Chapter 6: Can It Get Any Worse?
Kurama led the other two out of the portal and started walking down the sidewalk. It was getting to be dusk which was a good time for them to be ready to capture Mikai, since he's only been seen at night.
As they were walking, Kuwabara asked. "Hey Kurama…what did Koenma mean by taking care of something and what you were not going to do?"
"It was nothing….it will not interfere with me being a tantei." Kurama answered, trying to keep is voice from turning cold. He failed though, he was mad at Koenma for not talking to him in private about his little problem with Yomi.
Ignoring the voice, Kuwabara scratched the back of his head and look to Yusuke, who was also giving a look of confusion. They shrugged, turning their heads back and then stopping, backing up a few steps to keep from running into the red head as they saw him standing in a defensive stance in the middle of the sidewalk. The raven haired was just about to ask what was up when Kuwabara mumbled.
"Oh man…there's something big coming this way." He was starting to shake from the strong sense of youki coming towards them.
Kurama spoke up. "Yusuke, listen, we may be able to handle this quickly and quietly. We need to get him to trust us and maybe he will come with us without fighting."
"Okay….we'll see." Yusuke replied back, already thinking Kurama's plan wasn't going to work.
As the demon came into focus, they relaxed their stance and watched, trying to get a better look. Mikai was big, at least seven feet tall with broad shoulders, arms and legs big with muscles. Checking him out top to bottom, they noticed he had on a ball cap that hid his face and horns. Going down to his shirt, all they could see were hands that were a dark pink (like he had had too much sun) and nails that were long yellow claws. He was wearing a pair of pants that were torn off at the knees, showing pink skin from there down to his feet. He was not wearing shoes and his toes bore the same yellow long claws. He could easily pass as a homeless person with bad hygiene.
"Looks like a cousin of the incredible hulk." Kuwabara muttered. The youki was getting stronger as the demon approached and it was taking everything he had not to summon his sword.
When Mikai got to within a few feet, he looked up and noticed the three figures blocking his path. Yusuke stepped around Kurama, saying. "Are you Mikai?"
"Who wants to know?" The voice was childish and his eyes held fear.
"My name is Yusuke Urameshi, I'm a tantei from Reikai and we're here to contain you for the havoc you have been causing here in Ningenkai."
"Me cause no problem, me just want friends to play with." The childish voice said as he started backing up, getting ready to run.
"I'm sorry, but by orders of Lord Koenma, we need to place you under arrest and contain, you're not supposed to be here." Yusuke said and reached out with his hand to try and grab the demon's arm, but Mikai pulled back and started to scream.
"Me don't want to be arrested, me like it here!" He cried out and was still trying to back up when he hit something. He turned and looked down to see an orange haired stranger blocking his way.
"No! Me no go!" Mikai cried out again as he went to swing at the person blocking his way. He was swinging when his target suddenly disappeared.
'So much for easy.' Kurama thought, slamming into Kuwabara and knocking him out of the way just as Mikai's hand was about to make contact with the side of the orange haired's head. The red head was not as fortunate as he felt claws rack across his side followed a burning sensation. The two landed in a heap as Yusuke tried to contain the demon, who was now swinging at the air, screaming.
"Hey…Hey calm down, we don't want to fight. We just want to help." Yusuke said calmly while holding his arms out in front of him, doing an up and down motion as he tried to get Mikai to look at him.
"No! No! No! You just want to hurt Mikai, you no friend of Mikai." The demon was crying now, still flaring both arms at random.
Kurama stood up holding his left arm to his bleeding side and held out his right arm to stop Kuwabara, who had also gotten up and had summoned his sword.
"No, we need to stop." The red head said. "He thinks we are going to hurt him and we need to get his trust. He is only attacking because he is scared." He then looked at Yusuke to see if he had heard what he'd said. When he got a nod in return, he reached into his hair and drew out a rose. "Mikai, Mikai look at what I got." When Mikai looked, Kurama twirled the rose, releasing the petals and the scent of roses filled the now dark air, only a few street lights lit the empty sidewalk.
"Pretty, me like flowers." Mikai cooed and calmed as he tried to catch the petals before they hit the ground. He looked like a giant child trying to catch bubbles as he danced and jumped.
"Now you need to go to sleep." Kurama said softly. Before anyone knew what had happened, Mikai slammed to the ground and was sound asleep. Yusuke and Kuwabara looked at the red head with a 'what the' look on their faces.
"How in the world did you do that fox boy?" Yusuke asked as he looked down at the now snoring demon.
"Yeah." Kuwabara said, looking back and forth between the demon and the red head.
"I placed a sleeping powder on the petals. When I released the petals the powder was also released and he inhaled it when he tried to catch them." Kurama said, his breath coming out heavy.
"Neat trick…are you alright?" Yusuke asked as he noticed the blood going down the red head's pant leg.
"I will be fine…his claws are sharp, but I will be able to heal the cuts." Kurama said and was already sending ki to the damaged areas, slowing the flow of blood.
A portal appeared and Botan stepped out. "Geez guys, that was quick. Koenma wanted me to help if I could, but." She looked down at the sleeping demon. "Oh, I'll call Koenma and let him know its over." She pulled out her communicator and told Koenma what had happened. "Tell them they are free to go home now Botan." Came the reply as she shut the compact.
"Well, that was a nice way of saying 'good job' that I ever heard." Yusuke snorted. The three stepped into the portal and came out in front of Genkai's temple, after making sure Botan had made it through another portal with the sleeping demon.
"Hey guys I hate to run, but I need to get home and study. I've got a big exam tomorrow evening and I haven't even cracked the book. Are you sure you're alright?" Kuwabara asked, looking to Kurama. "You could go and ask Genkai or Yukina to heal you." He said, looking over the red head with worry on his face. "I owe you man. That thing would have taken my head off if you hadn't pushed me out of the way."
"It was no big deal Kuwabara and no I do not need Genkai or Yukina to heal me. They are just scratches and are already starting to heal. Good luck on your exam. Good night." Kurama said giving a small smile to his friends.
"Okay…well see yeah later." The taller boy said.
As Kuwabara walked off, Yusuke looked at Kurama, who had also turned and started walking towards his place. "Hey wait." He said jogging to catch up. "You don't look to good, are you sure you don't want Genkai to check you out?"
Kurama shook his head, saying. "There is no need to worry. The wound just needs to be cleaned and I can do that when I take a shower. You should be getting home to Keiko. She will be worried about you." He was trying not to hiss as he made the walk to his apartment.
"Then call this a bad date. I want to see you home." Yusuke said keeping an eye on the fox and noticing the sweat that was forming on his forehead. Not to mention the pale look that was starting to wash over his lean figure. He didn't seem to care that he was being followed.
By the time they got to the apartment, Yusuke was all but carrying the red head in the door. He had taken the keys and unlocked the door after Kurama had failed several times to get the key in the lock.
The red head fumbled for the light switch, casting a glow over the living room. 'What the…' Yusuke thought as he saw the lighted space? Instead of the furniture he remembered from his first time visiting and knowing that it had belonged to the fox's mother, what he now saw was completely opposite. Instead of a couch and loveseat, which had been covered in a floral pattern, there was a dark brown swayed sectional taking up the center of the space. He also remembered seeing a glass coffee table with two matching end tables, those were gone and in their place was just a coffee table that looked to be an old traveling chest/trunk. Across the couch, where he didn't remember there being a TV before, now had a large plasma TV sitting on a stand with a DVD and stereo sitting underneath. When he got out of his shock at the new look, he noticed that Kurama had made it to the stairs and was trying to get up them, he was not doing a very good job as he was having a hard time lifting his legs.
"Kurama….I don't think you are doing so well." The raven haired said making his way over and placing his hands on the red head's arm hoping to offer help getting up the stairs.
"I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's help…especially Hiei's." Kurama growled and shrugged the offered helped as he continued to try and get up the stairs.
"Okay fox boy, lets get you to bed." Yusuke huffed. Knowing that Kurama was in no shape to put up a fight, he threw him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. Getting to the top of the stairs, he saw two doors. One was the bathroom, for he could see through the open door. To his left was the other door and he opened it, walking into a large bedroom. Finding the light switch, he cast the room in a soft white glow. The bed was huge, it had to be a king size. It had a sled style head and foot board, made of a dark reddish wood, with wide side rails and was tall enough that it needed its own step stool to even get on the thing.
The bed was placed at an angle in the left corner of the room and there was a bedside table made of the same dark wood. Across the room to the right along the wall was a large mirrored dresser that took up the whole wall, expect for a door that led to the small walk in closet. Between the bed and dresser on the far wall were a set of windows that had heavy dark blue drapes pulled back leaving only the white shears showing to allow light in. It was now showing a shadow of a tree and the glow from some street lights.
Yusuke placed Kurama on the floor and went to get a towel. He knew the fox didn't like getting blood on his bed if he could help it. When Yusuke made it back with the towel, he saw that the red head was up trying to take off his clothes.
"Hey, let me help you." He said placing the towel on the bed before trying to help.
Kurama started fighting back, mumbling. "Stop…I am not a cripple. I have always taken care of myself Hiei."
'Hiei? Is he delusional?' Yusuke thought then noticed the fevered look on the pale face. He watched the man strip, standing by incase he was needed and noticed the wounds that Mikai had made.
Kurama's left side was cut with deep scratches, there were four in all. The shortest one was on the upper thigh, it was deep, but only about five inches long, going from front to back. The second one was longer and it was an inch above the first, just below the pelvic bone. The third was even longer and it was right across the pelvic bone and the fourth was the same, but it was just above the pelvic bone. All four were turning red and puffy and still oozing blood. He watched as Kurama staggered to the bathroom and waited until he heard water. He didn't want to leave the red head alone, but didn't want to start a fight. The fox needed help and 'now'. "Damn…I need to carry my communicator more often." He muttered, looking around for a phone before remembering that Kurama only used his cell phone. Still listening to the water from the shower, he started looking around for the cell phone. First he looked on the nightstand and all he saw there was the charger. He then looked in the pile of bloody clothes on the floor, nope no luck. Deciding that it must be downstairs, he ran down looking through the living room with no luck there either. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw a briefcase and a stack of papers sitting on the dinette table and sure enough, the cell phone was sitting right there. He opened it quickly and listened to make sure the water was still running and also hoping the red head hadn't drowned while he dialed. As the phone started ringing, he noted the clock on the wall, it was midnight and he hoped someone would be up. The phone rang a few times before an old haggard voice answered.
"This better be good."
"Genkai….Kurama needs your help." He blundered out, now panicking because he could no longer hear any water from upstairs.
"Yusuke is that you?" Genkai said, taken a little off guard. Her student never called her by her name.
"Yeah and Kurama was hurt tonight. He says he's okay, but he looks to be running a fever and he looks pale and…." Yusuke rambled and suddenly realizing he could take the phone with him, headed out of the kitchen.
"I'll be over in a few minutes, make sure the door's unlocked." She said.
The raven haired had just made it to the stairs and immediately turned to make sure the door was unlocked. Closing the phone, he went up the stairs two at a time. The bathroom door was opened and the remaining steam from the shower was coming out to the small landing. He turned, stepping into the bedroom to see Kurama laying on the floor faced down. Moving quickly, he picked the red head up and placed him on the bed, grabbing the blue sheets to cover the unconscious form. He felt his forehead and was right, the guy was burning up and the hot shower probably had not helped, that was the reason why he had collapsed. Pulling the sheet down, he was studying the wounds when Genkai showed up, carrying a small doctor's type bag.
"Start from the beginning." She said as she made her way over to inspect the wounds.
Yusuke started the tale. "He was attacked by a demon that had really long yellow claws. He seemed fine at first, but as we were walking here, he started to get sick." He stood back to allow Genkai closer to the patient.
She started healing the wounds so the only thing that showed was a pink puffy area of skin at the cut sites. When she was done, she looked over to Yusuke and said. "I healed his wounds, but we have a bigger problem that has to be dealt with. The claws were tipped with poison."
End Chapter 6