Standard disclaimers apply. Yoshihiro Togashi-sensei⌠our favourite manga-ka owns all of these cute characters! ^_^ Suing me would be pointless. I only own 2 bucks. And I have to pay for my maths book. Yucks! A short fic by ~> Bulma Briefs ************ Entering the Cave! (read vol. 15 for the real feeling!) Kurama shifted. All of them were there on the opening, waiting for Yuusuke. :⌠5 days âŚ: he thought to himself. :⌠5 days since Hiei had gone, without a word. Without a trace âŚ: He tried to hide his uneasiness and asked about Yuusuke. "I hope Yuusuke would be alright," he sighed. Mitarai Kiyoshi nodded. "Heâs unusual. I bet heâll be alright," he leaned closer to the redhead. Kurama nodded. "Aaa⌠Look!" Botan suddenly exclaimed. All the 6 of us turned to the direction she was pointing and narrowed our eyes, focusing. Two figures appeared from the horizon. As they came closer, all of them could see that one was only wearing his jeans and the other one was wearing a black cloak. "Hiei came too!" Botan exclaimed again. Kurama sighed. Hiei came, finally. Somewhat, he felt very angry at the fire youkai suddenly. What Yuusuke had told him to make him come with them, Kurama could roughly guess. The âBlack Episodeâ tape. "Eh? They arrived early tooâŚ" Yuusuke commented as he stopped for a while when he spotted the whole group. "They took the train so that they could reach here this fast I assume?" Yuusuke frowned, but then he shrugged and ran towards the group. Hiei shook his head upon his alley and followed suit. As they reached the group, Hiei's first glance was set on Kurama. as he suspected, the redhead gave him a rather angry expression. Hiei tried to smile at the redhead but then Kurama turned around and looked at Yuusuke instead. "With all the actors ready, the interesting movie is starting right now," Genkai said aloud. All of them nodded at Genkaiâs remark. A while after Yuusuke told the whole group about his little adventure with the âSniperâ Hagiri Kaname, Genkai started with a strategy talk. The old lady cleared her throat. "First, letâs clear things up. Yuusuke and Hiei already killed Hagiri. So, that means that there are only 4 enemies left," she noted. Kurama nodded. "Anyway, theyâre probably reaching the demonic cave after kidnapping Kuwabara by now," he said seriously. Hiei eyed the redhead and stepped closer so he was standing next to the redhead. Kurama ignored the youkai and kept talking. "According to Sensui, he needs two more days to enlarge the cave to the max. This is definitely faster than what Reikai had predicted and one of the cause is, Itsukiâs youki as the sorcerer is getting stronger and stronger," Kurama paused. Mitarai frowned. "Itsuki himself said that it will be far earlier than his own predictions," eyes intense on the redhead. "Just one glance at the cityâs state, youâll understand quickly," he continued. Kurama sighed. "Kuwabaraâs being kidnapped by them, now most probably theyâre heading towards the cave," he informed them. Yuusuke frowned. "Kuwabara has the ability to âCut into Dimensionsâ which is an important asset to our enemies. So, in the process of enlarging the dark cave and destroying the interdict incantation⌠Kuwabaraâs life wouldnât be harmed, ne?" Yuusuke pondered aloud. Kurama shook his head. "But, in their group, thereâs a âGobblerâ!" Yuusuke blinked. "EhâŚ!?" Kurama nodded. "Maybe they can âswallowâ all of Kuwabaraâs ability and keep it. This way, Kuwabara will loose his importance," Kurama explained. "âGobblerâ Makihara, I think thatâs his appellation name. I only saw his âswallowingâ tactic once!" Mitarai added. "That time, he swallowed some youkai named Toguro, ne?" Kurama asked. Mitarai nodded. "Yeah!" Yuusuke scratched his head. "How did he actually âswallowâ someone up?" Mitarai sweatdropped. "He eats them whole. The territory is inside his body!" Everyone frowned. Hiei got bored and suddenly spoke. "Itâs no use to just stand here! Letâs go! You guys can talk on the way!" he noted irritably. Kurama rolled his eyes. "Wait!" Genkai suddenly exclaimed. Every eyes set tight on her. "I think⌠itâs not wise to go there in a big group," she announced. "Agreed!" exclaimed everyone. Genkai smiled and eyed the group one by one. "Hiei! Kurama! Yuusuke! Three of you go!" she told them. Three of them looked dazed. Especially Yuusuke, his eyes were opened wide. Genkai nodded. "The more people, the more difficult it would be. Our enemies might only attack on the weak ones and disturb our attackers strategy," she reasoned. "We who didnât go, stay here to watch our enemiesâ steps. There might be anyone hiding outside the cave just waiting for the right time to ambush us," she ordered. Mitarai Kiyoshi stepped forth. "I can show you the way in the cave. Thereâs a very big labyrinth in there!" Hiei who was eyeing the weird guy from just now who was always finding ways to talk to Kurama snorted. "Can you be trusted?" thick sarcasm could be heard by everyone. Mitarai set his eyes on the ground, silent. "âŚâŚâŚâŚâŚ" "I⌠I just want to help Kuwabara-kun," he reasoned softly. Yanagisawa nudged Yuusuke. :⌠Do you want me to scan him with my special powers? âŚ: he asked Yuusuke mentally. Yuusuke put up a hand, silently stating âNo-needâ. Yuusuke walked ahead. "I trust you. Come on!" he announced. "Thank you," replied the purple haired boy. Yuusuke smirked and nodded. So, the four of them went⌠"Is there any special reasons behind the grouping, Genkai-baasan? Asked Botan, nudging the old woman slightly. Genkai gave her a smiled. "Did you see how mad Kurama was at Hiei? They need time alone to settle it. Big groups would only make the fire baby nervous. They took the way with less humans around so that they could reach the cave faster. They plan to enter the cave via the jungle nearby. Mitarai Kiyoshi walked slower to keep in pace with Kurama. Yuusuke was a few steps to the front and Hiei was at the back, keeping watch of anything unusual. "Do you mean it when you said that you wouldnât let me go if I go back to Sensui?" asked Mitarai, a smile on his face. Kurama nodded. But then smiled. "Anyway, you didnât⌠so why worry?" he assured the boy. "I dunnoâŚ" he trailed off. Hiei didnât like Mitarai or what ever his name was. Kurama didnât even spoke a word to him since he came back and both of them seemed fond of each other. :⌠Hiei, you idiot! Are you going to let Kurama go like that? Itâs your own fault! Who asked you to leave him like that in the first place? Egoistic idiot! âŚ: One part of himself scolded the fire youkai. Hiei frowned. He walked a few steps further and grabbed the sleeve of Kuramaâs pink uniform. The redhead didnât stop, yet he pulled himself free from Hiei's grab. :⌠Hmm⌠still angry âŚ: Hiei blinked. He caught up with him again and held his wrist this time. Kurama would have to pull off with more power than before. The redhead finally stopped. He looked at Hiei. His emerald eyes were intense. Then he began to walk again, but slower. Hiei walked with him. "You angry?" asked the little youkai softly, still holding Kuramaâs wrist. Kurama didnât answer. "Okay⌠youâre really angry," Hiei uttered softly, still walking next to Kurama. Mitarai Kiyoshi was already keeping pace with Yuusuke. He glanced to the back and saw Hiei and Kurama having a little discussion. Then he spied Hiei who was holding Kuramaâs hand. "Whatâs with that short guy?" he asked Yuusuke. Yuusuke turned and smiled at the look of Kurama and Hiei. "Well, Hiei left us a few days ago. He didnât tell goodbye properly to the redhead I think. So maybe Kuramaâs mad at him," Yuusuke grinned. "Mad? Why should he be?" asked Mitarai. Yuusukeâs smile got broader. "Thatâs how lovers are," he told the boy and walked ahead. "Lovers?" echoed Mitarai softly. "Iâm sorryâŚ" Hiei trailed off. Kurama rolled his eyes. Suddenly he grabbed Hiei and slammed him against a tree. "You just go off like that, and you didnât even say anything, making me worry about you every second of the day! And all you can say is sorry?!" birds were scattered around in shock of the sudden noise. Both slid to kneel in front of each other. Yuusuke and Mitarai stopped and turned. "You didnât even try to stop me then!" Hiei argued. "Stop you? Since when anyone can stop you when youâre so determined to go back to the Makai?" Kurama gritted his teeth. "Since⌠since⌠youâŚ" Hiei trailed off very softly. Kurama let off steam and sighed. "Baka," he uttered. Hiei suddenly pointed towards Mitarai. "Oh, now what did you do?" Yuusuke asked. Mitarai shrugged. "You flirted with him," Hiei tried to accuse Kurama. "Me? Wha⌠when?" Kurama denied. "You talked to him a lot and didnât even smiled when I came back!" Hiei, jealous. "You deserve it," Kurama rolled his eyes. "Oh, youâre lucky you didnât got blasted by Hieiâs Kokuryuu," Yuusuke grinned. "Black dragon? Whatâs that?" asked Mitarai. "Hiei's best trick he got hidden under his sleeves. Or in this case, around his arms. Hahaha," Yuusuke laughed. Mitarai blinked. "Youâre jealous?" a smile crept on Kuramaâs delicate face. "The hell I am!" Hiei slapped Kuramaâs head. "Ouch," Mitarai winced. Yuusuke shrugged. "What do you expect from Hiei?" "Itâs still your fault," Kurama told the youkai. "I know, so I said sorry. I was hurt that you didnât stop me, instead that stupid moron did. And I hated it when he did that. If it was you⌠I might stay," Hiei told the kitsune. They looked into each otherâs eyes for a moment. Silent hung in the air. "Iâm sorry too, itoshiiâŚ" then Kuramaâs eyes fell on Hiei's arms. His bandage was torn and blood was staining the rest of the white cloth. "From where did you get that?" Kurama asked, referring to Hiei's wound. "Yuusuke," Hiei answered casually. Kurama gathered the youkai in his arms an hugged him. Hiei wrapped his hands around Kurama and breathed in the faint scent of the fox. Sweet. "Erm⌠now what?" Mitarai blinked. "Youâll get use to it," Yuusukeâs advice. Mitarai looked at Kurama and Hiei again and they were kissing. Kind of a cute scene. "Oi⌠only half a day left!" Yuusuke hollered. Kurama and Hiei got up. "Gomen ne," Kurama uttered and smiled at Yuusuke and Mitarai. Kurama held Hiei's hand and they walked together to the cave. "Yuusuke," suddenly Kurama called. Yuusuke sweatdropped. "Nani?" he smiled guiltily. "Youâre going to help me pick up some herbs for Hiei afterwards," he told the brown haired boy. Indirectly warning Yuusuke not to do it again. Yuusuke nodded. "I will⌠I willâŚ" Owari⌠^_^ Just thought of this when I read the vol 15. Again. Kurama seemed a bit annoyed at Hiei and a bit too close to Mitarai. *If you changed Mitaraiâs hair to Kuramaâs youâll get a pair of identical twins!* Bulma Briefs UIN#13254597 bulma_v_briefs@hotmail.com https://members.tripod.com/~Bulma_Briefs/manga_mansion.html