I don't own any of the characters of that I choose to use in this fanfiction…
"Wait," Hiei's voice sounded small and weak as it pierced through the Saiyan's already aching heart. "What do you mean you're leaving?"
Vegeta heaved a sigh, before turning to his student, pausing in his packing. "I have to go back home, there is urgent business that I have to take care of."
"What kind of business?"
"The important kind," the Saiyan said quickly, looking around for any items he forgot to pack. "Something that only I can take care of."
"But aren't I coming with you?" Hiei asked eyes wide with anger and fear.
The prince's movements slowed to a standstill, as he stood with his back towards his student. "No," he said softly, "you must stay here."
"But- But you said…" The feeling that he had had the night before enveloped the fire demon's trembling frame, the feeling that he was sinking under water unable to breathe, and was about to be crushed by the pressure. "You said that you wanted me to come with you."
"I know what I said," Vegeta said, his tone ringing with regret, "but I cannot chance bringing you with me just yet."
"You can't chance it?" Hiei gasped, fury mounting within his chest as pure grief roiled in his stomach. "What do you mean that you can't chance bringing me with you? Am I not good enough for you?"
"Hiei," the prince began, turning around to try and talk sense into his student, "I'm coming back. You don't understand-"
"No!" the fire demon spat. "I think I finally do understand. You're just like him. You make promises only when it suits you, and forget about them as soon as it doesn't! Well I'm done with being lied to!"
Without another word, the young warrior flash stepped out of the room, barreling past Kurama who was on his way to speak with the demon. The red headed kitsune fell against the wall, concerned green eyes gazing after his friend.
"What happened now?" He wondered aloud, but his answer was quick to follow the rapidly vanishing black figure.
"Hiei!" Vegeta shouted, running from his room out into the hallway, but stopped when he saw that his nephew was already long gone. With a snarl of frustration, the Saiyan slammed his fist onto the wall. "Great! As if this day couldn't get any better!"
"What did you do?" Kurama asked coolly, his emerald eyes glittering with poison.
"What is it with you people always blaming me?" the prince bellowed, stomping back into his room.
"Because you more than usually deserve it!" the kitsune yelled back, following the retreating alien. "Now what on earth have you done that has distressed Hiei?"
"I haven't done anything wrong!" Vegeta snarled at the fox. "And if anyone would ever let me explain before going off the handle, then maybe you would understand that!"
Pursing his lips, Kurama pinched the bridge of his nose and took several deep breaths before once more addressing their infuriating house guest. "Alright then," the fox said in a low dangerous voice. "Explain it to me."
"Thank you," the Saiyan growled as he walked over to flop onto the bed. "Last night I received a transmission from a trusted friend that an old enemy of mine has resurfaced. Though I have defeated him in times before, this creature is not to be underestimated, and judging from what intelligence my friend has gathered, we are reasonably sure that he has joined forces with an equally powerful partner and is now targeting any who hold Saiyan blood in their veins."
"What does this have to do with Hiei?" the fox prodded, finally able to listen without losing his temper.
"It's because of this enemy that Hiei was attacked on the beach," Vegeta replied solemnly, "and I was only able to figure out the connection now because I didn't find out till last night."
"I see," Kurama sighed, letting out a small groan he massaged his temples, and sat on the windowsill on the other side of the room, "and you were attempting to tell Hiei this when he left?"
"I told him," the warrior sighed in heartache, "that I had to leave today, and that I would come back."
"And then he lost his temper and ran out?"
Vegeta nodded. "Basically," turning pleading eyes to the fox demon, the Saiyan continued softly. "You know him Kurama; you know what he's like. If I had told him that I was leaving to fight a powerful enemy, there would have been nothing I could do to stop him from coming with me, and at this stage in his training it would be suicide to allow him on the battlefield."
"You're right," the kitsune said in a tired voice his gaze on the flowers dancing in the wind, then he turned his now calm eyes back towards the alien across from him. "Though I wish you had handled it better, I understand and respect your judgment."
"I appreciate that," Vegeta said as he stood up with a groan, "but be that as it may, I need to get home. The lives of my family and friends depend on my getting there quickly."
"You should really explain yourself to Hiei," the fox said softly.
"You know I can't do that without endangering his life," the Saiyan replied. "Besides, the best way to prove myself to him would be to come back."
"Indeed," Kurama agreed. "Then I will just have to hold down the fort until your return."
Picking up his bag, Vegeta started toward the door. "Thank you," he said with a wave, but then suddenly turned around to face the young red head. "Promise me one thing, though. Please don't tell Hiei about my battle. If he finds out, he will come after me in an attempt to come to my aid, but that would prove to be disastrous."
"Fine, I will keep your secret," the kitsune nodded. "Just as long as you keep your promise about returning for Hiei."
"I promise."
…..
Four days later, Kurama sat in the main living room of the temple, his gaze clouded with worry as his keen eyes scanned the edge of the forest, searching for the familiar shock of black hair and white scarf. But as it had been for the past few days, he saw nothing of the sort. Vegeta's hasty departure had caused the demon to seek solace amongst the trees, which was usually a normal habit. But the boy had not returned since that time, and as the days ticked by, Kurama could not deny the concern churning in his gut.
"Hey, Kurama."
The kitsune looked up to see Yusuke standing beside him, the team leader's face was lined with the worry that the red head also felt. Sighing, the fox nodded his head. "Yes Yusuke, I know; I'm worried too."
"I can't sense him anywhere," the former detective continued, "and the feeling just won't go away that he needs us, that something bad is happening."
"Well you know Hiei," Kurama sighed. "When he doesn't want to be found, it is next to impossible to do so, but I do agree with you. There is something wrong with the wind, it feels like he is in a deep struggle, and I'm not sure how to help him."
"Honestly," the half breed murmured his voice low with grief, "I think that you may be the only person who can now."
"You're wrong," Kurama whispered, watching Yusuke walk back inside the temple. "There is one other person, but he left four days ago and we have no idea when he'll be back, that is if he returns at all."
Suddenly a beeping filled the air causing Kurama to cock his head in confusion. Their communicators didn't make that kind of racket. His lips pursed in confusion, the curious kitsune wandered into Vegeta's room, only to find a small communicator left under his pillow. Picking it up, Kurama answered.
"Hello?"
"Wait, you're not Vegeta!" a blue haired woman cried through the screen.
"No I'm not," Kurama smiled gently. "My name is Kurama. Vegeta left for home four days ago, it appears he left his communicator here."
"Aw man!" the woman squealed. "This is not good!"
"May I ask who you are?"
"My name is Bulma," the woman replied her face now a mask of worry, "and I'm Vegeta's wife. He hasn't been seen or heard from since he talked to Goku, and we are starting to worry that somehow he has been captured or hurt."
"Has no one been able to find him?" Kurama gasped, apprehension prickling in his scalp.
"NO! Why do you think I called his communicator?"
"I apologize." The kitsune chuckled awkwardly then his face quickly turned serious again "I promise, I will do what I can to try to track down and help Vegeta any way I can."
"Thank you Kurama, you're the best!"
Clicking the end call button, the fox quickly set out into the forest. He needed to tell Hiei about Vegeta going missing, even though that would break his promise to the warrior. Kurama was confident that the Saiyan prince was probably underestimating the fire demon's abilities. With that last thought, and his brow furrowed in determination, the kitsune set out to find his antisocial friend.
…
Deep inside the forest, Hiei stood in the middle of a clearing, his whole body glowing with energy as he held his sword out in attack position. His hair swirled as he increased the energy, and then began to slash the air furiously with his blade, never stopping or hesitating. All his attention lay on training, and becoming stronger so that he would never feel pain again, at least that was the plan.
"Stupid Vegeta!" he snarled. "With your pathetic promises, and idiotic plans!"
Jumping up into the air, Hiei brought the sword down as if he were cleaving someone in half, and then twisting on the balls of his feet he brought the sword up into a block above his shoulder, and twisted it as if to disarm an enemy. His chest heaved with the exertions as he continued to fight his invisible enemy, until he could take it no longer, and collapsed in an exhausted pile. Clutching his chest, the fire demon groaned in pain as he felt something that he had spent the better part of his life running from, pure heartache. Rocking back and forth, he fought against the incredible amount of emotional turmoil that wanted to overwhelm him.
His breath coming in thick wheezing gasps, he quickly stood up on rubbery legs. The longer he stood still, the closer he would come to losing control over his emotions, and that was unacceptable. Picking his sword off the ground, he once again began his drills, swinging and stabbing, trying to forget all the hope he had allowed to build in his heart since meeting the mysterious man from outer space.
"Hiei, if you don't stop you're going to kill yourself."
"Who cares if I die?" the fire demon muttered, refusing to acknowledge Kurama's arrival, or even contemplate how he found him. "I don't."
"That's a lie and you know it," the fox said patiently crossing his arms.
"How do you know what goes through my mind?" Hiei growled. "I don't remember you ever having the ability to read thoughts."
"Hiei, you don't have to be petulant," the kitsune sighed "I just want to make sure you don't harm yourself while you work out your feelings concerning Vegeta leaving."
"That idiot couldn't care less about me!" the fire demon snarled. "So I'm merely returning the favor by forgetting about him. See? All worked out, so beat it."
"That is hardly what I would call worked out."
"What more do you want me to say fox?" Hiei yelled, turning to face his friend. "That he betrayed me? That he gave the exact same treatment as the man who helped conceive me? That he didn't want to chance bringing something as disgusting as me home to ruin his family? Is that what you want me to SAY?"
With a roar of anger, the fire demon spun around and punched a tree, ki energy causing it to explode into splinters of wood. Kurama simply sat on a rock, using a large leaf that he had grown out of a seed as an umbrella from the wood. Peeking from under the foliage, the kitsune clapped his hands in calm appreciation.
"Wow," he stated simply. "That was impressive."
Chest heaving as he labored to bring air into his lungs, the small demon shot a glare at his long time traveling companion and friend. "What are you doing here anyway? If you're only going to taunt me, then you should leave."
"Like I said I was only coming to check on you." With a small groan of effort, the fox stood and slapped the splinters of wood off his pants. "Besides, I'm sure that Vegeta doesn't need your help anyway."
Hiei nodded. "That's right he doesn't need…wait, what?"
"Oh nothing," Kurama shrugged apathetically. "I only received word that apparently he's gone missing."
The fire demon's ears twitched as he struggled to keep training, but Kurama could tell by the way his aura began to flicker that he was listening. Slashing with his sword again, he did a halfhearted scoff. "Serves him right for just up and disappearing. What, did he have other family members to torture with illusions of happiness?"
"No," the fox said absently, one hand going to his chin as he feigned deep thought in order to remember exact details. "I heard that the reason he left was because an old enemy of his was targeting you because of your Saiyan blood, so he went to go defeat him."
Hiei's sword thrust was ruined as he processed the kitsune's word, and once again he tried to fake a careless attitude. "Vegeta must be weaker than I thought if he was overpowered by one measly enemy."
"Actually, his enemy teamed up with one other powerful fighter, though we don't know any details on which it might be. Vegeta just thought that you were too weak right now to be brought on the battlefield, and didn't want you to get hurt. So he was going to fight on his own, and then return if he survived."
This tidbit caused the half koorime to trip in the middle of his kata, and stumble forward a few feet. Vegeta was going to fight two powerful enemies on his own because he thought that he was too weak to help? Suddenly his sword felt like it weighed ten tons as Hiei bit his lower lip in indecision. The Saiyan had hurt him, betrayed him like all the rest, but that wasn't right, was it? If he really left to fight an enemy that wanted to kill him for his Saiyan blood, then Vegeta didn't abandon him without a reason. Suddenly the memory of all the things Kalos had said on the beach came to mind, about how he had been working for someone who wanted to kill him, and ultimately Vegeta. Ruby eyes growing wide with worry, the half koorime powered up his ki, a wing of panic fluttering in his chest.
"Where are you going?" Kurama asked calmly, an indiscernible smirk quirking one side of his face.
"I'm going to get Vegeta and kill him for thinking I'm weak!" Hiei yelled.
"Oh good!" the fox smiled gently. "I'm sure he will be happy to see that you have forgiven him."
"I have not forgiven him fox!" the fire demon spat. "I just want to show him that it is dangerous to underestimate my ability, that's all!"
"Of course," Kurama replied, waving goodbye as his friend shot up into the air.
Doing a lazy loop around the enclosure, Hiei cast out his senses, searching for the energy signature that he had memorized by heart during his training. Closing his eyes, the small demon used his energy to open his jagan, a golden glow surrounding his form. With a precision honed by training and time, he scoured the globe, frantically searching for his teacher. His energy swirled around him as golden flames, as his features twisted with concentration, focusing all his power into his cursed eye so to better locate his future battleground.
Finally, a spark.
Ruby eyes jerked open, and Hiei shot like a rocket in the direction of his uncle. He may not have complete control of his powers yet, but he did know one thing, he was going to rescue his uncle from whatever monster has taken him prisoner, and then he was going to prove to Vegeta that he was a Saiyan warrior worthy of respect.