Ugh, it's been so long since I've updated this! My apologies, everyone; I'm really going to try being better about making more orderly updates. This chapter is where the various characters begin to mesh together; hope you enjoy.

"Come in," Kurama called. Toguro entered. "What'd you find?"

Toguro laid an envelope on the cross-dresser's bed. "His school, address, friends…"

"Excellent," he said, sitting up. "I was afraid that what I gave you wouldn't be enough."

He laughed. "His wallet? More than enough. Oh, here; courtesy of Mr. Urameshi."

Kurama eyed the gift, a chicken sandwich Toguro must have picked up while he was out. "No, thank you."

"Come on; you never eat good food anymore."

"There's plenty of nutritious stuff in this house."

"Yeah, that Karasu and his friends all eat. You don't get anything."

"I'm fine."

"You're killing yourself," Toguro stated flatly.

Kurama shrugged. "What does it matter?"

"If he's the reason you're doing this to yourself, I'll-"

"No, Toguro. This has nothing to do with Karasu. I wasn't happy long before he showed up."

"He worsens everything."

"Yes, well, if he didn't, I'm sure someone or something else would."

Toguro was quiet for a moment. "Whatever it is, you could tell me if you wanted."

The redhead laughed sardonically. "No, I couldn't."

"But you could tell Karasu-"

"If I told him anything, I must have been drunk," Kurama said sharply.

His companion sighed. "Please, just eat the sandwich. It'd do you good to take in something besides alcohol and leftovers."

He earned a glare, but Kurama reluctantly accepted the sandwich and began nibbling on it. "I talked to Sakyo earlier," Toguro continued.

"About?" Kurama asked, a bit of lettuce handing out his mouth. The giant smiled slightly.

"Mr. Jaganshi's business partner." He didn't receive a reaction. "Have you been watching the news?"

The transvestite eyed a piece of tomato, and then popped it into his mouth. "Toguro, allow me to share something with you. The news- most of it, at least- is little more than a mess of fabrications and twisted truths devised by the media putting it out."

"Well, Sakyo's sent out three of our people on different occasions to get this guy."

"So?"

"The first guy was reported dead on the evening news. The target bashed in his head with a cane."

"Is Sakyo the only rich man who doesn't carry a cane?" Kurama asked through a mouth full of chicken.

"This guy's blind."

Kurama quit eating, an eccentric expression upon his face. However, the look vanished a moment later. "Interesting," he murmured. "What about the other two?" Normally, Kurama hated gossip, but he felt this pertained to business.

"You won't believe this," Toguro said with a smirk. "They were both found this morning in an alley in central downtown."

"Dead?"

"And apparently tortured."

"They never reached the target?"

"Actually, I think it was the target himself who tortured them. There was a mark burned into each of their foreheads, the emblem of the company."

"Oh, that evil-looking eye. Then he knows where they were from… or, at least, suspects. I suppose that if he knew for sure he would have led the police down here already, or he's tried to and they wouldn't do it."

"The cops are terrified of coming too deep into downtown."

"Why do you think we've evaded justice for so long?"

"I thought you said that justice was a myth?"

Kurama smiled. "For us, it is. For people like Mr. Jaganshi though, they'll be sure to punish someone. Even if it's just a scapegoat instead of us."

"That's justice?"

He shrugged. "To some, so long as someone- doesn't matter who- pays."

Toguro nodded, eying the redhead triumphantly. "I see you enjoyed that sandwich that you didn't want," he said, watching while Kurama polished it off.

The cross-dresser smiled sheepishly. "It was good," he said. "What else does Mr. Urameshi have to offer?"

"Care to find out?"

"Sure- oh, but wait a minute, please." He walked out to the hall and into the room next door. "Are you awake?" he asked.

"Yes," Hiei growled from the bed he was bound to.

"A shower," he grumbled. Kurama smirked.

"We'll see. Do you need to use the toilet or anything?"

"No."

"Okay; I'll bring you something, maybe." He left and locked the door.

"Since when are you nice to prisoners?" Toguro asked.

"I… don't know." He shrugged.

"Or perhaps you've just gone soft," someone said maliciously. Karasu approached them from the stairwell.

The redhead narrowed his eyes. "I didn't ask your opinion," he said coldly. "I'll be back later."

Toguro observed the two indifferently. Kurama had dissented against Karasu in the past, but almost always yielded in the end. He didn't understand why. "You ready to go?" he asked.

"Hang on a moment." Kurama took the key to Hiei's room and slipped it down one boot. No way in hell would he let Karasu in there while he wasn't around. "Yes, I'm ready."

"Hey, Kuwabara, Urameshi's coming this way. Wanna mess with him?"

"Huh?" The carrot-top looked up. "Naw."

"Ah, come on. We haven't beaten him up for a good few days now."

"I said no," Kuwabara growled, getting up and leaving. "Hey, Urameshi, wait up."

"What?" Yusuke eyed him warily. "You're not going to stuff me in a locker or anything, are you?"

"No." They strolled down the hall. "Where's Keiko?"

"She had to stay after class and discuss with the teacher why you're not supposed to hit the flag with spitballs."

"Oh." He laughed. "Figures." The two boys sat down by the flagpole, waiting for Keiko to come out. She finally emerged nearly fifteen minutes later, looking rather pissed. Her mood made no improvement when Kuwabara asked, "Hey Keiko, how about we build a catapult and launch a huge spitball at this flag too?"

"Shut up," she said in a lethal tone. "Let's go." Not knowing who she'd said it to, and not wanting to further enrage her, both Yusuke and Kuwabara followed her down the street.

The trio walked for some time, and finally Yusuke mustered the courage to speak. "So, what'd the teacher say?" An animalistic snarl quickly discouraged further questioning.

"Psst. Hey, Urameshi," Kuwabara muttered. "Is it just me, or is that van following us?"

"What?" Yusuke turned around to look. Indeed, a large, grayish van, which lacked windows save for the ones up front, was cruising down the street at a slow pace. "You're probably just paranoid," he said as Keiko led them into an alley. "Why, just the other day, I could have sworn that some huge guy on a motorcycle was following me around-'

"Was it the principal?" the carrot-top cracked. "Or are you more popular than I thought?"

"- the city," Yusuke continued, shuddering at the reference to the principal. "But it's all in your head, your imagination."

"Uh-huh," Kuwabara said. "Well, right now my imagination's really messing with me, or that can's still following us."

Keiko turned around and quirked an eyebrow when she too saw the vehicle driving down the alley. "Uh, maybe it's a delivery van," Yusuke said nervously. "And they have to pull in behind the building…"

"Yeah, will, this is starting to feel familiar, and in a very creepy way," Kuwabara stated. "I think we need to get the hell out of here." The van stopped, just a few yards away from them. "Now!" The three took off sprinting, speeding up even more when they heard footsteps running after them.

"How about we split up?" Keiko suggested in between breaths.

"Yeah!" Yusuke agreed. "And the first one to find a phone calls the-"

Yusuke never finished his sentence, though. He felt something hard collide with the back of his head, and then numbness washed over his body as he fell to the ground. Moments alter, two other bodies echoed him, making thumping sounds as flesh met with gravel below.