Okay, well that went better than expected. Props to my reviewer for making this chappie happen.

Yes, I will get around to updating The Silent Moon, but my mind is being quite fickle about where to go from the last point. In short- *shudder* it's Writers Block. SO until I work the block out of my system, it shall remain cliffy and unfinished. Apologies to any of my followers for that.

Onward!

WARNINGS: Angst, blood, possible OOC-ness, and some breif allusory gore. Read at your own peril.

ALSO: Since I forgot last time:

DISCLAIMER: I own nada. All rights go to Togashi, and I make no profit from this- If I did, I wouldn't be contemplating which organ I should sell to pay for school. -,- This disclaimer will only appear ONCE so get your fix now.

With that out of the way- Ontowards!

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CH II

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After calling Hiei three times, the fire brat showed up conspicuously at Kurama's house, the way he usually did whenever he was in the area and the fox tried calling him. Hiei carried a cell on him per his companion's insistance should he need to contact him more immediately, but if he wasn't in another dimension, he usually just showed up rather than actually answering his phone.

"You called?" Hiei drawled lazily where he perched atop Kurama's car. As stated, conspicuous.

"Yususke...There's been an accident involving Keiko." At this, the fire demon's posture became more rigid and his crimson eyes came to sharp attention.

"What kind of accident?"

"The kind we feared would happen, I'm afraid." Kurama breathed lowly, head tipping to the ground as his hair fell like a veil over his eyes. There was a long silence before Hiei jumped soundlessly off the car, coming beside the fox.

"Is she alive?" He asked shamelessly, as always.

"Yes, for now- but her wounds sounded to be quite grave." Kurama explained, bringing his eyes back up to meet those of his companion, the emotion in them carefully concealed with a firm but not yet steely gaze.

"I see. So it really got the better of him, then?"

"Yes, unfortunately. Now I've called you here-"

"Let me guess, you want me to talk to him?" Hiei sassed.

"Yes, in fact, I do. My days of being a predator are long behind me. But you still have those instincts, those impulses- more often than I do, in any case. Besides, I have a hunch that you'll be able to get through to him better right now."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see. Come on- I told mother I was taking the car, so get in." Kurama said snappishly.

"Commanding as ever, fox." Hiei rolled his eyes, but obeyed, hopping into the passenger seat as Kurama started the car. It was the last gift he'd ever recieved from his late step-father; an older modeled Porsche, used, of course, but still in good shape. He'd saved for years to be able to buy it for his other son, but Kurama reached driving age first and had gotten it as a present for his birthday. He still preferred to get places the old fashioned way, as did Hiei, but in times like this it payed to blend in a bit more. Besides which, Hiei had already had the fight with Kurama about riding in the damn contraption; a fight he begrudgingly admitted he'd lost- hook, line, and sinker.

As they drove over to Yusuke's flat, Kurama abruptly stopped the car, interrupting Hiei's rare daydreams as he stared out the window.

"What-" Hiei was about to protest, but was distracted by a too familiar head of orange, poofy hair passing in front of Kurama's window as the fox rolled it down.

"Hey guys!" Hiei could have puked right then, and nearly opened his mouth to allow the word-vomit (consisting mostly of insults and rude comments, as usual) to escape, but Kurama interrupted before he could get that far.

"Kuwabara! I was thinking of coming to get you, actually- listen, there's been an...accident, at Yusuke's house." Kuwabara's smiling face twisted instantly into an expression of alarm. "He's really shaken; I'm bringing Hiei to try and talk to him, but if he can't get through to him, maybe you could." Hiei threw a strange stare at his companion, brow quirking.

"Are you sure bringing a human there is such a good idea right now, Kurama?" Hiei asked incredulously. "Even if nothing goes wrong, he's liable to faint."

"I don't think her injuries were quite that severe, Hiei, or she'd of died of shock before the paramedics could even arrive. Still..." He looked over at Kuwabara's concerned expression with one of his own, swallowing visibly. "Kuwabara-"

"No, I'll go. I don't care how bad it is, if Yusuke needs my help..." A shadow flew across the expanse of Kuwabara's eyes. Kurama nodded, knowing there was no sense in trying to change his mind now.

"Get in. I'll explain more on the way."

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The car stopped in front of Yusuke's apartment complex, where police were still buzzing around, talking to each other in hushed notes and documenting things that were reported, likely from an investigation team inside. The sight of them made Kurama automatically tense in apprehension, firstly because they were police, and even if the logical fact he'd never been apprehended by human police stuck in his mind like stubborn glue, the water that made up his memory and experience always flowed right over it, making him slightly uncomfortable with such authority figures. But what made him especially uneasy now was the fact that it meant Yusuke was likely being investigated for a crime in light of this incident, and if she died...

If she died, he'd be charged with murder.

"I sure as hell hope the detective managed to get out of there. Combine his unstable state right now with his aversion to police..." Hiei muttered uncharacteristically.

"He said he was in a different flat, one that had been closed own for renevation...but the fact he's still in the building is in itself troubling. We all know how he can get when he's upset...any more reason for the police to suspect him is reason he doesn't need." Kurama stated, his car-mate's nodding in agreement.

"How will we find him?" Kuwabara said, and Kurama did not miss the waver in his voice. He'd recently been given a lot of information; now Kurama really was concerned the human would faint, with his complexion being as ghostly as it was in that instance.

"Kuwabara, maybe you should-"

"No. I'm not leaving Yusuke to deal with this alone. He's probably so scared of himself right now...I know it's probably really dangerous, but I don't care! Demon or not, he's my friend, and don't you think for a minute I wouldn't be willing to do the same with you guys if you ever...y'know...uh..."

"Lost it?" Hiei supplied sarcastically.

"Yeah, that." Kurama took a deep, steadying breath.

"Alright, but we shouldn't go in without a strategy. I don't know what he'll be like in there, but he sounded very shaken on the phone...and I think it's safe to say that Yusuke is a hard person to shake. Nonetheless, we'll need a plan."

"And if the plan is either useless, or worse, moot, then what?"

"Then we improvise. But I'm pretty sure this will work if we all do what we're supposed to. Just remember one thing."

"What?" Kuwabara asked, swallowing his nerves as they threatened to creep up his throat.

"The Yusuke in there may not be the one any of us recognize."

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They all found the flat Yusuke was in with some ease, courtesy Hiei's third eye and Kuwabara's spiritual awareness. Kurama paused at the door, which had plastic wrap on it to indicate it's state of reconstruction. He lifted his hand to halt those behind him, his eyes pinned to the bottom of the door.

"What is it?" Kuwabara whispered, confused. He knew they were supposed to be subtle, but this was ridiculous. Kurama indicated with his raised hand to follow his line of sight. Kuwabara gazed at the fox's eyes first, seeing a hard, cold, but also slightly curious expression in those emerald orbs. He followed his line of sight cautiously-

And nearly retched when he seen a splatter of darkening blood on the plastic.

"Either he was wounded somehow, or he did more damage than I anticipated." Kurama muttered factually, causing Kuwabara to gawk at his companion's chill.

"Um, hate to point out the obvious, but it kind of takes a lot of blood to do that kind of thing, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does." Kurama looked up at the door handle, also finding it tinted crimson.

"It was on his hands...Maybe..." Kurama shook his head, clearing his thoughts before grasping the handle firmly, noting that the blood was spread thinly enough on it's surface that most of it had dried, making the brass handle feel powdery and rough beneath his hand.

"Remeber the plan. Quiet but not silent. We want him to know we are here, but we don't want to startle him. There's no telling what kind of state he's in right now," Kurama glanced over at Kuwabara as he said this, a silent warning to stay alert. "So we all stick together and tread with caution."

"Agreed." Hiei said, nodding. Kuwabara also nodded, swallowing a nervous lump in his throat for the umteenth time that evening.

Kurama turned the handle hard enough to make it click, but slowly, so as not to create too much of a disturbance. He opened it warily, ducking his head inside to check the area. It was dark inside, not a single light turned on. Kurama reached for the switch, thinking maybe just turning on the lights would be a good way to indicate their presence, but upon flicking it discovered that they had shut off power to the flat while it was being renovated.

"It'll be dark, so watch yourselves. Kuwabara, Hiei, you two stick close. Hiei can see in the dark, and you can sense which room he's in- if he doesn't decide to conceal his energy."

"Fine. But I'm only working with him for Yusuke's benefit." Hiei huffed.

"Um, what about you?" Kuwabara inquired worriedly.

"I'll be fine. My reaction time is usually fast enough to dodge him, and besides, you two will be right behind me, right?" Kurama glance over his shoulder at Hiei, his eyes stern with an unspoken warning.

"Yeah, whatever you say, fox." Hiei sighed irritably. Had it been any other situation, he might've bucked, but Yusuke's sanity- and possibly his life- were at stake here.

"Let's go. Tread carefully- even in this dim light, I can see the blood on the floor."

"I so did not need to know that, man!" Kuwabara protested in a harsh whisper.

"Sorry." Kurama said unapologetically, voice low.

"He's in the far bedroom...master, I think." Kuwabara instructed, walking through the flat half-blind. He could sense Hiei and Kurama's energies beside and in front of him, using their superior night vision to guide him along, hoping he didn't step in any blood on the way, but knowing he probably would.

"Here?" Kurama indicated to a darkened halway where the master bedroom lie. Kuwabara could only half-see his gesture, but nodded, knowing the fox could probably see him just fine. They approached the door cautiously, Kurama slinking beside it as if expecting it to burst open.

"Remember, caution." The fox whispered. Kuwabara's heart was racing so hard he felt it might burst from his chest, but nodded the ancient demon's way in confirmation. He could never remember being this afraid of a demon before- but then, he'd never known one as personally as he did Yusuke.

Kurama opened the door, swinging it open slowly. Peering inside, he motioned for them to follow him, treading lightly but not silently, despite the fact Kuwabara knew he could creep like a shadow if he really wanted to. Suddenly, there was a soft rustling noise from the far corner of the room, and a police car pulling up to the building illuminated the room in a dim half-light that cast a silhouette against the darkness, curled up in a corner of the empty room, faint streaks on the otherwise pristine floor revealing the precise path he'd taken into the room, marking the narrow strip in front of the window where he'd paced and now probably staining the floor where he sat. They all halted at the noise, wary.

"Hey, Kurama." A soft, vacant whisper broke the uneasy silence after a while, making the fox and Hiei at least, relax a little. Kuwabara, on the other hand, went even more rigid; there was something about his voice that didn't sound right. Kuwabara tenatively reached out with his spirit awareness, only to immediately get a chill up his spine, not from his friend's energy- that, somewhat thankfully, was normal, indicating he wasn't possessed or something - no, it was a different sense entirely that creeped him out. In the half-light, he couldn't see Yusuke's face or his eyes, but he knew somehow they were on him.

"Y-Yusuke?" Kuwabara offered, swallowing thickly. He held up his hands in a placating gesture, prepared to back away if he had to. He'd never be called a coward, but he knew there were limits, and that Yusuke had already gone above and beyond his own...

"Why is he here?" The question was simple; simply given, simply uttered. But it was it's very simplicity, it's emotional vacancy, that had Kuwabara's gut clenching with worry.

"I asked to be here," Kuwabara replied, still feeling more than seeing his friend's gaze tearing a hole through his forehead. "I-I wanted to be sure you were okay. You're still my friend, after all. Isn't that what we're supposed to do for each other, anyway? Be there when we need each other?" A long, pregnant silence followed.

"I am confident you don't need someone like me."

"Nonsense, Urameshi!" Kuwabara kept his voice quiet, which surprised even himself. "You're my best friend! You-"

"You know what happened, don't you?" Yusuke snapped suddenly, but the anger in it was gone as fast as it came. Once more a long silence followed.

"Y-yeah, kind of," Kuwabara swallowed hard against the lump forming in his throat. "I mean, these guys weren't too big on details, but...but I think I get it." Kuwabara fought to keep his voice even, and obviously failed, if the flash of white in the dark was any indication.

"Do I scare you?" Yusuke said sarcastically, a toothy grin on his face. But there was no humour- in fact, it made him look like a beast. It made all persons in the room stiffen up with unease as they regarded their friend warily.

"Yusuke?" Kurama asked, cautious.

"I'm fine. I'm...here." The way Yusuke said that made Kuwabara's brow quirk, but he kept his mouth shut for now, not trusting it not to waver.

"Yusuke...I hate to be the one to point this out, but you can't stay here forever. There are police in the building, they'll follow the blood here eventually." Kurama instantly regretted saying that when he seen his friend flinch. "Look, Yusuke, we can work this out. But first you have to leave here. I think we can both agree that if the police found you right now, it would not mean good things for any of us." At Yusuke's silence, the fox continued prompting. "Please, Yusuke." Kurama moved quietly over to the silhouette, kneeling in front of him. He did not miss the way Yusuke reeled from him, but ignored it tactically.

"Please. We need to leave here. I've already got a place set up nearby; we'll be totally alone there, and then we can talk this over, okay?" Again he was met with silence.

"Yusuke?" A dry, humorless laugh echoed softly in the large room.

"Somehow, fox, I don't think talking will fix this mess. Not this time." There was a crack in his voice toward the end, and Kurama felt a stab of pity for his friend.

"Maybe not." Kurama agreed, making all eyes turn on him. "But we'll figure it out together, okay? Remember, I'm a demon too. I...I know how you're feeling, better than you know, but this is not the place to discuss that. We have to go, Yusuke. Or there will be even more hell to pay than I think even you deserve." The fox smiled charmingly at his companion, who stirred from his position on the floor, his gentle coercion working it's magic.

"A...Alright. But..."

"Yes?" Kurama answered patiently.

"But keep Kuwabara away from me." The comment stung the man in question for a second, but Kuwabara relaxed as much as he was able after recalling the information he'd been given in the car.

Apparently, Yusuke had been having...episodes, lately, where his human and demon sides didn't get along or something like that, and as a result he lost himself out to impulses and urges that he wouldn't normally. Yusuke didn't have the best impulse control to begin with, as Kurama had pointed out many times, but the impulses he was having now that his demon blood had been awakened were sometimes more dangerous, so was the discussion in the car. Yusuke's accident with Keiko had really been an accident, but though Kuwabara hadn't been told anything shy of that, he was slowly beginning to form a mental image of what Yusuke might've tried to do to her.

"I think we can manage that." Kurama said after a time, and it was only then that Kuwabara realised the fox had been staring at him expectantly. Blushing a bit, he nodded, still not trusting his voice. Kurama nodded back before turning again to Yusuke and offering his dainty hand to the former detective, who, after a long, uncertain moment, decided to take it, letting the old fox haul him up with surprising ease for such a delicate creature. "Come on. Hiei is here too, if it's any comfort." Yusuke said nothing, allowing the fox to place a guiding hand on his shoulder despite the fact they both knew Yusuke could see just fine in this light. The former Detective looked over at Hiei, who stood there with an impassive expression, regarding Yusuke in like.

"Actually, I think it is." Yusuke whispered after a moment of looking the fire demon over before glancing at Kuwabara breifly. Hiei's expression changed to one of surprise, not expecting the praise, if you could call it that.

"Come. We can get out the back. I don't think there's any police back there yet."

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The gang reconveined at a nearby park, retreating into a more wooded area of the grounds so as to avoid eavesdroppers as much as was possible, not that the park was all that busy after dark anyway. Kuwabara trailed along behind the group, intentionally putting some distance between himself and Yusuke, for his friend's comfort as well as his own.

Once Yusuke had come into the light and Kuwabara had been able to see his face, the human had come very close to losing his stomach, and true to what Hiei had predicted, nearly fainted from stress. He'd been given a vague answer about Yusuke's "episodes" and had slowly been forming a mental image of what Yusuke might've done to hurt Keiko- maybe he'd gotten angry and hit her, maybe he just freaked out and scratched her or something like that. That's the sort of thing he'd been expecting; after all, Yusuke obviously had had blood on his hands, (literally) so it was a pretty logical conclusion to make, right?

That all flew out the window when he seen the blood on his friend's face.

That small detail - or, really not, considering that more of his face than not had been covered in drying blood upon walking into the light - changed everything about the situation. It suggested something, something so severe and unreal that even though Kuwabara naturally wanted to take his friend's side, consciously supporting the idea that maybe she'd fought back and it was actually his blood, not hers, or at least the notion that he'd only bitten her and nothing else; somewhere in the back of his mind, in a place that was both out of sight but not ignorable for the noise it made presently- in that recess of his mind, he knew.

He knew Yusuke had tried to eat her.

"You okay, Kuwabara?" Kurama voiced, concerned as they stopped in the deepest part of the most densely wooded area of the park, trying for secrecy. Kuwabara stayed some six trees behind them, keeping a suspicious distance even for the request of his friend.

"Oh, me? I'm okay. Just..."

"Feeling ill?" Hiei mocked. He was expecting a sharp rebuttal, as usual, but to his surprise Kuwabara's skin only paled further, making him look more ghastly than a ghost. The human seriously looked like he was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown, puking, or simply fainting. Possibly all three.

"You don't have to be here, you know." Kurama offered gently. "I know you want to be for Yusuke, but...maybe it's better if you go home. Give you some time to proccess all of this, alright? I mean, you did get tossed into this mess kind of abruptly." Kurama offered him a reassuring smile, and for a moment Kuwabara had to wonder where his friend got his resolve from, before recalling that he was also a demon. A very old demon at that. Swallowing against the acid surging up his throat, Kuwabara only nodded. He was in no state to help Yusuke like this, even he could admit that. And as usual, the fox made a good point about him being given a lot to process.

"Just...keep me up to date, okay? I...I got some questions, but I think I can wait to ask until I think over them some more. I...I guess I'll see you guy's around, huh?" Kuwabara tried for the best smile he could manage, and didn't even pretend to miss the harrowed look he seen in Yusuke's eyes as he watched him leave, as if he was both saddened and pleased that he was going. He gave the ex-detective one last glance, conveying with his eyes to the best of his ability the breadth of his sympathy and sadness he had for his friend's misfortune before turning away without a second glance, going home to ponder things and digest the new reality he might be facing in the near future.

Kurama watched Kuwabara leave, feeling unsettled by the human's reaction, but expecting it nontheless. He hadn't expected Kuwabara to catch on so fast; but then, the man had a habit of surprising him like that.

"Thank you," Yusuke whispered solemnly, eyes downcast. Kurama's human heart ached relentlessly in his chest, uncertain and somewhat frightened for Yusuke. Koenma would have to know about this- there was no escaping that. Furthermore, the only people immediately close to Yusuke that could defeat him if necessary was himself and Hiei. The fox didn't mind guard duty, if Koenma seen it fit to push it that far over one incident (he could certainly be melodramatic at times) he couldn't say that Yusuke would benefit from the experience at all. Being caught and shoved in a cage was the last thing Yusuke needed right now, but it would be precisely what Koenma would do if Yusuke was deemed a large enough threat; and given his overall power...

"Yusuke...Here," Kurama reached into his breast pocket, for he always made sure he had one even if he had to sew it in, and drew out a small roll of bandaging he kept on him for when the creeps on the street just didn't seem to understand the word "no". The cloth was soft but sterile, and rough enough to be used as a cleaning cloth if necessary- yet another reason he carried it on him. He broke off a sizable strip, wrapping it up before borrowing some of the dew settling on the grass to dampen it. He handed it to Yusuke, who only gazed at it with a sad uncertainty.

"You'll need to clean up at least a little. If someone sees you looking like that, it's bound to attract unwanted attention." Kurama prompted. "It won't do much since it's just water, but it should at least dissuade the notion that you are fatally wounded." Yusuke looked up at Kurama then, confusion swimming in his glassy eyes before understanding crashed over him visibly, making him once more bow his head as if in shame. It likely was from shame.

"Thanks." He offered weakly, taking the cloth gently. His movements were careful, controlled, as if he didn't trust his own strength.

He probably didn't.

Yusuke scratched the cloth over his hands breifly before scrubbing it over his face, each pass becoming rougher until it had to have hurt. Kurama ignored the rough way he treated himself for now, partly knowing that if he commented on it the ex-detective would probably blow up, and also realizing that blood was extremely difficult to wash off of skin with only water, and thusly that some of the rough scrubbing was actually required. Once he was seemingly satisfied, Yusuke handed the now soiled cloth back to Kurama, purposefully avoiding looking at it. Kurama let out a breath that would have been a sigh had Yusuke not been in such a shaken state, feeling pity for his friend. He could empathize to some degree, but in the behaviors, so obviously shameful and afraid, he could not say he'd ever taken part. It was in his nature to conceal as much of his pain, physical and emotional, as possible; as far as he'd come as a human, his patience for those that drowned themselves in sorrow was still fairly thin, and he felt the stirrings of agitation flutter like a plume of feathers as he patiently waited for the proper cue, wracking his brain to find more tactful words than those he was presently thinking. In matters like this, with anyone else, he might have just come out and said what was on his mind, regardless of how insensitive the other person took it to be; but Yusuke's mental and emotional states were still too fresh off the sharp rocks and riptides to be subjected to anything that could be perceived as criticism or taunting - not from him, at least. That's why Hiei was here - Yusuke expected Hiei to be ciritical and uncaring, and would probably not take half as much offense as if Kurama had said the same kinds of things, even if he thought them.

"Hate to break the silence," Hiei said dryly, exchanging glances at both of them. "But I really have better things to do than stand here all night." There was a tense pause.

"Yusuke," Kurama began, taking Hiei's interjection as the proper cue, seeing as Yusuke had no obvious reaction to it. "I realize you're still shaken up, but in order to be of any help, I have to know what happened. Precisely." Kurama said as gently as he could. A thought popped into his head then. "If you want to we can go to Genkai's. The woods there are private, and so is most of the house since it's only Yukina and Genkai. It might be more...comfortable, than this place, anyway." Kurama flinched when a rather cold drop of water plopped onto his scalp, resisting the reflex to shake his hair out.

"He's right, Yusuke." Hiei agreed. "Besides which, if any human can hold her own against you, it's that old badger." There was another lengthly, pregnant pause before Yusuke nodded, still offering no verbal reply.

"Come, then; we'll head to Genkai's place. Your choice where you sit." Kurama shrugged as he began to hastily walk back to his car, rain beginning to patter on the ground around them. He realised his actions seemed callous, with the way he was effectively ignoring the bigger picture, but his cool head was what Yusuke would be looking for right now; something stable to cling to and depend on when the rest of his world was changing. Kurama had already become the ex-detectives stable rock, in a sense, due to the occurance of these episodes. No, he corrected himself, he'd been the stable rock for longer than that; the person Yusuke, and even Kuwabara turned to when things became too hard for them to swallow or when they needed a logical answer to a sentimental problem. He couldn't say he minded the role, except where Hiei was concerned, but their relationship was a little...different.

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In the interests of moving things along, I shall stop there.

Remember to REVIEW for the next chapter!

Ja-ne!