Chapter 3: Mukuro, the Tank, and Yusuke's Big Mouth

They felt like they had been walking for days, but it was only about four hours, when they came across Mukuro's soldiers, who had been out on patrol. And upon recognizing Hiei, they immediately went to notify their Lord.

Mukuro met them, in what could be called the foyer, of her castle. She was a little surprised to see Lord Yusuke, along with a tall orange haired young man, accompanying her heir. What really surprised her was what the two were carrying and who she recognized on it.

"What seems to be the problem?" She asked, trying not to show concern, for she could sense overwhelming thoughts coming from her heir. Fear, relief, but most of all…anger, apparently directed to whoever had hurt the person laying on the make shift gurney.

"I need your help." Hiei said softly, seeming to take all his efforts to say those words. His Lord knew he would never come to her for help, unless he was out of options.

Feeling just a little special that he could ask her of all people, she said. "Follow me." And turned, heading for a door, but turning back, she saw that they were still standing there. "Hurry, we don't have much time." She scalded, getting them to move.

Yusuke and Kuwabara had been waiting for Hiei to make the first move. They both felt he was the better choice to deal with the Lord. The raven haired looked at the fire demon and saw what appeared to be confusion on his face. Then Hiei heard her words and seemed to snap out of it, starting to follow with the other two right on his heels.

They went down a flight of stairs. Mukuro was leading with Hiei behind her, followed by Yusuke, who this time was holding the head end of the gurney, then Kuwabara who was bringing up the rear, holding the other end. They appeared to be stepping down into a basement of sorts. Getting the makeshift gurney down the narrow space was difficult, as they had to lift the gurney above their heads and try to keep Kurama from falling out, without falling themselves.

Mukuro was turning on lights as she told them to put the gurney down next to a platform that was about two feet off the ground and about six feet in diameter. They could see what appeared to be vines and 'they were crawling around on the surface.' Kuwabara was wondering what was keeping them from spilling over the side of the platform while Yusuke was looking around the room. It was a large room, still dark around the edges were the lights didn't penetrate. And it was empty, at least where he could see, except for the stairs in the corner, the platform and what he thought was a control panel of some sort. He could only see the back of a smooth surfaced podium about fifteen feet in front of the platform. He also noticed that he could not see a ceiling, just the bare bulbs of the few lights illuminating the room.

Hiei seemed to know what to do as he stepped over, making Yusuke and Kuwabara move back. The two looked at each other and decided to move over to the stairs to watch until they were needed. Mukuro stepped in to help Hiei, after doing something at the control panel. After stripping the remaining clothing and bandages off Kurama, they grabbed him under the shoulders, lifting him up and supporting his weight on either side. Hiei had taken the side with the worst injuries and was being careful not to cause the fox more pain. The red head let out a moan and his head fell forward when they went to lift him up onto the platform.

The fire demon tried to reassure the red head. "If you can hear me fox…you are going to be okay. Just hang in there. This will make you feel better." He whispered.

Once they got him standing as best they could on the platform, Mukuro went to the control panel and hit a few more buttons. Immediately, the vines stared to go up Kurama's legs, wrapping around his waist, allowing Hiei to jump back off the platform as the vines took over holding the fox up.

Once the vines seem to cover the red head's waist, back and the side of his chest with the most injuries, they stopped and wavered as if waiting for orders.

Mukuro walked back over carrying what looked like something a scuba diver would use. It was a mouth piece, but with no tube, just a strap and what appeared to be a nose clip. She jumped back up and the vines moved, bringing Kurama more in reach of her hands so she could place the mouth piece in his mouth and attached the strap to secure it. Placing the nose clip, she heard what sounded like a moan coming from the mouth piece. Looking up, she saw a green eye, half open, trying to focus and then choking as if trying to get the mouth piece out.

"Calm fox…you are in good hands. The liquid in this tank will heal you, but you will need this to breath." She assured, placing a hand on the left side of his face in a gentle expression of caring, it seem to work as the green eye closed and the body relaxed.

Mukuro went back to the panel and hit some more switches. A big glass dome started coming down from the darkness of the ceiling and the vines started moving again, this time up along the neck and the right side of the red head's face, covering his eye and temple. When the dome hit the base, there was a hiss, and liquid started filling in from the bottom. As it got to his waist, Kurama started floating up with it. The only thing keeping him from floating up and hitting the top of the dome was the vines. As the liquid reached the top, consuming the fox, his red hair began floating straight up, wavering in some unknown current as lights along the base of the platform turned green.

"There is nothing more we can do right now…except wait." The Lord said the last part softly as she made her way back over to the others.

Yusuke and Kuwabara had walked over to Hiei as the tank filled. They both noticed that he had not taken his eyes off the figure inside.

"Lord Yusuke." Mukuro said, breaking the silence. "It is nice to see you again, although I wish the circumstances were different." She was trying to relieve some tension in the room.

"There's no need to call me Lord." Yusuke said, waving a hand. "I've not been staying here to deserve that title. Just call me Yusuke." He had not turned his eyes from the tank to look at one of the former three kings of the Makai.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm Kazuma Kuwabara." The orange haired said and actually held out his hand, not showing the least bit of shock at her appearance.

"Hello, I'm Mukuro." She replied, shaking the hand and surprising Yusuke. "Like I said…there is nothing we can do…you all must be tired and hungry." She motioned towards the stairs, adding. "If you will follow me, I will show you to a room where you can rest and I'll have food prepared for you.

"Thank you." Came the responses as they headed back up the stairs. They stopped when they noticed that a short figure was not following. Three sets of eyes looked back to see the fire demon staring at the tank, appearing not to have heard any of the conversation.

"Hiei?" Yusuke said. The fire demon turned to his name and saw the three halfway up the stairs. "Come on….you need some rest and food. We can come back later."

"Hn…I will stay here." Hiei replied, folding his arms over his chest in a 'you can't make me' stance.

"Then I order you…" The voice held the strong tone of command.

Hiei cursed under his breath and started towards the stairs. "Damn, that woman."

a)a)a)a

Yusuke woke to an annoying sound. Opening his eyes, he looked over across the room to the orange haired boy laying on his back, on one of the four beds in the room, and heard the sounds of harsh snoring coming from his open mouth.

'Well… I guess I've had enough sleep." The raven haired thought. 'Usually, if I'm tired enough I can sleep through that particular freight train.' He thought sarcastically.

Sitting up and looking around the room, Yusuke realized it was just plain, with four cot type beds, one on each wall. There was a small round table in the center with cushions for seats and a wash basin in a corner that had a plain oval mirror hanging above it. He looked to the dishes on the table. He and Kuwabara had eaten everything that had been brought for them. But a third dish sat untouched. 'He must have went back to be with Kurama after we fell asleep.' He thought, getting up and going over to the wash basin. Splashing water on his face, he tried to wake up more and looking in the mirror, noted the haggard look in his eyes along with his messed up hair. 'Oh well…I've looked worst.' He thought, rolling his eyes. Running his fingers through his hair, he then straightened his clothes and headed for the door, hoping he could remember how to get back to where Kurama was.

a)a)a)a

Hiei had stayed in the room while the food had been brought in and watched as the other two dove in as if they were starving to death. 'Well.' He had to admit 'he hadn't eaten in over a day.' He realized. Sitting down on the cushion next to the table, the fire demon picked at the food in front of him. He took a small bite and his stomach did a flip, so he put the food down and went to sit on one of the beds near the wall. He waited until the other two finished and had gone to a bed. When he was sure they were asleep, he left, knowing exactly how to get back to the tank room. He was careful making his way back for he didn't want to run into any guards that might tell Mukuro, knowing she would most likely order him to go back and rest.

Now he was standing with his red eyes staring at the figure in the tank for what had to be at least a few hours now. The only thing that had changed was the skin on Kurama's chest and face. The vines had moved to show where there had once been multiple cuts and bites on his neck and chest, were now new generated skin that was pink. His eye that had been swollen shut and caked with blood was now also pink, but was still a little swollen.

Hiei just couldn't take his eyes off the red head. He had been searching his 'soul' ever since he decided to return to the Ningenkai. Wondering if he should talk to the red head about the feelings that were confusing him and tearing him in two. He remembered the look on Kurama's face the day the red head had come home to his apartment and made his way upstairs to his bedroom, only to see him at his window. He would have gone on in and sat on the bed, but the window was locked. To say the fox was a little surprised to see the demon was an understatement as the red head had ran over and opened the window, grabbing and hugging him to the point where he couldn't breathe. He couldn't tell the fox then how he felt, so things just went on the way they had been before the Makai tournament. The team was back together and working for Koenma, well except Kurama wasn't showing up that much. 'Why didn't you talk to me about wanting to quit?' He thought. He had no clue about the red head wanting to quit until Yusuke brought it up in Koenma's office. Of course he hadn't really been on talking terms with the detective or the fox these past two months.

Hiei heard a door open, followed by footsteps coming down the stairs. He didn't care who it was, they were not going to make him leave, even if he had to take a few heads in the process. He watched Yusuke walk over, scratching his head and looking at the tank.

"How's he doing?" The raven haired asked. Walking up to get a closer look and noticing the healing that had taken place while he'd been asleep.

"Hn."

"Listen Hiei." Yusuke said, turning to look at him. "I know you care for him and want to be with him, but you really should get some sleep. You look like you're about to fall over." His own voice sounded tired, but mostly upset at the situation they were in.

"And just where did that come from…detective?" Hiei grumbled, crossing his arms over is chest, not liking the way he was being spoken to.

"Sorry." Yusuke shrugged, calming down. "I guess I need more sleep." He turned to completely face the fire demon before saying. "Look, I know you care for Kurama… maybe more than me or the others because of your relationship, but making yourself sick by not sleeping and eating will not help him." He showed his own frustration by running a hand through his hair.

Hiei's ki rose around him, his anger showing as his words came out between clenched teeth. "What relationship would that be, detective?"

Yusuke took a step back, bringing his arms up in a surrender motion as he said. "Did you not want anyone to know? Sorry, forget I said anything." He then turned back to the tank.

"I want an answer to the question, Yusuke." The voice that spoke was soft and calm.

The raven haired boy turned to see confusion in the crimson eyes of the fire demon.

"I thought you two were together." He started. "And again…'I'm sorry' if I was wrong." He took a deep breath. "I mean, the way you two are together, the shared bond you seem to have, the time you spend with each other. I guess I should say 'spent', you did up and leave or should I say didn't come back." He threw up his hands in frustration. "Hell...whatever…I thought Kurama was going to lose it without you around and not to mention the fact that the fox seems to understand you and put up with you better than me or Kuwabara." He had wanted the last part to sound like a joke, so he scratched his head and smirked, but the look on the fire demon's face had turned blank.

'So Kurama was thinking about me, no wonder he was acting strange when I came back.' Hiei thought, but ended up asking instead. "So why does Kurama want to quit?"

Yusuke thought for a moment before saying. "Like I said before, I still think it has to do with the fact that you didn't come back and he really missed you and the relationship that you had. He wasn't acting right and it also seemed that he couldn't fight without you. Maybe that's why he wanted to quit because he didn't have you with him." He guessed, shrugging.

He crossed his arms and tried to make it sound like he didn't care what Yusuke thought. "Whether me and the fox are together or not detective, it is none of your business."

Yusuke took it as a 'HAH!! I was RIGHT! They are together and here Kuwabara thought I was being crazy.' He thought, but kept his cool.

He didn't get a chance to start teasing the fire demon as a siren sound came from the control panel. They looked at each other, their eyes going wide as they realized. 'Something's wrong with Kurama!'

End Chapter 3