<Damn it! That's twice!>

Hiei stared in astonishment as a portal opened up directly behind the pale haired boy, enfolding him in its protective embrace.  Denying Kokuryuuha it's feast...

<Shit! Kokuryuuha!>  The Black Dragon was not at all pleased by this strange turn of events.  It wanted to consume, it wanted to kill - and it wanted to do so now!  <No! I forbid it!>

:The Forbidden Child forbids?  Unacceptable!:  The dragon continued to writhe around the playground, eyeing the few remaining people dangerously.

<No!> Hiei commanded once more.  <Return!  There will be blood to spill later on!>

:Now!:

<Return!>  Kokuryuu seemed almost to pause in mid-flight; then headed straight for Hiei with a burst of speed.  <Fuck!>  Black flames surrounded him, burning him through, until his soul blazed with the dragon's in combined fury, hatred and rage.

"Hiei?  You alright?"  The words seemed distant, as though echoed down a long tunnel.  "I thought that the dragon had to claim a life..."

"Ite!"  That was louder.  Hiei smirked at the yelp of pain as a hand touched his shoulder.  The Fool would never learn.  "Man, you're hot!"

Yuusuke sniggered.  Hiei snorted.  <Kurama would have smirked, too... Kurama!>  His head snapped up, red eyes quickly taking stock of the situation.  Kuwabara had dumped that youkai back on the bench; Botan was leaning over him...

"Uh oh..."  Her worried gaze darted between the prone figure and a small circular device in her hand.

"Nani?"  Botan started in surprise as Hiei appeared by her elbow.

"Um, there's a little problem," she stalled.

"What problem?" Yuusuke wanted to know.  "He took Kurama, so  he can take us straight to him - one way, or another!"  He pounded one fist into the other for emphasis.

Hiei grinned nastily, reaching for the youkai...

"He's not youkai!"

Hiei's hand stopped.  "What the hell are you talking about?"  He demanded.  "He's youkai!  I know what I saw!"

"Then maybe you didn't see him," Botan informed him nervously, waving one hand at the boy.

Hiei turned his jagan on the stranger, certain of seeing in him the long familiar pattern of youki, and stared.  <Not a trace.  Not a single trace!>  His third eye closed, while his other eyes blinked in surprise.  <It was there before!  I know it was there!>  He shook his head, a scowl covering his shock.  "He still took Kurama!"

"Maybe not."  He glared at Botan, who shrunk away a little, but determinedly pressed on.  "I came back to tell you that we found some information on that level..."

"Uh, maybe we should talk about this someplace else,"  Yuusuke suggested.  They glanced around, noticing that more people had started to turn up at the playground.  They were receiving suspicious looks from a couple of adults who were minding children...

"Let's take him over to Genkai's temple."

"Hn."  Hiei was gone in a breath of wind, leaving the others to blink at his rapid departure.

"Well, come on!"  Yuusuke started to walk off.

"Eh, I'll meet you there!"  Botan pulled out her oar, disappearing from sight.

Kuwabara was left alone to stare at the unconscious stranger.  He sighed dramatically, shouldering his burden once more.  "Why me?"

<Hn.  Stupid Fool.>

<At last!>  Botan sighed in relief as Kuwabara finally reached the temple.

"Whatever you're going to do, you'd better hurry - I think he's waking up!"  Kuwabara deposited the boy onto a futon.  He moved a little, restlessly.

"There's not much we can do, considering that he's not youkai,"  Genkai told him, bending over their unconscious charge.

"We can always tie him up," Yuusuke suggested with a grin, swinging several coils of rope from his hands.

"Uhhh..."  The low groan immediately focused their attention on the stranger, who scrunched up his face, lifting one hand to his head.  "What hit me?" he queried of the room in general.

In an instant Hiei had unsheathed his sword, resting the tip against the stranger's throat.  "This did, kisama,"  he informed him bitingly.  "You'll be feeling the sharp end soon enough, if you don't tell us what you've done with Kurama!"

The boy opened his eyes slowly, his black eyes focusing unerringly on Hiei.  He snorted, somewhat amused.  "You not only sound like Vegeta, you look like him, too!"  His gaze flicked down to Hiei's katana, before scanning the rest of the group.  "I don't know who you are, but one: my name is Goten, not 'kisama'.  Two: I have no idea what you think I've done, but I assure you that I haven't been around here long enough to have done whatever it is.  Three: I really don't like being threatened when I wake up; and four:  where the hell is Trunks?!"

"Ano..."  Botan ducked her head.  "He doesn't know..."

"He's lying!"  Hiei snapped, his sword unwavering.  "I don't particularly care how you feel about being threatened!"  He sneered at Goten, red eyes flashing dangerously.  "I'll cut you into a thousand pieces if you don't start talking right now!"

Goten's eyes narrowed, and Hiei suddenly found himself without his sword.  He blinked up at Goten, who was now standing, tossing the blade lightly between his hands.  "Want me to hold this to your throat and demand that you tell me what's happened to Trunks?"  He smiled grimly down at the diminutive youkai.  "Or shall we discuss this in a slightly more civilized manner?"  He lifted one eyebrow sardonically.

"I sense that  he means us no harm," Kuwabara declared, quite happy to be on the opposite side to Hiei.

Yuusuke shrugged, apparently careless - but his eyes followed Goten's every move.

"I believe we could all do with a good dose of civility,"  Genkai nodded in accordance, directing  a cautionary look at Hiei.

The little youkai growled, folding his arms across his chest, glaring for all he was worth.  Goten glanced around inquiringly at the others.

"Trunks was the other boy with you, right?"  Botan ventured.  "The one with long hair?"  <He looked almost as pretty as Kurama!>

Goten nodded in reply.  "Do you know what happened to him?"

Botan blinked at the obvious concern in his voice.  "Uh..."  <If he's not youkai, how are we supposed to tell him...?>

"He's in the Makai,"  Yuusuke contributed.

<Well, I guess there's always the direct approach!>

"Makai?"  Goten repeated blankly.

"The demon world,"  Yuusuke elaborated.  "Someone opened up a portal and pulled him through.  We thought it must have been one of your friends, helping you out..."

"What are you talking about?  Is this about Kooma or whoever it was that you wanted to know about?"

"Kurama!"  Hiei interjected furiously.

Everyone turned to stare at him.  His scowl deepened as he turned away stiffly.  Botan repressed a giggle.  <He's blushing!>

"That's right," continued Yuusuke.  "Kurama went missing a short while ago.  Hiei saw him get taken - by someone who apparently looks a lot like you..."

"Oh, I was going to tell you!"  Botan flushed.  <How could I have forgotten!>  "That's what I came back to the Ningenkai for!  We found some of the old records on those holding cells - "

"And you're just going to tell him about it?"  Hiei interrupted, sweeping  a disdainful look in Goten's direction.

"If this has got anything to do with why Trunks is in the demon world - yes she is!"  Goten folded his arms across his chest, raising one eyebrow in challenge.

The disgruntled fire demon returned to staring at the wall, with a scowl that could have frightened paint of the walls.

"You were saying?" Goten prompted her gently, eyes that had been hard softening.

<He's so sweet...>  Botan blinked, realizing that she was staring.  <Ooops!>  She considered briefly, before deciding to go with her instincts and tell him the whole story.

"Um, you see, a demon broke out of hell, but we don't know who it was!  Hiei thought it might have been you, but you see he didn't know that most of the youkai imprisoned on that level  were capable of fooling people into believing that they were someone else!"

"Nani?  You mean that a shapeshifter took Kurama?"  Yuusuke queried sharply.

"Maybe."  Botan chewed her lip anxiously.  "But it could also be an illusion master, or someone just really good at disguises, or someone who can make you think you're seeing one thing when you're really seeing something else..."

"Uh... Isn't that what an illusionist does?"  Kuwabara asked, confused.

"Great, what kind of help is that supposed to be!"  Yuusuke complained.

"We're still looking for the records!" Botan protested mildly.

"Let me guess -  someone filed them in the wrong place!"

"Ano... How did you know that?!"

Yuusuke smacked his palm against his forehead in exasperation.

"Well, there's a lot of paperwork that gets done!"

"Fine," Goten broke in.  "You look for those records while we go look for Trunks and Kurama!  How do we get to this Makai, anyway?"

"I can create a portal to take you there," Genkai offered, while Yuusuke sized Goten up.

"You can fight as well as your friend?"

Goten nodded.  "More or less."

"Good.  The Makai isn't exactly a friendly place."

"And it's also a large place!"  Genkai added.  "You'd better have at least some idea of where to look for the two of them, or you'll be looking for an awfully long time!"

"I should be able to sense Trunks' ki,"  Goten informed her.

"What if he's too drained for you to do so?"  she countered.

"How about you start here?"  An exhausted-looking Koenma appeared right beside Yuusuke, causing him to jump.

"Don't do that to me!"  He peered over Genkai's shoulder at the file Koenma had just handed her.  "That's pretty much on the edge of the Makai, isn't it?"

"That's right."  Koenma sank down with a groan to sit on the futon.  "Although it wasn't always that way..."

"Koenma-sama, is there anything else wrong?"  Botan asked, concerned at her boss's haggard appearance.

"Koenma?"  Goten inquired softly of Genkai.

"Hai, he's the son of Lord Enma."

"Ah."

"Not really," Koenma smiled tiredly.  "At least, nothing to do with us!  Otousama was having some problems of his own,"

"Nothing to do with a couple of  half-alien kids skipping dimensions, was it?"  Goten asked lightly.

Koenma stared at him.  "How did you know?!"

"Uh," Goten ran a hand through his hair nervously.  "Never mind."

Koenma blinked a couple of times, before burying his head in his hands.  "Why me?" he groaned.

Botan stifled a giggle behind her kimono sleeve.

He drifted slowly, aimlessly, through the semi-coherent shadows of his own dreaming, until the light touch of warm hands directed his attention to the person before him.  A presence as familiar as his own wrapped around him, comforting him, calming him.  He opened his eyes, grateful beyond words at the sight of him.  His beloved.

He was leaning over him, gazing steadily into his eyes; a slight smile on his lips welcomed him to wakefulness.  One hand was lightly brushing his cheek, the other lingering at his side, the strokes causing the flesh beneath them to tingle and burn.

He opened his mouth to call out his name, but a finger to his lips silenced him gently.  He lifted his own hand to run it through stiff, black spikes - but his beloved pulled away with a low chuckle, pausing just out of reach to strip off his own clothing.

Only now did he realize that he himself was naked before his beloved.  Not that that was a bad thing.  Indeed, it saved time.  <But where did my clothes go?  I can't remember getting undressed - I can't even remember falling asleep!  So how did I get here?  Come to think of it - where is here?!>

He managed to tear his eyes away from his beloved long enough to survey his immediate surroundings, which were rather bare - he was lying on the only piece of furniture in the tiny room, and the drab-coloured walls left the room seeming monotonous to his cultured eye.

<What kind of place is this?>

His musings were interrupted by the sudden pressure of another's mouth against his, and he answered the silent demand without conscious thought, returning the kiss for all that he was worth.  His beloved's hands were threaded through his long hair, holding his head firmly in place, while his own roamed lower down his beloved's firmly muscled body...

He gasped, startled, as his beloved pulled sharply at his hair, jerking his head back, baring his neck for his lover to trail sweet kisses down his throat.  His hands clutched at his beloved's hips, fingernails scraping across his skin, rolling him over until he was flat on his back, with himself between his legs.

His tongue traced its way down his beloved's chest, slowing to nip gently with his teeth at his nipples.  One hand stroked his beloved's member teasingly, while the other slid down his beloved's thighs, lifting each in turn and wrapping them around his waist.  He positioned himself carefully, then slowly pushed in, cupping his buttocks in his hands, pulling his beloved's body even closer to his, making them one.

His beloved's fingers entwined themselves in his hair once more, pulling him down for another lasting kiss.  Their bodies slowly at first, then ever faster, began to rock together in a rhythm only they could feel.  Flesh rubbed against flesh with tantalizing friction, urging them on until they at last reached the ecstasy of release...

He sighed into his lover's spiky hair, his arms wrapped tight around him as he slowly relaxed, disengaging from his beloved...

"That was the best screw I've had in the past millennium,"  a muffled voice spoke up.

Kurama froze.  <Hiei isn't ->

A giggle.  "Come to think of it, that's the only screw I've had in the last millennium!"

Kurama grasped the slight youkai who was sharing the bed with him by the shoulders, pushing him down against the bed, leaning over him.

"Who the hell are you?!"  His expression was furious, yet tinged with a growing edge of horror.  <His ki feel's like Hiei's - but it's not!>

Red eyes blinked guilelessly.  "Who do you think I am? "

"You're not Hiei!"  His grip tightened, until the youkai started to wince.   <Oh Inari-sama!  He's not Hiei - what have I done?!>

"I never said I was!  I thought you were asleep," he pouted.  "You weren't supposed to find out so soon.  Anyway, I'm -"

Kurama waited, as the youkai's frown grew deeper.  "You're who?"

The youaki raised a puzzled expression to meet his gaze.  "Would you believe it - I've forgotten!"  He shrugged.  "Does it matter who I am?  I just gave you a nice compliment!  The least you could do is thank me for that!"

"Thank you?"  Green eyes flashed in fury.  "You just raped me!"

The Hiei look-alike knocked Kurama's arms away from his shoulders, sitting up to glare back at him.  "'Raped you'?  Hey, you were the one with your -"

"Shut up!"  He clenched his fists, fingernails digging into his palms.  His face burned with mingled shame, embarrassment and anger.

The youkai tilted his head to one side, and grinned.  "Felt pretty good, too!  You sure you don't want to go for it again?"

Kurama glared at him murderously before swinging his legs off the bed.  "Where are my clothes?" he asked stiffly, looking anywhere but at the bed and its other occupant...

<What am I doing here?  I remember I was at the park, with Goten...  He kissed me!   But he looks like Hiei!>

"Don't know,"  the youkai replied cheerfully, snaking one arm around Kurama's waist from behind.  "You sure you need them?"  He laughed as Kurama scowled at the wall as he plucked the offending limb off of himself.  "There's some stuff over there you can use," he offered, smirking as he gestured to a corner.

Kurama blinked.  <I'm sure that box wasn't there before...> He glanced suspiciously at the youkai before crossing the room and opening the box.  Sure enough, there was clothing in it.  Of a sort.  <Fit for a harem,> Kurama thought sourly as he held up a couple of the wispy garments for inspection.

"You know, you'd look good in that green one."  A different voice - higher, and more melodic -  but there was still only one other presence in the room.  A presence that no longer felt so much like Hiei's .  <Nani?>

Stretched out on the bed was an enticingly gorgeous figure, with long cobalt blue hair trailing down his shoulders, framing an elfin face lit up by dark golden eyes.

"Is that what you really look like?"  Kurama queried.  His eyes narrowed as he eyed the silken layers draped over the slender form.  "And where did you get those clothes?!"

The golden eyes blinked innocently.  "There are clothes like this in the box," he smiled helpfully, bouncing off the bed and digging through the pile, producing a handful of green and white cloth which he presented to the surprised red-head.  "But as for what I look like..."  He shrugged, letting his shirt slip off his shoulder.  "Does it really matter?"  He stepped towards him, sliding his fingers down his bare chest, caressing him lightly.

Kurama shuddered away.  "What is it with you?" he demanded.  "You brought me here just for the sex?!  I'm sure you could have found other willing partners elsewhere!"

The youkai frowned at him.  "I didn't bring you here.  I just found you here, and had sex with you because you looked pretty.  And besides, it had been a long time since I last had a good -"

"You didn't bring me here?" Kurama interrupted, eyes wide, wary.  "Then who did?"

"Maybe it was Durlah."

"Durlah?"  Kurama frowned.

"He's the one who put me in here a couple of millennia or so ago...  He didn't like me much.  I thought that he must have been dead, because I didn't hear from him for so long - but he turned up again just the other day..."

"So he's the one we've been looking for,"  Kurama commented softly to himself.  <If he's telling the truth...>  "Not that it matters much while I'm still stuck in this tiny room..."

"Stuck?"  The youkai looked at him curiously.  "What do you mean 'stuck in this tiny room'?"

Kurama gestured impatiently at the walls around them.  "No door."

"Only because you don't think there's one."

"What are you talking about?!"  Kurama demanded.

"This prison of ours is much larger than this little room - it's limited only by our imaginations!"  He laughed, twirling around, flinging his arms out expansively.  "This entire place is full of energy, so much so that it gets warped by our very wills.  If you think that I look like Hiei, whoever that is, to you I'll look like Hiei; if I think that I'm wearing clothes, to me it'll feel like I have those particular clothes on - and if I believe it enough, you'll see it, too.  Just like that!"  He beamed, pointing at the wall behind Kurama, where a door had miraculously appeared.  "It's easy!  You try it - imagine that you're wearing those clothes."

Kurama closed his eyes and concentrated, remembering the feel of one of his favourite outfits...

The youkai sniggered.  Kurama opened his eyes, looking down to find himself in one of the gaudy discards from the box.

"Your subconscious must really not like you," the blue-haired youkai told him seriously, before succumbing to a hysterical fit of the giggles.

"You're actually right on that one."  Kurama sighed, and tried again.  Unsuccessfully, to the delight of his companion.

"Here, let me."  A half-decent set of clothing suddenly covered him - properly.

"Thank you," Kurama smiled in relief.  Walking around in one of those skimpy outfits did not appeal to him.  <Especially not in front of him!  If he were truly Hiei, on the other hand...>

"You could thank me by - "

"No!"

The blue hair swished sadly as he shook his head with a sigh.  "It was worth a try!"

"No, it wasn't!"

A pout.  "You're no fun at all."

Kurama gritted his teeth and made to open the door.

"Wait!"  The doorknob refused to turn.  Kurama turned back to face the room with a frown.

"What is it?"

"How much do you know about Durlah?"  The golden eyes were uncharacteristically solemn.

"How much do you know?"  Kurama countered evenly.

The blue-haired youkai smiled bitterly.  "He's at least a couple of thousand years old, and his favourite hobby is utterly annihilating beautiful things. That's about all I know.  Too much, and yet not enough."

"How strong is he?"

Another shrug.  "Depends on how many people he's consumed lately.  How many humans, actually.  Consider yourself lucky - if you were fully human rather than partially youkai he would have devoured you in the blink of an eye instead of dumping you in here."

"He gets power from humans?"  Kurama hazarded.  <That could be a problem if the others try to rescue me...>  "And where exactly is here?"

"Wherever he wants it to be."  The youkai leaned forward, his golden gaze burning intensely.  "It isn't just power he takes, though - he eats them whole, souls and all, and makes them his!"  He drew back, a sunny smile appearing out of nowhere to rest on his face.  "He's out there right now, too - I can sense him, even though he can't sense us!  He must have come in while we were busy screwing!"

"Why are you telling me this?"  Kurama gazed intently at his would-be ally, steadfastly ignoring the last comment.

He blinked at him curiously.  "Because I thought you'd want to know!  I thought that if you had that warning you might stay around a little bit longer.  You're pretty - he'll probably eat you alive despite being youkai."

"You're not worried about him eating you alive?"

The nameless youkai stared at him in astonishment.  "That would be a little hard, even for him!"

"Why?"  Kurama pressed, curious.  <If it's something we can use...>

"Because I'm dead!"

A punch to the gut drove him to his knees, leaving him gasping for breath.  He screwed his eyes shut, willing this to be no more than a dream.  <It's only a nightmare - I'll be waking up from it soon...>

"Stupid brat!"

One swift kick to his shoulder, and he was helpless on the ground.

"Can't even defend yourself - or your little friend!"

The smirk evident in his assailant's voice was enough to make him open his eyes, pushing himself up on one elbow to see -

<No...>

Stiff black hair crushed against the floor...

<No...>

Glazed black eyes, open, unseeing...

<NO!!!>

Anger and despair surged alternately through his inner being, overwhelming all other thoughts -

Laughter.

He shut his eyes again, blocking out the horrible sight that was ripping a hole in his heart, clenching his fists until his nails drew blood.

<I'm going to kill him!  I'm going to kill him!>

"But you already have."

<What-?>  His eyes flew open to see a welcome sight:  the one he had thought dead was not so, but standing before him, untouched and unharmed.  "Goten?"

He knelt down beside him, smiling in reply; but this smile did not cause the dark eyes to light up, as was their wont.

"Goten?" he questioned again, tentatively, his own eyes widening in anxiety.

One hand cupped his cheek, thumb pressing his lips together for silence, as Goten leaned forward, his mouth mere inches from his ear.

"You were wrong," he breathed.

Trunks stiffened in dread.  <Nani?>

"You should have let me die then."  He drew back slightly, to gaze directly into Trunks own eyes.  "I'd rather be dead than living, with you."

He felt himself freeze, the blood draining from his face as his best friend confirmed his worst fears.

"You're no more than a bloody murderer of innocent people!  You've killed so many - even your own father!  I should have let Gohan kill you - no, I should have killed you myself!"

Trunks flinched, but did not struggle as Goten backhanded him across the face, knocking him back down to the floor, a cloud of dancing sparks before his eyes.  The tiny lights were not enough to block the sight of Goten's expression, conveying his disgust and disdain for his sometime friend.

<He's right - he's so right.  I should be dead...>

"I'd kill you now, but such a clean death is far too good for you."

He blinked dazedly up at the dark-haired angel of justice.  <Yes;  I should suffer, as I have made so many others suffer ->

:How can you be so masochistic?:  The deep voice rolled through his mind, wrenching it from the depths of self-pity.

<Nani?>  Wide blue eyes shifted to the side in time to catch  a brief glimpse of silver on white, before a second punch to the face momentarily darkened his vision again.   <Who?>

:Does it really matter?  You're going to be in too much pain to care in a few minutes.:  His sight cleared once more, and he was startled to see that the stranger was now kneeling right beside his head.  Wisps of silver hair brushed his cheek lightly, golden eyes staring down into his own.  :Nice friend you have here,: came the soundless commentary dripping with sarcasm, as Goten landed yet another shuddering blow this time to his throat, leaving him gasping for breath.  :What's the old saying, 'with a friend like this who needs an enemy'?:

<Why don't you shut up?>  Trunks defended his friend automatically.  The golden eyes widened in mock surprise.

:I'm sorry - I thought you wanted to suffer!  Although I must say that it seems like a waste of a perfectly good life, to me.  Any crimes you've committed in this life are bound to be judged by Enma Daiouh when you die.  He'll send you to Hell and you can suffer for all eternity in there, if what you've done is really that bad.  What's the point in trying to punish yourself now?  If you're that eager to see what's in store for you, why don't you just pick up a knife and use it!:

<I can't!  I promised!>  The thought was almost a wail, threaded through with agonizing despair.

:Promised what?  To whom?:  The silver veil of hair rippled as the stranger laughed silently.  :Weren't you just thinking about how much better the world would be with you out of it?  What promise is more important to you that the world itself?:

He was spared the sight of the smirk he could hear in the stranger's voice by a powerful kick, which launched him into the air to land heavily on one side.  <I promised him that I wouldn't try to kill myself; I promised Goten ->

:Is this the same Goten who's about to kick you in the balls?:  The stranger looked on with interest as Trunks lay groaning on the floor. :Think you can forgive your friend for that one?: he inquired with mild amusement.

"Forgive...?"  Trunks gasped out in a mindless echo.

"I can never forgive you, Trunks,"  Goten informed him acidly as he flipped him over onto his stomach.  "You killed my mother!"

:Maybe you did.  But I don't think so, and neither does Goten - the real Goten - remember?:

Trunks froze, memories of the first night he and Goten had spent in their self-imposed exile returning to him, propelled forcefully into his mind as though bursting through an unseen barrier.  <He forgave me.  Goten forgave me!>  Suddenly sharpened, his senses were sent reeling in fury as he realized...  <That's not Goten!  He just looks like him!  Goten's nothing like that!  How could I be so stupid!>

His eyes glowed aquamarine, his hair brightening to rival the sun, burning away the illusory shadows his mind had been wrapped in, baring his assailant to face his wrath unmasked -

Super Saiyajin Trunks surveyed the scene with satisfaction.  There were no lingering traces of the twisted creature that had succeeded in fooling him into believing that it was first his father, then Goten...

The sound of clapping caused him to spin around, only to see the silver haired stranger smiling smugly at him.  Trunks blinked in surprise as he realized that the stranger sported silver fox-like tail and ears, but did not lower his guard.  The kitsune's smirk widened.

:I love the eyes - but don't you think the hair's a bit much?  I mean, straight up or straight down is fine - but in between you start to look like a porcupine!:

Trunks scowled.  The kitsune grinned.

:No words of thanks for me?  I'm hurt - crushed!:

"You have my thanks,"  Trunks acknowledged stiffly.  "But what is it that you want of me?"

The smile fell from the kitsune's face.  :I want you to return the favour.:  His golden eyes burned fiercely, yet not quite enough to conceal the lingering traces of pain within them.

Trunks frowned in confusion.  "I don't understand."

:You will.  Just remember, child, that everyone here is far more than what they seem to be - even if they don't know it!:

"Like yourself?"  Trunks quirked one eyebrow at him.

:Yes, like me,:  the kitsune smiled somewhat ruefully, before his golden gaze hardened, seeming to penetrate Trunks' very being.   :And like you.:  He turned away, his image starting to fade before Trunks' very eyes.

"Wait!"  He called.  "Who are you?"

:Boku wa Kurama desu.:  One golden eye winked then disappeared from sight, leaving Trunks alone in the empty expanse.

<Now what?>

No-one answered him.  He wasn't sure whether to be comforted by this little fact or not.

<What did he mean, like me as well as like him?  What do the two of us have in common?>  The question was a little hard to answer without knowing more about the kitsune, Kurama.  <He's certainly not a Saiyajin,>  he ruled out with amusement.  <I would have sensed that!  But perhaps a halfbreed of some sort...>

He broke off from his contemplation to take a closer look at his surroundings.  <There's nothing here; certainly no answers.  I'd best get moving.>

He flew off without a backwards glance.

Minamino Shuuichi was currently feeling quite frustrated with the world in general, and one blue-haired youkai in particular.

"Are you sure that this is the right way, Kalei?"  He'd asked that question at least a dozen times in the last hour alone.

"Yes, Shuu-chan," she replied, rolling her golden eyes.  "For the thousandth time, I'm sure that this is the right way."  She tossed her head, looking back at him where he was trailing a few paces behind her with some concern.  "What's the matter with you today, anyway?  You seem so distracted, and that's not at all like you!"

"Gomen,"  he apologized.  "I guess I'm just a little anxious, that's all.  I haven't seen Kaasan in so long..."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."  Kalei smiled brightly.  "Everyone's always happy to see you!  I know that I am!"

Shuuichi laughed delightedly.  "But you see me every day!"

"And I'm happy every day!"  She bounced towards him, surprising him with a spontaneous hug.  "I'm so glad you're here with me, Shuu-chan!  I don't know what I'd ever do without you!"

He repressed the urge to frown at her words.  <Why do I feel so strange?  She keeps on surprising me, first with her suggestion to visit Kaasan, now with the hug...  It's like I've only known Kalei a few hours when I've known her for so many years...>

He smiled gently for her, pushing away his doubts.  "I for one am glad you'll never have to find out."

She stood on tiptoes long enough to give him a brief peck on the cheek, then dashed ahead, her cheeks turning a bright red as she fled.

<She's so sweet - I hope she stays that way forever, and that she'll always love me as I do her...>

He frowned suddenly.  There was something about that last thought that bothered him slightly, but what?  He hesitated as she bounded on ahead, mulling over their conversation, but unable to pinpoint the cause of his anxiety.

"Shuu-chan!"  Kalei waved at him from the crest of the hill.  "Your Kaasan's waiting for us!"

<Kaasan!>

He started moving once more, towards his home, where his mother would welcome them both.

Yet he couldn't help but feel troubled whenever he glanced into those golden eyes...
 

End Part 2    Go to Part 3