Chapter 8: Kidnapped

"Stupid step brother," Suichi grumbled as he descended the stairs. He didn't look where he was going, and he unintentially ran straight into his dad, who had just come home from work. "Oops, sorry!" Suichi said as his dad brushed off his suit. Then, Suichi had an idea. "Hey, Dad, I thought I should let you know, Suuichi is keeping a secret from the rest of us! But, I don't know what it is, but he said that Step-Mom knows."

"Ok, Suichi" he replied, "I'll ask him about it, now you go run along with your friend," he said as the boys took off in the opposite direction.

"Suuichi," Kazuya said as he knocked on Kurama's door, "Suichi said that you had something that you needed to share with the rest of the family."

The door opened slightly, then all the way. Four pairs of eyes stared down Kazuya, who tried to hide the shivers that crept down his spine at the looks of some of the boys. "There is nothing to say," said Kurama, calmly, "It concerns no one…" he tried to say more, but was stopped dead in his tracks when the window opened, catching everyone off guard.

"Hey boys, what's going on?" asked the intruder—Botan. She dematerialized her oar. Seeing the strange looks on the faces of the boys, she asked, "Did I interrupt something?"

"Of course not, Botan," Kurama said as he approached his girlfriend, "We were just trying to convince my step-dad that nothing of importance was happening when you came in on your oar."

"Oops," she said, still confused a little. "Well, you might as well tell him," she said determinedly.

Half an hour later, Kazuya walked out of the room, his eyes as big as saucers. "Dad, did you find anything out?" asked Suichi innocently.

"I'm going to go lay down," Kazuya said in a sort of trance.

"That was weird," Suichi said as an afterthought as his dad walked away to the couch, then seemed to pass out. The door bell rang.

"Suichi, could you go get that?" Shiori asked, assuming that it was his friend's mom.

He opened the door, his friend next to him, and he knew that it was not his friend's mom. A shadowy figure grabbed the two boys, and before they could utter a sound, they were hit in the back of the neck, causing them to pass out.

"Did you feel that?" Kuwabara asked as he felt something weird.

"Oh, no, Suichi…" Kurama said as he ran out of the room, the rest of the Tantei in tow. They passed a confused Shiori and a passed out Kazuya, but none of them stopped their trek out to find the lost boys. Botan materialized her oar as Hiei took the lead. Kuwabara barely kept up with the fast pace chase.

Seconds after they no longer could see the house, they saw a trench coated figure turn around a corner. They took this as a hint, and continued to follow the figure down the alley. After they got the figure cornered, they began to ask it questions.

"Whom do you work for?" Yusuke asked.

"That is none of your business!" the figure said, the voice obviously that of a girl.

"Kidnapping innocent little boys is against the law!" argued Kuwabara, knowing that was all he was good for in this fight, since it was against a girl, "Now show yourself!"

"I don't have to!" She took out a knife and started grazing the boys's necks. "Now, you will listen to what I say, and if you don't, then I will kill these boys slowly. Do you understand that?" she asked menacingly.

"Say what you wish," Kurama said dryly.

"OK. I want you all to recall the allegations against Madame Franney, and bring her back to the business! And I order you to bring her back now!"

"Is that all?" asked Yusuke, "And why would you want to have a mind controlling demon around?"

"She was the only piano teacher that I have ever had that has let me go to my full potential, and now that she is gone, I cannot practice, because it reminds me too much of having to lose her! So, I want her back now, and if I don't get her back now, then I will have to force you to get her back, so that I can have my lessons like I used to!"

"You know what, you really are a freak!" said Yusuke, "She was trying to control the world through her teaching. If we didn't stop her, then she would have controlled the world, and made them into mindless slaves. Besides, she was a demon, and you don't want to have to deal with her, when she will try to take advantage of you and everyone else."

Sometime during the argument, Suichi woke up unexpectedly, and he heard the argument before his eyes worked. The sight of his brother and his friends made him think of heroes. He didn't know what they were talking about, but he had a hunch that whatever they were doing was very important, and they needed to get it done, or else he would be kidnapped.

"Suuichi, what is going on?" he asked, trying to get his bearings straight, "Did you come to rescue me? What are you rescuing me from?" he tried to ask before the girl gagged him with a bandana.

"That outta shut you up! Now, back to business. If you don't return Madame Franney back to her position, you will have to watch me kill this boy!" she exclaimed as she brought a sharp knife into view.

"Dm doe hat moo mee" tried to say Suichi, but it was to no avail. No one could understand the simple words 'Don't do that to me.'

The girl almost cut him, but Hiei was faster than she, and he knocked away the knife. In the confusion that flowed over the girl, she lost the grip on the boys, and Yusuke carried them to safety as Hiei roughed the girl up a little. Kuwabara couldn't stand to watch the fight, so he left with Yusuke to take the boys back. Kurama walked to the park, to collect his thoughts. Botan prepared to take the girl before human authorities.

"What was that back there?" asked Suichi when Yusuke took his gag off.

"I'm sure that you will know soon, but now really isn't the time to talk about it," he replied as he concentrated on taking the boys home. Kurama owed him a few explanations, but they knew that they would be dealt with soon.

THE END

I know, an anticlimactic ending to the story. I will post ONE epilogue, and that it IT for this story! I have been putting off the end, and I am giving up on procrastinating. The epilogue will just be in summary form.

Truthfully, this has gone on a little longer than I expected it to go. I naturally write longer pieces, and I have had a hard time slowing this one down.

As for the cliffhanger ending, I have to stop here, because I might go off on a few more tangents, and that would not be very good for the length of the story. This is my only finished mutichaptered story!

Sorry about the length of this chapter!

Look out for the epilogue! It will be up very soon!