.
After the amount of time and effort Kurama had expended arranging it, Hiei was surprised he was late. In fact, as he sat on the tree branch looking around, he began to feel distinctly wrong about the whole thing. Kurama had spent an entire month pestering Hiei about this... this date-thing, whatever it was.
"I want to do something special," Kurama had said one morning, as they lay together, entangled.
"This wasn't special?" Hiei ran his eyes across their bodies. The Youko never failed to puzzle him, first with the abrupt proposition which had initiated their odd, long standing affair, then with the constant little comments. Sometimes it was a question of the oddest variety, something Hiei thought the answer to was obvious. Other times it was a statement, something like this. To Hiei, everything they did was special. Not that he'd ever admit that. . .
"It's not that," Kurama replied quickly. His startled eyes met Hiei's, and Hiei wondered if he'd said something wrong. It was always amazing to look into Kurama's expressive eyes. Hiei knew his had never been like that. Of course, he had never felt much except anger, and maybe because of that, it had been stamped on his eyes forever.
"This was special, very special." Kurama's eyes became distant and dreamy, "but I mean special like," he paused, and seemed to be searching for something, somewhere beyond Hiei, "like a date!" Kurama said this as if it were an amazing inspiration.
"A date?" What possible use could they have for a piece of fruit?
"Yes, a date! We'll go to a movie, maybe dinner."
"Dinner, is that where we get the date?"
"Get the..." Kurama paused and studied Hiei's face intently. "Hiei, what exactly do you think I'm talking about." This was another aspect of Kurama that made Hiei very uncomfortable. He had a sudden suspicion there was something he was missing.
"A date," he ventured.
Kurama's eyes continued to bore into him until finally he said, in a deceptively casual tone, "And what, to you, is a date?" Deceptive because that tone always meant Kurama knew something Hiei didn't and was about to try to make him look very silly.
"It's a piece of fruit, and how it's going to be special I..." There was no use going any further. Kurama couldn't possibly have heard him over his laughter.
Eventually, after laughing for a good long time, Hiei recalled unhappily, Kurama had explained to him what a date entailed. It seemed rather silly to Hiei. Of course, it was a ningen thing, which explained a lot, but for Kurama...
"Hn," but where was Kurama? Hiei looked into the sky and then took another look around the park. They had agreed to meet there because Kurama had planned some sort of surprise, but there was a limit to Hiei's patience. He would seek Kurama out elsewhere.
*
Yusuke walked past the classroom he should have been entering. It was too nice of a day for this. The sun had been shining invitingly all day and he'd been trying so hard to do the "right" thing, dragging himself from room to room. Well, he'd had enough.
"Yusuke," Keiko's voice whined from the doorway of the room he should have entered, "Where are you going?"
"I just need to, um..."
"You just need to what?" she asked, suddenly in his face. "You're skipping class again, aren't you? Well, I'm not going to allow it," she grabbed hold of his ear and started dragging him to the classroom.
"Keiko... oh, come on, it's a beautiful day, I can't possibly. . . "
"Yusuke," a familiar voice called urgently. One Botan, complete with flying oar, wheeled around the school corridor at an astonishing speed. "Oh Yusuke, there you are!"
"Botan?" At least he wouldn't have to go though another class today. "Sorry Keiko, gotta run." Running after Botan, he found he was grinning from ear to ear.
"Where's Kuwabara?" he asked, as they plummeted into the Spirit World.
"Oh," Botan replied, blushing. "He's usually with you. I didn't notice he, oh dear, no problem, we'll go back."
*
Hiei sat in the window of Kurama's room. The bed was neatly made. Everything was in its place. It looked just as it had a million times when Hiei had stopped in to find Kurama gone. So why did it not feel right?
"Kurama," Hiei said experimentally, not expecting a reply. He had said that name in this room so many times, from exactly this perch, to be greeted with Kurama's smile, Kurama's eyes. There was a look Kurama often gave him when he showed up that made his heart jump, made it difficult for him to speak. He'd never seen Kurama look at anyone else that way, yet he found it hard to believe that look was for him. But today there was no reply and the room felt empty.
That, Hiei suddenly realized, was the problem. The room felt so empty, as if Kurama had never been there, or as if Kurama would never be there again. Hiei shook his head internally. He had no time for sentimental nonsense, he had to find Kurama. He would look elsewhere.
*
Kuwabara stood behind and to the right of Yusuke, who was watching Botan pace the floor. Usually quick to tell them the trouble, Botan hadn't said a word since pulling them into this room, obviously somewhere in the castle. Finally, Yusuke got tired of waiting.
"So, you gonna tell us what the problem is, or what?"
Botan stopped and looked up. "I'm sorry, I should have thought this out better first."
"Maybe if you just tell us what's wrong. . . " Yusuke suggested.
"Yeah, then we'll get to the action," Kuwabara enthused, "We'll rip 'em to pieces, we'll show them!" Botan smiled.
"Shut up Kuwabara, you don't even know what the problem is yet," Yusuke complained. "It may not be that simple."
"Exactly," Botan replied. "You see, Lord Enma has ordered Koenma be executed."
"What?!?" Kuwabara and Yusuke asked in unison.
"But that's impossible!" Yusuke exclaimed.
"Nonetheless," Botan said, shrugging. "I've confirmed the order myself. Lord Enma thinks that Koenma has been working against him, and now, the Golden Seal has gone missing, along with Koenma himself.
"Kidnapped," Yusuke said with certainty, "by someone who has set Koenma up."
"Maybe," Botan replied. "At any rate, I've been ordered to send you out to retrieve him."
"Well then," Yusuke replied, "let's go." He looked back at Kuwabara, who nodded.
"Wait! Where are you going to go? Lord Koenma could be anywhere. Anyhow, don't you think it's sort of odd King Enma would send you? Knowing how devoted to Koenma you are?" Yusuke nodded. It did seem odd.
"So what do we do?" Kuwabara asked.
"We think," Botan replied, resuming her pacing.
Kuwabara groaned.
*
Kurama was not in the school building. So he hadn't forgotten their date and gone in to school. Yusuke and Kuwabara weren't in school either. That could mean anything, but if Yusuke had been called to the Spirit World, Kurama might have followed.
*
He knew nothing except that something was missing and he had to find it. He had an odd feeling of emptiness which he couldn't explain. He wondered if he really existed, and concluded that he must. If he didn't, he wouldn't be searching. But what was he searching for? An image filled his mind, large and soft, sweet, lovely, bright red attached to a stem, yes that was the word, with razor sharp thorns. Another word surfaced and encompassed him. That was it! He was looking for a rose!
*
Entering the Sprit World was worse than entering Kurama's bedroom. There was a sadness in the air that was so thick it pressed into the skin. It wasn't hard to find out the puzzling source, yet surely King Enma wouldn't be so easily convinced his son was a traitor. As for the Golden Seal... he would set that straight, just as soon as he found Kurama.
*
Botan's face was set, a cute little wrinkle between her brows and a light frown upon her face. Yusuke watched her in admiration. He was constantly amazed by her intellectual persistence and quick thinking. After seeing Keiko flounder around so many times pretending bravery and blustering about over nothing, Botan was like a breath of fresh air. It wasn't fair to compare the two, of course. Botan had a lot of resources Keiko could never touch, and Keiko loved him, although he hated the way she showed it.
"Where is Kurama?" Hiei's cool voice asked from the doorway of the room they were in.
"Hiei," Botan, Kuwabara, and Yusuke said in unison.
"I haven't seen Kurama since the last mission," Botan replied.
"Hn," Hiei looked toward Yusuke.
"He hasn't been to school since yesterday," Yusuke said. "But he told me he wouldn't be in today." Hiei grunted in reply and left.
"Nice of him to stick around and give us a hand," Kuwabara said. Yusuke shrugged. He was used to Hiei's swift comings and goings, even if he didn't like them.
"Kurama is missing," Hiei walked into the room this time.
"So is Lord Koenma," Yusuke said. Hiei looked insulted. Botan turned her eyes on Hiei.
"You're sure?" she asked, lips pursed thoughtfully. Hiei nodded.
"Look, I just saw Kurama yesterday," Yusuke insisted, "He said he wouldn't be around today. He's probably just out. Lord Koenma, on the other hand, is missing." Hiei turned cold eyes on Yusuke.
"I know, but Kurama is definitely missing too."
"You can't be sure. He took the day off to. . . " Yusuke found himself eye to eye with the fire demon, closer than he'd ever been before. Hiei's eyes were burning.
"He took the day off to spend it with me," Hiei responded. His voice was still level, but there was something dangerous about it, too. "We were supposed to go out on a date." His loud, clear voice echoed in the nearly empty chamber.
. .
