Three days passed since Hinansho disappeared, Yusuke and everyone else waited at Genkai's for him to return the night he left, but he failed to—and when Hinansho failed to show, Genkai called the hospital to discover that Hinansho never showed. Hearing this news, everyone suspected Hinansho had runaway, but somehow this didn't bode well with any of them. Hinansho wasn't the only one missing—Hiei hadn't showed up as well, in fact no one saw him since the first day of Kurama's illness. Disappearing without a word wasn't unusual for the fire-demon, but Yusuke couldn't help but wondered about the strange occurrences: first Kurama came down sick and then Hinansho and Hiei turn up missing. It was too much of a coincidence; all three occurrences must be related. But how?
"Damn it. Hiei, Hinansho, where are you two?" Yusuke muttered staring out of the window of his apartment, desperately wondering if anything else could go wrong. While Yusuke stared out the window there was a knock on the apartment's door. Hoping that it was Hinansho (Hiei would never knock) Yusuke rushed to open the door only then realizing that Hinansho didn't know where he lived, and his hope gone, Yusuke opened the door unhappily, believing now that it was some stranger at his door.
"Who are you and what do you want?"
"That's a rude way to greet visitors, detective." The visitor replied, his blood-red hair reaching his waist, matted with blood and sweat, tangled intensely as though he failed to take care of it for months. His auburn eyes—or eye, his left one was scabbed over, three long scars running over it from his forehead down to his cheek, staring at the Spirit Detective desperately. Everything about this being seemed ragged and weak, only a strong desperation seemed to allow this stranger to stand. Yusuke's stare took in the stranger's roughed up appearance while his spirit awareness sensed the fact that this person was a demon.
"Wha…?"
"No time for that, help me get him to a couch." The demon visitor spoke cutting off Yusuke who just noticed that the demon held someone at his side. "I would've made it here sooner but I couldn't carry him all the way."
"Hinansho!" Yusuke gasped grabbing the human boy from the demon's grasp, desperately looking for some signal of life from Hinansho's body. Noticing his heartbeat, Yusuke laid Hinansho down on the couch looking over the bandaged wounds across the boy's chest and abdomen, the cloths covered in blood. "What happened to him! Who are you?" Yusuke demanded of the demon who now stared at Hinansho wistfully, longing sadness in his remaining eye.
"Hinansho…." The demon's voice, soft and desperate for hope, spoke that name, his fingers caressing Hinansho's locks of soft black hair lovingly. "You can help him, can't you?"
"Wha…I…." Yusuke stared at the demon, unable to help feeling sorry for him—something about that desperation in the demon's voice convinced Yusuke that the demon cared about Hinansho. "I….Are you Karaikasai?"
"Yes, can you help Hinansho, please? I'm too weak to use my spells to save him. Please, can't you help?"
"I can't heal him myself, but I'll call Genkai, she'll heal him." Yusuke replied, picking up the phone and making a quick call, then he turned his attention back to Hinansho and Karaikasai. " You care about him a lot, don't you?"
"Yes. Hinansho is my life."
"But…you two broke up, and you put a curse on him…."
"That wasn't me."
"Wha…?"
"That wasn't me. I haven't seen Hinansho for ten weeks, two weeks before he said he broke up with me, my brother…."
"Your brother what?"
"My brother attacked me and made me his prisoner. He forced me to teach him spells, threatening to kill Hinansho if I didn't comply. He also forced…he forced me to do other things as well."
"Other things?"
"Things I don't wish to talk about." Karai replied, turning red and wrapping his left arm around him. "He's a sadist."
"Oh, um…." Yusuke didn't know how to respond, and was sure he shouldn't push the question. "So, what happened to Hinansho? Did he find out about your brother?"
"No. I was forced to teach him how to disguise his appearance, he took my form—and Hinansho."
"You let him take Hinansho as a lover?"
"He threatened to kill Hinansho if I didn't do what he told me to. He vowed not to hurt Hinansho as long as I did what he said."
"What happened to Hinansho though? His wounds, how did he…?"
"My brother attacked him three days ago, I don't know if Hinansho realized it wasn't me though. I tried to heal him but I can't—I could, but I wouldn't survive to look after him if my brother found out he's alive." Karai shivered, tears falling from his goodbye, his lips trembling. "It's my fault though."
"What?"
"I brought my brother back from the dead—I didn't think he'd hurt me or Hinansho, and he's my brother, I thought it was the right thing to do."
"Who is your brother?"
"Karasu."
"Karasu! Holy shit! You brought someone like him back from the dead? Are you insane!"
"He's my brother." Karai mumbled looking away from Yusuke and studying Hinansho who was breathing slowly now, audible only to someone right next to him. "It wasn't the best idea, I see that now, but he was family."
"Well, I guess what's done, is done. But if we have to kill him again, promise me not to bring him back."
"I promise."
"Good, and…." The door opening attracted their attention, Yusuke looked toward the door curiously. "Genkai?"
"Yes. It was Kuwabara who opened your door without knocking."
"Why knock? He was expecting us." Kuwabara grumbled, then remembering the good news, he turned to Yusuke. "Guess what, Urameshi, Kurama's awake!"
"Wha…really? That's great, finally some good news." Yusuke replied, turning back to Karai and Hinansho. "Before we celebrate, can you heal Hinansho. It'd be bittersweet if Kurama survived and his current lover died."
"Yes." Genkai replied glancing once at Karai without saying a word, then focused on healing Hinansho. As she did so, Kuwabara studied Karai with interest.
"Who's the demon?" Kuwabara asked Yusuke, pointing at Karai.
"My name's Karaikasai. It's rude to point and ask someone else who I am when I'm perfectly capable of doing so myself." Karai replied, cutting Yusuke off before he could answer Kuwabara.
"Sorry." Kuwabara mumbled, he had thought Karai looked too roughed up and preoccupied to answer him, but he assumed wrong. "Urameshi, have you heard from Hiei yet? Kurama has been muttering about him ever since he regained consciousness."
"No. I haven't seen Hiei at all. But you know Hiei, he just loves disappearing without telling us anything."
"I guess you're right. But Kurama's worried and keeps muttering something about Karasu…."
"WHAT!" Yusuke and Karai exclaimed, gaping at Kuwabara disbelievingly, both jumping up at the sound of that name. "Kara…Karasu? You're sure?"
"Yes…we think he may've just had a nightmare, there's no way Karasu could be alive…." Kuwabara replied, mistaking Yusuke's and Karai's responses to merely be fear that it could be true that Karasu was alive.
"Um…actually…Karai's told me…."
"Huh? What…?"
"Karasu is alive." Kari finished Yusuke's sentence bracing himself for Kuwabara's and Genkai's responses.
"WHAT!" Kuwabara yelled jumping back away from Karai.
"How do you know if…?" Genkai asked, controlling her surprise to question Karai.
"Because I resurrected him."
"…wha…you idiot!" Genkai rushed up to Karai and hit him over the head, wondering how anyone could be dumb enough to bring someone like Karasu back to life. "How could you be that stupid?"
"Hey, back off! Karasu's my brother and…." Karai fell silent seeing Genkai's and Kuwabara's fearful, distrusting stares—obviously he shouldn't have said that.
"Your BROTHER!"
"I'm nothing like him though! Honestly!"
"Yeah right."
"I'm nothing like my brother!"
Elsewhere, while Karai was arguing with Kuwabara about Karai's relative, the imposter Karai, who was Karasu disguised, sat down, relaxing on a cushioned, oak wood chair, gazing sadistically ahead of him at the unconscious Hiei. Capturing the fire-demon had been a joy in itself, and Karasu had the ecstatic pleasure of enjoying the fire-demon for three days. Enjoyed to the fullest extent, which proved too much for the little fire demon—Hiei had collapsed a few times during their fun. Well, Karasu's fun, Hiei still fought incessantly against his tormentor's abuse until he fell unconscious, only to continue the fight when he regain consciousness.
Right now Hiei laid unconscious on the stone floor where he had fallen ten minutes before, exhausted and sore from Karasu's roughness—the longest he stood down after collapsing. Unknown to Karasu, however, Hiei for the moment merely pretended to be unconscious; he was fully aware of his surroundings, but too wary to endure Karasu's lust again. Hiei never encountered anyone like Karasu before, no one had ever overpowered the fire-demon for this purpose—and Hiei was all too glad that Karasu stopped when he collapsed.
Oh, if only Hiei knew the demon was Karasu beforehand, he would never have agreed to any deal, he knew Karasu would never keep his side. But Karasu said nothing about his disguise until the fire-demon was in his power, and Karasu only told Hiei his identity because the disguise spell wore off. The spell wore off—that was what Hiei waited for now, if the spell connecting him to Karasu wore off, he would at least be able to truly fight against Karasu. As it was, Hiei could only shout and curse at Karasu, the wretch demon had control over the fire-demon as long as the mark on Hiei's right shoulder remained.
"That mark's much more efficient than just a demon mating bite." Karasu spoke, surprising the fire-demon, but Hiei remained still—Karasu spoke sometimes to catch Hiei faking loss of consciousness, but if Hiei didn't move Karasu continued waiting. "There's no use in pretending. I see you staring at that mark on your shoulder. It's been too long for you to truly be unconscious." Karasu spoke as Hiei continued feigning unconsciousness, but the fire-demon quickly flinched when Karasu stepped toward him. "Thought so. How long have you been awake, my pet? I waited five minutes longer than the last time, were you awake those five minutes?"
Hiei only glared at Karasu, growling savagely at the demon, cursing himself silently for not remaining still longer.
"Five minutes wasted when I could've been enjoying you, my pet. I don't appreciate that at all." Karasu stepped behind Hiei, placing his one arm around Hiei's shoulder and his other hand—Hiei tried not to think about where Karasu put his other hand.
Hiei cringed feeling Karasu enter him roughly with no thought about how much he hurt the fire-demon, each time seemed as rough, if not rougher, as the other times during the past days—Karasu aimed to hurt Hiei as much as he could. Only the fact that Hiei's body didn't respond to Karasu's rough caresses and thrusts saved Hiei from losing hope—it hurt him tremendously, but the fact that Karasu couldn't control Hiei's body with pleasure reassured Hiei of his pride. And pride was all he had now. No one, not even his fox had come to help him yet, and though it hurt his pride to be so much in need, it hurt something else even more to be forsaken by Kurama. Hiei didn't know that Kurama truly couldn't leave to find him yet—he had assumed Karasu lied to him about everything when he revealed his true identity. Hiei didn't know that Kurama had been, and was still, deathly ill.