Chapter 18

Red Haired Stranger

I apologize for the long wait for new chapters. Problems with my computer, I mean I had to reboot like ten times! I appreciate all of you who have stuck with this story from the beginning. Thank You all for your support, new and old readers alike.

There was nothing he could do but go home and get some rest. No clues were left behind the unusual kidnapping, meaning the kidnapper was not an amateur. He was dealing with someone experienced, someone with an agenda, a purpose to take his mother away. Who could it be?

Yusuke twisted the doorknob to his room and lay on his bed. 'Wait, didn't Kurama go to visit her today? How did he find out she was in the hospital? I told no one about the event.' Yusuke didn't know whether he should call Kurama and just ask, or try to figure this out by himself. His hand on the phone, Yusuke quickly dialed the number before he changed his mind.

"Hello?" Kurama's voice, sounding a bit tired and worn, came over the speaker.

Yusuke swallowed. "Kurama?"

"Yusuke!" Kurama was a bit surprised that the dark haired boy would call after their last conversation.

Without giving Kurama a chance to say anything thing else, Yusuke asked, "How did you find out that my mother was in the hospital?"

"Hospital? I- I'm sorry to hear that, Yusuke. Is she ok? What's her condition?" Kurama felt horrible now, knowing what Yusuke had been through the past few days, and adding his mother in the hospital made it so much worst. "More importantly, how are you doing?"

Yusuke felt his anger rise. How dare him deny visiting his mother. "Kurama… don't play games with me. The nurse said that she saw you visiting her, so don't even deny it. Just tell me how you knew she was in there."

"Yusuke, are you feeling alright? I'm serious when I say I didn't know about the incident until now. I don't know how the nurse there could've seen me. I mean we were all there for Koenma's meeting and then we had that… talk. Afterwards, I assume that you went to visit her? So how can I get there before you?"

"But the nurse said she saw someone with flaming red hair and a polite attitude, so I just assumed that it was you! I mean who else in this goddamn city has flaming red hair?" Just as those words came out of his mouth, Yusuke froze. 'Could it be someone else? Shit. Two unknown people came to visit her today. One with red hair.'

"Yusuke. Are you all right? I'm truly sorry that you thought it was me, but I am as baffled as you are this time." A pause came over the phone. "Do you want to…Do you want me to come over? I don't think you should be by yourself right now."

Yusuke stayed silent as a dreadful feeling loomed over him. 'Two people. Two strangers knew. This is bad.' Things are turning completely upside down for Yusuke. The spirit detective took a look around his dark room. Should he take Kurama's offer?

"Yusuke. Are you still there?" Kurama's voice was full of concern. "I'm worried about you."

"Yeah, I'm still here." It would be so easy to slip into those arms again, to be held. But… "No. I don't think you should come over. I'll be fine by myself. I'm not some helpless damsel in distress you know."

"I know. It's just that… well, if you need anyone, don't hesitate to call me. I love you."

Yusuke felt a tug at his heart. 'I love you too.' "Ah… I got to go. Talk to you later." He hanged up as fast as he could. Tears threatened to fall again. 'Damn! I hate fucking relationships! They're so hard to manage.'