was better for him to express his anger in spurts, rather than one sudden explosion. And maybe he'll learn to do that all the time so he could be happy again with his fox at his side.

"I know what you're doing. Stop it. I want to explode. It's all that I can do right now..."

"Thinking with raw ambition again...," Hiei growled at this, and stomped away. You poor, poor soul... They walked on, in search of Yusuke or any of the others. It was a surprise who they met up with first.

"Hiei-san?"

The hiyoukai stopped at stared at Yukina, who stood before both of them, looking relieved and recovering from intense fear, "Ah, hello, Yukina-chan," Mukuro waved slightly as she walked passed the frozen Hiei and went to talk with the koorime.

"I'm so glad I found someone," Yukina said, her voiced strained, "I was beginning to worry..."

"Don't worry. As long as we're all in one piece, we're fine. Right, Hiei?" they turned to look at the man, who blinked surprisedly, "Don't go staring off into your own little world now, chibi-san."

"Kisama, you're worse than...," he stopped suddenly when he realized saying "the idiot" would affect Yukina some, "Nevermind," the koorime kept looking Hiei out of the corner of her eye as they walked on some minutes later. He seemed so familiar, it was driving her insane.

Suddenly, the trees around them rustled furiously, as if they three were stepping on their feet, "What's happening?" Yukina asked. As she asked, a lone vine wrapped itself around Hiei's waist, and he was tugged toward the rustling trees. He pulled his sword out and cut it clean through. The vine recoiled, as if in pain, and he could have sworn the trees hissed at him. Mukuro swiveled her head around, "Yukina MOVE!" she grabbed the koorime and pulled her down. Yukina felt the air whistle as something flew fast passed her face. It flew straight toward Hiei; it was too fast. He couldn't defend. Whatever it was, he was shot with it in his forehead. It went through his headband, which soon went from purly white, to crimson, due to his now bleeding jagan.

"HIEI-SAN!"

Even in the morning darkness, Hiei could see flashing lights before him, the blurred images of people nearby, his blood flying out in front of him. He was deaf to the cries made for him, but kept hearing a persistant humming, as though someone were laughing at him. He couldn't smell anything; not the trees, not Yukina's distinct sent. He realized quietly to himself, he was cold, for the first time in years. And his thinking stopped, and everything went to black, and all noise, all sight, halted.

A few hours before...

He was in shock for a few seconds, due to both what Hiei had just done, and the freezing water, but he quickly came to his senses. Kurama swam to the surface of the water, gasping for air, his wet hair flying about, sending flicks of water everywhere. He got out of the water with a little difficulty; his clothes were soaked. He starred at the ground under him and his hands which were out to support his weight under him, gaining his bairings.

"You don't remember why you left, do you fox?"

"You need to get away from me, now."

The fox's fists clenched, he could feel the now-wet dirt clinging to his clean skin. He hated mysteries that he didn't choose to start learning about! Not youko did! He looked up at the water fall, and sensed Hiei had already left. He grimaced and stood up. And when he did he noticed the ground seemed to be farther away than usual...

Kurama looked at his hands, and was quite surprised at what he saw. Where there was no dirt, his skin was paler than it was a few sconds ago, almost white. He looked down at his clothes. His clothes were white still, but a different style, and the blood stains were only over where the injuries were, and not smeared around, "...Inari...," he rushed back to the water to see he reflection, and he was surprised at what he saw then, too.

Instead of the easily tangled red hair he had become accostomed to, their were his old, completly straight, silver fox hair. His skin was the same color as his hands, almost white. And his eyes... They were smaller, more narrow, less innocent, and golden. No where near his his old large emerald ones.

"We almost were caught up here 'cuz your youryoku was starting to flare."

Was this... the result... of what Hiei had said...?

The youko smirked evily. His power was indeed back. Now he could do things the way he used to. Not have to be a weak human, but the strong, intelligent, cold, seductive youko he was before.

He walked in search of the others, but mostly for one in perticular...

The women had managed to get Hiei's bandanna/kekkai off of his bleeding forehead. But his pain seemed to increase, forcing them to work faster than normal. Even unconcious, he reacted to pain as though awake.

His face was almost completly streaked with blood, making his skin stand out more precisly. He was odd, indeed. He was pale, but not. He was lighter than most humans, but no where near what Kurama used to be...

"No, Hiei-san...," Yukina whispered as the hiyoukai on the ground next to her coughed up another round of blood, staining his chin and neck even more, if possible. He rithed in his unconcious state, but didn't seem to have the ability to make a sound.

The figure controlling the plants laughed to himself quietly, "They better hurry up, or else that plant jammed in his head will bloom, spliting his pretty skull to pieces..."

MUHAHACLIFFYAGAIN

GASP! Who is the man behind the plants? Kurama? Or maybe someone else?

Reviews will determine how fast you'll find out!