I'm not sure how this is going to go, but since I have nothing better to do, I'd figure I'd go ahead and write another chapter. Before I do, I would like to thank those that reviewed the other chapter. I wasn't expecting reviews so soon and it made my day, truly. Thank you very much!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and Maboroshi, to be completely honest. The other original characters are owned by my friends.
Kai and Kurama's prov.
Kurama watched Kai as she looked around the room. "Something wrong?"
"Well, I hate to go snooping through Maboroshi's things without her knowledge of it. I understand that it's for a good cause, but I'm not sure if she'd let us if she were awake."
"Why not? Wouldn't she want to find Hiei's killer?"
Kai turned to look up into those emerald eyes. "To be completely honest, I'm not sure…"
Kurama sighed. "We could leave and just say we didn't find anything, I guess. I'd hate to lie, but I wouldn't want to mess with Maboroshi's privacy either."
Kai felt her respect for him go up and her heart beat in her throat. He was amazing; even though his best friend's killer might be found through clues in this bedroom, he was willing not to look because someone else might have their privacy trampled on.
Kurama looked at her and smiled. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Kai blushed furiously. "Um…no reason, I was just thinking." She mumbled. "We should go ahead and look. I'll deal with Maboroshi later. Hiei deserves to have his killer brought to justice. And who knows, Maboroshi might surprise me and say it was a good idea."
"So where should we start?"
"I have to think. If I were Maboroshi, where is the last place anyone would look and I could keep easy watch over, but I wouldn't have to look at on a regular basis either…?" Kai circled around the room, thinking.
Kurama stood quietly, waiting for her to reveal the answer. He had full faith in her and her abilities to reach inside her best friend's mind. After all, he was like that with Hiei…or at least, he had been…"
"Ah hah!" Kai walked over to the bed and climbed on top of it, reaching towards the ceiling. Despite being rather tall for a female, her fingertips could barely brush the ceiling.
"Damned it!" She crossed her arms and glared at the ceiling.
"What's wrong?" Kurama asked as he moved over towards the bed and looked up at her.
"Maboroshi has a secret compartment there, but I can't reach it."
Kurama looked up but didn't see anything, no outline or door handle. "Are you certain?"
"Yes," she looked down at him. "I found it when I looked over the blueprints of the house a few years back. I know exactly where to put my fingers, but I can't reach. I bet if she had anything of Hiei's, it'd be up there." Kai sighed.
"Well…I could pick you up." Kurama blushed as bright as his hair, but he truly saw no other option.
Kai felt her face heat up and looked back at the ceiling, one to keep him from seeing, and two to try and think of another way. Her mind was a blank.
"I guess so. You'd have to be careful. The bed isn't exactly solid."
Kurama got up next to Kai and bent down, wrapping his arms around her legs, hoping that she couldn't hear his heart thumping.
Kai couldn't hear his heart, but she did hope that he wouldn't notice the goose bumps that had risen on her legs.
Kurama slowly picked her up, keeping balance. Kai reached her arms up and brushed over the ceiling until she found just the right diamond. She twisted it counterclockwise three times and heard a snap as the door came down. She jerked to keep it from falling on her head.
Kurama lost his balance and both of them came tumbling down onto the bed. Kurama tried to catch Kai, but she bounced off the bed and landed on the floor with a sickening thump.
"Oh my goodness, Kai are you alright?!" He panicked, but than heard a strange noise. Kai was laughing…hysterically, in fact.
"Leeoyasha always did tell me I was as graceful as an elephant in a china shop." She poked her head up over the bed, laughing. Kurama couldn't help himself; he joined in.
It took them a few minutes before they could regain control. "In order to get the boxes, we're going to have to do that same stunt; hopefully, it won't end the same way." She looked at him, grinning.
Kurama stood back up on the bed, spreading his legs and making sure he had sure footing, then leaned down to offer her his hand. "I'm ready when you are."
Kai accepted the given hand and pulled her self up to him. They just stood there for a minute, holding hands until she looked down and realized it. Kurama followed her gaze and blushed brightly. "Right, sorry." He picked her up, slowly going up.
Kai used her own strength and pulled her body partially into the hole in the ceiling. "Man, its dark in here!" Kurama chuckled.
She lowered her head out and gently pulled out a box that was luckily rather small and very light. "Okay, bring me down."
Kurama sat her gently back on her feet and they both sat down on the bed.
"So what's in the box?"
Leeoyasha, Yusuke, and Kuwabara's prov.
Leeoyasha sat there rather awkwardly with the two detectives. She looked over to Maboroshi's unconscious body and shivered. She hated it when Maboroshi couldn't be woken up.
"So has anyone told Yukina?" She asked, breaking the tense silence.
"Um…no, we haven't made our way up to Koorime yet. This was our first stop."
"Why?"
"Because we found the deed to the house when we were going through Hiei's things. Murkuro wanted us to come and see if anyone lived her and give them the news."
"Oh. That was nice of her." Leeoyasha bit her lip. Kuwabara and Yusuke exchanged looks. "Something wrong? Besides the obvious, I mean?"
Leeoyasha shook her head and took the lemonade back into the kitchen, returning with a fresh batch.
She sat back down and remained quiet for a few minutes, thinking about something.
"So Hiei had a room there and everything, huh?"
Yusuke raised an eyebrow. What an odd question? "Yeah, of course. He did live there."
"Oh." She sighed. 'Guess he never did plan on coming back.'
"Sure is taking Kurama and your friend a while to get back." Kuwabara commented in a gruff voice.
Leeoyasha looked up at the stairs half-heartedly. "Yeah."
All three nearly jumped out of their skin when they heard a moan. Maboroshi sat up suddenly and said "Lies!"
Yusuke and Kuwabara looked at each other again. 'This is a house of weirdo's.'
Maboroshi leaned back into the couch and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. She opened them back up and looked around the room. "Where's Kai and Kurama?" she asked Leeoyasha.
Leeoyasha bit her lip again, unsure if Kai would want her to lie or not. "They went upstairs to see if Hiei had any belongings left here." Yusuke saved her the trouble. Maboroshi raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word.
"Have a nice nap?" Yusuke asked sarcastically. Maboroshi ignored him and didn't say anything for a few moments.
"I need to think." She got up and went into another room, leaving the three there. She called back through the doors, "Leeoyasha, could you call and tell Auzrieal that I need her to take over for a few days."
Leeoyasha nodded and got up to make the phone call.
"Who is Auzrieal?" Kuwabara asked.
"She's Maboroshi's partner. Do you like brownies? I hope you like brownies." Leeoyasha asked rather randomly, or so it seemed.
"Um…yea, why?"
"Maboroshi cooks when she's thinking. She's probably making brownies. She always makes brownies when's she's thinking about something serious. I don't…" but she stopped suddenly and said in an official tone unlike the one the boys had grown accustomed to "Yes, I need to speak with Auzrieal. It's a matter of utmost importance."
She looked back at the detectives. "Like I was saying, I don't know why she makes them, but I'm not complaining." She grinned at them, but stopped and started speaking in that weird tone again. "Auzrieal, this is Leeoyasha. Maboroshi says that she's gonna need you to take over for a few days. Yes, thank you." She hung up the phone just as Maboroshi walked out of the kitchen with a batch of steaming brownies and Kai and Kurama came back downstairs.
"I've come to one conclusion. I want to see the body. Immediately."
Again, another rather long one. I might update a lot since it is summer and I've nothing better to do. I love reviews, they give me inspiration. Please send more! Thanks.
