Author's Note: And the plot thickens! The story will now shift to focusing on more than just Kuwabara although he is a main character along with his beloved boyfriend, Ani. So, if the story switches back and forth from several characters, well, you shouldn't be too surprised because I am warning you ahead of time! Enjoy.

Part twenty-three: Vengeance Plotted

When he returns, Kuwabara immediately calls Koenma without pausing to say anything to the others. He waits impatiently for an ogre to pick up. "Hello, how may I help you?"

"I need to speak to Koenma, NOW!" Kuwabara says sharply, "If you give me some bullshit about him not wanting to talk to anyone, I will personally come to that office and kill everyone there!" He almost smiles hearing the telltale click that heralded him being forwarded to Koenma. He knows that the prince is probably not going to be happy about him threatening his ogres but he had to talk to him immediately.

"Is there a reason you felt it necessary to threaten my office?" Koenma demands as soon as he picks up.

"I needed to talk to you immediately and I didn't want to hear them say that you didn't want to talk to anyone unless it was important."

"So, what is wrong?"

"Hiei, Bui, and Genkai are missing. What do you know about this?"

"What?"

"You heard me, prince. They are MISSING and if I find out you had something to do with this, there will be no where in any of the three worlds that you will be safe from me!"

"You think I had something to do with this?"

"What else should I think? You already tried to kill Ani. You are not high on my list of people to think well of."

"I didn't do anything to them. I wasn't aware that something had happened."

"That's the problem isn't it? You never pay attention unless it involves you directly do you? Whatever, you just had better hope that you are telling the truth because if I find out otherwise, you WILL BE DEAD!" Without waiting for an answer, he hangs up the phone.

"I take it from your reaction that Koenma says he isn't responsible for what happened at Genkai's temple, didn't he?" Oto inquires.

"Yeah. He just better not be or I will make good on my promise. I don't know anyone else that could be the cause and that worries me," Kuwabara answers.

"What's going on?" Yoko demands.

"They weren't at the temple. When Kuwabara and I arrived, it was obvious a fight had broken out. The place was completely charred," Oto answers.

"You don't think Hiei summoned the dragon do you?" the fox-demon inquires.

"If he did than it wasn't very effective, was it?" the burly demon remarks. Yoko doesn't want to think about what that could mean.

"It seems that the only thing that can be done is to wait and see what happens and hope that we don't receive their bodies," Kuwabara mutters.

"That sounds really optimistic," Yoko says.

"It wasn't supposed to, Yoko, it is an honest statement."

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"You can't…it's not for my protection but yours!" Bui says as his armor is removed, "Dammit, you are going to die if you do this!" The demons ignore him of course and soon, the blue-haired demon is completely divested of his armor. Immediately his spirit energy swirls around him in a sea of green. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," Bui grits out trying to keep it from harming the other two in the room.

"Have you not yet learned how to control it?" Hiei demands looking at him.

"Isn't the answer obvious?" Bui growls back.

"Hiei, don't push your luck," Genkai warns sensing that Bui's control was slipping, "Stay calm, Bui. You can't control your power if you can't control your emotions."

Bui grits his teeth holding it back. Why didn't the bastards just ward him? It would make things so much easier and less painful on him. He bites his lip and focuses on keeping the energy close to himself. 'You can do this. You won't hurt them. You can do this,' he repeats to himself over and over and over again.

Footsteps come down the hall but the blue-haired demon ignores them in favor of trying not to kill Genkai and Hiei who are both warded and powerless to defend themselves against any attack. He feels the skin on his lip tear and tastes the blood. "Ouch, that looks painful," a voice remarks smoothly. It was obviously a male but Bui still doesn't look up. "You are awfully impolite, Bui."

It is only the fact that the demon knew his name that causes him to look up. He looks at the demon. "Who are you and how you do you know me?" he demands.

"Is that really important?" the demon inquires stepping into the room. It is a kitsune with long brown hair and deep golden-eyes.

"Yes, it is important. What do you want with us?"

"Well, it's simple really. You are all bait."

"For who?" Bui demands. The Kitsune smirks.

"An old…friend of mine and someone I want dead," the fox-demon says smirking.

"I am guessing that one is Yoko Kurama," Bui retorts.

"Well, partially, you are correct. That's what those two are here for," the demon answers, "but you, you dear Bui are the bait for someone entirely different."

"Who?"

"Guess."

"I would say the Toguro Brothers but I don't understand why you would want them."

"It's more Ani than Oto. That midget terror is going to be sorry he was ever born."

"What did he do to make you hate him?"

"That little bastard killed my entire family! I will see him pay for it…dearly."

"He killed…oh that must have been when he was being paid for assassinating demons."

"Yes, and I had to watch as that twisted psycho killed my mom and dad!" The anger and rage tinged with slight insanity in the demon's voice tells Bui that the demon was incredibly dangerous.

"Look, I know that he's done some horrible things but he's changed…honest," Bui says struggling to keep his energy from fluctuating and seriously injuring Hiei and Genkai. He's pretty sure that Oto will never forgive him if Genkai gets hurt and he doesn't want to risk hurting Hiei.

"Do you think I care? He's going to pay for taking my family…just

as Kuronue is going to pay for taking Yoko. I will see to it."