DISCLAIMER: Same as last time except now I own Syunsuke and thirteen cents! YAY! I'm rich! I'm rich!

Note: Hey guys.

Thank you everyone who reviewed!

-o-o-o-

Memories of the Lost

Chapter 2

Memories Lost

-o-o-o-

"Um…who are you?" Kurama asked as he blinked up at Kuwabara. The onlooker's jaws practically dropped to the ground.

"Kurama…that's Kuwabara!" Yusuke practically shouted. Kuwabara and Hiei looked up to him and then back down to the fox, who was shaking his head. Koenma glanced at Yusuke, then back down to Kurama.

What had Syunsuke done?

"Kurama, do you know who I am?" Hiei asked as he grabbed the fox's left hand and gave it a light squeeze, his right hand going to the fox's forehead. He felt like a fool but he put that aside, knowing that Kurama needed his help right now.

The fox didn't have a fever.

"You're Hiei," Kurama whispered out hoarsely as he closed his eyes and tilted his head, starting to fall asleep quickly, as Genkai's healing sometimes had that effect on the kitsune.

"Yes, Kurama. I am, but, Fox, you've got to stay awake," Hiei said calmly as he shook the fox's arm. Kurama mumbled a "yes" as he forced his eyes open. "Kurama, do you know who he is?"

Hiei pointed over to Yusuke who was leaning on Koenma slightly. Kurama tilted his head back to look blearily at the raven-haired teen. He nodded his head slightly before groaning and raising his right hand to hold his temple.

"Yes…Yu…suke…Head…hurts…So much…Pain…" Kurama trailed off into an inaudible babble. He continued to move his lips as if he was still talking.

"We've got to get both of them out of here. Maybe Kurama just hit his head, he says it hurts…" Kuwabara trailed off as he looked back down at the fox, worry was spread across his features. Koenma turned to Genkai and Yukina.

"We'll meet you at the temple, Botan will take you," he said and Botan gave an affirmative nod, her oar materializing in her hand.

"Yes, we'll be ready for you," Genkai answered as she and Yukina climbed on the oar, which was soon speeding out of sight.

"Alright, I'll get Yusuke. Kuwabara, you get Kurama," Koenma ordered and both the teen and the fire demon nodded. Kuwabara walked over to Kurama as Hiei continued to talk to the fox, still holding his hand and keeping him awake.

"Hey," Yusuke said softly as Koenma wrapped an arm around the delinquent's waist, supporting him with Yusuke's arm over his shoulder. He smiled slightly and gave Yusuke a peck on the cheek, glad that his koi was fine. "I'm alright," Yusuke continued, "I think I can walk."

"No, you're still sore. Besides, this isn't so bad," Koenma answered with a light smile and Yusuke returned the gesture, giving in and leaning against the god.

"Fox, we have to move you, okay? You have to tell me if anything hurts worse," Hiei said as he helped Kuwabara move Kurama, and the kitsune mumbled something close to a yes. Slowly, Kuwabara reached one hand under the fox's neck and one under his knees and drew him up. He held the fox against his chest as he stood, trying to give the fox a sense of protection, of security.

"My…head hurts…pain…" Kurama continued mumbling and Hiei grimaced against the fox's obvious hurting. He jumped up into the trees, watching the three beneath him, his eyes on the fox in Kuwabara's arms. He jumped nimbly from branch to branch as he followed the two tentai and the god beneath him.

-o-o-o-

"You'll be fine, Dimwit," Genkai's spoke as she removed her hands from Yusuke's chest. "You had four crushed ribs, your organs were smashed, and you had internal bleeding, but Yukina took care of most of that. It's a miracle you stayed alive for the nine hours you were there for."

"Yeah, thanks." Yusuke sat up, the soreness almost fully gone from the healing almost a half hour ago. He was in one of the spare rooms at Genkai's temple. On the futon across the room from him lay Kurama. His breathing was shallow and had been since he fell asleep in Kuwabara's hold. The fox had beads of sweat on his forehead and thrashed occasionally, as if in a bad dream.

Yukina was above the fox, double-checking for any injuries. His internal injuries had not been so bad, except for the broken ribs and stab wound, but there was something about Kurama that Yukina could neither place nor try to fix. Hiei was standing at the head of the futon, helping Yukina when she needed it and gently brushing Kurama's bangs to the side in an attempt to sooth the fox.

After Yusuke was up and moving, so to speak, Genkai came over to the fox and Yukina tried to explain what she felt.

"I don't know what's wrong with him. I've healed all his outward injuries as best as possible, yet he does not calm and we can't wake him up," Yukina reported, her sweet voice worried.

"His mind has been tampered with."

Everyone turned to stare at Hiei, who brushed Kurama's bangs out of the way as he wiped Kurama's forehead.

"What do you mean?" Koenma asked, eyes narrowed.

"Syunsuke took something. Took something from Kurama. I don't know what," Hiei added as Kuwabara opened his mouth to ask. "All I know is that he took something. And from the lack of memory of Kuwabara, I suppose that would be what it was."

"Can...can you look again, and double check now that he's unconscious?" Yusuke asked and Hiei looked down at the fox.

"I can, but his barriers will still be up, sleeping doesn't change that."

"Try," Koenma ordered softly and Hiei hesitantly nodded.

"I'm warning you now," Hiei spoke, peeling off the ward off of his jagan. "Kurama will take this as an utmost invasion of his privacy."

Koenma nodded, himself and the others prepared to face the kitsune's wrath (Which always appeared to be close to non-existent.) As it opened, the eerie light flowing over Kurama, the fox stilled, his jolts of movement stopping.

However, only moments later, the fox began to thrash again, fighting against an invisible barrier. Hiei's brow furled as sweat trickled down his forehead. Kurama bucked as he gasped, emerald eyes opening wide.

Hiei cursed and quickly covered his jagan as Kurama began thrashing, soft but scared whimpers escaping him, as he tangled himself within the sheets he was under.

"Calm down, Kurama, calm down," Genkai soothed the panicking fox, who finally stilled. He allowed the old woman to push him back onto the futon as he closed his eyes again.

"Are you alright?" Yusuke asked as he looked over to the fox.

"I'm…a bit tired. And my head feels…weird," Kurama spoke hesitantly, looking suspiciously at Yusuke and not really knowing what was going on.

"Well, that could be because Hiei was just in-Ow!" Yusuke was cut off as Hiei slammed his elbow into the teen's ribs. "Uh…so, do you remember Kuwabara, now?"

There was a moment's silence before Kurama looked up at the hanyou. "Who?"

Yusuke sat back, heaving a sigh. The others did similar things and Kurama looked around at them. Hiei laid his hand on the fox's shoulder and Kurama looked up at him from the futon.

"Fox, can you name everyone in the room?" Hiei asked and Kurama paused, and then shook his head. "Who can you name?"

"You," Kurama mumbled and looked around, "and the tentai, he works for Rekai...along with that girl," he pointed at Botan, "who works with him...but beyond that...wait..." Kurama paused and looked up at Hiei, gesturing for him to lean in, which he did. "Hiei...that girl, she looks...she looks just like you. Is that...is that your sister you were searching for? I didn't know you found her. Congratulations."

Hiei looked at the fox in a mix of surprised horror.

"What he say?" Yusuke asked, wondering why Kurama kept giving him unsure looks.

"Fox?" Hiei asked and Kurama's green gaze focused back on him. "How old are you?"

"Hiei, I could take that offensively, you know! I already told you I don't keep track after a few hundred years," Kurama whispered, mock annoyance in his voice. Hiei was not sure whether to be worried or annoyed.

"I meant in ningen years, kitsune no baka!" he growled out, trying to maintain his calm composure.

"Oh...sixteen, why?" Kurama responded without delay and Hiei closed his eyes, the answer being the one he feared. Everyone else's eyes went wide.

"Kurama," Yusuke whispered, earning that emerald gaze, "you're nineteen."

Before the fox could retort, Hiei motioned for everyone to leave the room and he whispered to Kurama that he would be back shortly. As he walked outside the room, ushering the others further down the hall, he turned to Yusuke.

"I need to know what happened last night." Hiei sounded panicky and the detective sensed that he was truly worried. The knowledge only scared the teen

"I…I don't know what happened. I collapsed after Syusuke-"

"So it was he?"

"Yeah, and we fought. I collapsed when he knocked a tree down with my body. I was kinda out of it…I got up just in time to see Syunsuke rummaging through Kurama's clothing…the fox was screaming out…it…it was horrible...that scream...so much pain..." Yusuke shook his head to clear the memory before continuing, "I did the only thing I could think of. I shot him with the spirit gun. I couldn't really tell, but I think I only wounded him; I was short on energy, after all. When I was sure that he was gone, I collapsed. I couldn't hold out anymore…I'm sorry, Hiei."

"...It's not your fault." There had been a long pause before that sentence in which Hiei had contemplated Syunsuke's true intentions.

'Could he want Kurama back?' Hiei thought sourly to himself. Kurama had been rumored to be an enticing partner, known throughout the Makai. It could be very possible that Syunsuke was using Kurama to get both his amulet and 'prize possession' back.

'No,' Hiei decided, 'that is not a good solution.' Although it made the most since, it was unacceptable, and therefore no good.

Hiei sighed, looking up as he remembered that Yusuke was standing there, looking expectantly. Had he asked another question?

"What?" Hiei asked, trying to recover his dazed tone as he dragged his thoughts back to the present.

"I asked how it couldn't have been my fault," repeated the detective. "Hiei, I'm the one who led that mission; I'm the one who agreed to let Kurama s-seduce the guy. I'm the one who couldn't protect him. He's your best friend, aren't you going to place any blame?"

"Blame is pointless," the fire demon responded coldly. "Syunsuke was the one to screw him" (Yusuke promptly winced at this harsh wording) "and Syunsuke was the one to hurt him. Blaming you gets me nowhere and puts you in a self-pitying mood. No, I will not blame."

"Ri-right," Yusuke muttered, still relatively shocked at Hiei's crude manner. 'Kurama is his best friend, isn't he? How can he just casually say such things like that? Doesn't he care?'

"Now, if you'll move, Detective, I promised Kurama I'd be back exactly two minutes and thirty-seven seconds ago. So if you don't mind, move."

Yusuke shook his head as he sidestepped away from the door, allowing Hiei passage. 'Or maybe he does care. He's just got his own damn way of showing it.'

-o-o-o-

"Well, this isn't amnesia," Genkai began in a strict voice, leaving no room for interruption or argument. She turned to the large group in front of her, Kurama sitting cross-legged in the bed she stood next to. His green eyes were adjusted on the floorboards.

"The last thing the Fox remembers," she began, turning to address Hiei, "is you, Gouki, and himself standing in the woods; Yusuke Urameshi standing in front of you three, as you all argued over the Forlorn Hope."

Yusuke whistled before he quietly muttered a, "Damn," before being elbowed in the ribs by Hiei. The fire demon watched Kurama closely for any reaction but he kept his emerald eyes trained on the floorboards, an unreadable mask over his features.

"So how did this happen?" Kuwabara asked but Genkai only shook her head.

"I'm not sure."

"I am," Koenma muttered; getting several pairs of eyes trained on him, including a pair of bright green ones. "Spirit World operatives have recently discovered Syunsuke's rare power.

"He can meddle in one's mind and alter the way things are. A single touch and he can read you like an open book: your thoughts, your memories, your weaknesses, and you strengths. He knows them all, as long as he maintains contact.

"With his amulet, he grew to new heights. He could begin stealing information away. You may wake up, never knowing you had any weaknesses, or fall asleep, never to remember your own name, or what you had been thinking."

"But we stole the amulet!" Yusuke shouted out, enraged, but not at Koenma. If Syunsuke could only reach this height of power through the amulet, he shouldn't have been able to bend Kurama's memory for his own sick amusement.

"Yes, that is true. Unfortunately, though, Syunsuke has begun to bend the power of the amulet to his will, melding it with his soul. That is why you had to capture it. If he were to permanently acquire the abilities that amulet gives him, we could have a potential problem."

The brunette god could hear Yusuke's muttered words of, "You're telling me." If it weren't such a dire situation, he would have smirked.

"Alright then, Koenma." Everyone turned to see Kuwabara standing in the doorway, staring at Kurama. "How do we fix it?"

"We…well, we can't." Koenma answered. There was an angry protest from the audience (A/N: the ones in the audience, not you readers o.O) but Koenma waved it off with a raised eyebrow. Kurama and Yukina looked over to them before Koenma began again.

"We can't cure it on our own. Like Genkai said before, this isn't amnesia. His memories aren't locked up in his head, waiting to be remembered. Syunsuke has his memories, locked up in a safe location."

"And this location might be where?" Kurama's soft voice had everyone turning to him. His green eyes were locked on the floor but he lifted them gently and showed a small, forced smile. Yusuke's gaze softened.

'He's going through Hell and he still tries to make sure we don't worry.' he thought gently before shaking his head as his own Koi began to answer.

"Most likely...in that amulet tucked in your sash."

There was a loud, overwhelming chorus of "What?"

"Yes..." Koenma muttered, "this is where it all gets tricky. That amulet intensifies Syunsuke's powers and abilities but also allows him to store his own energy in it. Taking in his specific Ki form, the amulet will hold memories shaped by his channeling energy. And by touching Kurama, he was in contact with the amulet, therefore able to store Kurama's memories in it."

"It's the perfect ploy," Genkai cut in. "If the amulet was to ever be taken, all he would have to do is steal a memory and we'd automatically have to return the amulet for him to return the memories."

Koenma nodded. "Exactly. Only he can release them, only he can give them back, and only if he has the amulet. I'm sorry Kurama. And Kuwabara, I'm sorry, too. But, for now at least he is not going to have any idea who you are."

"That's okay…" Kuwabara replied but Yusuke and the others could tell he wasn't too happy about it. In fact, he looked really down.

'Well who wouldn't be?' Yusuke thought to himself. He put on a silly smile and retorted, "Well, we'll just have to tell him about the Great Kazuma Kuwabara!"

"Yeah." Kuwabara gave a small laugh but it was empty. There was an odd silence for a few minutes before Hiei growled.

"If that's all, then will you leave already?" he asked in a gruff, annoyed voice. "Kurama's wounds are not healed and I think you should give him some time to do so in private."

In truth, Hiei could tell that Kurama was nervous around the others. It wasn't all that obvious, but the small, uncertain glances cast at the fire demon every now and then had given it away. That, and along with Kurama's small twitches, shifting his weight on the bed as if uncomfortable.

"Um...Yeah," Yusuke said, and motioned for the others to leave the room. However, Koenma caught his wrist and whispered something in his ear before leaving. The detective only nodded.

As he headed for the door, the last to leave except for Hiei, Yukina, and Genkai, he looked over at the two, each standing by Kurama.

"Hiei, there is something I wished to talk to you about. You too, Grandma." The teen tried not to make it too obvious that it was something Kurama should not hear, and also hoped that he would not figure out that the others would be told too, not just Hiei and Genkai.

But this was Youko Kurama we're talking about. He is no idiot.

"There is something else I should warn you of," Koenma began once all of them were a distance from the fox's room. Hiei had asked Yukina too stay with Kurama and try to comfort him as best she could, and he promised to explain whatever Koenma told them. "The tampering in Kurama's mind may have also affected other things."

"Such as?" Hiei asked with an impatiently. The fox's discomfort at the only person he really recognized leaving him alone when everything felt so confusing had been apparent and Hiei wanted to get back to comfort the kitsune.

'What is it about him?' Hiei muttered. 'I feel so...uncomfortable leaving him alone; he's...he's...' the fire demon's eyes widened by a fraction, '...he's vulnerable. That's it. I'm worried about his safety.'

As Hiei was about to scoff at his own sentimental idiocy, Koenma began to answer his question, finally providing a straight answer. Well, mostly.

"His other memories could also be slightly distorted, his energy might be off, and his emotional and mental stability," Koenma answered bluntly. There was a long bout of dubious silence, and then...

"WHAT?" Kuwabara shouted out. "What do you mean affected mental stability?"

"Hn. Affected means influenced, or, in this case, not working properly. Mental means in your head, and-"

"I know what the words mean, shrimp!" Kuwabara shouted out, his face red and fists balled. Hiei only scoffed.

Koenma sighed as he started where he left off, "Unfortunately, in both demons and humans, and most other beings, the balance of the mind is a delicate thing. Pull a thread and you'll find it connected to the rest of the balance.

"It may be very likely that his sudden lack of memory causes other things. He may not remember everything he should, or see things that others can't. He may feel what he doesn't understand, or act unlike himself.

"It is a common occurrence when dealing with mind manipulation," Koenma concluded to an uncomfortable silence. Yusuke was staring hard at the ground and Kuwabara was scrutinizing the nearby wall.

"Well then, I guess this little meeting is over." It was Genkai, this time, who ended the idle silence. She turned, "I have a fox to heal and you all have work to do. I suggest you find out as much as you can about this Syunsuke."

With that she vanished out of the room and down one of the many halls of the temple. Hiei looked around once and then, with a customary "hn" left as well, following the old master.

Koenma seemed slightly flustered, then turned and started towards the door. Yusuke was the one to grab his wrist this time and he turned only to have a kiss planted on his lips.

But before he could deepen it, Yusuke pulled away with a smirk. "Now get out of here. And don't come back without information!"

Koenma could only smirk as he walked off the temple grounds and to the nearest portal, Botan at his heals. Yusuke shook his head and turned around. He noticed a lone, tall figure dawdle over to the rock garden and he walked over to Kuwabara, who was staring meaningfully at the raked gravel.

"Hey, you okay?" Yusuke asked as he smacked Kuwabara on the back. The orange haired teen just nodded.

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Sorry, man," Yusuke tried to comfort his best friend.

"Don't worry 'bout it…It…it just…well, it kinda hurts to think that one of my best friends doesn't remember me…" Kuwabara's tone trailed off and Yusuke patted his shoulder.

"We'll find Syunsuke, and when we do, we'll kick his ass for what he did and make him give Kurama back his memory." Yusuke smiled at Kuwabara again and walked out of the room. The orange haired teen soon followed, walking out of the temple and onto the snow-covered grounds.

-o-o-o-

Hiei quietly slid open the door to find Yukina talking gently to Kurama. She was seated on the edge of his bed and he had moved back to sit cross-legged with his back against the wall.

He looked completely calm, almost comfortable and Hiei couldn't help smiling to himself. At least Yukina has seemed to gain the fox's trust. The fire demon swiftly crossed the room, following Genkai's footsteps as she walked up to Kurama.

"Alright, Fox, I just need to recheck your wounds and make sure they healed correctly," she said and started forward. Kurama's calm eyes did not flinch but Hiei could see that he did not trust Genkai.

How could he? Common sense would scream at him not to trust anyone he didn't know. Especially not to allow her to touch him.

'But then again,' Hiei mused, 'he didn't exactly listen to that instinct when he was with Syunsuke.'

Another pang of unidentifiable emotion swept through him, gone as soon as it had come. His brow furled as his thoughts lingered over it. He was feeling uncertain every time he left the fox, but that was because he was vulnerable.

And now he was feeling something else every time he thought about how Kurama had to sedu-

Another sweep of that feeling cut his thoughts short and he shook his head.

'Shit,' he growled out, annoyed, again, at his sentimental idiocy. 'Get a grip, bastard. You're a demon, don't fall for that sentimental human crap.'

With a newly refreshed determination not to submit to the strange and uncalled for emotions, he looked down at the fox. Genkai had unwrapped a white bandage around Kurama's stomach.

Not a scratch remained. She only nodded and finished unwrapping the rest of the bandages. Kurama still had slightly discolored skin from some bruises, but nothing he wouldn't live through.

So, as Genkai declared him fine, and Yukina left saying something about making Kurama some tea, Hiei was left alone with the fox. Kurama looked up at him, piercing green eyes searching through him.

The fire demon suddenly felt naked, open in front of that deep, endless gaze. He coughed slightly, coming out more as his customary "hn." Kurama smiled at this.

"How do you feel?" Hiei asked, tearing his eyes away from that emerald stare. Kurama tilted his slightly in a quizzical manner.

"I...feel fine. But in terms of what's going on..." Kurama looked away, staring out the window of the healing room, into the dark forest that surrounded Genkai's temple. "...I have absolutely no clue. And it makes me feel like shit."

Hiei smirked. This definitely wasn't the nineteen year old fox he knew. Kurama rarely swear in front of others, being most lenient probably around Hiei. That fact that he was cursing so early almost made the fire demon chuckle.

"Don't worry, I'll fill you in."

"Hiei," Kurama suddenly said and looked over at him. The fire demon almost took a step back at the uncertain trust lingering in the green eyes. "I don't know anyone here. I feel like...like someone turned the lights out in an unfamiliar room. And...and the only thing I have to guide me is a single flame...the only thing I have is you."

Hiei, who was none-to-surprisingly shocked at this revelation, took a moment to simply stare at the kitsune before he have his customary "hn" and allowed his shoulders to slouch slightly, relaxing his frame.

"I get it, you're a single soldier in enemy territory." The fox nodded his head, although, in his head, liking his explanation much more. Hiei's metaphor made him feel as if all those people around him had been enemies. At least with his dark room analogy nothing was actually certain to be evil or good.

"Yeah, that's close enough," Kurama finally answered. Hiei snorted yet again.

"Calm down," he said tauntingly, now reminding Kurama much more of the cold-hearted fire demon who had asked him to help steal the treasures, not the kinder side of him that he had seen when he was still in elementary school, back when he had helped Hiei defeat that demon.

"You're far from being alone in the dark," Hiei said as he leaned against the wall next to the window. "Unfortunately, you're not far from enemy territory."

Kurama's head snapped back to focus on Hiei. "What do you mean?"

Hiei sighed slightly. "That guy that the others were talking about, that Syunsuke...you took something from him."

"You mean...Stole?" Kurama asked, sure of nothing anymore. Hiei nodded and he looked down. "I don't remember stealing anything from anyone...unless...while I was Youko?"

Hiei shook his head. "No. Listen to me carefully, Kurama. You are no longer sixteen. You're nineteen years old."

Kurama's eyebrow rose but he remained silent, so Hiei continued. "You and I, we were caught by Yusuke Urameshi, the Rekai Tentai."

"And...my mother?" Kurama asked almost fearfully. It was true, when they had originally stolen the objects, Hiei knew nothing of Kurama's plight to save his mother. But if what Hiei said was true, and this had all already passed, Kurama was pretty sure that he would have gone through with his plan to save his mother. The only question left was, if his plan had been taken out, why was he still alive?

"Saved," Hiei said in a voice none to soft. Kurama didn't care about the harshness. He sighed gently in relief but looked back up to Hiei, silently asking hima single question. The fire demon looked disdainfully down at the fox but answered anyways.

"Yusuke saved you." When it was apparent that he was not going to hand over anymore information on the subject, Kurama sighed but returned to his quiet listening and Hiei continued his story.

"You...arranged an agreement with Lord Enma," Hiei said, disgust that had faded over the four years of working for the Rekaishowing faintlyin his voice. "Not a month after our arrest, we joined the Rekai Tentai, as payment for our crimes."

At this, Kurama looked most surprised. His wide eyes regarded Hiei dubiously. "And," he started slowly, "you went along with this...plan of mine?"

Hiei snorted and looked away. "The options were not to my liking. That was the best there was to make of a situationthat was horrid through and through.

"It's been four years since then. I've had time to make my options better. Besides, I grew stronger...as did you," Hiei finished before almost smacking himself. The tone he had just taken up sounded almost...soft. Resisting the urge to punch the sentiment out of him, he redoubled his effort to remain cold.

Whatever weird emotions plagued him at the moment, it would pass if he ignored it. Just like they always did.

"Oh," Kurama said, watching Hiei have an inner battle with himself. Indeed, the lack of coldness in the fire demon's last words had caught him off guard, but, then again, Hiei seemed to be jumping from borderline calm to borderline harsh.

It was extremely awkward.

Hiei finally looked back at Kurama, only to notice the slightly confused look he was getting. He shoved aside a growl and continued with the story to get his mind off of the emotional thoughts. Of course, this part of the story did not help asit wassupposed to.

"On a recent mission, we had to take an amulet from Syunsuke, a mind demon," Hiei started up again, his stomach knotting slightly at the thought of their enemy. The thought of their enemy with Kurama.He growled and shoved it off. "You...We got the amulet, but weren't allowed to kill the demon. Thinking he was weak without the amulet, we never expected him to attack you."

"So...It's asLord Koenma said, I've lost my memory?"

"Just parts of it," Hiei said as he looked back out the window. "Syunsuke only took the last four years worth of information."

'But why just the lastfour years?' Hiei thought suddenly to himself. Although the question had bugged him earlier, he had had more urgent things to think off and pushed the thoughts to the back of his head. Now they came up full force. 'Why not take all of the kitsune's memory? Is he taunting us? Why not just finish the Fox and the Detective off?'

Hiei shook his head. As glad as he was (not that he would ever say so) that both hanyouand fox were still among the living, it gave him nothing to work with. Syunsuke's only motive was the amulet.

Wasn't it?

'Unless...' Hiei's eyes darkened."Unless he really did come back for Kurama, too?' Hiei looked down at the fox, who had turned his confused, troubled gaze out the window, where Hiei had been looking not long before.

Kurama was beautiful; quiet a prize for any demon to land. But could Syunsuke really plan on reclaiming Kurama, especially after hurting the fox and removing his memo-

Hiei froze. 'That's it! Of course, he stole Kurama's memory! The fox will have no recollection of him, no idea it's him until it's too late!'

The fire demon looked over to Kurama. "Fox?" The youko looked over to him. "I have to go for a few minutes, but I want you to stay here. Don't leave this room."

"But...why, Hiei?" Kurama asked, genuinely confused, which was starting to make the youko annoyed, and angry. Hiei only shook his head.

"Because Syunsuke is going to come after you again."

-o-o-o-

Chapter 2

End

-o-o-o-

That chapter just didn't want to end. Yuck.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed it. Oh, and thank you so much for all my reviews. You all rock!

Author's Notes:

... had been since he fell asleep in Kuwabara's hold : I couldn't say in Kuwabara's arms...cuz that just put the wrong picture in my mind. You know, if it had been Hiei's arms it would have been cute, but not Kuwabara.

...There was a loud, overwhelming chorus of "What?": this would exclude Kurama, as seeing that he as no idea of whom Syunsuke is and less of the amulet that is, yes, still tucked in his sash. I suppose I should have them take that out soon...Hmmmm...Oh well, writer's blooper!

((My muses arenow arguing that it's not a blooper if I catch it and do nothing abut it...O.o))

...so it was he? : I hate saying that...It sounds so incorrect, but all my dumb English classes have taught me not to trust my ears. Dang, English has so many stupid exceptions and rules!

... as you all argued over the forlorn hope : Yes, I know it is more formally called the Mirror of Utter Darkness, but, I mean, come on! Forlorn hope is such an awesome name! Think about it; it literally means the Hopeless Hope. That is so much better than the Mirror of Utter Darkness!

...orange haired teen just nodded : Face it people, in the anime, he does have orange hair. He's not a redhead, as much as you all want him to be! Characters in anime have strange hair colors. Get over it!

End Author Notes

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