Chapter Twenty-One: Last Day on Earth

"So that's it," Yusuke finished. As he stood with his arms on the railing of the bridge, looking out at the water passing below him, he could feel Keiko's impatient frustration brimming behind him. He knew she didn't like the idea of him going into dangerous terrain, and he knew she especially hated the thought of being left behind to worry. "We leave for Makai this afternoon. Hiei, Kuwabara, and I should hopefully be back in a few weeks, tops. If things go well...maybe just one or two."

"What about Kurama?" Kieko was perceptive as always. It was one of those traits Yusuke at the same time admired and feared about her. It was always so hard to get things past her.

Yusuke sighed, reaching for an answer. "Kurama's going to be staying home from this one. He...well, he doesn't want to disappear for so long. His mother nearly worried herself to death during the Dark Tournament and he doesn't want to do that to her again." He was careful not to look back at Keiko as he spoke. He knew the truth was written on his face, and he didn't want her to see it.

"Uh-huh," Keiko's eyes narrowed as her suspicion grew. She knew there was something he was not telling her, and she was afraid for what it could mean. "And I suppose this has absolutely nothing to do with me, right? This isn't about the nightmares I've been having."

"Keiko..." Yusuke slowly turned back to face her. He could feel her eyes boring holes in his soul, and he knew she wouldn't let this go until she got a real answer. "Keiko, listen to me. There's nothing to worry about, okay? We'll be back in a couple of weeks, and we can talk about it then."

"No, Yusuke," Keiko started to fume. "I want to talk about it now. What's happening to me? Why are you guys dancing around me? Why can't I come to group meetings anymore? And why are you running off to Makai while leaving Kurama here to watch me? What is going on?"

"Keiko..." Yusuke strained his voice, but he knew she wouldn't be happy without an answer. But what could he tell her? He didn't even HAVE the answer she was looking for. "Look, Keiko, I'm leaving Kurama here because of my last five big adventures, your life has been put in danger in three of them. I'm not looking to repeat that, okay?" Hiei, Suzaku, Toguro, all had endangered Keiko to get what they wanted of Yusuke. He wasn't going to let Yoshi Tsarakino do the same. "Trust me, Keiko. It's going to be fine."

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"Hiei! Hold on a second!" The black-robed figure walked silently down the hall, not even hesitating at the voice behind him. There was too much on his mind to care for the pleasantries of conversation, and he certainly didn't want to spend his last moments in Reikai listening to a fawning dove.

The blue-haired maiden ran down the hall, trying to catch up with her dark-haired love. "Dammit, Hiei, would it kill you to show a little emotion every now and then?" He could hear the worry in her voice, but it only hardened his resolve. He had no time for this, and he was irritable enough as it was already.

He stopped, however reluctantly, and turned back to face her. The bandana wrapped around his forehead concealed his Jagan, but she knew just from looking how it was staring into her soul. It was something she had grown accustomed to. But what she didn't know was where the look in his other two eyes had come from; there were bags under each, and though his fierce facade gave off a strong feeling of power, she could see the weariness in his eyes the moment she looked into them.

"Botan, please," Hiei began, and Botan could hear a slight fatigue in his voice, "I have to speak to Koenma. I want to know whose incredibly stupid idea it was to leave Kurama behind, and take the idiot with us."

"Actually," Botan took a step back, and Hiei could see the hurt she was trying to conceal on her face. "That was mine." Great. He'd been seeing her for, what? Two days? And already his foot had landed in his mouth. Yusuke should have warned him about that part.

But the fact remained that it was a dumb idea. He wasn't going to take that back, and he certainly wasn't going to back down. His pride demanded that he push forward. "What compelled you to subject us to that idiot's presence?"

"Well," Botan's lip curled up into a pout, and Hiei realized this was going to be more difficult than he had hoped. "I just thought...you know...if something really bad happens, and someone goes after Keiko...I just thought Kurama would be a better pick to have to fight it alone than Kuwabara. No offense to Kuwabara, but...after the tournament, I think I trust Kurama to take care of himself better."

Hiei was speechless after hearing those words. He hadn't actually considered that particular angle; he'd been more fixated on the fact that he was going to be stuck with Kuwabara in Makai. But when she put it like that, he realized, "...that's not actually a bad idea." He realized this was a mistake the moment the words were out of his mouth, but it was too late.

Botan's head was already up high, and he could see her ego growing like a parade balloon down on the human world. "See? I always think these things through!"

"Yeah. Great." Hiei turned and started walking away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I still need to speak with Koenma about what part of Makai we'll be visiting."

"Hiei!" Botan wasn't going to let him go that easily. "Hold on a minute! We still have until this afternoon, and you haven't even spoken to me once all day!"

"We just talked," Hiei sighed. "We had our talk, now I really need to–"

"Dammit, Hiei!" Botan was starting to get frustrated. "What is wrong with you today? Why are you trying to push me away like this? And where were you last night!"

Hiei stopped moving at that last part, slowly turning back to face Botan. "What are you talking about?"

"I went by your tree," there was a hint of pain and a definite sound of confusion in Botan's voice. "The one you like to sleep in, down in Ningenkai. You weren't there. I looked all over the forest for you. Where were you?"

"That's not important," Hiei started back towards Koenma's office. He was too tired to carry on this talk; he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep all night. "Just...go back to your room and get some rest. Don't worry about me. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Hiei!" Botan yelled after him, but she didn't get so much as a shrug in response. All she could do was watch him walk away. He was tired, she could tell. Tired enough to make him irritable. But where had he been last night? That was starting to make her worry.

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"Man, it's going to be WEIRD not having you around!" Kuwabara was still trying to adjust to the plan they had established. Kurama would be staying behind to watch over Keiko, to keep an eye on her if the nightmares intensified. This was not happy news for Kuwabara, as it meant being alone with Yusuke and Hiei.

"I know," Kurama spoke with a smile. Kuwabara was seated at his computer as they spoke, while Kurama took the bed. While Yusuke said his goodbyes to Keiko and Hiei was off...well, being Hiei, Kuwabara just appreciated having someone to kill time with. "It will be different, I'll give you that. But I'm sure Koenma will keep me updated on your progress. Just be sure and finish up fast; I would like to avoid being cornered by an angry Keiko over this, when she inevitably figures us out."

"Keiko?" Kuwabara asked. "I dunno, she probably won't know what we're up. I mean...I don't even know what we're up to."

"She's a smart girl," Kurama sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's already started to wonder about us."

"I don't know," Kuwabara admitted. "Maybe you're right. Dad always used to tell me to watch out for smart girls, because they don't know how to be wrong. Never did figure out what he meant by that."

Something in the reminiscent tone Kuwabara used piqued Kurama's curiosity. It brought to mind a question he had always wondered about his friend, but never had the opportunity or opening to ask. "Whatever happened to your parents, anyway?" It was something that had whirled through his mind repeatedly in the time he'd known him. "I've been over here countless times; we all have. Both day and night. But I've never seen them."

Kuwabara shrugged his shoulders. "They're off on some stupid business trip. Been gone for two years. I haven't heard from them since they left, but my sister talks to them every now and then on the phone. And they send us money. She usually gets it when she goes to get the mail." Kuwabara tried to smile, but settled for a sigh instead. "It's mostly been just the two of us."

Kurama raised an eyebrow, but decided to drop it. There was something strange going on here, but he knew there was no sense in pressing it. "That...must be difficult." He offered, in place of a request for more information. As much as he enjoyed to know things, some topics were simply too sensitive to push too far, especially among friends.

"Yeah, it's been hard on both of us," Kuwabara admitted. "But my sister's doing great! It'd be a lot harder if she wasn't such a great student."

"Shizuru?" Kurama asked. Now he was even more confused. Many words came to mind when he considered Shizuru Kuwabara, but "great student" was not one of them.

"Yeah," Kuwabara nodded. "Sometimes she stays at that school she goes to until really late at night. I guess she must be studying or something. She comes home tired and worn out every now and then, and come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen her actually doing homework. She must be a straight-A student or something."

"Yes," Kurama spoke slowly, starting to piece things together. "...or something is right. Before another word could be spoken, the door slammed open. Shizuru stood in the doorway, with that angry look on her face that everyone had long since become accustomed to. A cigarette rested in her mouth as she stepped into the room. Kurama opened his mouth to speak, but a glare from Shizuru shut him up fast. She was in a spectacularly foul mood.

Kuwabara noticed the tension between Shizuru and Kurama, but before he could speak, a wad of bills was shoved in front of his face. "Here," Shizuru grumbled, after lifting the cigarette from her mouth with her left hand. "Mom and dad sent us some money. I don't know what they eat in that demon place you're going to, but I suggest you buy food before you go, because you probably don't want to find out."

Taking the money from Shizuru's hand, Kuwabara smiled. "Thanks, sis!" His eyes glazed over as he looked over the wad of cash; he had never seen so much yen before in his life.

Kurama's eyes ran up to Shizuru as she stood there, but her attention was focused solely on her baby brother. "And so help me, if you get killed in that stupid place, there is no spirit world or afterlife that can protect you from me. Understand?" There was a snarl in her voice as she spoke, one that Kurama had never fully understood before. She was always so harsh to her brother; it never really made sense to him.

Kuwabara nodded his head quickly, and Shizuru turned and stormed back out. Mumbling under her breath as she went, she closed the door quickly behind her with a slam. Her words caught Kurama's attention, however; the hearing of a fox was in many ways superior to that of a human. And as he watched her go, he felt himself beginning to understand.

"Man, what was that about?" Kuwabara grumbled. "She was looking at you like you were some kinda goblin or something."

"That...it was nothing," Kurama spoke softly. He knew she was still upset about the other day, when he had walked in on her coming out of the shower. That was probably why she hadn't even spoken a word to him. But there were more important things on his mind right now. The mystery of the Kuwabara family was starting to unravel for him, but the more he learned, the less he wanted to know. As he sat on the bed, his mind repeatedly pondered the words Kuwabara had said. And he could feel a reluctant clarity running over the words Shizuru had spoken as she stepped out the door.

"Last thing I need is to lose another one."

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Botan fell back onto her bed with a sigh of exasperation. She had tried to track down Hiei again, but to no avail. He just didn't want to be there with her, she guessed. Trying to fight back tears that threatened to well up, she tried instead to turn her mind to other questions. Where had Hiei been last night? And why was he so tired this afternoon?

The boys had already left by this point. She had seen them off from Koenma's office. They had to be in Makai by now, which meant Hiei was gone. She hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to him; she'd been too torn up by his coldness before.

"Hiei..." her eyes began to close, and she felt as if she would cry. She tried to fight back the sadness that was threatening to grow, but she couldn't feel anything other than the despair that Hiei's coldness had given her. What if it was a lie? What if he really didn't care? And where had he–

"OW!" She stubbed her left side into something as she tried to roll over in her bed. Something hard had jammed into her, and while the distraction was appreciated, the pain was not. In an angry blur, she threw the covers off her bed, demanding with her eyes to know what had just–

...was that...no, it couldn't be. Her eyes fell on the piece of wood laying in her bed, placed where she would be certain to find it. But this couldn't be right, she had lost it. She had lost it where no one could find it. Her precious oar had fallen into the swamp, it was gone for good, she'd thought.

Maybe it was another one, a different oar...she turned it over in her hands, trying to figure it out. But no, there was her name, engraved just above the base of the flat chunk in tiny, gold script. This was her oar, the one she'd grown to love like a second arm in the time since she'd become a grim reaper. But how?

The oar had fallen into the swamp. It had been gone, and the Forbidden Swamp of Makai was constantly shifting and changing. Not even considering the creatures that lurk through that horrible place, the murky waters could have moved it anywhere. And that stupid swamp was at least three miles across; it would have taken all night to–

All night. She remembered the weary look in his eyes. The tired, irritable attitude he had spoken to her with. She remembered her own question, where had he been last night. And as she looked down at her favorite oar resting in her hands, cleaned and polished for her, she felt the tears starting to return to her eyes. The despair had left, and now she was left with a tingle running through her heart. She sighed, feeling a smile starting to grow. "Oh, Hiei. What am I going to do with you?"

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"What's the word?" The demon known as Kitrone rested in a tree. Her sharp claws gripped the wood as she sat pressed against the main body, her right leg sitting atop her left on the lofty branch. "They take the bait yet or not?"

"Yes," the woman below her grinned. "They're going for it now. Last I heard, the idiot detective, his pet fool, and the demon traitor have just gotten themselves together at the hole into Makai. It won't be long now, and then you can put your plan into fruition."

"Very good," Kitrone smiled, as she looked over her left claw. The index fingernail was growing too long. She'd have to take care of that. "Lord Tsarakino will be very pleased to hear this. But what about Kurama? He's not going with them?"

"No," the raven-haired woman sighed. "Kurama has elected to stay behind. I believe they may suspect something, but I can't say for certain just what. Koenma has chosen not to entrust me with that knowledge, of course. But don't worry. Kurama should be a minor oversight for one such as your master. I was very impressed to hear of his...unique talents."

"As you well should be," a voice spoke from behind the woman. Whirling around in surprise, she found herself coming face to face with a girl, only eleven years old. The girl was dressed in a blue school uniform; she looked as though she had just come straight from an elementary school. "Sorry for the embarrassing child, but I didn't have much to pick from that was within walking distance. Do me a favor and try a meadow closer to the city next time."

The woman took a moment, looking down at the girl, before she finally realized just what the little girl was talking about. "Oh...you must be Lord Tsarakino! I've heard so much about you. I guess it's true what everyone's saying about you, isn't it? You jump from body to body? The whole palace is in an uproar over that stunt you pulled during the ogre rebellion."

The girl's eyes glowed a flash of green suddenly, and before the woman realized what was happening, she felt something touching her mind. Her own eyes flashed the same green glow, and the little girl suddenly screamed in terror. But the sound was cut short fast, when the demon Kitrone fell from the tree and wrapped a claw over the girl's mouth. "Sorry, little one, but I can't have you alerting anyone nearby. Don't worry, Yoshi's just taking a short trip. He'll be back soon enough."

The woman fell to her knees, grabbing at her head, but it did her no good. Yoshi was inside her body, inside her mind, clawing and scratching through every piece of information he could find inside her. She knew they would be testing her, to find where her loyalties lie, but she hadn't realized it would be this...severe. Yoshi was literally reading her thoughts and motives, picking his way through her brain...there was no deceiving a test like this. She knew, if she had come with deception in mind, she would not be walking away from this. Fortunately for her, the request was genuine. Yoshi could see that well enough as he read through her memories. There was no desire for betrayal in her mind.

Soon, the presence faded, and the little girl's eyes flashed green again. Kitrone released her once Yoshi was back in control, and he rubbed her throat for a moment to try and clear it. "Stupid little girl," he muttered through her voice. "Now I have to suffer her stupid dry throat."

The woman started to pick herself up off the ground, her mind still reeling from what had happened. She couldn't even bring herself to speak; Yoshi had definitely done a number over on her. Now she understood what had left Botan so thoroughly traumatized; that kind of forced intrusion on a woman as independent as her, without anything to gain from it as this woman had, must have been terrible.

"So how is it?" Kitrone asked. "Does she pass? Or do I gut this one too, like the other idiots who tried to trick us."

"No," Yoshi smiled with the little girl's lips. "No, this one gets to stay. In fact, I think I might even have a use for her. She's close enough to the palace that she can get me information, and she may come in handy if we ever need a spirit to play against Koenma. And she does hate that idiot toddler, doesn't she?" His question was posed more towards the woman than Kitrone.

"Yes, sir," the woman nodded her head. "That stupid child simply doesn't give me the respect I deserve. He's too busy coddling to his gang of hoodlums to give a damn about anyone else in the palace."

Yoshi smiled when he heard the woman's anger. He knew she would definitely come in handy, even if she was needlessly blunt about the way she handled things. "Very good," he smiled. "This should be the start of a beautiful relationship. Welcome to Tomorrow, Megumi."