Black and Blue

by Liz Inc

[EDIT] He had found her, he had loved her, and he had lost her. But due to fate's merciful and mysterious ways, he inexplicably manages to cross paths with her once more. The only problem is that he's not exactly the same 'demon' he used to be...[KurBo]

5. Stupid Fox

See? I told you I wasn't dead! :-)

Disclaimer: Uh…no hablo ingles! O.o

oooOOOooo

Chapter 5: Stupid Fox

Happiness.

Excitement.

Laughter.

Love.

Although these feelings, expressions, and emotions were presumably simple and insignificant pleasures—ones that both humans and demons alike had the capacity to experience—they had always felt unattainable to the young deity. After all, she had been alone for so long—12 years to be exact. Well…not completely alone. She did have Callie—a life-long companion of her late mother—but there was only so much that the shape-shifting feline could provide for her; only so much of her crumbling heart that she could mend.

For, aside from her heart-aching woes, there was this horrible sense of foreboding that enveloped her soul like a thick sheet of tangible darkness. In her most terrifying nightmares, this boundless shadow espoused the form of a jet-black raven with blood-red eyes and a lust for her blood; in reality, it was merely a reminder that she would be haunted by unsettling memories until the day she died.

That is, unless she managed to vanquish their source—silence her screaming subconscious, evade the nightmares that clawed away at her sanity, rent though the darkness—make the tangible intangible.

However…

At the given moment, hunting down Karasu was the least of her worries, for a certain silver-haired kitsune was too busy clouding her every thought to make space for anything else. After all, he was the one that would ultimately restore the missing pieces necessary to rebuild her shattered heart; or, at least that's what she had thought—no. It's what he had made her come to believe— tricked her into thinking. Then again, a fiery, breathtaking kiss never lies, does it? So then what was she to believe?

Him?

Or that kiss?

He had run off before; numerous times in fact. But each of those excursions never took more then one, two days tops. And he'd always return with something he couldn't have possibly bought with currency of any sorts. He was a thief and always would be, but she had grown to accept that fact. Though, it wasn't because most of the spoils he brought back were for her. Absolutely not. That would be absurd, as flattering as it may have been.

But here she was, sitting atop a smooth rock in the midst of a small, turquoise-hued stream, alone. It had been almost a year since he had left her in that very spot; since he had sworn that his little expedition would take no more than half a week. She couldn't sense him. She couldn't hear him. And she sure as hell hadn't seen him.

There was just…nothing.

Nothing at all.

It was only after that long and dreadful year had come to a close that a horrible realization dawned upon her: one that she had been struggling to avoid ever since he had released her hand and sped off into the distance with that blasted bat demon…

He was never going to return. He had left her, taking the pieces of her heart that he had mended along with him.

And she was alone.

Again.

Forever.

oooOOOooo

Her eyes widened as she felt a warm hand gently touch the small of her back. She looked over at the boy walking next to her as he re-pocketed said appendage, green eyes facing forward, face stoic and unreadable.

"What?" she snapped, eyes narrowing.

Kurama shifted his gaze in her direction for a brief moment as he asked: "Is something the matter?"

Botan shot him a weird look, even though his eyes were no longer directed at her, but said nothing. She remained silent for a while, eyes watching the passing ground, the wet flares of her jeans sloshing underneath her heels. Finally, she heard herself respond: "No."

The red-haired kitsune released a heavy puff of air through his nose, lips inwardly twitching upward into an amused smirk. Still the same, crappy liar…"Well, I don't believe you."

The blue-haired deity snorted. "Like I care."

And stubborn. Incredibly so. "Well, I understand if you do not wish to talk about it now, but just know that I'm willing to listen when you're ready to speak."

Botan rolled her eyes. "Of course you are."

Kurama raised a brow at the girl's sudden remark, shifting his eyes in her direction once more. "What do you mean by that?"

The girl scoffed and shook her head. "Oh nothing." She paused for a moment to yawn. "Just admiring the fact that you men always seem to think you know everything, when in reality you know nothing more than the stupid assumptions you make."

The kitsune frowned, returning his gaze to the front. "You're right. Please forgive me for my rudeness."

She grunted, but said nothing more.

He knew something was bothering her; he could see it in her eyes. However, the last thing he wanted to do was frustrate her into silence, so he politely cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Tell me: what do you enjoy most about Ningenkai? From what I've heard, you and your friend seem to spend a considerable amount time here."

She didn't respond right away, but when she did, her answer somewhat surprised him: "The rain."

"The rain?"

"Yes."

"May I ask why?"

Botan shot him a quick, uninterested look and muttered: "No…but since you already did, I suppose I could humor you—just this once." She threw back her head and gazed longingly at the darkened, night sky swirling with gloomy, grey storm clouds. "For the most part, it seems to fall as it pleases." She paused, her peaceful expression faltering. "And that means…it doesn't contain the unsolicited memories of those that I wish so hard to forget. It's untaintedIt's pure. It's…free."

And with that, she grew silent.

It had been the most the despondent girl had said to him all day…

How ironic.

They walked in silence for the next few blocks, though it was not an uncomfortable one. The blue-haired deity seemed to be off in her own little world, seething quietly about who knows what, while he was calmly trying to discern the most proficient way to deal with his current identity crisis. Luckily, he didn't have to think about it for long because after about ten minutes of silence, a familiar, high-pitched scream reached their ears…

And it wasn't a happy one.

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF ME, YOU REPULSIVE PAIR OF MEAT-SACKS!"

In response to the sudden outburst, Botan, who seemed to have suddenly awoken from her angry stupor, released a small puff of air through her nose while mumbling a soft "hn."

He merely sighed.

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO DO! I WAS ALREADY VIOLATED ONCE BY THAT DISGUSTING, UNCOUTH OGRE, SO I'D GREATLY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU'D COMPLETELY REFRAIN FROM TOUCHING ME ALTOGETHER! THIS IS NOTHING NEW! I BLEED ALL THE TIME!"

"You know, if I didn't know any better," Botan began, lips curving into a small smirk, "I'd say that Callie wasn't very fond of your spiky-haired friend." She then paused for a moment, expression hardening and eyes darkening as she added: "I wonder why that could be."

Kurama sighed. "I know that Hiei's actions may seem reckless and imprudent, but trust me when I say that that's just his way of dealing with things—"

"I HAVE FOUR, FREAKING LEGS, YOU BRAINLESS PILES OF DUNG! THAT MEANS I CAN WALK JUST FINE BY MY GODDAMN SELF! I DO HAVE MY DIGNITY TO MAINTAIN YOU KNOW!"

Botan halted in mid-walk, Kurama quickly following suit. When she didn't say anything right away, he said: "He didn't mean any—"

"No," she replied sharply, heat rising to her cheeks. "No, I think he did." When he attempted to reply, her body stiffened, expression hardened, and eyes narrowed, causing him to frown.

"Botan…"

"Leave me alone," she whispered, her voice beginning to quiver. "Just…leave me alone." She then abruptly turned on her heels, threw back her hood, and ran off in the direction that the feline had been screeching, long hair fluttering behind her. Kurama respectfully gave her the distance she needed before heading after her. Yet as he followed, he couldn't help but thinking—repeating, over and over again until his brain felt numb…

Nice going, you stupid fox.

Nice going.

oooOOOooo

Infuriating.

That boy was absolutely infuriating.

She didn't care how attractive, sensitive, and patient he was—no, seemed. His irksome impassivity towards everything made up for that. Besides, if there was one lesson she had learned over the course of her pathetic-excuse-for-a-life, it was that pretty boys could not be trusted.

They were deceivers to the core.

But seriously, what the hell was wrong with him? Conversing with her like they were old friends, pretending like he understood how she was feeling—defending that ungrateful sonuva bitch! She had never, in all her life, felt so compelled to hate someone before she had gotten the chance to know them.

Never.

Botan ran until her vision blurred, her legs ached, and her stomach churned, only stopping when she collided with the lithe form of the spirit detective, who had apparently braced himself for the impact because he barely moved an inch. He then grabbed her gently by the shoulders and said: "Hey, careful there. Are you alright?"

She was crying. She knew she was. She couldn't exactly remember when she had started, but it must have been sometime within the past five minutes or so because she could feel the hot, stinging tears descending her cheeks in warm, salty drops. She gazed up at the sky for a brief moment and grinned, earning an odd look from the dark-haired detective.

"Botan?" he repeated softly.

She lowered her amethyst gaze to meet his brown one, a distant smile gracing her lips. "Don't you see? It isn't raining."

Yusuke shot his orange-haired partner a nervous look; he mirrored it. Callie, on the other hand, was staring furiously off into the distance, arms crossed, lips pursed, and eyes narrowed. It almost looked as if her face was in the midst of transforming, for it looked a bit more furry, fanged, and intimidating than usual.

"Botan," Yusuke repeated, steadying the deity's swaying body with the help of Kuwabara, who had stepped up beside him to grab an arm. "Are you okay?"

They weren't going to stop asking until she answered them—were they?

'Time to pull yourself together, 'ol girl,' she quietly told herself. 'You can deal with the surplus of despondence later…'

Yanking her arms out of either of their grips, she wiped her palms across her eyes, took in a deep breath, and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." She then directed her attention towards the orange-haired fighter, her expression darkening. "I'm assuming that you're Kuwabara: the one that likes to piss off my cat."

Kuwabara seemed to have completely missed the latter part of her comment because he quickly dropped to his knees, grabbed her by the hands, put on the most charming expression he could muster, and replied: "Why, yes. Wes I am. It's a…" He paused, bringing her right hand to his mouth, but she quickly snatched it away before he could peck it. He continued regardless: "pleasure to meet you, my dear."

Callie, who seemed to have come back into reality, hissed. "See? There you go with the touching thing again. What is it with you mortal men and touching? I just don't understand!" She quickly transformed into a large, seething caracal and stepped in-between the two teens and her life-long companion, causing Kuwabara to stumble back in surprise.

Botan merely sighed, examining her bloodied friend to ensure that her wounds weren't too severe. "Lay off of them, will you? I think you've put them through quite enough for one day." Her mouth twitched as she added: "Although, I'm not going to lie; I think I like this one the most out of the four."

It was kind of weird to see a caracal look…offended. Probably because it wasn't exactly plausible, considering felines didn't generally contort their faces. But Callie wasn't you're average, everyday wildcat, so surprises were to be expected. "You've GOT to be kidding me."

Yusuke eyed her strangely. "Yeah. I think I'll have to second that. I mean, this is Kuwabara we're talking about."

Botan rolled her eyes and shook her head, but said nothing to defend her case.

Kuwabara, on the other hand, was more than willing to speak up, for he quickly jumped to his feet, took on a silly heroic pose, and exclaimed: "See? I told you that ladies dig sensitive men!"

Callie scoffed. "Whatever. Just as long as you're not that INSIDIOUS, three-eyed barbarian." She paused, sitting neatly next to her Mistress. "In that case, I suppose I really don't care."

"So Botan," Yusuke began in an effort to ease the literal tension between them, but also as a way to change the disturbing topic. "Is everything alright between you and Prince Almighty?" He gave her one of his trademark smirks, but it quickly faded once he noticed that she wasn't looking at him, but rather glaring profusely at the incoming redhead.

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, it's lovely. Just lovely." She disdainfully tore her gaze from the silent and expressionless newcomer to place it briefly on the spirit detective. "Now if you'll excuse me, Callie and I will be going."

"YES!" the huge feline screeched, jumping up into the air and reverting into her human form as she did so. "Thank the freaking Lord—er—I mean, uh…thank goodness!" She shot her companion a sheepish grin, who merely rolled her eyes in response.

"But…" Kuwabara interjected, "what about that little talking-baby-dude? Won't he—"

"My discussion with Koenma is over. I have nothing more to say to him for today, tomorrow, or the next week for that matter. Now if you don't mind, I really must be going." She sent Callie a knowing glance, who made a small "eep!" in response and quickly transformed into a small, black cat. Botan raised a brow and nudged her head towards the girl's newly-formed paws. "You sure those claws of yours are going to hold this time?"

The feline furiously nodded her head, which was…also a rather peculiar sight: "Don't worry! This time, they will! I SWEAR!"

Kuwabara clasped his hands together and sighed. "Oh, she's so cute! Isn't she cute Ura—" He prudently stopped himself when he noticed that the spirit detective was giving him a weird look. "(cough) I mean…hey look. She turned into a kitten…again. Geeze, couldn't she think of something a little bit more, oh I don't know…original?" He tried to uphold an indifferent expression. Really, he did. One could tell by way his right eye was painfully twitching. But alas, after about five seconds of trying, his expression faltered and returned to its normal, dramatized state.

Callie hissed. "Watch it, you despicable tub of LARD!" When her affronter continued to look at her adorningly rather than distressingly, she continued: "Don't you think for ONE moment that just because I'm small, I can't slice your head off! Because I can! I really—"

"Shut up, Callie and get the hell in," the seething deity snapped, pointing to her pocket.

The feline's mouth immediately shut as she proceeded to follow orders. "Yes m'am."

"So cute…" Kuwabara mumbled softly, his expression still the same. "So incredibly cute…"

Yusuke merely shook his head and turned towards the blue-haired deity who now had a small lump hidden in the front pocket of her sweatshirt. "I guess we'll see you later then."

"Yeah," she droned. "Later."

And with that, she was gone.

"Hey," Yusuke began, tearing his eyes from spot that she had disappeared from to place them upon the silent redhead. "Is everything alright? She seemed a little…off just now." When Kurama didn't reply or meet his gaze, his eyes widened. "Did you…you didn't tell her did you?"

"No," came his curt reply. "I haven't told her anything."

Yusuke wasn't satisfied. "Well then why was she—"

"I foolishly tried to defend Hiei's rash actions against Callie and herself. She did not…appreciate it." When she spirit detective didn't respond, he added: "I will see you two later as well. I must be getting home now."

Yusuke opened his mouth to protest, but quickly stopped himself and merely nodded in response. Kuwabara did the same. When he was gone, the two teens headed off towards their respected homes.

"Hey Urameshi."

The dark haired boy raised a brow and shifted his eyes in his friend's direction. "Yeah?"

"What didn't Kurama tell her?"

Yusuke sighed and shook his head. "It's a long story. And frankly, I'm too damn tired to explain it to you at the moment."

Kuwabara frowned. "Oh yeah. In other words, you're never going to tell me."

"Wow! You catch on fast!" The spirit detective yanked his hands from his pockets to applaud, earning a nasty glare from the orange-haired teen walking beside him.

"Oh shut up. I so knew you were going to say that."

"Therefore, you set yourself up for that entirely."

"I thought I told you to shut up!"

"Oh, you did? I'm sorry. I must have missed that."

"Whatever."

They walked in silence for a few moments before Kuwabara spoke up again: "Do you really think Koenma is going to make us go after that guy and his creepy brother?"

Yusuke's relaxed expression flickered for a moment, but he quickly masked it over with indifference and shrugged. "I dunno. But if we do, I sure as hell hope we have those girls on our side. I mean, they even scare me."

Kuwabara nodded. "Yeah, I agree. Although, Callie can be pretty dang adorable when she's—" He quickly cut himself off as Yusuke shot him an annoyed glare. "Uh, I mean…yeah. We're gonna need all the help we can get to fight someone as crazy-tough as Toguro."

Yusuke, rolled his eyes, stretched his arms up behind his head, and yawned. "Yeah, that, and I sure as hell hope that damn toddler lets me get at least 24 hours of sleep before I have to lift another finger. I mean two missions in a row? That's a bit extreme, don't you think?"

"Heh. For you maybe—OW! Geeze, Urameshi! What the hell was…! No, you know what? Never mind. Don't answer that."

oooOOOooo

Callie stood at the far end of the balcony outside of Botan's small, second-level apartment, elbows resting on the edge of the railing, chin settled in her open palms, and fingers drumming subconsciously against either side of her face. She was gazing tiredly out at the dimly lit park below, hoping to catch sight of some small, unsuspecting animal that she could playfully stalk to keep her entertained, but her attention must have been waning because she just wasn't seeing anything.

Lethargy. She blamed it on lethargy.

While she may have been feeling crappy mentally, physically she felt great. Botan had managed to heal most of the gaping wounds that her regenerative skin had been unable to able mend on its own, so, had it not been for the exhaustion, she would have been ready and rearing to go. But she couldn't get to sleep. No yet, at least…

Another loud sob emanated from the open patio door behind her, causing her to sigh.

Poor Botan.

She had been sobbing underneath her covers for the past two hours now, mumbling incoherently about who knows what. The feline had sat next to her, stroking her hair throughout most of it, but after about an hour of receiving nothing but louder sobs in response to her soothing hushes, she decided that it would probably be best for her to just leave her be.

Botan did this every-so-often: curl up in her bed and cry where no one, but the feline, could see her. She would hold it in for days, weeks, sometimes months, and then, when the pain became too great for her fortified and callous shell to restrain, she hid away and let it all flow out. At first, she did it all the time, sometimes more than once a day. But as time passed, it gradually lessened to only a few times a month. While this may have seemed like an improvement, it was far from it. The girl hadn't healed; not at all. She had just learned how to contain and obscure her pain a lot more dexterously. Sometimes, the brunette herself had a hard time deciphering the false façade that the deity kept plastered upon her beautiful face.

It was sad to think, but the happy, bubbly, and fervent little girl she used to know and love was buried deep beneath this elder's one's cold and distant exterior, long forgotten and unwanted. That was why the feline swore that if she ever saw either one the bastards that made her blossoming Veela wilt into the despondent heap she was today…

She would kill them.

It was that simple.

As far as this evening was concerned, Callie wasn't quite sure what had happened to cause Botan's mood to shift so drastically in such a short period of time, but she was pretty damn sure that it had something to do with that peculiar pretty-boy, Kurama. Koenma pissed Botan off a lot, sure, but never to tears. Her companion had learned to cope with the toddler's incessant prattling and immature actions years ago. As for those two mortal kids, while they may have been a little bit too touchy-feely, immature, and irrational for her taste, overall, they really weren't all that bad. Seriously, if anyone could put up with her screaming for more than ten minutes at a time, they were alright in her book.

Oh, and that three-eyed asshole was her problem to deal with, not Botan's. So all that really left was Kurama: the quiet, impassive, and polite redhead whose true power and purpose had yet to be revealed.

As far as she knew, the boy had remained behind, in Reikai, to escort the girl back down to Ningenkai. Intentional or not, it gave him plenty of time to cause some serious damage. In a way, it disappointed her because Kurama was the last member of that stupid spirit squad she thought would reveal himself to be an asshole at heart. On the other hand, it also meant she lacked good judgment in character, and while that may have been somewhat true (she had her met her fair share of deceivers) this mistake just made her feel plain stupid.

Was there something more to him than met the eye? Cause on the outside, he was merely a handsome boy with a polite demeanor and kind eyes. But his spiritual energy was too ancient and refined to be that of a young mortal. Like Yusuke, he was powerful, yes, but his spiritual energy was that of a human's. Kurama's was not. And because she had yet to witness the redhead's power, she had no idea whether or not her hunch was correct.

Perhaps she would have to start doing some serious investigating. If not for her, than definitely for Botan…

"(hic) Callie…?"

The brunette's eyes widened as she quickly whirled around and dashed towards the open door, halting in the entryway. "Hey there, hun. You alright in there?"

The interior of her room was very dark; the thin, patio door wasn't wide enough to allow much moonlight in, and by standing in the doorway, she had blocked most of the rest. However, with her extra-incisive eyes, she was able to see the girl quite clearly: She was sitting up in her bed now with her body half concealed by crumpled sheets and hair lying all around her in silky pools of blue. She had one hand clutching the sheet close to her chest, while the other was outstretched towards her darkened silhouette, clawing at the air like it would suddenly become tangible.

Oh dear. Tonight was bad…

Very bad.

"Callie," she repeated, her voice very soft and slurred. "I (hic)…I need something fuzzy."

Callie smiled. Fuzzy she could do!

Swiftly, she jumped from her place at the door and onto the king-sized bed, transforming into a small, light brown Persian in the process. She then crawled over towards her companion's outstretched arms and remained there, rather squished, in her tight embrace, until the girl's quick, sporadic sobs softened and slowed into the rhythmic breathing of sleep. She had to wait a few extra moments for her muscles to relax, but once they did, she carefully slipped out of her grip and transformed back into her human-like form.

"Things are going to get better," she whispered, gently crawling backwards off the bed. "I promise." She then quietly left the room, lightly closing the patio door behind her. Staring off into the cool, dark night, she sighed. Now what was she supposed to do? She didn't seem to be all that tired anymore, so a nap was out of the question...

Turning around, she jumped up onto the railing, crouching perfectly poised on the tips of her toes and pads of her fingers, and hastily rescanned the area, pupils dilated, ears perked, and tail swishing expectantly behind her. A soft rustle in a nearby tree drew her attention towards the left, just in time to see something swoop from a low hanging branch and onto the ground.

Ooo. A flying squirrel.

This was going to be fun.

She grinned a sadistic, toothy grin and leaned forward, fingers curling tightly around the top of the railing. But just as she prepared herself to jump, she felt something appear by her shoulder in a quick rush of wind. This was followed by the eerie sensation of hot breath on her neck and, right next to her ear, a soft, sinister…

"Boo."

She screamed; not loudly, but the sudden shock made her forget that she was on the brink of falling forward, and, well…

She fell.

That's when she screamed really loud.

She landed on her feet, of course—what kind of crazy cat wouldn't? But her hair was standing on end, her eyes were wide, her fangs and claws were visible, her heart was beating twelve-times too fast, and she was pissed as freaking hell.

"What the…!"

A soft chuckle from above made her whip her head heavenwards and scream…

Again.

She pointed up towards a figure that was standing on a low tree branch and gaped, utterly at a loss for words except: "You fucking son of a bitch!"

The dark-haired apparition rolled his eyes, "teleported" to the ground, about ten to fifteen feet from her crouching form, and grunted. "Trust me. I want to be here as much as I want to impale myself."

Callie jumped to her feet, but she didn't attack. As much as she would have loved to claw the self-righteous smirk off of that flawless face of his, she refrained and merely hissed instead. "Then what the hell do you think you're doing here? Come back to finish what you started? Because if that's the case, then I'm afraid I won't be joining you." Before he could respond, she added: "See, unlike you, I have this thing called a life…"

Hiei scowled. "Shut up, you pathetic wench. My business here has nothing to do with revenge. Believe it…or don't. I really don't care."

Callie's sour expression was quickly replaced by one of angry confusion. Was this guy for real? "Do you honestly expect me to believe you? After you nearly chopped me to pieces?"

The fire demon narrowed his crimson eyes, folded his arms, and replaced his anger with indifference. "Actually, I don't care whether or not you trust me either. It's completely irrelevant to me. I'm just here to relay an important message."

The brunette's face contorted. A message? Hiei was delivering her a message? At 1:30 in the morning? After they nearly cut each other's throats? From who? Who the hell could have possibly managed to tame the ever-so-mighty keeper of the Jagan eye and compel him do their bidding? No wait. Hiei was personally delivering her a message. Either it was really important or hell was beginning to freeze over…

And, for some reason, she was seriously starting to believe that it was the latter.

"Okay then," she replied slowly, relaxing her tensed muscles both in her body and face. "I'll listen to this...message of yours. But so help me, it better be important."

Hiei seemed to ignore her snide remark, for he unfolded his arms and started to walk in a random direction, motioning for her to follow with a sharp jerk of his head.

Okay, now he was starting to push it.

She remained rooted to the spot, angrily shaking her head as she retorted: "Uh-uh. No way, bucko. If you want to talk to me, then you can bring your goddamn ass over here and—"

"Callie…"

Her breath caught in her throat. He had never called her by her actual name before…

"Follow me" He then turned around and continued on his way.

Callie groaned. Damn him.

Just damn him.

She made sure to keep a good distance between the two of them as they walked—five, six feet maybe—and her eyes remained on his sheathed sword at all times. She couldn't see his hands from where she was standing, so as far as she was concerned, every step was a dangerous one. They didn't seem to be walking far; maybe 45, 50 yards from Botan's apartment building. But their surroundings were becoming more and more secluded, so her apprehension was not alleviated.

Finally, after about two minutes of deathly-silent walking, they arrived at a small enclosed circle of tall trees; a place where the moonlight was barely visible through the dense foliage that hung over them like a luminescent, silvery canopy. The fire demon stopped dead in the center of it and turned around to face her, face stoic and eyes unblinking.

Well, now she felt a little better. The jerk-wad wouldn't have led her to such a dark and shadowy area if he had wanted to fight her; that'd be giving her a huge advantage. And while she may have hated the little bastard, she knew he wasn't stupid.

"Okay," she said, breaking the eerie silence that surrounded them. "You've got my attention. Now what do you want?"

Hiei's expression grew sour as he crossed his arms, directed his eyes heavenward, and mumbled, "I swear I'm going to kill that stupid fox…"

Callie raised a confused and annoyed brow. "I beg your pardon?"

The dark-haired apparition quickly snapped his crimson glare back in her direction. "Look. We have somewhat of a problem."

She gave him a weird look. "We? As in you and me?"

Hiei snarled. "Yes, did I stutter?"

Callie grunted. "Okay. And just why am I supposed to care?"

"Apparently," he continued sharply, ignoring her irritated comment, "Urameshi and that stupid ape had a run-in with Toguro earlier this evening."

Okay.

Now he had her attention

"Evidently, the half-breed thinks the spirit detective's got skills. So he challenged him to a fight…to the death."

Callie released a breath she hadn't realized she'd be holding. "Did he refuse? Tell me he refused!"

Hiei snorted. "Do you honestly think that a demon of Toguro's intelligence and class wouldn't have come prepared for such an answer?"

Her blood ran cold as her voice escaped her lips in a soft, quivering whisper: "Oh no…"

The fire demon didn't hesitate to alleviate her fear. Instead, he continued, his voice cool and calm: "You are aware that the Dark Tournament is fast approaching, am I correct?"

She could only nod.

He paused for a moment to close his eyes. "Well…Urameshi was told that if he didn't collect a team of five, formidable members and enter the tournament within three months time, than every person he knew and/or cared for would be murdered without mercy."

Her legs had been wobbling like mad ever since they arrived at the secluded ring of trees, but she had managed to keep them steady for the most part, relying on her cat-like muscles to correct the imbalance. But after discovering the real truth behind Toguro's master plan, she couldn't seem to remember how to stand anymore and collapsed to her knees, gaping disbelievingly into a non-existent void, her expression listless, and her heart pounding so hard, she could feel it in every crevice of her body. For while she sympathized greatly with the newfound spirit detective and his unwarranted predicament, there was something else about the situation that shook her to the core…

Karasu.

He was supposedly in league with Toguro. That meant, wherever the big brute went…

The silent and sadistic raven would follow.

"Who…" she began, snapping her gaze back towards the impassive, moonlit-face of her messenger, "is Yusuke going to recruit as his fifth member?" Her voice sounded breathless and her tongue felt like a thick piece of sandpaper she couldn't spit out.

The black-haired apparition smirked. "Hn. Who do you think?"

She fell back onto her shins, took in a deep, needed breath, and swallowed. Had they been in a different situation, Callie would have immediately retaliated against such an infuriating comment with an impatient curse word or two. But at the current moment, she seemed to have forgotten how to reciprocate his evident sarcasm, so instead she said: "I don't know…" Her eyes drifted downwards. "But I would greatly appreciate it if you would quit playing games with me and answer my question." She glanced back up at him. "Is he expecting either Botan or me to assist him?"

He paused for a brief moment, blinked, as if to refocus on her, and said: "I don't know."

She blinked as well.

Wait…what?

"Then…" she slowly stumbled to her feet, never once taking her eyes off of his, "if this is in no way directly related to either of us…why the hell are you telling me?"

He responded quickly; almost too quickly. "Because."

Her eyes narrowed. Oh no. He did not just go there!

Seething, the cat stomped furiously up towards his still figure, stopping mere inches from his face, and screamed. "BE-CAUSE?"

His expression didn't falter as he replied, "Yes. Because."

She gaped at him in disbelief. "Well, I'm sorry! But you're going to have to give me a better reason then that!"

"Well I'm sorry too. Because that's the only damn answer that you're going to get." She started to retaliate, but he cut her off: "I don't have to explain myself to the likes of an incompetent woman such as yourself."

"Hiei, I'm not in the mood for this! Not after what you just told me!"

"Frankly, I don't care."

"HIEI!"

"You know, I think I've had just about enough of you for one day."

Snarling, Callie reached out and grabbed the apparition by the scruff of his neck, shoved her face way up in his, and hissed, "Answer the fucking question."

He stared at her for fifteen, agonizingly silent seconds before narrowing his eyes slightly and coldly, carelessly, and unblinkingly replying, "Go to hell."

And with that, he shoved her body away from his and disappeared off into the night, leaving the feline in a startled and furious heap on the dark, grassy ground.

oooOOOooo

She had been dreaming.

About what, she didn't know, but it must have been a peaceful one because for the first time in a long while, she felt relaxed, warm, and safe. The walls no longer felt like they were crashing down around her and the terrible lump in her throat had disintegrated. Her breathing had steadied, her uncontrollable need to sob had vanished, and the knot in her stomach had untangled itself.

Hell, even the atmosphere around her felt good. It was light, airy, and cool, and smelled pleasantly refreshing. Almost like…

Flowers?

Botan's eyes flew open as she bolted upright in bed, heart beating rapidly and chest heaving. She quickly scanned the immediate area, eyes wide and alert. The door to the patio was open, allowing a little bit of moonlight to seep into the darkened room, but other than that, the place seemed empty. Callie must have decided to leave her alone and forgotten to close the door behind her.

Relaxing her body, the blue-haired Veela took in a deep breath, stretching her arms high over her head, and sighed. Yes, she felt much better now. Especially since the air was no longer stuffy and suffocating. It even smelled good. Almost like…

Her peaceful expression faltered.

What the hell?

She hesitantly sniffed the air, eyes widening as the alluring aroma of freshly-cut flowers overwhelmed her senses once more, making her head spin and stomach flip-flop. She crinkled up her nose in confusion.

Where the hell was it coming from? Outside?

She exasperatedly re-directed her gaze over towards the open door once more, her eyes sub-consciously lingering past the foot of her bed in the process.

It took a moment for it to register in her tired brain, but after about five seconds of fruitless staring into the luminescent doorway, she did a double-take and flung her gaze back towards the base of her bed. For there, lying in full-bloom atop her pearly-white sheets was a breathtaking, red rose, sparkling lavishly in the inflowing moonlight…

And it was still moist.

oooOOOooo

Well, that only took like…forever. Being a perfectionist really sucks. :-( Well, tell me what ya'll thought…or don't. I'm still going to write the story regardless.

Oh, and I'm aware that Flying Squirrels don't really live in dense cities…let alone Japan for that matter, but it was the first, "wingless" nocturnal animal that I could think of, so DEAL. :-P