My apologies to all for the long wait between updates. I had finals, then work stuff, and... blah. But anyway, I think (hope) you'll all like this new chapter. I'm trying to move the plot along without rushing it, so... there you go. Warnings for this chapter... none to speak of. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH or anything relating to it.

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Morning dawned bright and obnoxious; sunlight streamed through Kurama's broken window, pulling him from his restless sleep. Kuronue's face vanished as his eyes snapped open, moving to float at the forefront of his thoughts. The damned man had been invading his dreams all night! But… his pleas for help held more of a meaning for Kurama now. He found himself convinced that the demon from the previous night had not been lying. Now… what to do about this mirror situation.

Rising from his comfortable cocoon of blankets, Kurama wondered briefly why he was bare-chested, then remembered his lacerated hand. He unwrapped it warily, and was pleased to find that the bleeding had stopped. He flexed the damaged fingers, which hurt, and determined that there was still a little bit of glass that he needed to fish out before he allowed the wounds to close completely. He gathered the necessary clothes and headed for the bathroom to shower and clean out his wounds.

Turning on the hot water, Kurama stepped into the shower and closed the curtain, sighing as the soothing water ran down his body. The mirror… As Kurama showered, his mind tossed out solutions to his problem. Certainly he could steal the mirror, that would be no problem, but he didn't want to do that unless he had to. He could just forget about it and accept Kuronue as dead, but that was hardly an option. Abandoning the man who had rescued him so many times before? Unthinkable. And then there was Yusuke. Perhaps he could explain the situation and get the mirror on loan. He supposed he could even ask his team to help, but he didn't really want to do that. After all, this was his problem, not his team's. None of them even knew Kuronue, he couldn't ask them to risk their safety to help a man they'd never met.

Absentmindedly, Kurama began to pick shards of glass out of his hand. Blood began to flow, staining the water gathering around his feet bright red. Kurama continued what he was doing, not concerned about the blood. When he finished, he rinsed his bloody hands off as best he could and shut the water off. Blood oozed from the cuts moments after the water stopped washing it away. Fascinated, Kurama watched it flow for a moment before he stepped from the shower, dripping, and dried himself before wrapping his towel around his hand. He winced as his wound bled into the fluffy white fabric, making a mental note to buy new towels before his mother found this one. Dressing, and spreading a poultice on his hand, Kurama re-wrapped his wound and headed downstairs for breakfast. Shiori looked up as he walked in, smiling.

"Good morning, sweetheart. Would you like some breakfast?" Kurama smiled at her.

"Thank you, no, mother. Just some tea, please." He accepted a cup from her and sipped it slowly, making sure to keep his injured hand by his side, out of sight.

"Were you having a night mare last night, Shuuichi? I heard you moving around and talking last night…" Kurama nodded, accepting the cover story his mother provided for him, slipping effortlessly into the lie.

"Yes, mother, sorry to have disturbed you. I was dreaming about a terrible dragon terrorizing the city. I had to stop it, but I couldn't…" Shiori smiled sympathetically, patting her son's shoulder gently.

"You've been having a lot of nightmares lately. You should eat better, dear." Kurama nodded, still sipping his tea. He really had been having a lot of nightmares lately. Apparently he was fairly noisy when he was having them. He would have to remember to ward his room so that he would stop concerning his mother.

"Yes, mother, I'll try to eat better." Finishing his tea, Kurama rinsed his cup and set it in the dishwasher. Giving his mother a hug and a kiss, still careful to keep his bandaged hand out of sight, Kurama headed for the door. "I'm going to be late if I don't hurry. I might be spending the night at a friend's house; I have a project to work on. Is that all right, mother?" Shiori nodded absently, waving goodbye to her son over her shoulder.

"Have fun, Shuuichi. Be safe! I love you!" And, with that, Shiori turned back to her housework. Kurama left, closing the door behind him.

"I love you too, mother."

"Aww, Kurama loves his mommy," came a familiar voice from behind him. Kurama whipped around to see Yusuke Urameshi's smirking face.

"Yusuke, please! I've told you, when we're around humans my name is Shuuichi!" Yusuke shrugged, unconcerned. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be in class right now? Your school starts earlier than mine…" Yusuke shrugged again.

"Class is for motivated people. Besides, I got a weird bulletin from Koenma this morning. Apparently some demon slipped through the Kakai last night and went on a nice romp around Japan before, get this, he went back to the Makai! Weird, huh?"

"Indeed," replied Kurama, but Yusuke cut him off before he could go any further.

"So I figure you and me can ditch school together and go find out what he was doing here! What do you say?" Kurama fixed the Spirit Detective with a flat stare.

"Yusuke, when have I ever condoned skipping school? Anyway, I already know what the demon wanted: me. He was a messenger sent by an old acquaintance." Yusuke was staring at him, an eyebrow raised suspiciously. "Don't worry, Yusuke, he wasn't here for a fight."

"Oh? That how you busted your hand? Not fighting?" Kurama frowned, flexing his bandaged hand slightly.

"Actually, I wasn't fighting. Just an accident, that's all."

"Sure, accident, whatever…" Yusuke still looked suspicious, but he moved on to the more pressing bit of news. "So who's this old acquaintance and what's the message he was sending?" Kurama hesitated; this had to be phrased well if he didn't want to put Yusuke on guard.

"It was a business proposition." Yusuke's eyes narrowed and Kurama found himself talking fast, trying to explain without revealing TOO much. "An old friend of mine is in some trouble, and he needs my help. And to help him… I need your help." Yusuke folded his arms, fixing Kurama with a piercing stare.

"Ok, what's going on? You know whatever you need you've got." Kurama brightened.

"I need the Mirror of Darkness, and I need you to not ask questions." Yusuke stared blankly for a moment, then began to laugh hysterically.

"Damn, dude, you really had me going for a minute there! Haha, like I'm supposed to believe you're turning all evil and psychotic on me again! Nice one. Now seriously, what do you need me to do?" Kurama wasn't smiling.

"I told you, Yusuke, I need the Mirror of Darkness." The grin dropped from Yusuke's face and his features settled into a scowl.

"You know I can't do that. C'mon man, what's going on?" Kurama shook his head.

"I can't tell you, it's not your problem to deal with. If you want to help me, I need the Mirror. If you can't, well, I'll have to figure something out by myself."

"Kurama, you know Koenma wouldn't let me give you the thing we convicted you of stealing unless you give us a damn good reason. So why don't you just tell me what's going on!" Kurama shook his head again, beginning to walk.

"I'm sorry, Yusuke. You wouldn't understand. Don't worry about it, I'll figure it out. Go to school, you're already late." And then he was gone, walking away from the Spirit Detective as swiftly as he could without actually running. Yusuke watched him go, scratching his head, then turned and went the opposite way. Go to school? No fucking way! He had better things to do, like hunt for a certain three-eyed demon to find out what the hell was going on with Kurama.

"Hey Hiei!"

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Kurama didn't actually go to school that day; the first time he had ever missed for something non-mission related. Instead, he wandered around the city, thinking. He had 6 days until the messenger returned and expected the Mirror. In other words, he had 6 days to orchestrate one of the most complicated heists he had ever attempted. And he had no Kuronue to help him. This was going to be tough.

Lunchtime found Kurama in a small café, nibbling on a salad and sipping a glass of water as he tried to formulate plans to steal the Mirror. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't notice Hiei's arrival until the little demon tapped him on the shoulder. Kurama jumped, knocking over his water as he did.

"Hiei! God, you startled me!" Hiei frowned, sitting down across from his partner and picking up the glass he had tipped.

"Why so jumpy? You should have felt me from a mile away, I wasn't bothering to hide." He picked up a piece of ice, the corners of his mouth twitching as it evaporated directly from his hand. "Could your jumpiness have something to do with your visitor last night?"

"You've been speaking to Yusuke." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Hiei nodded curtly.

"Damn boy woke me up from a nap with all of his yelling. Told me something about a business proposition. Care to elaborate?" Kurama shook his head, but Hiei wasn't about to let the issue slide that easily. "Wrong answer, fox. What the hell is going on? What could you possibly need the Mirror for?" Kurama shook his head again.

"It's my problem, Hiei, I'll deal with it myself." Hiei folded his arms, glaring.

"Well you're my partner, so I deserve to know why you need one of the few truly apocalyptic devices out there."

"Hiei, I-" but Kurama cut off as Hiei's eyes locked with his own. "Alright… it's Kuronue."

"Kuronue?" Hiei's voice was sharp. "I thought he was dead." Kurama nodded.

"So did I, but I've been having visions lately… At first I thought they were nightmares, but now I think they're memories… his memories. And when that messenger showed up last night, the evidence was too clear for me to deny."

"Evidence? What evidence? What does this have to do with Kuronue?" Kurama took a deep, calming breath.

"I think he's alive, Hiei. And I think he's being kept as a prisoner. I have to help him. He was my partner, my best friend, my…" he trailed off, but Hiei knew what he had been about to say.

"Your lover?" Kurama sighed, resting his forehead in his hands. A sheet of red hair hid his face from Hiei's view.

"It was more than that. I was abused when I was young… Youkos were highly sought-after and sold quite well on the Makian Black Market. He… rescued me from one of my captors, taught me how to live, and helped me become who I am. I can't just throw him to the dogs and go on with my life." Kurama's eyes lifted to meet Hiei's suddenly. "I have to help him. Or die trying. I owe him that much." Hiei studied the emerald gaze locked upon his own for a moment before breaking the eye contact with a nod.

"I understand. So what's the plan?" The kitsune looked up, eyes widening.

"You-you'll help me?" Hiei made no move, just kept a steady gaze on his partner's face. "I… Hiei, you don't have to, this is my problem…" Still Hiei remained silent, just watching. "Thank you… Let's go somewhere more private, I'll tell you what I've been planning…"

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Well? How was it? Not moving fast enough? It'll improve soon, I promise. Anyway, reviews make the world go 'round, so review review review!! Next update will come faster, I promise! Much love to you all!

Princess Seki