Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho!

This is the LAST CHAPTER. I cut it down to 19 chapters. It just fits better that way. This chapter might seem a bit... different in terms of 'mood' but I wanted to end on a light note. I know this story has so many errors, and so many cracks and holes, but this is my very first complete work. I know the wait was long for this simple chapter—but I hope you can enjoy it. So as to not end my story in notes; I don't think Hiei is capable of thoughts like 'He's sexy. God, what am I thinking? Bad thoughts... but, it is true... No!' It's just not... Hiei in my mind. So, the romance is so small you probably can't see it. I tried to sneak it in, especially here, and my shounen-ai-lovin' fans might see it... but if you don't like it, it's perfectly readable for you too. I'm sorry I wasn't very descriptive, but I focused more on dialogue, I think. Oh, well. Details and typing errors have always been my weakness. Anyway.

I want to dedicate this last chapter to ALL of my reviews and the ones who left them. And, most of all, to YokoYoukai and Agent Dark Moose, who've been with me since the very beginning, and I hope they make it to this last piece. Thank you so much, everyone! It's been great.

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CAPTURED

Chapter Nineteen—Of Beginnings and Endings

—

"I found you," Spoke a wary looking chimera, "You devilish creature. Now, be a good little foxy and hand over the damn hat, okay?"

The silvery fox deftly shook it's head—clearly disagreeing.

"Why not?" Huffed the dark-haired demon, "And, by the way, what do you have against it?"

Well, we all know that foxes just can't talk, and this one (no matter how otherwise special it may be) was no exception. So, it delicately tipped his head to the side, and considered Kuronue with glittering golden eyes.

"You do know that foxes are playful. Cunning." Hiei spoke from a corner, watching the pair with an unreadable, careful expression on his face.

Kuronue quite literally gaped at Hiei. Then, straightening himself up, the chimera rolled his eyes, and huffed slightly. "Of course I know that foxes are playful. How could I not? It's just that... this is—er, was—a constant thing! It gets annoying after a while." The last line was sent towards the fox, who completely ignored it and bounded over towards Hiei, disposing the hat onto Hiei's lap.

"Oh, right," Kuronue fumed, crossing his arms over his chest, "You give it to him. Hell, it wouldn't even stay on his head, damn spiky hair and all!"

The youko gave a very foxy grin, white teeth visible within the muzzle that tapered to a point, shoved up into the air. Hiei distinctly heard Kuronue muttering something along the lines of 'arrogant bastard'.

"Give it back to him," Hiei told the youko, "It isn't yours."

"Like that ever mattered to him," Kuronue muttered under his breath, "And he won't do it. He's too proud to take orders or commands from anyone. That's how he almost got blown up the first time. Cooperation was never 'Rama's strong point."

"Proud. Vain. Uncooperative." Hiei mused, softly. So the mighty Youko almost got blown to bits twice because he didn't do what some certain crow had commanded. Made sense. Odd how Kuronue had said it, though, and not the fox himself. Didn't matter, either way, he decided. "You know why he's still stuck like this."

"Of course," Kuronue said, rather offhandedly, "He's a spirit fox, isn't he? Youko Kurama. Of course. Has to regain enough energy to sustain a human appearance. He wasn't born looking human. Most spirit demons and creatures aren't. Some, though. Like that Botan. And Koenma."

"And he still doesn't have enough energy?"

That seemed to strike a thought in Kuronue. "He should, I suppose. Only he knows why he hasn't changed back yet. I don't know. Actually... wounds might stretch and reopen. Nasty disadvantage that is. Found out first hand, m'self. Lots of blood."

"Aren't his wounds almost completely healed?"

"Oh, looking like that he heals fast. Just a day or two. If he changed back now, he'd be looking more like me. Possibly a bit worse, y'know, bombs and all. Maybe he's just too prideful to change back. Got blown to near pieces again. Bit of a shame. He doesn't like fighting the same person twice. Once and it's over. Stung pride, 'Rama?"

The fox's golden eyes looked at him defiantly. Kuronue got his answer as fur shortened, limbs lengthened, bones cracked and shifted. The muzzle regressed, the ears moving farther up on the head. Tails molding into a slightly larger single one, hair long, soft, silvery once again. Hiei watched in mild fascination (while trying not to think too hard on all the changes and shifts being made; all the sounds, was all a bit unnatural. All a bit disgusting.) as a shimmer of silvery-white surround the youko's bare, pale body. The silvery-white threaded and flowed gently, forming Youko's clothing—as if nothing had ever happened to it in the first place.

Kuronue was examining a wound on his arm, looking quite bored despite the transformation that had just happened before him. Hiei got the impression that the chimera was a bit used to the whole ordeal. Just wasn't as interesting as the first time or ten was.

"Hello to you too, Kuronue. Nice to see you again—bit smaller in this body, though. Still menacing."

"You're never menacing, 'Rama. The ears take the effect away. Now, me on the other hand, I have to agree with you there, because—"

"But... they're ears! And pointy. Pointy ears are scary."

"I think you missed my point."

"It's probable. Anyway. Humans are so much harder to understand standing all on my foursies."

"Want a run-through?"

"Oh, yes. Do tell?"

"Well... The hideout's been trashed to bits, the upstairs, anyway. Everyone's alive... except some certain few—"

"Who deserve to be so—" Youko interjected.

"—yes, who deserve to be so. Rekai's supposedly having an absolutely wonderful time trying to sort out all the records of the zombies. Turns out they were normal humans, only tough ones, living in Makai, of course. Karasu took down a whole village. One of Koenma's new ones. Only a hundred had been moved over, which is good for us and leaves less work for Rekai. They can't reawaken the dead ones, but some had actually survived. They're under Rekai care. Koenma's ferry girls are all out comforting their human families, blah blah blah. Much more boring human-related things.

"Mm... Not much else. Oh. Yuusuke and Kuwabara have to repair the house, though. Genkai was yelling about something... But they're not here at the moment. They run this bar in the demon-human city over yonder. You know the one we wanted to burn because of it's very existence, back when Koenma was only experimenting with demon-human relationships? That one."

"I think I heard that bit, the yelling, I mean. Even I could understand it, I believe."

"I think we all heard it. And—that's about it."

"Doesn't sound like much."

"No. Oh. Look at that, 'Rama. You're bleeding. I knew it. See? I told you," Kuronue looked towards Hiei, "This always happens." A sniff from Youko's area.

Said fox took up Kuronue's battered old hat from Hiei's lap and threw it towards the chimera, "Which way's the first-aid room?"

Kuronue, delighted with his returned hat, and nodded towards the fox, "This way," with a short wave 'good-bye' to Hiei. Youko turned and flashed him a white, quite indeed devious grin, and the two walked out of the room, suddenly bickering about something or other. Hiei didn't care. He was otherwise occupied—in his thoughts.

Things were just... different, now. Between Youko and Kuronue... even between Youko and Hiei. Hiei wasn't sure what exactly had changed... but he thought he rather liked said change. It wasn't uncomfortable, or awkward. It was... nice, even. Hiei wondered if Karasu had possibly addled his brains or something. Maybe, somewhere, he had hit his head too hard. Or lost so much blood he was losing his grip a bit.

And then, all in a sudden, flurrying flash of a moment, Hiei knew what had changed.

He liked the fox. He wasn't going to venture out and say he loved the youko—how absurd!—but he... he liked being around him. There was no blushing around the fox. There were no Oh-Gods-why-am-I-thinking-this? Bad-thoughts-Hiei! Don't-think-that. I-can't... I-just-can't... Actually... I-do...-like thoughts.

It was more something like a mutual liking. A mutual something that wasn't love—yet—but was perhaps a bit more than friendship...?

Hiei shook his head.

"I have lost my mind." He stated to no one other than himself, aloud, "Wonderful. Just peachy."

—

Kuronue and Youko stood outside of the hideout's newly repaired house. Many splinters and concussions had occurred during the process of rebuilding, but miraculously Yuusuke and Kuwabara had managed it. A true miracle among them all. Weeks had passed since Youko had changed back to his human form. Wounds healed, scars formed. Everyone's mood had been dampened because of previous events, but by now, so many days after, things were better.

They were getting better.

Youko and Kuronue were leaving to, once again, become the most infamous bandits in history. Not that anyone had really ever taken their place... But staying in one place for so long bored them both into unbearable restlessness. Something about being free beckoned them to wreck more havoc around Makai. It was what they were supposed to do, everyone supposed. And so they were going to back doing it.

"Our treaty holds firm, and has been changed to accompany Kuronue in it's text," Koenma told the two bandits standing before him and everyone else, "So I'm not going to arrest you—"

"You wouldn't have, anyway," Kuronue said.

"You've grown attached to us, and you know it," Youko agreed.

"But, you don't have to worry," Kuronue said, thoughtfully.

"Indeed, for in no time things will be back to normal and we'll be giving you headaches. You'll be able to hate us again. Won't that be lovely?" Youko mused.

"Just grand," Koenma said, and the sarcasm was noted, "So, you can leave now. As soon as you leave these grounds, I'll restart our pursuit of you both."

"Why, just like old times," Kuronue exclaimed, "Hmm—the memories!"

"Oh, yes," Youko nodded, "And, just because you're not so bad for a Rekai-being... we're giving you a hint."

"To what?" Koenma asked, suspiciously, "Do you already have a plan or—"

"We never did like that grand city of yours, Koenma. Your most thriving, yet." Youko told the godling.

"We've always wanted to burn it to the ground," Kuronue grinned.

"So... we think we'll try."

"Starting with a certain... hmm, bar, was it?" Kuronue asked the fox.

"Yes, it was!" Youko said in mock-brightness, "So, you can say 'good-bye' to that. And a few other buildings, as well..."

Hiei, who was leaning against the house's new front, snorted. Yuusuke, who must have had a very good-nights sleep, frowned in realization,

"What the hell... Oh. Holy shit, if you two even lay a finger in or on that place, I'll murder you both! Cut you into pieces with a blunt knife. I am not a fucking carpenter! I don't wanna rebuild something else!"

"Too bad," Youko said, with a hint of 'sympathy,' giving Hiei a look with his laughing golden eyes, "We're already decided. Have fun with the splinters."

"What? No! Why, you! Get back here you bastards!" Yuusuke howled, for Youko and Kuronue had taken that moment of Yuusuke's spluttering to disappear into the nearby woods. Yuusuke ran also, towards the nearby demon-human city, muttering something about 'not burning down my hard work' under his breath.

Kuwabara, Yukina, Botan, and Koenma looked slightly lost.

"Should I be following him?" Kuwabara asked no one in particular.

"I'm confused..." Yukina said.

Koenma shrugged his shoulder and simple vanished, back to Rekai. Botan got out her oar and soon followed.

Genkai, Shizuru, and even Hiei suppressed contained laughter.

Because, I mean, we all know Yuusuke couldn't stop Youko and Kuronue.

Things were settling neatly back into the 'norm,' if you will.

Well, almost.

THE END