I'm Going to Get You by rebecca85
Chapter 5: Confrontation
Kurama inhaled deeply, relishing the fresh air. Well, you couldn't exactly say it was fresh - he was in the middle of a town - but as fresh as you normally breathe in a normal economically advanced town. And to tell you the truth, it wasn't the air itself he breathed so contently. It was more like he was finally getting a breath alone that he was so happy about. He had finally gotten rid of his followers - or stalkers or what ever he was in the mood of calling them - and was now enjoying his freedom. It had been finally Yusuke's turn to escort him to his mother and it had been surprisingly easy to get away. A call to Keiko, and Yusuke's attention wasn't the same anymore. Plus Kurama was certain that Yusuke hadn't thought that guarding him included guarding that he didn't run away. The redhead was lucky that Hiei was the only one who knew of his craving for freedom.
The week imprisoned hadn't actually gone completely to waste, thank god, even though Kurama was now marked as 'taken' and Hiei had ended up into a whole new number of hit lists. Kurama had learned many new things about the fire demon, as he had from the other Reikai Tantei members, too.
For one, Hiei had revealed to have a sweet tooth, but not as bad as a child would. He was just fascinated about the fact that there were such good things existing in the human realm. Plus he had such a good memory that he only needed a small amount, for example a bite from a chocolate bar, and he was content. In that part Kurama agreed with him. The redhead had also found out that Hiei's crush on him wasn't that superficial or shot-lived as he had thought. It had all started as a respect for Kurama, regarding his unrivalled strength and wit in battles, his miraculous save from the hunter and the adaptation the fox presented in the human world. Then, as a team, Hiei had seen the loyalty Kurama gave to his friends and the determination he showed when protecting his values or valuables. And all that time he had been helpful and understanding about everything regarding the fire demon, even after he had found out about Hiei's past. Then as time went by, Hiei had found this all very comfortable and started to lean on their friendship, on Kurama, more and more, until he was finally cornered about his feelings and realized the truth about himself. The rest was history of today. There was also something about Mukuro having seen Kurama taking secret peeks of the fire demon in the Makai tournament that the ruler of one third of Makai had finally concluded that they were secretly sharing some deep feelings. Had he really stole glances of Hiei? He couldn't remember doing so but he wasn't going to go and argue against the strongest she-demon alive.
The second revelation in the Reikai Tantei had been regarding the infamous delinquent, Yusuke, and his amazingly poor grades.
Yusuke wasn't actually half bad at math. Well, at least not as bad as he made it seem. Or at any subject, for that matter. He just had sadistic features and loved to frustrate Keiko with his lack of knowledge and receive tutoring from her. It was actually a great performance of intellect, on Kurama's opinion: in order for him to seem bad at his subjects, he had to fail the right areas of the test by purpose, so that he received bad grades but didn't drop a class because of it. That itself was a tricky thing to do, since you had to know how many points you were going to get from each answer and what answers were wrong. Then he'd play dumb in the same areas when Keiko was giving him a lesson. For why he did it, Kurama had concluded that Yusuke loved the attention he was getting at school as a delinquent and especially from the human girl, and was enjoying the fact that someone really cared about his studies and of him. And even though Yusuke was always complaining about Keiko's yelling, he was kind of lost when she didn't do so. You could say that the young detective liked the sound of his girlfriend; it was music to his ears, even if it was loud.
So how had Kurama found out about it? Well, they had spent so much time in Genkai's temple together, too much for the redhead's liking, actually, (to keep an eye on his safety as well as preventing him training too much, and to keep him company, even though they didn't admit it; they said it just was a good place to study) that he had heard all the times Keiko had given tutoring lessons to the boy. And as his memory was, ahem, slightly better that of the human girl's, he also noticed that sometimes Yusuke learned something on a specific day but had forgotten it on the next. It usually was something so trivial that Keiko missed it, as did Yusuke, but didn't go by from the all-knowing Youko. Actually, Kurama had concluded in the very beginning that Yusuke's seeming thick-headedness was due to his way of showing his emotions so strongly and honestly. He didn't care about politics, with relations or otherwise, which made him seem dense.
Kuwabara had given little new to the fox.
The big man always found ways to visit the temple, usually the excuse being to train with Kurama so that they would both get stronger and so on. Sometimes he brought delicious cookies or cakes to Yukina saying that he had made some experiments and had to bring the trial-baking's to be tasted. Kurama found this slightly amusing - that was the reason he didn't blow Kuwabara's cover up by saying that the pastries were clearly made with great knowledge of cooking - and as Yukina didn't actually know how to cook, they made the perfect couple. The whip-wielding beauty thought they looked absolutely cute together when he once found them feeding little animals in the midst of the thick forest. This of course, he'd never tell Hiei, even if he'd like the shorter demon off his case.
As he observed the ones around him, the ex-thief grew slightly worried. Was it actually possible that Hiei and he had somehow wound up to be a couple? Destined, or something like that? They moved in the same circles, duh, but Kurama hadn't exactly paid any attention to that everyone in their party had a special someone. Except for him and Hiei. He had found out that even Shizuru had fallen for Sakyo for the little while they had known each other and she wasn't exactly recovered from his death yet. There was only him and Hiei left as singles. And Kurama had his reasons for staying that way, thank you very much.
The redhead walked further away from his house and in to the city when his musings were suddenly interrupted by a strange perception. He felt a familiar feeling that he had to so often count on. It was as if someone was tickling the back of his brain with feather-like strokes, like he was getting a sixth sense -sensation. Even mere humans with some amount of spiritual power could feel it, though it was more like cold chills or light prickling in the back of their neck. It was the sensation of a power being near. Thanks to Kurama's youkai-heritage he was able to identify the power as a life-energy. However, what actually worried him was that the ki wasn't reiki but youki. There was a youkai near somewhere. The signal was weak but there.
Kurama searched frantically around the street he was in: There was a mother taking a walk with her unborn child and an infant girl; there was a group of three youngsters laughing in the corner of the street; a man in a black suit talking on a cellular-phone, hurrying to his destination; a middle-aged man in a t-shirt, hands in his pockets and a baseball cap backwards on his head. The smart fox stopped at this man. It was fairly odd that a man in his forties would wear a baseball cap, especially since the summer season had long gone, and the peak pointing back.
It was then that Kurama noticed something very crucial. The man had a scar on his left arm. And as if to confirm his suspicions, the man turned slightly, saw him and started to walk 'imperceptibly' to the other direction.
Was it possible that this low-class demon (Hiei had cursed the fact that they weren't able to find one lousy F-class demon the other day) could somehow detect Kurama's ki as well? Even when he was concealing his presence? It was a possibility, even if a very slim one. The half-demon hadn't been completely recovered yet so it was possible that his energy wasn't completely in his control and was therefore leaking slightly, signalling his presence. Odds were low, but still there. Now the real question was that; was the youkai able to detect that his ki was demonic?
The fox followed swiftly Pampilowo through the crowds. He may have been sick but he was still a Reikai Tantei and so obligated to catch this particular demon, even though he wasn't exactly sure what he was up against. Damn that virus! Because of the fever he couldn't remember a thing they had discussed during the meeting. He knew that this demon was a low-class and had stolen something valuable… Or was it that he had stolen jewellery from Ningenkai? Then why were they after that thing again…? Well, no matter. As soon as the culprit was caught, Kurama wouldn't need a chaperone anymore and was free to go with his life as he pleased. Then all that was left was to deal with Hiei.
Kurama ran closely behind the thief since there was no point in hiding anymore. The demon had noticed him and fled, period. Now all he could do was to stay close and wait for the right moment to take out the felon. This wasn't exactly his style, but there wasn't always a privilege of knowing your opponent's weaknesses, strengths or powers. Kurama knew that the demon was weak - that had to do as an advantage. Besides, he must be more powerful than Pampilowo as the demon had fled the moment he laid eyes on him.
The green eyes swept the surroundings to find his prey - which wasn't that hard considering that there were less people in sight now - and saw the creature in his humanoid form descend some stairs. The redhead walked quickly after him, descended the stairs too and found himself on an empty beach. The demon was nowhere to be seen. Kurama concluded that this was a trap and set his bag on the foot of the stairs to protect his books (it's funny how you can explain yourself easily, but if your school-applies are torn, suspicions rises), opened the upper-buttons of his gakuran for a better moving and gracefully crouched in the sand.
He didn't detect any footprints in the sand and realized with a start that maybe this demon wasn't afraid of him after all. Actually, there was a possibility that he wasn't afraid of him at all. Maybe, Pampilowo had just wanted to lure him to a place where it was safe to fight without being immediately noticed by the authority. Not the police, but the Reikai Tantei. Was this little devil more intelligent than Kurama had given him credit for? Or a plain fool for taking the redhead as an easy target?
The fox-spirited man reached for his hair instinctively but then remembered with a shock: He didn't have any seeds hidden in his hair. During the long time of being a protégé, he had simply trusted Hiei to take care things. So when he had run out of seeds two days ago, there hadn't been any opportunities or reasons enough to collect new ones. This sent chills down at Kurama's spine. Why had Pampilowo actually lured him on a beach? Where there was no vegetation within reach?
Suddenly the scenery twisted before Kurama and said demon jumped in front him out of thin air, even if the air was slightly distorted. The fox-boy instinctively took a step back to get enough space between them and tensed. This time the low-class demon had taken the form of a page-boy. He was about sixteen and wore baggy trousers, a glittering open-front vest and a small turban on his head. He could've passed as a human-being if not for the murderous glint in his eyes and the maniac smirk on his lips. This demon was definitely up to something.
Kurama's only weapon now was his fighting skills. And the best defence was offence. At least he hoped so. But before that, he could use some information on the demon.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Kurama asked pretending to know nothing beforehand. The creature in front of him twisted his mouth into an even more malicious grin.
"Oh, I think you know why I am here. Youko Kurama," he hissed softly between the white rows of perfect human teeth. The redhead took a breath unintentionally.
"How did you..."
"Know who you are?" Pampilowo ended for him, in a mockingly innocent voice. "I think by now every demon here and after know who you are and what you look like, dear traitor. After all, you did go and won that Dark Tournament by the side of humans after your long career as a proud demon thief. Your head is priceless, did you know that?" The page-boy smiled ever so sweetly at Kurama, who had just got paler by the minute. There was no advantage now. Not only did Pampilowo know who he was, he also knew his attacks and hated him feverishly. Kurama wasn't stupid - he could detect trouble when it came with pom-poms to dance a cheer.
Kurama was now trapped on a beach with a creature that was determined to kill him. Fabulous. And on top of that, there was no way out of it without fighting. The ex-thief mentally kicked himself. He had been perfectly safe with Yusuke, but no. He just had to run away for some fresh air and maybe to get killed on the way. Why the hell was he always thinking that he knew his own best! Especially at times like this when he wasn't actually beaming of health.
The redhead took a deep breath and flexed his fingers. Here goes nothing... Kurama plunged in for an attack. Pampilowo took the note and attacked as well. They rushed at each other. Even though the famous fox was slightly unsure of this, he couldn't let that show, and so he just tried to win with speed and skill. But it was then that an unknown factor entered the picture.
As Kurama ran towards Pampilowo, ready to beat the hell out of him, the thief stopped abruptly, seconds before their collision and drew a circle in the air. Since there was no more time to stop after the ex-thief had realized that something was wrong, he could only protect his head as he stumbled straight through the circle in the air...
...And fell on the beach, rolling on the sand to minimize the damage of tripping over. He quickly rose and turned to face Pampilowo, but for some strange reason, the demon in question was just standing there, looking like a cat licking its whiskers from cream. Kurama took this to his advantage and attacked the defenceless page-boy from behind. He raised a well-aimed fist at him and hit as hard as he could…and fell straight through the smirking demon.
"What—?" Kurama looked baffled at his fist and then at his target who was obviously ignoring him, considering that the redhead was standing right in front of him.
"Dear Kurama...Tsk, tsk, tsk," Pampilowo sighed as if he was talking to a child. "I know that you are doing everything you can to kill me, or whatever, but to save you from your trouble, I can reveal that you cannot harm me." It was then that Kurama noted that the self-righteous demon wasn't looking at him but, after wiping some non-existent dust from his vest, was now just looking at ... somewhere.
"You are currently in a different realm, in a safe realm, so you cannot do anything as long as I don't open a distortion for you. And I plan on doing so after I collect all the valuables." Chuckling lightly to himself, Pampilowo transformed into Kurama, took his bag and went on his way.
"What the...?" The shocked Kurama was left standing on the beach alone, thinking over what he had just heard and trying to figure a way out.
I'm in a different realm? But how? The only way that could be is if he could somehow open portals or distort dimensions. Wait... Distort dimensions. That's it! An F-class demon couldn't possibly gain enough power to muster up a portal, not in that little of time, so the artefact that was stolen was the Dimension Distorter! It does add up… But what was he saying that he was going to let me out when he had collected all the valuables…
This was a tricky one. Kurama knew to be worth of something, Pampilowo had kindly told him that, even though it didn't explain why he wasn't already dead... Then it hit him. There was someone else, even more valuable by his head than Kurama was. Someone who was a one of a kind demon and also considered a traitor in the Makai. Someone who could only be fooled by Kurama's appearance… Hiei
The fox-spirited man sprinted into a run. Hiei was in a real trouble if Pampilowo could mislead him by feigning to be Kurama! And the redhead could never live it down if he was the reason that Hiei was finally taken in. They say that love is blind. For the first time, Kurama really wanted it to be just a saying.
On his way running, Kurama noticed that the realm he was in felt very familiar. Soon he noticed why as he arrived at a street filled with people: He tried to keep out of the way, since nobody seemed to see him. Then, by accident, someone walked through him. That's when he realized it: He was in the spirit realm. Only this time it was on earth. Heaven on earth. Ha ha. The beauty mused to himself and stopped dodging people and just went straight through them. He was in a hurry, so...
Then he sensed a familiar youki. Hiei. And it seemed like he wasn't alone. There was Yusuke and Kuwabara with him. Or he was with Yusuke... Whatever. Either way, Kurama ran towards the ki hoping to find an intact fire demon. When he arrived at the scene, he groaned at his luck.
Yusuke and co. had just bumped into Pampilowo, a.k.a. Kurama.
"Where the hell have you been, Kurama!" Hiei was yelling. The real redhead winced visibly. Hiei was angry at him... again. He took a quick glance around to see if anyone was watching the lecturing he was getting. Thankfully, the area seemed deserted by civilians.
"Just taking a walk. Don't get so worked up, Hiei-kun. You'll get wrinkles," the copy of Kurama smirked, not the slightest bit intimidated by Hiei's outburst. The Reikai Tantei was slightly taken aback. Yusuke and Kazuma exchanged looks. Hiei's brow furrowed.
"Where's Kurama?" Hiei asked with a murderous glint in his eye, ready to draw a weapon. The ghost Kurama stood aghast. How did he know?
"Hey, Hiei. I know he should apologize, but I think you're going a little too far..." Yusuke tried to soothe the short-tempered demon.
"You saying that he doesn't feel strange?" Hiei stated back, never lifting his eyes from Pampilowo. The fake-Kurama arched a brow, an amused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Well, well... I knew you were good, but... What gave me away? Was it the confidence? Oh, I just knew I couldn't press it..." Pampilowo heaved a mock defeated sigh and raised a hand to Kurama's forehead in an exaggerated distress. Yusuke readied his Rei-Gun and Kuwabara started to gather spiritual power for his Rei-Ken when it seemed that the shorter boy had been right.
"No, actually," Hiei answered politely. "Kurama is always confident, but not confident enough to call me Hiei-kun. I'm also in love with him, so it was just too easy to tell you apart." Then the fire-demon's face darkened. "Now. Tell me where Kurama is and just maybe you'll live."
"Ah hah hah hah haa!" The delighted laughter of the impostor startled them all.
"What's so funny—"
"Oh, you Tantei people. You have a great sense of humour." Then Pampilowo got serious. "You don't need to worry about Kurama; he's in a safe place, until I've dealt with you."
"I thought that Koenma said this was a stupid demon," Kuwabara whispered to his comrade. "So how come he's got Kurama?"
"Beats me," Yusuke answered just as quietly. "Could be that Koenma underestimated this one. It wouldn't be the first time… But how can you be sure he even has Kurama, Hiei, he could've just disguised himself as him without never meeting him, you know," Yusuke pointed out a little louder to the fire demon in question.
"I'm not stupid, Yusuke. Unlike some people. Look at the bag." He commanded, whispering. "That's Kurama's. He had it this morning." Yusuke nodded, serious.
"I don't care how witty you think you are," Hiei spoke out loud to the enemy, clearly referring to have heard the other two earlier. "But if you think you can get out of this alive, you are greatly mistaken."
"Oh, I don't think so, dear Hiei," Pampilowo interrupted firmly. "See, I've got an upper hand in the matter. I think you mentioned that you loved this fox-thief in question, or am I mistaken?"
Hiei just growled even more to the fake redhead smirking in front of him, and moved his legs into a better stance.
"Well, the thing is: Kurama happens to be in a different dimension as we speak, call it a holiday if you will: He can relax there until I see fit to kill him." Pampilowo was explaining all this as calmly as if he'd been discussing the weather. "But, I warn you, one wrong move and he's dead."
After a moment's pause Hiei snarled at the impostor. "What do you want?"
"Well that's simple enough: Don't fight back and let me kill you." Pampilowo watched with a half-smile as the Reikai Tantei stared at him in shock, even though he had only addressed Hiei. "And hey, with any luck, I might get enough money just of you, and then there's no need to kill your precious fox. Of course, I have no interest in you two," the demon glanced at Yusuke and Kuwabara with disgust. There was a moment of silence and then the fake-Kurama reached to his hair.
"Rose Whip!" he yelled and performed a vivid imitation of Kurama's favourite weapon and started to slash it towards the fire demon in-range with dreadful force. It seemed that Pampilowo could imitate more than just appearance.
Meanwhile Kurama was puzzled. Pampilowo was threatening to kill him? In a million years, maybe! Kurama huffed, now offended by the creature's rudeness. Then he blinked and looked at Hiei. A thought dawned on him. Don't tell me he's buying all this… Kurama watched Hiei and realized to his horror that the fire demon was actually hesitating to attack, now only blocking and dodging. Kurama ran to his side as the battle ceased for a moment.
"Don't you see!" he yelled at the poor clueless demon. "If he could kill me, he would have done so already! That is why he trapped me, knowing that he wasn't able to do so. Even if he would, not in any shape! Please, Hiei. See it! I can take care of myself. Just kill that fucking smart-ass demon!" He stopped his yelling only to see that it hadn't affected Hiei at all. Kurama breathed heavily, knowing that he was just vending his anger. He shook his head slowly and his eyes felt hot behind the lids.
"Don't do this to me, Hiei... I can't live if you go and get yourself killed because of someone like me... I don't deserve this. Please, Hiei. Fight," Kurama pleaded quietly even though he knew that the other couldn't hear him. But then Hiei happened to land next to Kurama with determination in his eyes and Kurama could hear a whisper escape from the other's lips.
"I trust you, Kurama."
The ex-thief looked absolutely shocked at this. Hiei had heard him! But the trail of thought was interrupted as the fire demon finally attacked the now very confused impostor. Pampilowo furrowed his brow in anger.
"You fool, what do you think you're doing! I told you I would kill him if you attack! Have you no love for the Youko!"
"I trust him!" Hiei yelled back as he cut a small in his side and then said in a threatening voice, straight to the demon's face. "You can't kill him."
Pampilowo seemed to be slightly disturbed at this, but with a new-found anger he drew a circle in the air and disappeared.
"Where did he go?" Yusuke said, looking wildly around. He and Kuwabara had stayed at their positions; it went without saying that this was Hiei's battle. But there was no harm looking out for yourself if Pampilowo suddenly decided to jump at them.
"Guess he used the stolen goods," Kuwabara replied darkly and steadied his Rei-Ken. Silence fell as they all waited for Pampilowo to make his appearance. Suddenly Hiei ripped the cloth from his Jagan and searched the area with it, the third eye faintly emitting an eerie purple light. Soon they could hear Hiei cursing under his breath.
"Can't find them?" Yusuke asked, even though it came as more of a statement.
"Neither of them. Damn that distorter! I can't even see where he went!" Hiei put the cloth back in its place, seeing that there was no use for the Jagan in this battle.
But Kurama had seen where the demon had slipped through. It had left small ripples in the air where it had disappeared, like a stone dropped to a pond. Kurama ran quickly to the spot and dove for the entrance, but was too late. The distortion in the space had already healed. Tumbling down on the hard ground, Kurama felt completely drained of power. That was why he couldn't reach the spot in time. He took a few calming breaths before starting to tiredly get to his feet. Then he happened to glance at his hand supporting the rise and saw the ground under him. Through his hand.
Gasping loudly, Kurama looked at his hands in panic and paled. His whole body was slightly transparent. Now that he took some notice, the redhead also realized that he seemed to constantly be out of breath. The breathing itself was actually a task. Trying to keep his cool - panicking in a situation like this didn't help - he searched his brain, trying to find a reason. Just then he happened to see a transparent person sitting on a bench nearby, reading a magazine. Except that half of his head seemed to be missing, clearly due to a gunshot. Oh, right. The spirit realm, he reminded himself and froze. That was it. He was in the realm of the ghosts', where there was no such thing as a living body. Except now. And the realm was trying to correct itself, get rid of the unwelcome and leave only what belonged there.
His body was fading away.
"So this is it then, huh? I have cheated death, won over it and ran from it, just to FADE AWAY?" he yelled in fury. This was ridiculous. If he was ever to die, it would be his own decision. Not some plane's rules' and certainly not a trashy low-class demon's! "I have to find a way out of here." With this determinant thought, Kurama began to stalk around his surroundings, waiting for Pampilowo to come back. Daring him to open a rip in the space. And the dare was answered.
From his location, Kurama could detect a slight distortion, like ripples in water. He breathed deeply and lunged for the opening as Pampilowo on the other hand tried to make a surprise attack and jump on Hiei. Fat chance of that ever happening.
Hiei was instantly within five meters and his eyes dilated slightly from joy as he saw Kurama scramble from the hole after the ... well, other Kurama. Comparing them was easy as the real fox demon was out of breath and visibly pale. Pampilowo noticed to his horror that Kurama was now again free and after letting a low growl of frustration, used his ring again and disappeared. Before Kurama hit the ground, he was caught in Hiei's safe arms.
"Are you okay?" Hiei instantly inquired and searched his love for any wounds.
"I'm ... fine," panted the redhead. He took a look at his hand and sighed in relief. He wasn't transparent anymore. Then he looked at the fire demon's ruby red eyes that were darkened with worry.
"I'm sorry," he said and turned his eyes away from the burning red ones. He couldn't handle their intensity, and felt unworthy of such emotions. "I never thought... I won't do it again. I'm sorry," he finished with a low voice and shakily got up. He felt confused and being held with such caress wasn't helping him clear his head. His body, and part of his mind, protested the thought of going away from the safe hold, but he determinately pushed those thoughts away and staggered to his feet. Hiei was about to protest, but something caught Kurama's eye. Ripples in the view.
"He's coming," the beauty said, and right after, Kurama's copy-cat came in sight. The redhead seemed to see these 'ripples' even while being in his own realm. He didn't have any more time to ponder this as Pampilowo attacked.
Yusuke and Kuwabara were unsure of whether they were allowed to participate in the fight yet and so decided to stay put, ready to dive into the heat of the battle when needed.
The rose whip slashed the air as the criminal tried to get Hiei. Kurama was glad because he wasn't sure if he could keep up with even half of the speed the fire demon was demonstrating. He wondered why Pampilowo was attacking the strongest person in their group. From what he had shown earlier gave reason to believe that he wasn't too stupid. Was the prospect of the price blinding his judgement?
Right then Hiei had to move further when the impostor slashed close. The feisty fire demon had his katana ready to slash, but since Kurama was safe now and there were no orders to kill, just to retrieve the lost item and capture the culprit, he could take some time off his sentence with a living thief. If he had a case, Koenma was easily... persuaded in to almost anything. Hiei's musing was abruptly disturbed as the whip slashed close but not close enough. He didn't like this. He had to put an end to this soon. He missed his redhead, who was too far away for his liking. And just as the spiky-haired demon gripped his katana for an attack, Pampilowo changed his direction and slashed towards Kurama.
The beautiful redhead jumped just so that he could avoid the collision, but while escaping he tripped and almost fell over. Hiei was there at once, holding him up, taking Kurama's arm and draping it around his neck and supporting the fox's weight with his own strength. The redhead was grateful but then saw the whip coming, this time like a needle, straight towards Hiei's heart. He didn't have time to warn him. He didn't have the strength to move them away. But he was damned if he let the only person that meant him this much to get hurt. So following his instinct, Kurama turned and shielded the short fire demon's frame with his own.
It all happened like in a slow motion picture. Kurama's eyes dilated from the pain as the whip pierced his back, and drew a shocked breath. Hiei stared at him in horror. Kurama could hear distant cursing as Yusuke and Kuwabara were drawn in to the fight with terrifying ferocity. With their combined attack Pampilowo had no chance and was soon finished, but this all mattered so little to Hiei. Kurama gasped air in a shock but the pain was already dulling in to a throbbing and slowly he couldn't feel it at all. His legs gave away from fatigue but Hiei caught him and held him close.
"Why did you..." the ruby eyed demon asked hoarsely, unable to continue at once and swallowed, despair slowly seeping all over his body as Kurama felt heavier. "Why did you do it?" he whispered in disbelief. The redhead smiled tenderly at the face above him.
"Because I can't live with myself if something should happen to you... Hiei..." The words were spoken very gently and quietly. Kurama coughed and felt the familiar coppery taste fill his mouth. Blood.
"Hiei..." he said softly to gain the full attention of the lost soul that reflected from the crimson eyes before him. Hiei was at loss. He didn't know how to handle a situation of such intensity. "Hiei... I..." The redhead paused unsurely and coughed more blood. He vaguely felt Yusuke and Kuwabara near. Cold was seeping into his body as a warm pool of blood was forming behind his back. He had to say this. Before it was too late. He mustered up his last shining smile to his fire demon and whispered:
"I think you managed to steal my heart… after all."
Hiei's eyes widened and he was opening and closing his mouth in confusion. There was utter joy fluttering in his chest at the words, but the seriousness of the situation didn't allow him to cherish that feeling for long. Kurama smiled at the conflicting emotions crossing Hiei's face that surely nobody else would be able to detect. Then the comforting darkness enveloped him as his last strength seemed to drain from his body and he fell limp in Hiei's arms.
"Kurama. Kurama!" Hiei finally let his emotions take over and he shouted his beloved's name over and over again. This can't end like this, Hiei's thoughts cried desperately, and he hugged Kurama's limp form tightly to his chest as a single tear-gem fell to the ground.