Disclaimer: I do not own anything of importance in this story.
Chapter 2
Hiei sat on the window sill, staring out into the dark night. Moonlight lit the landscape, illuminating the courtyard with its pale light. It filtered through the trees beyond, patches of light on the ground dancing around as the trees limbs moved in the breeze. They almost seemed to be reaching toward the fire demon, but always pulling back at the edge of the courtyard. Hiei took note of this, but did not react.
He faced the window, his Jagan Eye glowing ominously. While his eyes and ears kept track of everything happening outside, his Jagan was focused solely on the sick kitsune lying on a futon behind him, monitoring the fox's condition. Hiei could feel his pain. Kurama's labored breathing was the only sound in the room, occasionally punctuated by a soft moan or a rustle of cloth as he shifted uneasily. Yukina slept on a futon a few feet away from him, in case anything happened during the night.
Hiei had been more than a little alarmed, although he did not show it, at the state he'd found Kurama in several hours previous. Genkai had informed both he and Botan what had happened to the kitsune and had given her own theories, as well. The ferry girl had left to report to Koenma shortly after. Hiei had stayed to watch over Kurama while Genkai and Yukina got some rest.
His Jagan Eye flashed and Hiei turned his attention from the window, studying Kurama more thoroughly. He was fully demon again, which wasn't a good sign according to Genkai, so Hiei searched for what was wrong. Finding it, Hiei glanced back at the window, noticing the plants were becoming more restless and moving into the courtyard. Moving quickly, the fire demon knelt by Yukina's futon, shaking her gently, but urgently. "Yukina," he called, softly.
Crimson eyes opened slowly, locking with Hiei's. "What is it...?" she trailed off, her eyes landing on the youko. He moaned, his breathing coming in short, panting gasps as he started to hyperventilate. The ice maiden sat up, instantly awake as the events of the previous day came back to her.
"His heartbeat is irregular," Hiei informed her, moving back to the window. The plants had almost reached the temple's door. "I'll go outside and deal with the plants," he said, jumping out of the window.
Yukina placed her hands on the kitsune's heaving chest, ignoring the painful burning on her hands as she healed him. The bursts of light from Hiei's flame attacks were distracting, so she closed her eyes tightly, blocking them out. Slowly, Kurama's breathing returned to normal, his demon body changing back human. Removing her hands, she placed them in the bucket of water, cooling the liquid as she rinsed the burning sweat off her hands. Picking up a cloth, she rinsed it in the cold water before wiping Kurama's face. She looked up as Hiei came back in through the window.
Nodding to her, he resumed his place on the window sill, staring at the charred remains of plants now littering the courtyard. After replacing the cold compresses, Yukina laid back down on her futon and fell asleep.
. . .
Hiei was watching the sun rise when a strange noise caught his attention. He turned toward the source of the sound and saw Genkai pull a cell phone from Kurama's pocket. Shrugging, Hiei continued his silent vigil at the window.
Genkai checked the caller id before flipping the phone open and answering it. "Moshi moshi?"
"Um, may I speak with Suuichi, please?" an uncertain woman's voice asked.
"Is this Suuichi's mother?" Genkai asked, ignoring the question.
"Yes, I'm Shiori. May I speak with Suuichi, please?" she repeated, sounding a little worried.
"I'm sorry, but he can't talk right now," Genkai lied, smoothly.
"Is he sick? I thought he might have stayed over at a friend's house when he didn't come home last night and then when I heard the news on the radio..." Shiori trailed off. "Please, is Suuichi sick?"
"What news on the radio?" Genkai asked, curiously.
"The news about the cafeteria food served at his school yesterday. It made almost everyone very sick and he usually eats at school. Will you please tell me where he is? If he's not sick, why doesn't he have his cell phone with him? Who are you and why are you answering his phone?" Shiori demanded.
"Oh, forgive me, I forgot my manners. My name is Genkai and I live at the temple on the mountain just outside of town. Suuichi's out running errands for me right now. He drops by the temple occasionally and offered to stay with me and help out for a few days until my grandson arrives. I fell and broke my hip, so I'm not able to get around as well as I should," Genkai said, ignoring the soft chuckle her excuse elicited from Hiei.
"Oh, I see. So, I suppose he's all right, then?" Shiori asked, sounding relieved.
"Yes. I thought he had called and talked to you about this. You don't mind if he stays here to help me out for a while, do you?"
"Oh, no, of course not. I was just worried about him, that's all. Well, I'm going to be late for work, so, tell him I said hello when he gets back."
"I'll do that," Genkai said.
"Goodbye." Genkai waited until Shiori hung up before turning the phone off. "It's a good guess that these two incidences are related. The poison seems to just make humans sick while it's fatal to demons. It would appear that someone was willing to poison the entire school just to get Kurama."
Hiei snorted, derisively. "A coward."
"Yes, but we don't know whether it was a human or a demon," Genkai pointed out.
"Hn." It doesn't matter. Either way, I will find them.
. . .
The noon sun shone down on Yuusuke and Kuwabara as they climbed the steps leading to Genkai's temple. Puu was sitting on Yuusuke's head as the Spirit Detective complained loudly to his orange-haired friend. "And then, as if that wasn't bad enough, I get woken up early this morning by this little guy trying to peck a hole in my cheek!" Yuusuke complained, jerking his thumb at Puu. The spirit beast cooed, triumphantly. "That wasn't a compliment, ya little rodent!" he said, shaking his head in an effort to dislodge the small creature. Puu held on tight, flapping his ears to help keep his balance.
"And he had the note from Genkai, huh?" Kuwabara asked.
"Yeah. I wonder what the old hag wants now?" Yuusuke wondered, idly.
They walked in silence for a little bit before Kuwabara spoke up. "Oh, that's right, I forgot! Hey, Urameshi, didja know that Kurama's school closed for a week?"
"No way! What for?" Yuusuke asked, curiously.
"Well, I heard that over half of the school got sick from the cafeteria food yesterday, including the teachers," Kuwabara replied.
"Figures. Fox-boy is the only one that actually wants to go to school, so he's the one that gets a week off. Bet he didn't tell his mom and took a trip to Makai to get more plants, or something. And, of course, he'll have to fight a bunch of demons there. Man, why does he get to have all the fun while we're stuck here, goin' to school?!" Yuusuke complained, kicking the steps as he walked up them.
"Gimme a break, Urameshi! You never go to school, anyway."
"Ah, lay off me, will ya? Keiko yells at me enough for ditchin', and I don't need it from you, too!"
"Whatever." Kuwabara and Yuusuke both stopped, looking up. They were almost to the top of the stairs when they felt a familiar aura powering up.
"Hiei feels like he's getting ready to fight," Yuusuke said, wondering what could be going on up there.
Kuwabara's eyes grew wide. "No! He's trying to steal my beautiful Yukina away from me! Don't worry, baby, I'll save you!" he yelled, running up the stairs.
"Hey, wait a minute, stupid!" Yuusuke called, running after him.
They reached the top of the staircase only to jump out of the way as a ball of flame came hurtling at them. "Hey, watch it, will ya?!" Yuusuke yelled, from his hiding spot behind the stone statue at the top of the stairs. He stepped out carefully, glaring at Hiei, but his eyes widened in surprise as he saw the charred remains of what appeared to be plants liberally covering the courtyard. Kuwabara's face mirrored his as they stared at the diminutive fire demon.
Hiei ignored them, eyeing the plants warily. "It seems to be over for now." He turned back to Yuusuke and Kuwabara, a smile appearing on his face as he noticed the orange-haired boy's clothes were blackened and smoking slightly. He quickly covered it with a glare. "You two are late."
"Would you mind telling us what's going on?" Yuusuke asked, ignoring Hiei's glare.
"Hn." He turned and walked into the temple, the human teens falling into step behind him. Hiei stopped in front of one of the rooms, opening the shoji before stepping back to let Yukina walk out.
"Hey, baby!" Kuwabara said, excitedly running up to her. He stopped just short of reaching her. "What's that smell?" he asked, wrinkling his nose. He peered into the bucket she was holding. "Whatcha got there?"
"Kurama's breakfast," she replied, stepping past him and walking outside to empty the bucket.
Yuusuke and Kuwabara looked at each other, confused. Shrugging, they followed Hiei into the room.
Kurama was lying on a futon, curled into a fetal position, his arms wrapped tightly around his stomach. His body jerked, spasmodically, as Genkai pushed some of his hair behind his ear, wiping his face with a damp cloth. Hiei resumed his perch on the windowsill.
Kurama raised his head, visibly tensing his body to control the spasms as he forced a smile. "Hello, Yuusuke, Kuwabara-kun. How are you this fine day?" he asked, breathlessly, a bit of sarcasm in his soft voice.
"Better off than you are, dude. What happened?" Yuusuke asked.
"Relax and let it pass, Kurama," Genkai instructed, softly.
Kurama closed his eyes wearily, letting his head fall back on the bedding. His body jerked again as he relaxed, although the spasms were becoming less pronounced. A slight frown and the occasional grimace was the only indication that the fox was in pain.
"The fox has been poisoned," Genkai answered, looking at her student.
"How would someone be able to--" Yuusuke began.
"You heard about the incident in the cafeteria at Kurama's school?"
Yuusuke nodded. "Yeah, but Kurama's immune to human diseases, isn't he?"
"His demon form is invulnerable to ningen illness, but food poisoning isn't a disease, Yuusuke. Besides, that wasn't of human origin. While this particular poison may be harmful to a human, it's fatal to a demon," Genkai explained.
"So, what's the big deal about? Kurama's in his human form, right? So, he'll get a little sick and then he'll get over it," Yuusuke said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Dimwit."
"What?!"
"Kurama's body isn't completely human, and he doesn't have the energy to stay in his ningen form. He's dying, Yuusuke. His organs are failing him. His lungs were ruptured last night, his heart almost stopped early this morning and his stomach failed just a few moments ago. The only reason he's still alive is because Yukina and myself have been healing him," Genkai explained.
"So, you want me to find the guy who did this and get the antidote, right?" Yuusuke asked, already heading for the door.
"No, you are going to stay here and babysit."
Yuusuke spun around so fast he almost fell over. "What?!" he asked, incredulously. "One of my friends is dying, and you expect me to do nothing?!" he demanded.
"Hiei will be looking for whoever is responsible for this-- he'll be much faster than you. You will stay here, but don't worry-- you'll have plenty to do," Genkai replied, smirking.
"Like what?"
"Fighting off the plants around the temple every time Kurama has a close call. Also, one of you will need to give him some of your energy every day. I gave him some of my energy yesterday and Hiei gave him some today, but Yukina and I need to save our energy to heal him and Hiei won't be here, so that job now falls to you two," she said, pointing at Yuusuke and Kuwabara.
"All right, all right. I guess I'll stay," Yuusuke said, although he looked at Kurama worriedly.
"Hn." Now that he was sure Kurama would be taken care of, he was able to leave. /Kurama/ he called, softly.
The fox started, having drifted off to sleep sometime during the conversation. /Yes, Hiei?/ he asked, weakly.
/I'm going to find who did this and bring back the antidote. Before I go, I want you to promise me that you will still be alive when I get back./
Kurama opened his eyes, turning his head towards the window where Hiei sat. /Hiei.../ he began.
/You owe me for helping you with that potion during the Dark Tournament, remember? I'm collecting on that debt now. You must remain alive until I return/ Hiei said, forcefully. /You're the only other intelligent member of this team. I will kill the ningen if I have to work with him alone./
Kurama closed his eyes, a faint smile touching his lips. It vanished as quickly as it had come. /Hiei, you know I can't promise that I'll be alive when you return...but I will try./
/Hn./ Hiei stood, preparing to exit through the window before jumping back, barely avoiding Botan as she flew in through the window.
"Oh, sorry Hiei, I didn't see you there," she said, smiling cheerily. Her smile faded as she glanced down at Kurama. "Still isn't doing too well, is he?" she asked, hopping off her oar.
"What does Koenma say about this situation?" Genkai asked, neutrally.
"Well, it's not Kurama's time to die, so I'm here to help. My healing abilities aren't as good as yours, but I'll do my best. Also, I have another communication mirror, to keep in touch when you look for the antidote, since you obviously don't have yours with you, Yuusuke. I tried calling it, but no one picked up," she said, holding the mirror out to him.
"I'm not going," Yuusuke replied.
"What? But, surely--"
"I need him here. Hiei will be searching for it," Genkai explained.
Botan turned to Hiei, tossing him the mirror. "All right! There you go, Hiei! I'm sure you know how to use it and I'll be here to keep you informed on what's happening on our end."
Hiei eyed the pink mirror, distastefully. "Hn." Stowing the offensively bright colored object deep within his cloak, Hiei disappeared out the window.
. . .
To Be Continued