“Let’s Fly as the Birds Do…” Chapter Twenty-Nine

8/1/02

By: Hikari

E-mail: hikari1612@netzero.net

Site: http://www.oocities.org/hikari_nanase/

Notes: My poem again ^.^() This chapter sucks. Gomen ne…

Music theme to chapter: Track 8 and 9 of the Rurouni Kenshin Instrumental Soundtrack.

~*~*~*~

A glowing star in the night

A seemingly untouchable beauty,

As untouchable as its own light…

Lighting a path for me to follow…

Lighting a path for me to find my way…

Through the thicket and through the wood…

Leading me to you, my ray…

A glowing star in the night

A seemingly untouchable beauty,

As untouchable as its own light…

And yet you are standing right next to me,

How funny fate is…

Star crossed lovers…

~*~*~*~

The three-bell chorus sang, and everyone sprinted in chaotic directions. Kurama walked down the hallway toward the exit where the gymnasium was, when he found Arisu and Shidou waiting for him from the other end expectantly. Arisu smiled and waved her arm in the air cheerily- her smooth white-gold hair swinging to her lively movements. Shidou, on the other hand, wore a smug smirk with a pose of one hand on a jutted out hip. From beneath his dark emerald strands of hair, Shidou winked. Curious, Kurama picked up the pace until they met together by a foot’s distance.

“Hey, won’t you be late for class?”

Shidou smacked him on the shoulder. Tenderly, as you would expect, since he didn’t want to agitate any one of Kurama’s bruises… if any. “Shuiichi, come on. It won’t hurt if we’re a little late…” He toned himself down- falling serious. “…So how’ve you been?”

Kurama grimaced. At the moment he wasn’t very appreciative of the school body’s present nonchalant nature towards him, and with Arisu and Shidou acting as though nothing came between them, his mentality simply did not know what to think. The redhead furrowed his brows together, and narrowed his eyes. Sensing his old friends’ anticipation for his reply, he thrust his troubles to back of his mind. “Well,” Kurama began airily. “I was on my way to track practice-”

“Oh!” Arisu piped up, breaking the mood. “ I forgot to call you! I’m sorry…”

The other two turned to her and blinked in sync. Noticing their unison, all three of them laughed lightly- though Kurama felt somehow peculiar doing it. The girl calmed herself, clearing her throat, and pulled some loose strands behind her ear. “As I was saying, Yatori-san was fired about a week and a half ago…”

For a second, Shidou glanced up to the ceiling thoughtfully, when his short-term memory managed to switch on a rusty light bulb. “Oh, yeah! It was after the investigation when Tetsuji and Kao were taken into custody. The whole team is in question, and several other guys are in Juvy too.”

“Wha- what? Why?”

“Well, apparently, Yatori-san was more involved in the gang-up than we thought. He’s also the one who ruined Kairu-san’s reputation and made her lose her career.” The expression on Arisu’s face went from vibrant to solemn. “Lots of people pretty much knew that he had… eh… certain goals with her, and since she technically rejected him and chose to help you instead, I guess he held the grudge all the way.”

Shidou put an arm around Arisu’s waist and gave her a short squeeze. The blond patted him affectionately on the arm, letting go of a well held-in sigh. The redhead stood before them both, relatively dumbfounded at the facts.

“I knew he was a jerk.” Kurama started. “But I didn’t know he was a bastard…”

“Yeah, that’s what we thought too. Gomen, Shuiichi, Miss Kairu shouldn’t have put in such a situation… And yet…” Her eyelids lowered, as Shidou hung his chin over the top of her head. She clutched onto her boyfriend’s hand, her fingers tracing his. Kurama, waiting for her to continue, discovered himself to be filling up slowly with jealousy. He tried to forget about it. Hiei would come back. He always did.

“And yet…” Arisu pursued. “She was willing to risk it because she cared.” She broke from Shidou’s embrace and placed herself in the redhead’s arms. Her friend gasped, first unsure as to how to react, but was soon able to tentatively place his delicate hands on her curled up shoulders. “ What’s wrong with us?” She cried. “WE should have been the ones who were there for you, Shuiichi-kun! Now someone else had to suffer because of dumb gossip… You will never look at us the same way again…”

The redhead noticed Shidou stand by and swallow. He motioned to Kurama to follow him to the staircase so they could at least sit down and talk this through all the way. It seemed they would be ditching first period.

Arisu stiffly came out of Kurama’s arms and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She tried to smile given her sudden change in temperament. Shidou settled on the bottom step of the tiled stairs, whereas Kurama sat on the third and Arisu on the fourth. The redhead leaned against the wall and pierced his lips. Arisu draped her arms about her knees and stared at Shidou- her eyes begging him to say something.

Hesitation lurked about Shidou’s expression. What to say? He opened his mouth slightly a few times, but he couldn’t find a place to start. Kurama and Arisu waited patiently. The third frowned, took a breath of air, and his jaw clamped shut again.

“We’re just idiots, Shuiichi. We’re all idiots.” Okono Shidou raised both his arms and gripped onto the black rail he seated beneath. His elbows dangled lazily, as did his hair as he bowed his head in deep construction for words. “We’re selfish idiots.” He continued. “In a world like ours, it’s dog eat dog, and I guess we were animalistic enough to abandon you for the sake of our own names…”

“When you think about it Shidou,” Arisu put in. “Even animals have a better sense of loyalty than people do… Animals don’t stab you on the back, remember? And furthermore…” She gazed into Kurama’s forest-like irises. “Animals are vicious when they need to be. But people- people are vicious when they choose to be.”

“And it’s sad to think, Shuiichi, that we sank to that level from one stupid chain letter.” Shidou looked up, honey colored eyes glowing. “We jumped from one conclusion to the next, and not only that, we completely threw away all the good times we had… We disregarded all the times we stuck together- like the three musketeers.”

“Because of what? This?” The girl pulled out an old crumpled sheet of the scandalous picture from her skirt pocket. She opened it up carefully, and observed it from a distance. “You know, the more I look at this photo… the more I realize it’s not disgusting at all. No, I think it’s really beautiful- especially since it’s so much harder to admit these kinds of emotions when it’s not the norm…”

“That’s our stupidity… All of us- in this whole damn school. We… crushed the most important thing to you, and that in turn almost killed you.”

Kurama sighed, raising his head against the wall- making some of his hair stick upright. ‘The dove… and the ice blue rose…’

Arisu scooted closer to him, and took the redhead’s hand into hers. “You’ve brought a lot of the people in this school happiness when you were happy, Shuiichi… You even brought Shidou and me together.”

“Plus you’ve tutored practically half the student body…”

“And the track team needs you too- eh heh… though track is kind of nonexistent at this point.” She took Shuiichi by the tip of his chin to make him face her. Her eyes darkened, and her face became startlingly intense. “Could you believe that we disregarded the best kind of friend? What a loss on our part.”

The other young man let go of the railing and moved toward Kurama and Arisu’s loose huddle. Sheepishly, he placed both his palms on top of his friend’s knee. “It’s always when things go too far that people finally react. Most of the time, that’s the only way some people actually change. I guess, what I mean to say is… Well, you taught us something that no professor or adult could ever explain.”

“Revere. Fidelity. And love.”

“The three most important things to learn from the world in the first place.”

It was then that Kurama felt his lips tremble, and soon hot tears peaked from the corners of his eyes and spilled down heavily from either cheek. Arisu wiped one tear away, while Shidou another. Their friend shook in his place, trying in valor to keep himself in check. The girl rubbed him gently on the back, as he covered his face with an open palm. Lengthy fingers had tangled with thin silky strands of crimson, and Shidou tried to peel that hand away in order to see the condition of Kurama’s face. His face was warm- almost hot. He jittered giving effort to speak. “I’ve- I’ve lost all three of those things…”

Shidou squeezed him on the knee. “What?” he asked softly.

“He’s gone, Shidou… Hiei left, and I haven’t seen him since the hospital.”

“You mean he ran away?” Arisu ran her fingers through Kurama’s scalp comfortingly. From beneath her touch, he nodded and looked up at her with such a visage that she winced. “Well, he’s bound to come back, right?”

“But I’ve waited for so long already! I must have- must have put him through so much stress he doesn’t WANT to come back…”

“Don’t say that!” The other scolded. “Something else is up.” Losing his awkwardness all at once, Shidou rubbed Kurama’s knee and stared at him directly. “Listen, after school, all three of us are going to go out there, and look for him- even if it means going missing ourselves…”

“Shidou, don’t…”

“Oh, to hell with it!” He shouted ardently. “And yes, we CAN do that, because we’re stupid and stubborn.”

They laughed, and even Kurama was beginning to feel better again. It felt incredibly uplifting to have his friends back. Arisu was right, however, things wouldn’t be the same among them. Conversely, Kurama also knew that the best friendships survive the worst traumas and strains. Kuwabara and Yusuke reflected this, as did he and Hiei; and if Hiei could forgive his clan for throwing him down a chasm, as well as Kurama’s own betrayal to him- then there should be no reason that Kurama could not forgive his own companions too.

The bell rang.

“Well, that’s a fine way to start your first day back…” Arisu quipped, standing from the staircase as a stampede of students ensued from upstairs. Shidou and Kurama followed her example- helping each other up. “So… forgive and store everything in the furthest, darkest, unfound depths of our memory?”

“That won’t be a problem for SHIDOU.” Kurama cracked.

“Oi! It’s too soon to be making fun of me! We still have to re-develop our relationship!”

Arisu slapped him on the back. “Baka! Are you cheating on me now?!”

Her boyfriend crossed his arms, and rubbed the tip of his chin with his fingers in mock-deliberation. “Well, I have to say that he DOES cook better than you…”

“Oi!” She squeaked.

In reaction, Kurama bit his thumb and closed his eyes to suppress more giggling.

“After school then, Shuiichi?”

He looked up, his demeanor refreshed and bright. “Hai…” The redhead nodded. “ Thank you.”

*****

By fifth period, Kurama settled into school relatively comfortably. Teachers would touch him lightly on the shoulder, ask if everything was okay, and give an assuring nod. Those from his track team, most of them at least, gave a formal and sincere apology- which he acknowledged with no question. It still felt a little bizarre, however, because he knew it was like speaking to the undead when people approached him. His keen observations clearly told him who was being genuine with their regrets, and who was putting up a lousy- not to mention resentful- front. Being prudent, of course, he made no complaint and smiled back when the same was offered to him. But the communication… it was so stiff, and if it wasn’t then he’d have to have nod his head over and over in order to assure things were fine- even when it started to get irritating. The efforts, nevertheless, were meaningful to him. In due time, Kurama knew that they would forget, and life would ease down to it’s natural flow.

A spit wad hit him from behind the neck. He turned around.

The guy with the straw grinned from ear to ear, and winked with one eye. The guy standing by him swiped the straw from his hand, snapped it, and gave him a noogie for the good of it. When the two settled down from their short roughhousing, the boy standing strolled up to Kurama casually, and said:

“Don’t mind him, he’s just being himself… Sorry about that.”

The redhead beamed gently, and glanced back at the other. Now he was throwing pencils up at the ceiling.

“It’s all right, I don’t think he meant anything by it, Mirogi.”

Mirogi blinked as a spit wad hit his left eye. “Ah… Damn it.” He rubbed his face. “Anyway, I organized your make-up work for you.”

Kurama shook his head slightly. “You did?”

He nodded. “Yup, it’s all in my folder. I’ll give it to you after class, ‘kay?” Friendlily he sat on top of Shuiichi’s desk and gazed off into Haru’s empty seat. “Hm… He’s been missing for a while now too.”

Following his stare, Kurama saw what he was looking at. “Haruhiko? He hasn’t been coming? How come?”

“Oh, well…” He shrugged. “It’s a confidential story that only a few people know.”

Resting his head against one fist, Kurama lowered his eyelids smugly. “And I take it you’re a part of that few?”

“Yup.”

“Mind telling me?”

“Nah…” Mirogi waved his hand. “It’s no lie either, just to let you know. I found out from Tetsuji when I visited him at juvenile hall. Those three, really, BAD news… You know the Kyoto train station?”

How could he NOT know? That city and its hotel nearly made him snap his feet off. “Yes, what about it?”

Mirogi began tapping on the wooden desk with his fingers. “Well, they have connections all the way in Kyoto for some sort of underground econ. Needless to say, I’m talking about Ecstasy.”

Bottle green eyes widened. “They were dealing E?”

Another nonchalant bob of the head. “Yeah. They kept their transactions super hush-hush by using one of the convenience lockers at the station. Their package was supposed to come the day of your track registrations for the regionals- pretty weird, huh? At any rate, they ran into some trouble with a competing dealer, and one thing led to another.”

“Then… what exactly happened to Haru?”

“Oh, poor guy- he got jumped. There’s a reason why he was willing to go underground for money, actually, and I was really surprised to find out what that was.” He looked down on Kurama from his sitting, and cocked his head to the side. “Haru’s got a little ten year-old sister… and she… got molested a few years ago by some sicko. Haruhiko has a pretty jacked-up family, by the way, so I guess he decided to take matters into his own hands and track down who did that to her.”

“But… what does that have to do with the drugs?”

“A LOT. I don’t know the details, but Haru was able to find out that the molester was a junkie- a transvestite junkie. He was expecting to find a guy, but in the end, he wound up with a girl- er- technically.”

“So for payback, he started dealing E in order to find him directly?”

“Bingo. Plus some extra cash for his own pocket.”

Squinting, Kurama tried to make sense of the boy’s logic. “But why didn’t he notify the authorities?”

“Like I said: jacked-up family. They don’t want to waste money on an investigation- they live on welfare, Shuiichi. And… Haru is just plain confused. Imagine this living situation: his parents are divorced, but they live in the same household for cash purposes. It’s a crazy, inconceivable situation, but you already know how strange the world is- uh… don’t take that the wrong way.”

Kurama fell extremely silent, as he tried to absorb the conciseness and implausibility of this information. At first it seemed as though Haruhiko merely had an attitude problem, but then, how can you have an attitude problem if you didn’t have a bigger issue behind it in the first place? The redhead frowned, and pinched his nose bridge. Mirogi inspected him briefly- cocking his head to the side.

“No wonder he hates me so much…” Kurama muttered.

“Hm? Oh…”

“Yeah… Thanks for telling me.”

“No problem.” He hopped off the desk, while Kurama shifted his vision to the window.

‘I hope he’s alright…’

*****

Meeting Arisu and Shidou at the quad area, the three of them walked off campus and toward the city block. Before going into random searching, Shidou understood that they needed to organize some sort of plan. Much to their surprise, a silver Acura pulled up to their sidewalk. Kurama batted his lashes in disbelief.

“Kaasan?”

Her right tinted window rolled down to reveal her in a stylish pale blue suit. “Hey, where are you three off to this afternoon?”

Arisu peaked from the left most side and smiled brightly. “Hiei-hunting, mam!

“Arisu!” Kurama hit her on the arm and she flinched visibly.

“Oww…” She whined, rubbing her side briskly. “What were you thinking, Shuiichi? I’m not made of firm muscle like your boyfriend, you know… Oww! Don’t hit me again! You’re mean!”

Shidou and Shiori looked at each other and snickered. An adorable pout had crept upon Arisu’s childish face, whereas an indignant glower took over Kurama’s. Shidou tactfully stepped between them, resting both hands on either of their shoulders. The redhead blushed slightly as he crossed his arms and huffed. The blond, however, took everything in good nature and grinned pleasantly. It wasn’t very often that Shuiichi’s buttons would be pushed, and now that she discovered what and where those buttons were she simply couldn’t help herself. After all, everything was out in the open now- why not make a joke of it?

“Hiei-hunting?” His mother asked. “Well, it certainly won’t be easy playing the game on foot…”

The boy raised an eyebrow, while the other two blinked. “Game?”

Shiori pressed the button to unlock all the doors of her car. Leaning over the passenger’s side, she unbolted that one and pushed it open. “Hop in, I’ll give you a ride around town.”

The trio immediately took the offer. It was hot out today, and from all the sweat build-up involved in walking for what may be hours, terrible body odor would be embarrassing. Kurama seated himself in front, while the others took the back. Strapping on their seatbelts, Shiori pulled out of the curb and re-entered the main street. The redhead glanced at his mother, who happened to also glance at him in the same moment. They both smiled. Turning away from her, Kurama could feel a familiar tender, snug feeling spread from the core of his chest and further.

“I thought you had work…” He whispered.

“Well, Shuiichi-kun,” The woman began, clicking on her tongue. “There are some things more important than living in my office.” She paused for a moment, and then continued adding: “And as you’ve said, I haven’t given up on either of you yet…”

Approaching a stoplight, Shiori opened her glove compartment. Resting there, among driving gloves for winter, shades, and- oddly enough- pepper spray, was a folded up map. She took it out, and handed it to her son, who promptly opened it.

“Here!”

Kurama turned to the back to find Arisu with her arm outstretched with a neon green highlighter. “Mark-up all the spots you think we might find him.”

He thanked her, and proceeded to do just that. Kurama found, with little to his surprise, that all of Hiei’s rest spots and perches were located in either dense forests- including parks- or the tallest sites in Japan- including the Tokyo Tower. His lips curved slightly when he took surveillance of the fact that all these landmarks started exactly within a one-mile radius of the Minnamino household. From that radius, more landmarks were located at a distance of exponential intervals- forming a sort of firework pattern on the city map. Kurama stifled a chuckle. It was all so carefully intended. During the drive, Shidou asked for them to stop at a café to facilitate where to start, how to spread-out, and where to meet. Shiori nodded in approval of the boy’s idea. It would be useless to jump around and waste energy.

Finding a suitable restaurant, Shuiichi’s mother parked in the lot, and they stepped out the vehicle without delay. They walked into the café with highlighters, pencils, and notebooks in tow. As they were about to be ushered into a table, Kurama spotted an all-too recognizable group gathered around one of the booths. A tall carrot-top, a bubbly blue-haired girl, a brunette, a Koorime, an old sensei, the prince of delinquents, and the prince of the dead- without his pacifier and in human attire. One of Yukina’s ruby irises suddenly sparked from the corner, and instantly she stood to wave at Kurama and his company. The redhead was taken aback, but sighed at the apprehension that this was Hiei’s sister. If her eyes were just as red as his, then it would be natural that they would be as equally sharp.

The redhead waved back, causing those with him to look at whom he was returning the signal to. Then and there, the others at the booth turned their heads at jolted with stun.

“Kurama!” Yusuke hollered.

Kurama gasped at that, and his teammates had the same reaction. Botan took the liberty to step on Yusuke’s foot, while Keiko shook her head dully. Arisu and Shidou were about to ask ‘Shuiichi’ about the weird name, when Shiori suddenly filled in for him.

“It’s his nickname.” She answered affectionately. “Don’t ask me the story behind it though… Hiei-kun told me it was a well-guarded secret. I suppose… I’ll have to respect that.”

Easing, Kurama led his friends and mother toward the gang. Politely he gestured to each of his friends and performed the introductions. As his mother already recognized some of them, she only then came to know Botan, Koenma- who named himself merely K, and Yukina. Upon hearing Yukina’s name, and seeing her angelic face, Shiori recalled a short and rather terse conversation she had with Hiei while setting the table for dinner. The woman was about to say something as she pulled up a free chair to the table, but instincts told her not to get involved. Instead, she lent out a hand to the young girl, and shook it congenially. How cool her little hands were, just like Hiei’s.

At the disclosure of Yusuke and the gang’s similar hunting plans, Kurama could not resist grabbing Koenma by the wrist and bringing him up for a pretty violent embrace. Koenma gave a lopsided smile and patted the redhead on the back inelegantly. “Uh… It’s nothing.” He said, continuing his monotonous patting. “Uh… yeah.”

Letting him go as he sensed the prince flush, he, Arisu, and Shidou pulled up three more chairs. Kurama drew out the map and set it before them all to see.

“Looks like a sparkler.” Keiko noted, eying the distinct splotches of luminous green ink.

“Dang,” Yusuke remarked, scratching the back of his head. “Does Hiei actually measure how far one post will be to the next? It’s so precise, it’s kinda scary.”

“He’s good at estimating.” Kurama replied. “But I’m afraid I haven’t seen him any where near my house, so that cancels out about half of the landmarks.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Shidou leaned in closer. “It seems that a majority of his spots are highly concentrated where you live.” He lifted the end of his lip mischievously and nudged his friend at the side with his elbow. Kurama grimaced, sensing his mother’s- as well as Kuwabara’s- astonishment.

“But look here…” Botan piped up, bending over as well to point on the large spread of paper. Her finger dragged from the most concentrated points to where the landmarks suddenly grew further and further apart in addition to fewer and fewer in number. “These less concentrated areas are spread all throughout the city. The furthest point is in the metropolitan area.”

“Hmm…” One of Genkai’s calloused fingers traced about. “That’s if you’re looking east. To the west, the furthest point is somewhere near my temple.” She turned to the young Koorime. “Have you seen him anywhere there recently, Yukina?”

Her minty tresses swung as she shook her head sadly. “No… I even checked by the creek where we normally talk, but he wasn’t there either. I’ve been going there once a night and once an afternoon in hopes to see him, but…”

The corner of Kuwabara’s eye twitched with what could have been jealousy or concern, but he controlled it later by squeezing Yukina on her petite shoulder. “Don’t worry, Yukina-san. We’ll find the lil’ squirt.”

“So what’s the plan?” Koenma asked, folding his arms over his chest. “It will be a lot harder to find him if evening falls. We should start as soon as possible.”

Shiori pulled the map closer to her, and scrutinized as best as she could. Her brow furrowed a tad in concentration, when she lifted her sight up to the others. They were all looking at her expectantly, and to their stare, she bowed and took out one of the notebooks they brought.

“We know he isn’t near our house.” She explained, writing neatly on some lined paper. “ So that cancels out these areas. We also know he hasn’t been to Genkai-san’s temple… so that cancels these two marks. Do we have any more clues?”

“More likely than not, Kaasan, he won’t be near the city area. He… doesn’t take too kindly to noise.”

“I dunno. Is it smart to cancel out all the eastern areas?” Inquired Yusuke, who was leaning lazily against his elbow.

“Probably not.” Agreed Arisu. “If he were to be in the city, where would he be?”

“The highest points. When I say this, I mean the tops of buildings and such.”

Honey eyes widened upon hearing this. “What the heck?” He glanced at the map to confirm this, and sure enough, all the highest buildings were highlighted. “Why would he be there?”

A shrug escaped Kurama’s breath. “He is who he is. I suppose that besides enjoying silence, it’s safe to say he takes pleasure in interesting views.”

“Strange guy…”

“Not really…” The redhead spoke quietly, lowering his countenance. “If you visit any one of his posts, I’m sure you’ll be captivated with what you see. If it’s not the glowing lights of the city, then it’s the pink and purple sunset or the glimmering stars. He can be very-”

“I think we’ve heard enough, Shuiichi-kun.” The blond interrupted, facing her boyfriend quite furiously. “Shidou, that’s it, take notes on some of these spots. The only place you ever take me to is the movie house!”

“But, Arisu-chan…” The boy pleaded as she turned her back on him. “The only beautiful view we need to see is each others’ faces!”

“But in a movie house?! I can’t even kiss you straight in- ”

Clearing her throat, Shiori stood. “I think we’ve figured out what to do. We’ll look at all the high points in this area and meet back at the café at…” She glanced at her watch. “Six-thirty. Better yet, we’ll meet at Genkai-san’s temple instead. That way we can continue looking around the western portion of his sites for a few more hours.”

“Who’s got a cell?” Shidou pulled out his from his pocket, whereas Shiori, Arisu, Kurama, Kuwabara, and Keiko took out theirs. Technically, Botan had one too, but it was the compact communicator. She figured it was wiser not to say anything about it lest three more people must be introduced to the wonderful world called Reikai. “Okay, we’ll split-up into…” He did a quick head-count. “Groups of two or three. I’ll go with Arisu, since she wants to see these sites so badly…”

The girl bopped him on the head playfully, then kissed him on the cheek.

“I’m with Yukina!” Carrot top announced in that screechy tone that could only be his. Kurama contemplated over what his lover would say had he been with them. Kurama cringed, and later giggled. He had amazing friends indeed.

“I guess I can go with K.” Botan said, and then whispered into Koenma’s ear, saying: ‘I’ve got my Youkai Whistle, did you bring yours?’ He simply nodded. In his own mind, though, he knew he would be enjoying this. For all the turmoil Reikai’s offices have been going through, he was going to make-up for it by blowing-up the fire-demon’s eardrums.

“Yusuke?” Keiko turned to the other quite sweetly, and asked in such a delicate and quiet way that all Yusuke could do was look at Kurama and Kuwabara in remorse, and heave out a heavy sigh before accepting.

“And that leaves the three of us.” Voiced Genkai, who eyed the redhead as well as his human mother. “Perhaps it would be practical if I started around my area to save time. I believe it would also be of good medicine if the two of you talked some more, yes?”

Shiori, at once, concurred. “I’ve written down all the best possible sites to check.” She put down the notepad. “Each pair can take up to three.”

“Then it’s settled.” Yusuke stood. “Whoever finds Hiei first gets a prize! A giant, stuffed Badtz Badtz Maru!” He placed one foot on the table as he rose in his chair and pointed to the doorway. “Let’s go!”

They rolled their eyes.

*****

A strong blast of air hit Keiko and Yusuke’s faces as they entered the Toshiba Corporation building. The brunette seized herself with her palms, rubbing herself vigorously. Walking into the building was like walking into a meat locker. Taking a peek over Yusuke’s mug, she could tell that his sentiments foretold of the same thing. Their shoes clicked and echoed throughout the edifice, and Keiko looked up to the building’s seemingly untouchable ceiling. Stunning steel rafters crossed and bridged like Gothic buttresses, but with a contemporary appeal that was more welcoming.

Yusuke glanced about, until his chestnut eyes found an elevator. Taking Keiko by the hand, he led the way and they boarded the lift. A few employees dressed in stiff black or dark blue suits made Yusuke vaguely recall an old American flick he saw a few years back. With the addition of sunglasses, the whole get-up would have been complete.

His friend started humming to herself as executives and janitors boarded on and off the elevator, all the while they waited patiently to hit the roof. In due time, the pair became aware of their shared solitude, and when that happened, Keiko stopped humming.

“Something tells me he’s not gonna be here.” Yusuke sighed.

The girl raised an eyebrow as one of her irises drifted to its corner. “If you think so, Yusuke, then why did we come here in the first place?”

He grunted. “You never know. And, besides… I’m actually kinda curious about what’s so great about the top of this building. I mean, all you’d probably see is a bunch of people-ants walking on the street, right?”

“Hmm…”

Ding. They bounced slightly when the elevator stopped. The primary steel doors opened, followed by the folding of steel black gates. They stepped out, and came upon a small flight of stairs. Unhesitating, they climbed them up and opened the door at the very top of the flight.

Pushing the door open, with considerable effort because of wind resistance, they shielded their eyes with their hands as the suns rays poured over them in generous quantities. Taking his eyes away from the glare, Yusuke strode to the edge and looked down. He was right. All he saw were a bunch of black dots walking around, with the occasional bird flying here and there. The tops of cars, too, weren’t very interesting.

“Yusuke! Look!”

He turned around, and his eyes widened. The ocean. They could see the ocean from here! At this hour, the strings of light the sun offered dove into the bluey depths of water- making it look like sapphire and crystal. It was so… serene to look at. The sunny orb in the sky, made a perfect reflection on the water’s surface. The slight waves and ripples made the reflection bounce and swirl. Absolutely gorgeous…

The boy whistled, and came to Keiko’s side. The wind made the material of her blue sailor skirt blare like a flag, and along with her skirt, her coffee hair and yellow scarf drifted- drifted, Yusuke mused, like waves themselves.

“It’s so different…” Keiko whispered. “Looking from afar instead of up close. Up close, you miss the big picture- the main idea as well as all the little details that really count…”

Crossing his arms, Urameshi shook his head and closed his eyes before smiling. “You sound like a teacher… But… Yeah, it’s better than being at the beach…”

*****

“Yukina-san!!!” Kuwabara sang from below the tree trunk. “Need help?”

“I’m fine!” She sang back, although more gracefully, and carefully reached over for another close branch. From there she cautiously settled her foot in an eye of the tree, and used it to push herself upward. She and the love-stricken human had been scouting the park for a while now, and at last they stumbled upon a tree high enough to suit her brother’s escapist needs. As soon as Yukina disappeared entirely from sight, Kazuma grew very wary and decided it was best to follow right after her. After all, what if she fell or slipped? Who would catch her? Wait… if he were in the tree with her, how COULD he catch her? He sighed in defeat. Fine. He thought being alone in a luscious tree was somewhat romantic- even if it belonged to his mortal enemy.

He was shocked to see how fast Yukina was, and he felt dually impressed, as he was embarrassed for being so slow to catch-up with her. His size, not to mention weight, definitely weren’t helping. A gulp or two declared Kazuma’s nervousness as the branches bent beneath him. The branches were practically screaming for Kuwabara’s relinquish.

Staring upward, his eyes adored Yukina’s delicacy and poise as she moved deftly from one part of the arbor to the next. When he heard her gasp, carrot top picked up the pace- at the cost of destroying a few branches, but that didn’t bother him. Reaching the top, he settled his stand where Yukina was and pushed the brush away to view the scenery.

“Oh… How pretty!”

Kuwabara was slightly distracted as some twigs and leaves got snagged in his curly hair, but when he pulled them out…

He whistled. “Like a painting.” He gazed at Yukina. “But it’s even prettier with you in it.”

The Koorime giggled and smiled, bobbing her head. “Arigatou, ne…”

*****

“Koenma-sama! Stop blowing that whistle! You’re ruining my ears!”

Naturally, from all the blowing, Koenma didn’t hear Botan himself. In the course of two straight hours, he had frightened every dog, cat, and bird within the vicinities. It was quite funny, as he strut down the street, with the youkai whistle in place of his usual pacifier, blowing ever breath he took. His assistant started out by following closely behind, but gradually she started lingering further and further away from him. It was a good thing that humans couldn’t hear the high-pitched sound.

He blew and blew, like a kid with his first New Year’s noisemaker. Several times Botan tried to jump and grab it away from him, but all those times Koenma subtly evaded by ducking or turning to the left or right. All Botan could really do was put her hands to her ears as they continued down an alley. In spite of all the whistling, the poor girl could still hear the screaming and barking of cats and dogs in agony. Going further down the alley, she heard a cat fall out of its windowsill and land violently in the trash bins.

‘And, of course,’ Botan groaned to herself. ‘Koenma just HAD to take the only pair of ear plugs we had!’

On the bright side, several demons emerged from their hiding places and begged for bloody mercy. More than half of them turned themselves in as illegal aliens in Ningenkai as well as fugitives. The fairy had to call Reikai assistants to ship these guys out of there. She was a little tempted to be thrown into prison herself.

*****

“Oi! What are you doing?!”

“Huh?” Shidou spun around with both hands holding on tightly to the telescope he had. Arisu crossed her arms, and tapped her foot- eying her boyfriend up and down. The other stiffened, and later stood upright, laughing nervously and brushing the nape of his neck. “Eheheheheh… I figured I could make use of the telescopes in Tokyo Tower. You can see a lot of things with these babies, you know?”

Click.

“Ahh! No, my time ran out!” Shidou’s shadowy green hair swung about as he frantically searched his pockets for more change. The blond sighed, and inserted another coin. It clanged inside the heavy machine, and Shidou’s ears could hear the shade-lens slide down. As fast as lightening he put his eyes through the viewfinder again, swinging around the contraption lightheartedly. “Neato!!”

Arisu shook her head and took out her cell phone. She pressed on speed-dial and contacted Kurama and Shiori. “We’ve haven’t had any luck.” She said with a heavy sigh, watching her companion swish around with his new plaything. “And I’m afraid we- or rather I have a problem… Yes… He got hooked onto a telescope again. Yes, I know you warned me. Well, how was I supposed to know? I didn’t think he’d react to the thing like a two-year old! Sou… Sou…I’m sorry, but he was so happy, I wanted to pay for just a little more time. Mm… Ja’.”

Deciding it would be a while before Shidou’s time ran out again, Arisu took the viewfinder next to his and slipped another coin. Gazing out, she carefully surveyed the tops of all the buildings around them. Shidou was right, this WAS very helpful. To her dismay, however, she couldn’t find a familiar petite figure clad in ominous black. When she faced her telescope to the south, she nearly jumped out of her shoes as she viewed a magnified pair of light auburn irises. She gasped, and then drew away from the lenses.

“Are you mad at me?” He asked.

“Not really, more like frustrated. We’ve checked more than five buildings, and every time there’s nothing…” Her tone drifted. “Nothing, but a good view…”

Shidou folded his arms over the telescopes end- forcing it to go down due to gravity. He pulled his smile from ear to ear, and batted his lashes lovingly. “I’m actually not worried.” He spoke, telescope bobbling beneath him. “There’s only one person who can win this hunt, and I know that you know who it is…”

“And what if HE doesn’t find, Hiei? What then?”

“Then we’ll keep on looking until we get lost, like I promised. Obviously, though, that’s not gonna happen.”

“Are you certain, Shidou?”

The boy winked. “If Shuiichi was able to survive that gang-up three weeks ago, then that should tell us a little something about fate…”

Arisu let go of the handles on her viewfinder and ruffled Shidou’s hair. “Je tem vous… Mi Shidou…”

*****

“Well, at least Shidou’s having a fun time.” Kurama blanched, putting away his phone in his pocket.

“I’d hate to admit it, but I am too…”

“Hm?”

Shiori crossed her arms over her blazer and gazed out the glass window of their elevator. The elevator was definitely an architectural feat as it was located at the edifice’s side and was shaped like a cylinder. Moreover, it was comparatively fast and very smooth- unlike the ones at regular apartment complexes or hotels. As their lift soared up towards the roof of the building, his mother exhaled deeply, watching the distance between them and the ground grow to immense proportions. “I never took the time to slow down and think about things so sensitively before, Shuiichi-kun. This- this is incredible. It has never actually crossed my mind as to how great something as simple as watching everything from above is. This must be what the birds see…”

Kurama touched the glass pane and looked down, his head swimming because of their altitude. It was a bit scary, even though he knew that their transport was perfectly safe, however the added detail of the floor being a thick layer of glass made things more surreal. He remembered the first time he took Hiei here, and the fire demon was adorably shaken to see his feet abruptly rise off the ground.

Stepping away from the pane, he moved toward the ‘stop’ button of the elevator. Their lift slowed and jerked slightly, and as soon as it ceased moving all together, Kurama hit the button for the ground floor. Shiori blinked at his actions.

“Shuiichi…?”

“Mother,” He began detachedly. “When Hiei helped me, that day, how did he know I was in trouble?”

“I don’t know- he was dreaming, but I suppose he…”

“He sensed me, mother. He felt my tears, he knew I was in pain- he knew I was praying for him to be at my side.” The redhead bit on the tip of his lip severely as the elevator began to descend. “I don’t feel anything in this city. I can’t sense his presence at all. We’re- we’re not looking for him correctly. That’s why we haven’t found him up to now…”

The woman listened keenly to his words, and slowly took his hand. His hand was dry and heavy, nowhere near its normal feel of suppleness and warmth. “What do you want to do?”

Her son stared at their joined hands- idly admiring their entwined fingers of mother and child. “I want to stop.”

“Stop?”

He nodded. “Let’s call everyone and go straight to Genkai’s… There’s no point in draining our time here.”

“And then what’s the plan?”

“I- I really don’t know. There are some things in life that you honestly can’t prepare for…”

“Like love?” Her velvety voice spoke.

He turned to her, a sad grin arising. “Like love…”

*****

Shiori and Kurama drove out of the city and up the hill where Genkai’s temple was situated. Genkai frowned slightly, one out of surprise of their sudden appearance, and two out of the failure of her own searching. The sensei had been doing a trek of nearly the entire area- including the hot springs. The only things she encountered were fawns and does, squirrels, and a lot of sleeping owls. It was by sheer chance that she returned to the temple when the two arrived, and this was a good thing when she considered the idea that they might have went through the forest to look for her.

Courteously, she escorted them inside. Leading them to the floor table, she left them momentarily to prepare some fresh tea in the kitchen. When she returned, Shiori did the honors of pouring the tea, and it wasn’t long before the screen door was opened to reveal Botan and Koenma, who were later followed by Yukina and Kuwabara, Arisu and Shidou, and lastly Keiko and Yusuke. All of them shook their heads dismally, and shrugged their shoulders.

They sat around the table, serving one another tea and looking at the redhead warily. The redhead said nothing, but accepted his tea- sipping inaudibly. None of them could tell what Kurama was thinking, in spite of all their gallant efforts to crack through his mysterious face. Every now and then, he would pierce his lips- the shimmer in his eyes fading along with the sunset. What was he thinking? Each of them wanted to say something reassuring, counting Koenma, however it dawned on them that their friend didn’t want any bullshitting if it could be helped. So they let him think- or meditate- whatever he was doing. It was the most they could do, truthfully. There’s only so much that your friends can help you with in the world, and Kurama was acutely aware of that. What they were offering him now, and everything they offered within the past six hours, was unreservedly generous.

Kurama sighed heavily and looked out through the open screen door. The others watched him forlornly as his eyes seemed to glaze over with disappointed tears. He didn’t shed them, however, they just welled in his eyes and stayed there. As he rested against the pane of the door, Kurama ran his fingers down the smooth, dark wood of the temple. It was pretty out tonight. The air of spring was marvelously cool as it carried dewdrops in its wind. The atmosphere was scented of fresh flowers and honey- so sweet it was almost intoxicating. Everything was bathed in silvery blue, making the moist grass and leaves more enchanting. The redhead looked up to the stars, watching all the whitest ones that seemed to be winking at him from the heavens.

He tore his gaze away from the sky, and gripped onto his slacks angrily. His mother stood from her haunches and he could hear her pad her way up to him. Shiori kneeled at his side and hugged him from behind- encircling his hard shoulders. Kurama looked up again and saw something streak across the darkness. It’s amazing glow pulled across the pitch-black sky and disappeared among the pine trees deep within the wood behind Genkai’s temple.

“Hiei…” The redhead whispered, abruptly breaking away from Shiori’s embrace and standing. “Hiei…”

“Shuiichi-kun…?” The woman looked upon him from her kneeling position, when out of the blue her son dashed out of the temple- long ribbons of scarlet red flying behind him as he jumped off the temple’s deck and sprinted.

“But I’ve already looked in that area…” Yukina cried softly.

Shidou stood, and helped Arisu to her feet. “Let’s follow him.”

“Wait…” They averted their attention to the sensei’s raspy voice. In her hands were two high-powered flashlights. “You’ll need these.”

*****

Faster and faster he sprinted through the thicket- jumping over fallen lumber and splashing into small brooks. Leaves and twig crunched violently beneath his steps as he went past the small clearing where Yukina and Hiei had their heart-to-hearts, and further. The growing number of trees accompanied with the utter obscurity made it difficult for him to see, even with his fox senses. To make things more strenuous, the ground was slowly getting steeper as he continued, as best he could, in a straight line. It came to the point where Kurama could no longer run as the surface was rising to such an angle that it pained him to do so. Several times, he nearly tripped over embedded stones and got whipped in the face by low overhanging branches. Finally, nothing. Kurama’s vision was lost on him. He stopped, and raised his arms- using his hands to prevent him from running into the trunks of trees. If only his hair wasn’t so short that it prevented him from hiding even just a few glow-flower seeds… Not even the penlight on his key chain was strong enough when he tried it. All it did was shoot a thin line through the forest. As for the moon and all it’s stars, they were completely shielded away by leaves and brush.

Kurama found himself breathing deeply. From stress, fear, or exhaustion, he didn’t know. He stood, still as a statue, and thought things through. He couldn’t turn back; he didn’t WANT to turn back. Kurama had to keep going, but how?

He closed his eyes.

They were useless anyway.

One step. Two steps.

‘Watch out, there’s a crevice.’

Three steps. Four steps. Five. ‘Duck down, Kurama, there’s a large branch right before you.’

‘I… have no doubts in you, Hiei.’ The redhead thought to himself. ‘I’ll pretend… WE’LL pretend, that we’re in that funhouse again. You’ll lead the way…’

‘Raise your legs; there’s a sudden dip in the creek.’

‘Step aside to the left, another branch.’

‘Keep going… Wait, careful. There’s another rock you can’t see.’

He continued his journey this way. Depending on nothing, but the deep voice of his lover that he could only hear from the depths of his heart.

A bit of soft light was breaking through the tall standing trunks. He carried on slowly, following that light, and steadily the environment began to re-discover its material forms. Leaves and fallen pinecones established their shapes, as did the moss and grass. At last, the earth began to level. Kurama had reached the top of the mountain, and stepped through the two trees before him like a gate.

Lifting one hand to shield his eyes, Kurama’s evergreen irises and pupils adjusted to the sheen of moonbeams. His eyes found the moon, and from his point in standing, it appeared so large compared to how it looked in the city… and… beneath that moon, draped in the silky sheets of its light, sat his lover- on a large boulder with his pale, alabaster skin soaked in the milkiness of space’s holy glow.

“Hiei…”

The fire demon turned to him from his seating- his eyes sparkling in wine-red. Silver touched and caressed every curve and line of his features. Glitter kissed him on his small lips, his sharp lashes, and delicate nose. A gust of wind came and brushed his weightless obsidian hair- settling moisture on his bare neck and lean, but carved arms.

“Kurama…”