Now, I shall finally type chapter fifteen. I like it, but the next chapter will be EPIC. Can't wait. You know who I own, there are no new characters. And starting with this chapter, there will be more description of the characters other than Kiyoshi, Akiko in particular.

Second, I just finished reading the eighteenth book, and there is one issue with the connection between Hiei/Yukina/Akiko that doesn't work with what I had planned for this story. However, I think I will be able to work with it. This is just to serve as a warning that not everything is going to fit perfectly with the story in reference to those three.

Thanks to all of you who reviewed. As I said before, this chapter is dedicated to those of you who got (or at least took a stab at) the anagram. And, when you get to the solution, I am sorry. I was too lazy to get the letters in Koenma to fit into the actual anagram, and I'm afraid I may have confused you all with that. Oops. Anyway, virtual cookies to anyone who tried, because I like cookies way better than 'extra points,' whatever those are in this context.

The people who guessed and got virtual cookies were:

AmethystNight88: I am totally jealous of your anagram skills. I gave up trying to fit the letters in 'Koenma' into the anagram, but you came up with three… NOT FAIR. Anyway, thanks for trying. Here's your cookies!

"An anagram?" Kasumi had stopped in her examination of their surroundings, taken aback by the genius simplicity of what Kiyoshi was saying. "For what, might I ask?"

"'Can you read this, Koenma?' Essentially, Kurama is mocking the underworld. He's sending Koenma a message that won't reveal anything, if he can even figure it out. The only thing I'm getting from it is that despite Kurama's, Yusuke's, and Hiei's renown, they still have the ability to travel across vast distances with complete anonymity. Somehow I doubt Koenma will get that message."

"And you have no intention of telling him." It was a statement, not a question. "Why?"

"Letting him figure it out will distract him from us and give him something to do. Kurama has made it possible for everyone to win in this little game. Koenma doesn't pay attention to us, so he doesn't catch up to us; we win. He's distracted, so he doesn't worry; he wins. His old team still can't be found; Kurama wins."

"That really is… amazing…" Kasumi trailed off, her eyes no longer focusing on Kiyoshi but on a point behind him. She then asked, "What is that?"

Kiyoshi turned around, attempting to locate what Kasumi was talking about. But when he turned, he saw nothing different in the clearing. "What is what?"

"That." She pointed at the grass next to the river. "Why is that grass different?"

"Just a different species."

"Oh. Is there a reason it's only growing right next to the river?" The plants she was referring to were of a slightly lighter shade than the rest, and were growing only on the riverbank. Kiyoshi understood what she was asking, but was surprised that she had noticed. The difference was so subtle, he had missed it the first time he looked around the clearing.

"Probably because it needs… more… water…" Kiyoshi trailed off, struck suddenly by the incongruity of water-loving plants right next to a river that incinerated anything it came in contact with. "Could that mean…?" he muttered to himself. These small inconsistencies were obviously what he had been missing. But he still couldn't help but wonder if he was misinterpreting them. If what he was about to do was incredibly stupid.

The thoughtful look in Kiyoshi's eyes was mixed with an awe Kasumi hadn't seen there before. Suddenly, Kiyoshi crossed the clearing, took a deep breath, and plunged his hand through the surface of the clear, glass-like, semi-liquid.

An unintelligible scream echoed through the clearing.

They had plotted out the four points and still Koenma could see no rhyme or reason to the locations. He knew the fallacy wasn't Kurama's. His first conclusion was that Kiyoshi had made a mistake. But then he realized that Kiyoshi had predicted that Koenma was missing information. Which suggested that he had understood more than he was telling Koenma. "Damn it," he said. Botan looked curiously at him for a moment and he added,

"Kiyoshi is hiding things from me again."

Tentatively, as if unsure suggesting it was wise, Botan asked, "What if this puzzle is simpler than we thought? If you connect-the-dots letters begin to form…"

Koenma looked up, startled by the simplicity of it. Looking at the screen, he could see it, too. "You're right…"

The scream that had shattered the silence had not been Kiyoshi screaming in pain. It was Kasumi's attempt to keep him from doing something incredibly stupid. But all it had served to do was startle him so badly he fell in completely. Kasumi shrieked again and ran to the place Kiyoshi had fallen in, but she was unable to do anything as his flesh was burned beyond recognition.

"Are you going to stand there gawking or are you going to pull me out?"

Kasumi jumped back, startled by the clarity of Kiyoshi's voice. Slightly downstream, out of her peripheral vision, Kasumi saw a shimmer and then Kiyoshi stepped out of the river, dripping wet, but completely unharmed. "But… but… but…" Kasumi stuttered, "You fell in."

"Only because you screamed bloody murder so loudly I jumped. I was only going to stick my hand in."

"But I saw your skin burned and… and.. Kiyoshi, tell me what the hell is going on!" She punched him on the shoulder, her relief he was alive turning to rage that he was, once again, not telling her the whole story.

"Ow. That kind of hurt, Kasumi." He rubbed the spot where she had slugged him but, seeing the look on Kasumi's face, he promptly added, "Okay, okay. Let me begin by saying that the folklore we learned as children is actually correct. Because it would appear that fox demons are capable of casting illusions. Very elaborate illusions."

Koenma and Botan were staring at the screen. "Sir, I'm not going to lie… I am very confused. The only thing I'm sure of is that he's trying to tell you something. Just to state the obvious."

"But what in the world could he mean by that?"

Koenma had used an application that allowed him to connect-the-dots on a scan of the map. And blazing back at him from the glowing screen were five words, all relatively simple, but utterly confusing when put together. Out his candy ear, Koenma.

"An illusion?"

"Yes; a very frightening one. I fell in and the illusion continued; it didn't break, even though I had become part of it. I could see my own flesh burning away…" Kiyoshi looked visibly shaken, as if realizing for the first time the true significance of his own mortality.

"If it's just water, I can freeze it." Akiko muttered to herself. "The question is whether the illusion will break once the water is frozen… Probably not." She thought for a moment, before concentrating on freezing the water. As she suspected, the river of molten glass continued on. To make sure it was actually frozen, she grabbed the arm of the person closest to her, which happened to be Takeshi, and pushed him in.

"Oh my God! Ow, ow!" Slipping and sliding, he managed to fall back to the shore. Looking up at the short girl in front of him he said, sarcastically, "Thanks for that. It was probably the weirdest experience of my life. Visually, I was submerged in liquid and could see my skin…" He shuddered. "Never mind. But physically, I was dry and on a hard surface so cold it hurt."

The smile on Akiko's face was a curious one. It wasn't a cold, fake smile that didn't reach her icy blue eyes, nor was it a smile of happiness. It did reach her eyes, but it conveyed a satisfaction with having achieved a goal, nothing more. When she responded to Takeshi her voice was similar, "Perfect."

The flurry of activity over the next few minutes started with Akiko explaining what she was going to do. It culminated in yet another argument between Akiko and Kiyoshi.

"We must wait until morning to cross." Kiyoshi insisted.

"We must? Who determines what we must do?" Akiko responded.

"Do you have any idea what's on the other side of this river?" Kiyoshi snapped. "Because I sure as hell don't. I can't even sense the illusion itself, which is strange. Who's to say there isn't something that will eat us alive the moment we set foot on the opposite bank? It's safer to stay here for the night and wait until morning, when we will be well rested and ready for that kind of attack."

"What's on the other side won't have changed by tomorrow. We won't have gotten enough rest for it to make a true difference. We'll have to deal with it sooner or later," Akiko pointed out. "I vote sooner. At least that way we can get it over with."

"But if we keep moving, there might not be a place to stop before nightfall."

Akiko glared at Kiyoshi, her blue eyes blazing, before saying with a quiet yet forceful conviction, "You are afraid that you will not be able to defeat whatever is on the other side of this illusion. You are running from reality. While you may be mature beyond your years, Kiyoshi, you have yet to learn that facing adversity is the only sure way to grow stronger. I know not what you are hiding from us, but I do know this: you live in a state of perpetual sorrow and pain, but you pretend you don't. This illusion before us represents your entire life, and you fear that when you step through it, the lies you have built up around you will be stripped away, leaving nothing but the truth." The barbed words hit their mark, but Kiyoshi's only reactions were to flinch slightly and then narrow his eyes.

Watching them, Kasumi groaned. "Why can't you two just get along? Even Takeshi and I have managed to basically get along. We've fought less than you two at least. Everything would be so much simpler that way."

Kiyoshi and Akiko ignored her, but Takeshi asked a question both Kiyoshi and Kasumi had pondered, a question they had decided it was safer not to ask. "Why are you so eager to move on, Akiko? What's in it for you, if we do find Kurama at the end of this trail he has laid?" The silence that pervaded the clearing was absolute.

For several long moments Akiko gazed unblinkingly at Takeshi. Then, "Hiei is traveling with him. It is of the greatest necessity that I speak with him," she answered, her carefully worded answer revealing exactly nothing of any importance.

"You wish to spick with Hiei?" Kasumi asked, surprised by this response.

"Aye."

"But why?"

Akiko turned away from them. "The issue I need to discuss began with Yukina. None of my ancestors or relatives since her have pushed their power as I have. Nor have they been so… hot-tempered. If anyone can answer my questions, it's Hiei. In fact, I'm sure he can answer them; the question is whether or not he actually will."

Takeshi raised a single eyebrow before saying what was on everyone's mind. "That was perfectly vague. You just explained everything without explaining anything."

Akiko grinned slightly, her devious smile showing she had no intention of elaborating on her answer. "Glad you noticed. Do you have a problem with it?"

As Kiyoshi had predicted, Koenma had quickly begun to obsess over the meaning behind Kurama's message. His eyes stared blankly at the screen while his mind went through every conceivable meaning behind the strange words. Finally he sighed and reluctantly typed in the code that called Kasumi, his team leader.

When she answered, she looked stressed. "Kiyoshi and Akiko were arguing again." She explained.

"Well, I need to speak with all of you for a moment." He sent a clean scan of the map to Kiyoshi and said, "Can any of you read this map?"

They all looked at it for a moment before Kiyoshi asked, "Can you read this, Koenma?"

Koenma didn't pause, not realizing Kiyoshi had just given him the answer and launched into an explanation of the bizarre statement he read in the map. "Does that help any?" he asked.

"Not really." Kiyoshi muttered.

"Well, thanks for trying." Koenma looked disappointed but not the least bit suspicious. He hit a button and was once again alone in his office.

Kasumi turned to the others and said, "Akiko, I know you want to move on. Kiyoshi, I know you don't. Takeshi, what do you think?"

Takeshi said, "I think there's enough light to keep moving, but… I'm really tired."

Kasumi thought for a moment before saying, "I second that. Let's set up camp."

The sour look on Akiko's face said she didn't like it, but she complied all the same. Kiyoshi merely looked relieved. Kasumi sighed, wishing there had been some way to please them both. But that was about as possible as making them get along.

Hiei watched his two companions. He wasn't going to join this argument for several reasons. First, he agreed with Yusuke. And he never agreed with Yusuke, simply because it made Kurama mad. In this case, however, it was because Hiei never joined a fight—or an argument—on the side that was destined to lose. And he had yet to see Yusuke match wits with Kurama and win. Kurama was just too stubborn. And logical. And just too damn persuasive.

So Hiei watched as the inevitable happened. He watched as Kurama slowly but surely convinced Yusuke that driving Koenma insane was a good idea, one that wouldn't get them caught.

And he watched as Kurama outlined a plan to do just that.