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Smexy Kitten: This one is a bit messy but I tried to add some information in it as well. Some suspense and ofcourse we have to take a dump on Koenma. They will have to get to terms or else... I'm glad you liked the previous chapter so much, I came to like it some more myself when I reread it.

Randomcaz: Taking a break is never a bad idea, make sure to take good care of yourself! Besides, nothing is better than returning and finding a bunch of new chapters to binge. I'm so honored by your words, they did make my day and I hope this chapter isn't too messy and still enjoyable.

Note

Messy chapter! We love messy chapters, right?

English isn't my native language but I'm trying my best. Do tell me about reoccurring error's so I can implement and improve wherever needed. Tell me what you think or theorize in the comments, they always inspire me.


Sinister Game

The Tengu struggled as Hiei plunged his sword in its collarbone, a feeble attempt at keeping it still while Yusuke extracted the energy little by little.

Since he woke, the Tengu had lost a significant amount of its energy and Hiei was certain the creature wouldn't hang on for much longer.

He was right, Yusuke succeeded in extracting the energy, though a large slash was visible on his shoulder. Hiei had no recollection of how long he was unconscious but seeing as Kuwabara and Kurama were near the rocks, it wouldn't have been long.

"Don't kill it." Hiei grumbled as he retrieved his sword from the now still youkai.

It took Yusuke a few breaths to answer him, whether that was due to exhaustion or Yami, Hiei did not know. "It's still alive, I think I got it all."

"You did." Hiei scanned the creature once more before sheathing his sword to his belt. "Where are the others?" He knew where they were, he just needed Yusuke to be clear minded before continuing towards Kurama. Hiei didn't want to reenact what happened at Kurama's apartment just hour prior.

Yusuke's mouth was open, yet he didn't speak, he was thinking but didn't seem to recollect what had transpired after Hiei was struck. "Are you okay?" Was the only thing he could utter.

"I'm fine." Hiei spat. "Just a hit to the head, where are the others?" He repeated.

"... To the rocks." Yusuke answered finally.

Sighing softly, Hiei turned towards the two energy signatures.

"Hiei…" Yusuke started as he followed in his footsteps.

"What is it?"

For a moment, Yusuke seemed to have gone mute. As soon as the rocks came into view, he muttered a soft "nevermind".

Kuwabara came into view, he was kneeled next to Kurama who was slouched against the rocks in a slightly upright position.

"Get up, we gotta get going." Hiei called as he stood at the edge of the rocks. Kuwabara had kept his eyes on the redhead and as he tried to approach them to get their attention, the smell matched the sight.

Hiei had sensed blood long before he reached them but didn't expect what he eventually saw. He reached him in a flash as his mind raced with ideas on what could've happened.

Lifting the coat from his torso, the damage became apparent, he couldn't sear these close, they were too wide, too deep.

He could see Kuwabara was fighting back tears and for a moment, he laid his hands on the too pale face. Pulling them away, Hiei snarled at Kuwabara, how could he allow Kurama to get this cold?! He was in denial, he knew this, yet he didn't want to let go.

For as long as Hiei could remember, he'd lost partner after partner, some not even lasting one mission or a full cycle of seasons. But Kurama was different. Kurama wasn't dead yet, he was still breathing, though unnoticeable for Kuwabara, Hiei saw the small spasms of the lungs and felt the lightest mist against the skin of his hands.

A wound like this should be fatal, so why wasn't it?

Hiei thought back to hope and find something Yami could have said that would explain this to him, though he didn't find anything concrete, he did find something within his own experiences with the dragon.

Dark forces wouldn't be able to operate in a dead body, if that were the case, Yami would've found a different host long before they found it and subconsciously presented Kurama to it. Yami would want the body for himself and rid it of Kurama, yet as Yusuke had taken a significant portion of it, it wouldn't be strong enough to conquer just yet. It needed Kurama alive and must've concentrated on that very task. Hence why Hiei was able to sense the energy signature so actively.

Yusuke had to give it back to Kurama, that would be the only option they had at the moment. As long as they can get Kurama to Genkai for healing, as long it would take to heal him. Yusuke could part from it.

"... Why would I give it back?"

Hiei's blood froze in his veins. How dare he question what might be their only option? Thinking back to what happened at the apartment, Hiei understood. "I'm not going to lose someone while it could be prevented." He pointed his sword at Yusuke, demons fight to gain Yami for their own ego and power, all the demons they faced were hungry for it until they were freed.

"This entire thing was preventable if he'd just leave me be."

Leave him be? Hiei softly shook his head. Kurama was dragging him to safety, away from the Tengu, what could he have done wrong?

"This was not his fault!" Kuwabara's voice rang out from behind him. "You pushed him into the Tengu's path!"

Hiei's eyes widened as they spoke, Yusuke didn't deny it. How could it escalate in the short amount of time Hiei was knocked out? Thoughts flood his mind on how he could've avoided the body slam from the Tengu. Yet he knew thoughts would never change what would eventually unfold.

"You did this…" Hiei felt numb, Kurama had always tried to keep others from harm, even with Yami. He couldn't believe Yusuke had pushed Kurama in the path of almost certain death. He saw red.

Yet, Yusuke looked as shocked as he himself did.

"You take it back." Hiei hissed. "Now!"

"Calm down short stuff. What's in it for me?"

For a moment, Hiei thought. This wasn't Yusuke speaking, he knew that, Yusuke had fought the Tengu using Yami yet hadn't reverted back yet. Kurama was quicker to return to his senses though that wasn't Kurama's first transition as this was Yusuke's.

"Are we watching grass grow or are we negotiating?"

Hiei shook his head and steadied his hand. "What's in it for you?" A soft scoff left him as he quickly looked back at Kurama and Kuwabara who was still trying to stir the redhead. "An undisturbed vessel."

Kuwabara carried him through the portal, carefully monitoring the soft ticking of his heartbeat. It had seemed the last shock Kuwabara had administered, containing every amount of energy he could miss, had succeeded in kickstarting Kurama's heart. If Hiei hadn't noticed, no-one would've.

Yusuke had not made eye contact with any of them after transferring Yami back to Kurama and Kuwabara placed his bets on guilt. They went quick. Hiei leading them up front while Kuwabara, being the most capable person to carry someone, made sure Kurama was steadily transferred back to Genkai's temple. Trailing behind them was Yusuke, his head down as his feet followed the other two.

There was a mixed sense of confusion as Yusuke came back to them, having lost his consciousness for a few seconds after the transfer of power. He started with this dream he had, though when he lifted himself off of the ground and Kurama came into view his demeanor changed.

Even with the temple still shielded with wards, Yukina was the first to notice them. Genkai came to greet them not much later.

"For heaven's sake." Her voice was soft as she approached Kuwabara who hadn't noticed she came to stand in front of him.

"I… We… And then…" He was rambling, Kuwabara knew he was, but somehow the words wouldn't form the way he wanted them to. He had so much to say, so much to explain. Kurama's head leaned against his shoulder, the dampened breath a source of comfort, a sign of life.

"The Tengu caught him off guard." Hiei filled her in, lying was something Hiei could do very well but it was never to cover someone else's ass.

"That's not true." Yusuke budded in, uncertain yet set on facing what happened. "I-"

"He saw it happen, the Tengu had landed a hit on him, we transferred Yami back to Kurama." Hiei interrupted, he knew Yusuke never did it on purpose and anger was not the right emotion to act upon at this moment.

"I see." Genkai eyed the redhead for a minute, the coat draped over his torso a dead giveaway on where the injury would be. "We'll see what we can do."

The room in which he had resided for some weeks was the same as when they left it. Standing in front of the futon, Kuwabara merely stared at it. Soft heaving left the redhead, lasting a few seconds before quieting again. His body jerked when he felt a hand upon his back, looking back to see it was Yukina.

"You may lay him down now." Her sleeves were rolled up and a bucket of water firmly in her right hand.

He eyed her for a second, the worried lines on her face deepened the longer he looked.

"Kazuma…" Her soft voice was soothing. "We'll take care of him, he'll be okay."

"How do you know?" At this, Kuwabara internally cringed at his own comment. He had never questioned Yukina before and he had no reason to, still, he found it hard to part from Kurama and believe that simple healing would fix all of it.

"Honestly, I don't. But I need to do my part in order to have a chance of being right." Yukina's brows furrowed in determination. "Allow me to do what I can."

Nodding softly, Kuwabara laid Kurama down on the futon. He turned and bowed to Yukina who clasped her hands together in return, she will do her best, he didn't expect anything less of her.

The main room was filled with silence, there was so much silence it was almost unbearable. Loud. Heads turned as Kuwabara entered the room with empty hands, though he still tensed his muscles, refusing to relax.

"It's best you take a shower." Genkai broke the silence. "I'll ask Shizuru to bring you another pair of clothes. Seeing you might not fit Yusuke's or Kurama's clothes."

"Nah I'm fine, I don't need a shower." Kuwabara laughed it off. Besides, he hadn't received any hits, hadn't rolled on the ground nor had he been launched into something.

"I think you should." Hiei budded in. "Or at least a change of clothes."

Looking down at his own physique, Kuwabara was repulsed by what he saw. His torso was tainted red, the front of his garment wet and sticky while some had made its way down his pants, covering parts of his legs with streaks.

His arms were fully covered and he only realized the wet clothing after seeing it himself. He let out a shaky breath before turning back to Genkai. "Lay the clothes in front of the door when she's here."

Turning around, Kuwabara stalked past Kurama's room before backing into the bathroom. He had the luxury of choosing, shower or bath but found himself picking the shower stall without even acknowledging the tub. He didn't dare look at himself in the mirror as he took the clothes off, tossing them in the empty tub as to not stain the floor.

For minutes, Kuwabara did nothing else than stand underneath the steady stream of hot water. He looked down at his toes as his arms supported him against the wall, prohibiting him from falling over. As soon as he had set foot into the warmth, his head started spinning, a dizzy haze dulled the view of reddish pink water running through the shower drain.

Long after the water had run clear, a sudden knock at the door signaled the arrival of a new outfit and Kuwabara cursed slightly underneath his breath, it had startled him ever so slightly. Quickly washing his hair and body, Kuwabara rinsed and stepped out in order to retrieve the clothing brought by his sister.

Not bothering to do his hair, he reentered the hallway and moved towards the main room. Hiei and Yusuke weren't there anymore and Kuwabara thought them to have taken a walk or sparring in the courtyard.

"Master Genkai." Kuwabara eyed the old psychic. She gestured for him to sit, a heavy feeling in his stomach made him nervous to do so. Folding his legs underneath himself, Kuwabara sat opposite to Genkai.

"I heard from Hiei you had tried to administer shocks." Genkai started, pressing an immediate hand to the wound on Kuwabara's mind and heart.

Nodding softly, Kuwabara started talking. "He got hit by the Tengu, I found him on the rocks…" A shiver ran down his spine as he recounted the events.

"You did good trying to bring him back." Genkai kept the volume of her voice low.

"I think he died in my arms."

"So I've heard."

"I tried to revive him, but I'm not a healer."

"You did your best."

"Is he dead?" Kuwabara found it hard to speak yet he needed confirmation, he needed to know if his effort were for nothing.

Genkai gave no indication. "Yukina is still working hard…"

"He's dead, isn't he?"

"..."

"Damnit!" Slamming his fist to the ground, Kuwabara stood and circled the room before attempting to head towards the exit.

"Whatever happens; it's not your fault." Genkai said before he set foot into the courtyard.

The others were both outside with Hiei leaning against the tree while Yusuke sat on the bench, his hands clasped together. Kuwabara's entrance wasn't unnoticed. A quick glance from Yusuke was all he got before he turned back to stare at his hands. Hiei's eyes were following him as he made his way towards the bench.

As if he was contagious, Yusuke stood the moment Kuwabara came close, walking away from the bench as to not confront him.

"So now you're going to avoid me?" Kuwabara spoke, agitated. "You only spared me a quick glance. So this is it? This is how we part? The best fucking team in all three world is ending like this?"

Yusuke's pace came to a standstill.

"I'm not mad at you, none of us are."

"I was never fit to be a leader." Yusuke mumbled underneath his breath. "All I've ever done was putting us in danger and look where that has gotten us."

"You were a great leader, you know that."

"I pushed him…"

"You never meant for this to happen."

"But it did happen, Kuwabara. Because of me. I let myself be influenced by that stupid thing and dropped my own mental barrier."

"You wouldn't have been able to stop it even if you wanted to." Kuwabara tried his best to keep Yusuke there, he couldn't let team Urameshi fall apart like this.

On the other side, Hiei silently observed. Kuwabara understood that this was something only he could do, he was closest to Yusuke and if someone could talk some sense into the idiot, it was him.

"He didn't resent you, he will never resent you." Kuwabara continued, touching a particular sensitive spot.

"How the fuck would you know?!" Yusuke lashed out, turning around to finally face his friend. "I abandoned him when he needed me, nearly assaulted him in his own home twice and now this. It would be an understatement to say that he hates me."

"He doesn't."

"Please spare me your white lies, I fucked up and that's the truth of it."

Kuwabara's chest tightened and his hand instinctively grabbed at the cloth covering his heart. "The first thing he did when I found him was ask if you were okay."

For a moment, Yusuke's eyes widened. "He didn't… Directly…?"

Shaking his head, Kuwabara allowed a small smile to tug at his lips. "No."

"So then he was aware."

"As far as I know, yes. He didn't realize the severity of his situation immediately though."

"Was he scared?" Yusuke's voice was just above a whisper, a slight quiver within the spoken words.

At this, Kuwabara could only nod. He didn't dare vocalize the confirmation for he feared his emotions would overflow. Swallowing the lump which had formed in his throat, he gave it a shot. "Very."

"Good thing he wasn't alone."

Another silent nod from Kuwabara.

"Are you okay?" Yusuke asked..

Tears which had been burning Kuwabara's eyes finally came to the surface. Crossing his arms over his chest, Kuwabara slowly shook his head. "No but we have to continue, we have to finish this."

"Yes. But after this, we're resigning for good."

"Finally, something which I can stand by." Hiei scoffed. "We'll wait until there's some news, after that I suggest we go and have a stern word with Koenma. Though I don't think we'll have to wait very long."

Pointing towards the temple, Yukina was visible through the open doors, motioning for them to come inside.

"I managed to close the wounds enough to not bleed anymore." Yukina lowered her head in exhaustion. "But he's in bad shape. I'm surprised he's still alive."

No one was surprised by this. Kuwabara had been fiddling with a button on the sleeve of his blouse when Genkai poked him with her elbow. "Well, Kuwabara did do a good job trying to kickstart his heart. He would really be gone if it weren't for him."

Kuwabara smiled awkwardly, feeling undeserving of the praise Genkai was trying to throw his way.

"Though his soul hasn't left his body, it is unwise to think of him as being alive." Hiei spat.

"Hiei…" Yukina frowned, disapproving of his statement.

"It's the truth." Hiei replied. "This might have been the thing he needed to take full control and force Kurama to the back of his own mind."

"But that won't happen until Kurama's energy is overpowered by Yami's…" Yukina looked at her hands, knowing full well that some of it had attached to her demon energy while trying to heal him.

"That has already happened." Genkai added. "The wound the Tengu created was more than capable of killing him, by keeping the body alive and allowing the energy to die, Yami has already succeeded in ensuring his control from now on."

Yukina ignored the burning sensation which traveled up her arm as she transferred her energy to the wound on Kurama's chest. Her night was restless, the pressing feeling of another force was making her anxious, which included her inability to do anything about it.

She had worked late to try and heal the wound to a point where it could be left alone for a few hours. Besides, Kurama's body was still trying to heal itself, though not with his own energy. Amongst all the chaos, Yukina was able to sense the smallest fragment left of the fox's signature. It was weak, but it was there.

Sleep seemed even further away when she observed a figure moving through the hall, slowly, its ragged breathing and dragging feet igniting Yukina's curiosity. She waiting for the figure to have left the hallway, the sliding of doors signaling it was safe for her to investigate.

Taking a look into the hallway, she saw a few traces of blood, though minimal, they were noticeable even in the darkened hallway.

Hesitation set in, the urge to follow who she was certain was Kurama. He had moved outside, into the courtyard. Was he trying to leave again?

For weeks, she had heard Kurama wander the premises at night, the pulsating of the barrier each time he tried to exit it. She had observed him from inside the temple, almost being caught only once where he turned and scanned the horizon. Yukina had ducked underneath the window, out of sight as she held her breath. His awareness was low and she thanked Enma for that.

Was his awareness hight now? No, she debated that, after losing so much energy it would be impossible for him to sense her if she hides her energy.

The barrier pulsated and Kurama yelped as he pulled his hand back, shaking off the slight smoke from the electric recoil.

"You can't leave." She said loud enough for him to hear.

"That's what I figured." That voice was so eerily familiar, though she found Kurama himself to use his voice in a kinder, softer tone. Now, he didn't even bother trying to hide his irritation.

"I don't think you should be moving at all." She said coldly. If he wanted her to heal him, he better listen to what she had to say. "You'll open everything I took so long to fix."

A sigh left the redhead as he turned, one hand clutching the fabric of his shirt, a red stain slowly advancing. "I already have." He said, his voice softer than before.

Yukina approached him with caution. "Inside." She commanded, a surge of pride shot through her. She'd never commanded anyone to do anything and she always saw herself as a pushover when it came to dominance. Allowing Kurama, or whoever was in charge, to reenter the building. She followed closely behind, stopping when he stopped, continuing when he did.

"Sit." She said as she closed the door to his room behind her. "I'll try and heal it as much as I can but you have to promise to not strain yourself any further. My energy is limited and when I run out, I won't be able to prevent you from bleeding yourself to death."

He nodded as he sat down on the futon, allowing Yukina to unbutton his shirt to reach the wound. While she worked, he didn't look at her, his eyes were focused forward and his eyes were half lidded. "... I'm sorry."

Looking up, Yukina caught his gaze, the purple specked greens were apologetic. She swallowed thickly before trying to speak. "Kurama?"

"No." He replied.

"Oh." She lowered her gaze again to work on the wound, the damage wasn't big, merely some reopened blood vessels caused by the strain of moving beyond the body's current capabilities. She grimaced as the burning sensation of foreign energy increased.

He seemed to have noticed and placed his hand on the exposed skin of her diaphragm, causing her to jerk away from his touch. "It'll be fine." He reassured before he placed his hand on her skin again. "I'll take it back from you."

She felt his energy at work, if felt as if one had covered her in glue and peeled the dried substance off in one smooth motion.

"Thank you." She said.

"Get some rest, I won't go out." He shifted on the futon.

"How do I know you're honest?" Yukina frowned.

He eyed her for a moment, it was difficult for Yukina to look in his eyes and not see Kurama. "I still have morals and a promise is something I will not break."

"Then promise me."

"I promise." A small chuckle left him and for a moment, Yukina swore she was speaking with the fox.

The young lord hadn't entered his office yet, hadn't realized his visitors. Kuwabara, Yusuke and Hiei sat in the room, three chairs placed though only one, Kuwabara, used it. Yusuke was pacing around, clearly anticipating the lord's arrival while hesitating about what he'd say to him at the same time. Hiei was fidgeting with the handle of his sword and the belts holding it in place, Kuwabara could see he was nervous. Kuwabara himself leaned his elbows heavily on his knees as he eyed the unfinished stacks of paper gracing the desk's surface.

Nerves got the better of him and Kuwabara stood to exit the room in search for a toilet. These halls have become such a familiarity to him after his stay in the ferry apartments. He prayed for a silent walk but his heart plummeted to his feet when he saw the one ferry girl he was meant to avoid.

"Kuwabara?" Botan's brows furrowed, was she surprised to see him? Was she not informed of their return? "I thought you were still out trying to defeat the Tengu."

For a moment, Kuwabara froze, the information of the A-class demon being a Tengu was something no-one knew, unless… "Yeah we just returned." He swallowed thickly. If she wasn't informed of their return, then she most certainly wasn't informed about Kurama.

"I'm glad you're save, is it just you here?" Botan asked.

Kuwabara's ears went on mute. Botan knew about the Tengu which means Koenma did in fact knew about the creature before sending them off. Why didn't he tell them what demon it was? Why did he lie to them or keep information from them?

Placing his hands on her shoulders, Kuwabara sighed softly. "I will get back to you but I really gotta go to the toilet."

A flash of understanding and slight awkwardness shot across Botan's face. "I'm sorry I didn't know you were in a hurry." She took a few steps back and bowed. "I'll see you later then."

Kuwabara returned the gesture and ran into the bathroom, he couldn't keep a straight face while looking at her. If she wasn't informed about their return then she wasn't informed about Kurama's state. They had mad sure to have Genkai report back to Koenma but somehow Botan was deprived of any info.

His hands shook with anger, Koenma knew about the Tengu, about everything. Did Koenma also know about Hiei's inability to host Yami? He splashed some water in his face and made his way back to the office where Yusuke was still pacing around.

Resuming his seat, the door opened with a loud croak and revealed the young lord in his teenage form. Yusuke's pacing came to a halt and he stared daggers at him, Hiei didn't acknowledge his presence, of course he did know he had entered but he didn't feel like giving him the time of day. Kuwabara kept his seat, staring straight into the pile of papers as Koenma moved to sit behind them.

Silence filled the room while the sound of shoveling paper made Koenma visible for the others while sitting behind his desk.

"I heard you wanted to talk to me? I'm quite busy so I suggest we make this quick." He said, lacing his fingers together.

Before Yusuke or Hiei could open their mouths, Kuwabara busted in with the first question that was on his mind. "You knew it was a Tengu, didn't you?"

There was silence, Yusuke was frozen in place and Hiei stared wide eyed at the hilt of his sword. Koenma sat silent, his index finger silently jolting up and down in a nervous habit.

"Didn't you?" Kuwabara repeated.

"Why would you suspect me of…"

"Botan knew about the Tengu, I saw her in the hallway. But she was surprised to see me. Why would she know about the Tengu but not about our return?" Kuwabara shook his head slightly. "It doesn't make sense."

Yusuke was starting to breath heavily, his posture changing as if he was getting ready to fight.

"Fine, I knew about the Tengu." Koenma admitted.

Kuwabara's eyes narrowed. "I have a feeling you knew about a lot more than you admit to."

"I knew about a lot of shit but so did Genkai, after a certain point we had to take the entirety of three worlds into perspective and find a way to avoid direct immediate danger. I knew Hiei couldn't host it, I knew that sending Kurama towards the forest in an attempt to restore it would also result in him inheriting it." Koenma sighed deeply as he laid his game down.

Before anyone could react, Hiei's voice cut through like a hot knife. "Give me one good reason to not let you meet my blade's edge."

Koenma eyed him calmly. "You're still on parole, so is Kurama."

"They weren't on parole anymore!" Kuwabara said in disbelief. "They were pardoned."

"When?" Koenma huffed at the ensuing silence. "I never pardoned them."

"So now you're just going to sacrifice us because you can't keep your head out of your ass?" Hiei growled.

"If it is to safe the realms, then so be it."

"You stuck up son of a bitch!" Yusuke shot towards the young lord, reaching over the desk as he took a handful of the red scarf and pulled their faces closer together. He was about to head bud him but Kuwabara was faster, interfering as he hoisted Yusuke away from the desk. That didn't result in any calmer situations, Yusuke kicked and lashed out with his hands as Kuwabara pulled him back.

"This won't help us Yusuke!" Kuwabara tightened his grip on Yusuke.

"You killed him! After al we've done for you, you killed him!" Yusuke yelled. "You're killing us and for what?!"

"Things had to be done." Koenma answered ever so calmly.

"Bullshit!" Hiei spat.

Jostling, name calling, accusations and insults flew from one side to another and Kuwabara felt a sense of regret with bringing up his findings. Though they had to be made public.

"Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture and realize where your priorities are, there's nothing easy about my job and I hate bringing all of you into this but there is no other option at this point."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Yusuke still struggled to get out of Kuwabara's grasp.

"I've been trying to avoid this situation since it began but it moves so fast that it's impossible for me to find another route." Koenma continued. "Yami's escape wasn't in my books, by all means, I did not plan such an event to happen."

It was early in the morning when Yukina woke, with the sun still beneath the horizon. Making her way through the hallway and into Kurama's room, she was glad to see he hadn't moved out of his bed after she had escorted him back following his failed attempt to escape.

She moved to sit besides him, he was still asleep, his face soft as all strain had finally left the muscle's memory. He had been in pain for such a long time, Yukina was relieved to see him deprived of it. His energy was still working on his injuries and Yukina reached out her hands to help speed up the healing.

Soft groans left the redhead as he stirred, his eyes meeting hers. "You're early." He whispered hoarsely.

"I got energy to spend and with the task of lapping you up, you won't be able to escape me for some time I'm afraid." Yukina's lips pressed into a thin line as she concentrated. "They've really improved overnight. Good thing you listened to me and stayed in bed."

A small smile graced his face, his eyelids sleepily falling more and more closed as she worked. "I won't doubt you."

"Kurama has never doubted me anyway." She responded, a soft hint of sadness in her voice.

He hummed. "He's an interesting fellow."

"Who?"

"Kurama."

"You're not all that bad, are you?" She tried. "You haven't threatened me in any way yet. I find it interesting, you did threaten Yusuke."

"I think you're misunderstanding me, koorime."

Her eyes widened ever so slightly at this. "How?" Yukina retracted her hands as her energy had mostly depleted.

"There's a reason for everything." He took her wrist as the weird sensation returned, though this time it was slower than previously. Yukina remembered that, the closer to the heart, the faster the transition of energy was. As his hand was on her wrist, it was at its slowest. After the sensation had passed, his hand fell back onto the soft blanket with a small sigh.

"Then, what is your reason?" She asked.

By now, his eyes had fully closed and he had returned to his unconscious state, slumber being the thing his body was craving. It was adapting to this change and if Yukina was honest with herself, everyone would have to try and adapt to it. But for now she stayed and healed his wounds until she was no longer needed.

For a short moment, Botan crossed her mind. Did she know?

"I would've taken dance lessons if I wanted to tapdance with you." Yusuke grumbled as he had stopped struggling to get away from Kuwabara, he was still being held back by the much bigger physique.

"I was stupid to believe in you." Hiei scoffed at Koenma.

The young lord's silence was not appreciated, counting along the fact that there were no apologetic words coming from his mouth and Yusuke's fuse had evaporated.

"So you're just keeping those lips sealed? I swear if I reach you I will make sure you can never close that fucking jaw again."

"I was stupid for getting back here." Hiei mumbled.

"Please lets just go back." Kuwabara tried to coax a retreat, to return to the temple.

"No I'm not going back yet, I need to know why!" Yusuke exclaimed.

Koenma was silent as he observed the trio.

"I should've never taken another fucking order from you." Hiei gritted his teeth.

"I told you why, Yusuke." Koenma said, his face stoic as the heat from the other side of the table reached his nerves. He knew how dangerous the two demons in front of him were.

"That's not what I meant." Yusuke leaned into Kuwabara's supporting arm, his voice dangerously low.

"Be clearer then, what do you mean?" Koenma taunted.

"I want to know why you don't care!" Yusuke launched, narrowly escaping Kuwabara's grip who stumbled to regain control. He slammed his hands on Koenma's desk, resisting the urge to beat him to a pulp and flushing him down the toilet. "Kurama is dead because of you!"

There was an ear deafening silence as everyone seemed to have been frozen in time. Yusuke panted, his eyes locked on Koenma like a predator on its prey. It lingered for a few seconds before glass shattered.

Kuwabara looked towards the sound, his heart plummeting through the very surface of the earth as he saw Botan had dropped her platter upon hearing Yusuke's accusation. Her face as pale as death itself. This was not what he intended when they came here.


She knows...

See you in the next one!