Hiei left Blaise at the Entrance Hall, and promptly disappeared. Blaise walked in the direction of the dungeons, intent on getting there before his dorm mates woke. He carefully slid into the dark Common Room, trying to be as quiet as possible. He pulled out his wand and whispered, "Lumos."
A single torch lit, and Blaise bit back a cry. What came out was more of a strangled yelp.
"Really, Blaise, you look like you've seen a ghost," Draco said, amused.
"Close enough!" Blaise retorted, trying to calm his breathing. "What are you doing in the Common Room at," he glanced at the clock, "Four A.M.?"
"I could ask you the same." Draco's voice was cold. "Where were you? Who were those people that took you? What does Potter have to do with them? And why did you and Potter collapse for no reason?"
"I…can't Draco. I cannot answer all of your questions."
"Then answer some of them!" Draco's voice was desperate.
Blaise sighed. "They are friends, allies actually. That's about as much as I can tell you. I'm sorry." Draco's look was incredulous. Blaise pinched the bridge of his nose. "Really, Draco. The rest is beyond me. Some things would take too long to explain, others, most of it, is not my secret to tell. If you really want answers, Ku—Potter would be the best to talk to."
"That, would be true," came the voice from a shadow. Both boys' heads snapped in that direction.
The shadows seemed to cling to his body as Kurama stepped out into the light. He was still deathly pale and had deep hollows in his cheeks and under his eyes, but said eyes were clear and deep, revealing nothing about the elusive thief in the human's body. "The best person to ask." Kurama repeated, "would be me, unfortunately," he held up a hand to forestall anything Draco was going to say. "Unfortunately," Kurama repeated, "I will not tell you anything you want to know. I cannot tell you anything until I am sure of something—don't ask me what. I can, however, tell you one thing: everything I do is for the good of Hogwarts and the Light. Trust me, Draco. Please trust me."
Draco slowly nodded, and Kurama smiled. "Thank you. Blaise, get some rest. You're training tomorrow."
"Aww, c'mon," Blaise groaned but obediently trudged off to go to bed. Draco watched him go, then turned to Kurama with a smile.
"I'll trust you."
Kurama nodded, and returned the grin, "I know. Thank you." With that, he sank back to into the shadows, leaving a very confused Slytherin alone in the common room.
Kurama sank to his knees in front of the entranceway to the common room and leaned against the stone wall, gasping for breath. He had dashed down here as soon as Hiei clued him in on what was going on downstairs. Kurama brought a trembling hand up to his face, eyeing it with distaste. Using the illusion had never been so tiring before.
"Potter?"
The voice of the Potions Master cut into Kurama's thoughts. His head snapped up, eyes wide as he stared at the professor with ill-concealed shock. "P-professor Snape, I didn't hear you coming!" Or sense, or smell him coming for that matter. Strange. Kurama pushed himself to his feed, swaying unsteadily, and held on to the wall. He hoped he looked better than he felt. "Is something the matter, Professor?"
"I do believe, Potter, that it should be me who asks that." Kurama quirked an eyebrow. "You are the one collapsed in front of the Slytherin dormitories. Not to mention the fact that you should be in the Hospital Wing, under Madame Pomfrey's care. I can't believe she has already let you out."
Kurama winced at the mention of the matron. "Uh, well, she doesn't exactly know that I'm out here." The professor's eyebrows went up.
"Well then, let's get you back there, shall we?" Kurama released the wall, took a step, and was rewarded by a bout of dizziness. He pitched forward. Snape caught him, and noticing the pallor of his face, set Kurama down against the wall. "Perhaps that's not such a great idea." Kurama nodded, then as winced as a terrible headache assaulted him, but he couldn't use his plants in front of the professor. Besides, his youki levels are so low, he wasn't sure if he would be able to call his plants in the first place…
"Drao's awake," Kurama mumbled.
"He is, is he? I'm not going to ask how you know that," Snape said, looking down at him critically. "I probably don't want to know. I'll take your word for it," Snape added dryly. He turned to the entranceway and softly spoke the password. As soon as entrance was granted, he called, "Malfoy! Come here!"
"Coming," came the instant response. A few seconds later, Draco appeared in the corridor. "Yes?"
"Help me get him inside." Snape motioned to the figure leaning heavily against the wall, taking quick shallow breaths.
"Harry!" Draco looked at his friend, horrfied. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Snape replied grimly, "and Mr. Potter is not in any shape to answer questions right now. Let's get him inside first." Draco nodded, and supporting Kurama between the two of them, they got him inside and onto a couch. As soon as he sat down, Kurama leaned his head back and closed his eyes, pressing a hand to his forehead in an attempt to alleviate the pain. Kurama resisted the ever-increasing urge to slide into a healing trance, knowing that as a human, it wouldn't do him any good.
Snape reached into his robes and drew out a small crystal vial. He handed it to Kurama, who took it and held it up to the light, gently swirling the thin liquid inside. Kurama then uncorked it and lightly sniffed. He muttered softly as he thought, subconsciously falling into the calming, repetitive process of cataloging plants. "All herbal. Chamomile, willow bark, poppies, and…" Kurama frowned lightly, tapping his chin. He gently waved the vial under his nose again. His face cleared. "Of course…corydalis tuber." He swirled the mixture again, looking at it pensively as he prescribed, "Simple pain reliever. Induces drowsiness depending on the ratios used."
His mind wandered, back to the times when he created his own medication. When his followers, partners, teammates depended on his remedies and antidotes to survive. Kurama smiled softly at the memories, and not seeing the gob-smacked expression on Draco and Snape's faces, though the professor hid it well, he downed the mix. There was no scent of sense of magic in the liquid, meaning that it would not affect his youki or the currently human body. The pounding in his head ceased, bringing great relief to the youko, and he sighed blissfully. A small sound caught his attention, brining him back to the present. "Thank you, Professor," Kurama remembered. He stood, swayed a bit, then sat again, fighting back the rising wave of nausea. Apparently, while his headache was gone, he still was too weak from lack of youki to move. Human bodies are so annoying, Kurama groused silently.
"I'll go inform Madame Pompfrey that you are here." With that, Snape turned to walk to the fireplace. With a sharp motion, a fire roared to life, lighting the room with a warm glow. The flames almost instantly turned the tell-tale green of a Floo connection. Madame Pompfrey's head appeared.
"Severus, have you seen Potter? He was awake earlier, but he's disappeared and I can't find him! I've been trying to contact you, as you tend to patrol at this time, but nothing I tried got through!"
"Poppy. Calm down. Potter's here. Slytherin Common."
Madame Pompfrey took a look around, and her gaze alighted on the weak form of Kurama. "Mr. Potter!" her voice was furious, as panic quickly turned to anger, "So this is where you are! What were you thinking, coming all the way down here? Severus, move back, I'm coming through." Snape took a few steps away from the fireplace, and the matron's head disappeared for a second before she stepped into the room. She strode to where Kurama sat and proceeded to lecture him thoroughly. Kurama dutifully nodded every so often, but his mind was trying to figure out how long the weak spell would last, as well as how long it would be before Harry would be able to reclaim his body.
Madame Pompfrey tired of ranting after a short while, and pulled out her wand. "I'm gong to do a quick check of your status, Mr. Potter."
"Yes ma'am." Kurama was too tired to argue. His reflexes were lethargic at best, and he knew that was dangerous, but he was exhausted. When was Hiei going to get back? It required youki he didn't have to call to Hiei when he's in Reikai or Makai. /Kurama/ Hiei's voice trickled into his mind. /Hiei! Are you back/
/Yes, just now. I'm heading there now with some newly discovered Makain plants Koenma wanted you to take a look at. /
/Souka…very well. I probably already know what they are though./ Hiei's amusement at the youko's vain thoughts seeped through the bond./Demo saa…/ Kurama continued/I'm very weak right now. There's something wrong. The youki I collected overnight has rapidly diminished, much faster than it should, even in this completely human body. I hate to ask this of you…/
/Youki transfusion/
/If you would./ Kurama's voice was apologetic. /I realize you're not at your normal levels yet and you really don't need to if you don't wish to…/ Kurama trailed off, embarrassed by the request.
/Baka Kitsune./ Hiei replied fondly. /You think I don't know about the youki you give me every time you re-ward my dragon? And every other time I'm injured? You've given me your youki, even when you're close to dying yourself, countless times. Give me a few minutes, I'll be there soon./
/WithOUT the plants./ Kurama quickly cautioned.
/…Very well. I'll find a place to put them before I go./
/Arigatou, koi./
/Hn./ Hiei's voice was warm.
chapter owari
i'm sorry! i know i said 14th, and its the 15th...ah, well...forgive me! hope you liked the quick update! ...how come i barely got any reviews for my last chapter? >" i'm gonna cry... am i (my story actually)not loved anymore? (