Sniper shrugged lightly as he considered how to really answer Sensui's question. "It went well enough. I could've done a bit more damage if those people hadn't shown up." He said, clearly annoyed at the memory of the two people who were also looking for the girl. At least he knew what she looked like now, so he could always target her again with ease. "So what's next?" He asked, not really expecting to get any details, but he said it anyway.

Hiei's expression turned dark as the fox demon sat down away from him, and he didn't answer his question either. Katsumi's unhelpful answer didn't help matters either. 'Fine.' He snapped mentally at the fox, hurt evident in his mental voice as his fatigue allowed emotions to bleed into his telepathy. The fire demon shoved himself to his feet abruptly and blurred out the open door. He was dealing with his emotions in his typical manner, by running away from them. He didn't know what else to do with them at this point. Unfortunately, he couldn't get far at his usual speed and he ended up back at the top of the stairs, leaning on the same pillar he'd used earlier as he caught his breath, before he slid down with his back against the sturdy painted beam and buried his head in his knees. People were just too hard to figure out and Kurama was proving more difficult than most. Hiei sighed tiredly. "Baka." He chided himself.

Yukina watched Hiei go, mistakenly thinking his flight was a reaction to Katsumi's words. She hurried to reassure the injured demoness. "He'll come back. Oniichan is just overtired." She understated the problem artfully. A look of confusion crossed her features as she pondered Katsumi's words. "You don't know anything about dreams that cause physical injuries?" She asked again innocently, hoping that by making the question more clear, Katsumi might think of something. Kurama seemed to think this girl could help. She just had to know something.

Kurama's brow furrowed as Hiei mentally snapped at him. Rage welled up in his chest but Kurama forced it down. When Hiei shoved off of the floor and spend out of the door. Kurama followed after him before he had time to hear Yukina rephrase her question for Katsumi. Once outside, Kurama caught sight of Hiei, already back at his post by the stairs. Shoving his hands in Yusuke's jeans' pockets, he wandered over to where the lone demon sat, the grass cool against his bare feet.

As he got closer, Kurama realized that Hiei has actually burried his in his knees, a posture more befitting for a child. The fox walked up beside the fire demon and leaned his back lightly against the beam, staring up at the sky. Overhead, clouds drifted slowly by amidst a hazy grey sky... Closing his eyes, the fox took a deep breath and exhaled it before turning to look at Hiei, "I'm sorry Hiei. I'm just worried about you..." It was difficult for the words to come out but once they did, Kurama felt a bit relieved.

Hiei's shoulders stiffened and he wanted to run away again, certain that the redhead was angry with him and not prepared to deal with that in his current state. Kurama's apology caught him off guard and he took a moment to process it. His shoulders relaxed a tiny bit but he kept his head buried in his knees as he replied, his arms wrapped around his legs to hold them in place. He was so tired, it was hard to maintain his usual stoic demeanor and since it was only Kurama there to see him, he let it slip just a little. "Yeah, me too." He was worried and angry and frightened and utterly exhausted and he was also sorry. On top of all that, he was confused by his feelings for the redhead currently leaning next to him.

In fact, that was proving more frustrating than his deadly dreams. At least those Hiei was certain of his feelings about and he would fight them as soon as he figured out how. Kurama...he didn't know whether he should fight the emotions or not. It rather depended on the fox's own feelings and Hiei didn't know how to go about figuring those out. 'I could just ask.' He thought to himself practically. Not able to come up with a better idea with his limited social skills, Hiei decided to do just that, but he'd have to ask somehow that wouldn't scare the fox away if he didn't feel the same. The fire demon didn't think he could stand it if Kurama rejected him completely. It wasn't like he had a surplus of best friends laying around, much less anyone else he was stupidly in love with.

"Why do you worry? What am I to you, Fox?" He asked the questions wearily into the black fabric of his cloak, but it should have been loud enough for the fox's sensitive hearing to pick up. Hiei felt something land softly in his lap but he ignored it as he waited for the redhead to answer the loaded question.

Genkai walked forward as everyone settled in and placed herself next to Katsumi. "This wound doesn't look too bad, but it still needs to be healed." Genkai said as she laid her haid lightly over the spot and a white glow emanated from her palm. Just seconds later the wound in the girl's shoulder was gone, the muscles would ache for a little while, but the wound was gone. "It looks like you have some others that weren't fully healed before, either." Genkai said, her energy feeling the other wounds that still had yet to fully heal.

Katsumi watched as Hiei left the room in a hurry. She highly doubted that her response to his sister's question caused such a reaction in the smaller demon. He was so stoic and nonchalant when she met him and Kurama just the other day. Something must be happening underneath the surface that upset him. "I don't know anything for absolute certain, but I do have a theory." Kat sighed, she knew the girl was pressuring her on purpose, and she couldn't blame her for it. "Have you ever heard of a territory?" She asked, glancing up from the floor.

"Territory?" Yusuke repeated while he set his newly emptied cup on the table for the second time in the past ten minutes. "Do you know what that is, Genkai?" He questioned of his elderly Sensei, watching her wrinkled face for any sign of recognition.

Katsumi thanked Genkai as Yusuke pestered the older woman for answers. She flexed the fingers on her right hand and stretched the newly healed limb carefully, grateful to have full use of her arm again. She could feel the remaining wounds on her body close as the skin healed itself shut with the help of Genkai's energy.

.::.

"Simple. We return to Mushiori City. Itsuki finally made a breach in the pseudo-space between this world and Makai last night. Our tunnel will be a reality in just shy of a month." Sensui replied as calmly as if he were describing the weather or something of equal insignificance. "Though..I have been keeping my eyes on a peculiar local boy the past few days. I believe that he could be an asset to our side." He turned his tanned head off in the direction the schoolboy's energy was emitting from. "We will have to lure him to Mushiori. It wouldn't be wise to pursue him here, since this city reeks so heavily of Koenma scum."

.::.

"WHAT?!" The Prince of Reikai shouted, his arms shoving the majority of the paperwork from his desk in his state of panic. His eyes widened and he fell back in his chair, holding his head in his hands. "This shouldn't be happening. The next natural fluctuation breach isn't scheduled for another several hundred years." He mumbled in dismay. Could this day possibly get any worse?

"I'm sorry, sir. I flew over Moshiori City last night and witnessed the hole's perimeter with my own eyes." Ayame, one of Botan's fellow ferry girls, responded calmly from the doorway.

"Damnit. This is not good. How could we have let this go unnoticed? That border is the only thing keeping demons from flooding into the human world. Without it... Humanity would be as good as gone." Koenma muttered, peeking out from behind his hands and toward his universal communicator on the far corner of his desk. 'I wonder if the others have noticed this fluctuation. Surely Genkai must have felt the sudden shift..' He would need to contact Urameshi and company to relay this message soon, that is, if Genkai hadn't already beat him to it.

Sniper thought about the information a bit and nodded. It was great that Itsuki had broken through to create the tunnel, but no doubt someone would notice the sudden flux of energy it would create. A local boy. Sniper thought as he tried to process the taller man's current mood. "This kid might not be easy to lure out." Sniper said thoughtfully as he looked in the same direction that Sensui was. He couldn't feel anything, but when he looked hard enough there was a faint demonic energy. "Is this kid a demon? He asked, his face not showing his surprise, but the slight tone in his voice did imply it.

---

Taykayo's head snapped up from looking down at his paper, suddenly sensing a strange energy. His eyes were wide as he could feel something was different, and as that came to mind, another vision hit. Taykayo clutched his head as a vision of the black hole sprang into his head, this time stronger than before. Demons poured out of the darkness, and Taykayo finally felt that he understood the vision. Not a black hole, a tunnel. He felt a sharp pain as the vision suddenly faded and he was looking at his classroom again. He was staring at the ceiling, having fallen from his seat. "Taykayo, why don't you go to the nurse and get a slip to go home. You seem ill today." The teacher said to him in a concerned voice. Taykayo could only nod as he got up off the floor with the help of a classmate who brought him to the nurse's office. Something was indeed wrong, and he would have to inform Shuichi of the new vision.

Sensui was dead silent for a few moments, not quite sure of the answer to that question himself. This child's energy was strange to the ex-spirit detective. It was neither human or demon, but he knew for certain there was at least something demonic about the kid. "It appears that way." The taller man decided. He could feel the boy's energy move even from his position so far away, and a small smirk formed on Sensui's face. "We may run into this boy sooner than I would have expected."

Yukina waited with a puzzled expression for Genkai to answer or Katsumi to elaborate. She assumed the girl didn't mean the definition of territory that most people used. That wouldn't make any sense. The ice demoness noted in the back of her mind that Kurama had followed her brother outside. She was relieved by that. Hiei would usually let the fox demon get close, even when he pushed everyone else away, and in his weakened condition it wasn't safe for him to be out there alone.

Shiori wandered around the grocery store trying to find just the right ingredients for the Italian meal she was planning. She idly wondered if her son would bring his friend Hiei again. She hoped so and decided to make extra just in case. Shiori genuinely liked the homeless young man her son had dragged home. She could still recall her first meeting with the shy boy. At first she had thought him to be much younger than her son, but the first time she heard him speak she realized she had been mistaken. Hiei was just a very short young man.

She had caught Shuuichi trying to sneak the dark haired boy in through the back door. Hiei was soaking wet from the torrential rain they were having and looked like he had been in a fight. The poor dear was barely conscious. Her son had paled upon seeing her, obviously he mistakenly thought he would be in trouble. Hiei froze in his tracks and looked ready to bolt back out into the horrible weather. Her son had hurried to explain the situation. Hiei was homeless and he had been attacked by a gang. Shuuichi had found him and brought him home when the boy refused to go to a hospital.

Shiori's heart went out to the child with the oddly colored eyes and she hurried to make the two boys something to eat while her son found the shorter boy some dry clothes and patched up his various scratches. Hiei ate like he was starving once he had gotten over his initial mistrust of her and he had become a frequent dinner guest since that night.

She assumed that malnutrition had stunted Hiei's growth and she was determined to feed him at every opportunity. Thus she frequently made extra food and encouraged Shuuichi to bring the boy over as often as he liked or take leftovers to him if he couldn't get the reclusive young man to come to the house. She had often considered asking the dark haired boy to come live with them. They had a spare room and it wasn't right that Hiei wasn't in school. She had even broached the idea to her son but he had seemed amused by the idea of Hiei going to school and told her that the shorter boy would never agree to it. He said that Hiei had been on his own for too long, and to make him live in a house and go to school would be like holding fire in a wicker basket. It just wouldn't work for very long and someone was likely to get hurt in the end. Shiori sighed, it was a shame and her motherly instincts rebelled against it, but she could tell her son was right. Sometimes her child astounded her with his perception and maturity. She would just have to do as much for Hiei as the independent young man would allow and hope it would be enough.

Kurma didn't respond to Hiei's statement. Instead he continued to stare at the sky thoughtfully and allowed the sensation of the wind tugging at his red locks soothe him, a contrast to the whirl of emotions that sat beside him. It seemed difficult for Hiei, so unused to caring for others and being cared for by others, to accept the strong ties of friendship that had arose throughout the tournament and continued to strengthen thereafter. It seemed that Hiei was beginning to enjoy the sensation of having others that cared for him but at the same time, that revelation was frightening. Now, instead of only having to worry about himself, there were others to take into account as well.

When Hiei posed his question, Kurama's brow furrowed. The truth was he didn't know how to respond and was quite surprised that the usually stoic demon had posed him such a deep question. The fox mulled the question over slowly in his mind, 'Why do you worry? What am I to you, Fox?' In his mind, the answer formulated itself before the kitsune gave his response. "When we first met Hiei, you were a means, then, as instructed by Koenma, a partner in battle. During the tournament you were a part of my team, and since then I have considered you a friend...until tonight..."

Crouching down next to the fire demon, Kurama gently lifted Hiei's face out of his knees to look him in the eyes. "Tonight I realized that you mean something more to me than just a friendship, Hiei. I need you, Hiei. I worry because I'm afraid that I could lose the only person who knows who I truly am and accepts me for it..." Kurama smiled weakly, finding it hard to hold the emotion back from his voice. Something in his chest tightened and the kitsune found he was unable to continue speaking.

Hiei felt another something hit his lap when Kurama said he no longer considered him a friend. Then when the fox forced him to lift his head as he continued, Hiei was stunned by the depth of emotion in the redhead's words. He was a little frightened by it but at the same time the sense of belonging he felt around the fox demon drew him in. He couldn't think of what to say as he looked at Kurama with wide eyed, almost childlike disbelief. Kurama needed him? Finally giving up on his voice, he did the only thing he could think of. He leaned forward and kissed the redhead chastely on the lips, pulling back so fast it might not have happened at all. Unnoticed by him, two shining black gems sparkled in his lap as the sun hit them. He hadn't even known he could cry, and there was no sign of tears in his eyes now. He blushed lightly and averted his eyes from Kurama's face, not wanting to see the fox reject him if he had misunderstood.

Kurama's eyes widened as Hiei gave him a hesitant kiss. A heavy blush appeared on the redhead's features and the fox found himself at a complete loss for words. He studied Hiei's features and noticed that the other demon was similarly blushing. Also averting his gaze for a moment to take everything in, he caught sight of the two fallen gems in Hiei's lap. Still blushing, he reached for one of them and studied it carefully in the palm of his hand. "Its beautiful Hiei..." he remarked in awe, "Please allow me to keep it..." he pleaded gently. It was almost as if the jewel was like a reflection of Hiei's soul...

Hiei looked at the gem in shock, picking up the other one with his non-bandaged hand. He had not seen one of his own tear gems since he was a very young child and he had nearly forgotten he could produce them (as much as he ever forgot anything). There were only a few dozen of the rare gems in all the three worlds because even as a child he hadn't cried much. He held the stone up so the light hit it more fully. With the sun shining through it one could see that, instead of being completely black as they first appeared, the core of the gem was the color of fire. It seemed to possess a life of its own, flickering and changing constantly. He shrugged and nodded to Kurama's request, still a bit at a loss about what to do next. "Here. You can have them both." He said hesitantly. He placed the second stone on the fox's palm next to the first, drawing back quickly as his fingers brushed the smooth skin of Kurama's hand. He didn't know what the fox wanted the stones for but, if it made the redhead happy, Hiei was pleased to make a gift of them.

Taykayo silently thanked the other student for bringing him to the nurse, who was checking him over. After a few minutes she wrote out a slip and told him to hand it in to the office. Taykayo muttered something as he walked the halls himself to the main office, leaving the note. But the room was empty and he sighed as he noticed the unmonitored phone. There wasn't much time, he could still feel like he was being watched, so if he was going to get the message through, he would have to do it before he left the school building. Taykayo took a deep breath and picked up the phone, dialing the number for Kurama's cell from memory.

It rang for a minute before the voicemail picked up. Taykayo would have cursed if that was the kind of person he was, but he wasn't. "Hey, uh, Shuichi? It's me, Taykayo. Umm, I'm kinda leaving school early, and I have a really bad feeling. But I had to let you know about the new vision. I think I figured it out, it's not a black hole, it's a tunnel to Makai. I hope you get this soon enough, because, I'm kinda afraid something is going to happen to me. Well, uh, I should go. Bye." Taykayo hung up the school phone and he took a deep breath. He quickly made his way out of the school building, and as soon as he was outside, he took to running, hoping that he could make it to the temple in time.

---

Sniper thought about that idea for a moment and smiled. "Should I go pick this kid up?" Sniper asked, a mischievous smile playing across his face as he felt the energy moving, though to him he could barely tell it was moving at all. It would be interesting if Sensui agreed, with his motorcycle, this kid could be taken without any of Koenma's goons catching it.

Kurama's smile lit up when Hiei agreed that he could have the gems. He hadn't expected Hiei to give both of the jewels to him but he accepted them both anyway. "Thank you Hiei," he said gratefully before slipping the small objects into his pocket. Kurama looked back up at Hiei, his blush beginning to fade away now. Leaning forward slightly, Kurama gave Hiei a long embrace to show the fire demon gratitude.

Back in his his room, Kurama's cell phone rang without anyone around to hear it. The simple ringtone sounded a few times before going silent, all of this passing unknowingly to the fox.

Hiei stiffened in the fox's arms, not used to the feeling of being held. He had hugged only a couple of people in his life and almost never had he been the one wrapped in another's arms, at least not since he learned to fight back. It restricted his movement and he couldn't get his arms up very far, but at the same time he trusted that Kurama wasn't going to hurt him. He forced himself to relax and shifted himself up onto his knees, wrapping his arms slowly around the redhead's waist and resting his head on the taller boy's chest tiredly. His eyes remained wide open as he processed the unfamiliar feeling of affection.

He couldn't get comfortable and it took him a moment to figure out why. He didn't like Kurama in Yusuke's clothes. Even though the clothes were obviously freshly washed when the fox put them on, the dark haired detective's scent clung to them and muffled Kurama's own pleasant smell. Hiei shifted his face so his nose was buried in the red hair that rested on the fox's shoulder. 'Better.'

He felt very content, until the thought that someone might come looking for them made him finally lift his head and pull away slowly, not moving all the way out of the redhead's arms but putting a bit of space between them. He didn't want Kurama to think he didn't like the hug. It was nice. He had just reached his limit for emotions for the time being and he also didn't want the dimwitted detective wandering up and catching them in such an intimate moment. It wasn't that he would be embarrassed to be caught, it was more that he didn't want to share such a private moment with anyone other than Kurama. "I...do you want to go back inside, Fox?" He asked gruffly, blushing as he wished he was better with words so he could actually tell the fox his own feelings. Oh well, he would just have to endeavor to show them, at least when they were alone.

"Yeah." Sensui replied simply. Their target was moving pretty fast in the opposite direction. Maybe the boy could sense their presence and was actually attempting to run away. It's too bad the effort was in vain. It wouldn't take Sniper long to catch up to him, and then the child would be in their hands. If he refused to join their cause, Sensui could always break out the tape and force him to watch it. The boy would never be able to defend humanity after witnessing the horrors of Chapter Black.

Sniper jerked his head in a single quick movement, a simple nod as he turned and walked to his bike. "I'll have that kid in no time. I'll head back to Mushiori City when I have him." He said with a smile as he jumpstarted the bike and drove off, scaring several people in the process, and nearly running over three people. He could care less about these pathetic humans as he went of in search of the new target, this one to be captured. He kept his own focus on the energy of the target so he wouldn't lose them. He was getting close really fast, this kid wasn't a very fast runner. He smirked, this was going to be the easiest mission he would ever have to carry out.

---

Taykayo was attempting to run to Genkai's temple, completely unaware of the danger headed his way. He couldn't even sense anything was off as he was too focused on getting to his destination. So it was much to his surprise as a guy on a motorcylce came out of seemingly nowhere. He was hardly even close to the edge of the city that would lead to the forest, and the stairs. In fact, he was nowhere near that area, and he backed away a few steps.

Sniper got off the bike and walked over, easily towering over the short blonde boy. He was prepared to use a simple manuever to force the boy to pass out when it seemed he did that on his own. A little surprised by it, Sniper shrugged and picked the kid up. He walked back to the bike, getting on and positioning the kid in front of himself, so he could make sure the frail boy wouldn't fall off. "This really was too easy." He said to himself as he kicked the bike into gear one last time.

At first Hiei didn't seem to know how to react to his embrace but after a few moments he relaxed a bit more. Kurama found it difficult to get used to the unusually cool temperature of Hiei's body but enjoyed the embrace just the same, especially the way the fire demon seemed to burrow into his hair. They continued to embrace for a few moments longer before Hiei partially pulled away. Kurama looked down at Hiei as he questioned if they should go back inside. "If we must..." the fox replied, fixing Hiei with a playful smile.

Gently pulling away from the fire demon, Kurama took hold of the other's hand and began leading the way back to the temple. The redhead wouldn't have minded spending a few more minutes alone together but they needed to take back into consideration the current situation, as much as Kurama hated thinking about it. Besides, he had left Katsumi alone with strangers, which was possibly not the best idea. It seemed as if the fox was forgetting his duties to his guests as of late to chase after Hiei....

Hiei held tightly to the fox's hand as they made their way back to the temple, partially because he thought he might fall over if he let go, but mostly because the contact was pleasant. The borrowed energy was nearly gone and his thoughts were starting to feel a bit sluggish. He could tell from the dwindling warmth of the fox's skin against his own that his body temperature was rising back towards normal, though it wasn't anywhere near there yet. In another few hours he would be back to his regular body temperature. He would also likely be completely exhausted. 'If I live that long.' the fire demon thought pessimistically. Hiei glanced down at his pale calloused hand, entwined with Kurama's elegant one. 'I have to live. Kurama said he needed me.' He told the negative part of himself stubbornly. 'I just need to figure out how to fight back against something inside my own head.' They were nearing the temple but he didn't let go of the fox's hand. Hiei didn't care if the others saw them holding hands. It wasn't an overly intimate gesture (though for anyone who knew him it would speak volumes), but he loosened his grip just a little so the redhead could pull away if he wanted to. If the fox wanted to keep their evolving relationship a secret, Hiei was okay with that.

As they neared the temple, Hiei's grip on the redhead's hand loosened and Kurama gently slipped his hand out of the other's but instead of completely pulling away, he switched his grip to Hiei's elbow so that it would seem more like he was merely supporting the other. Kurama preferred the more innocent gesture for the moment. Although he was comfortable with Hiei, he wasn't quite sure if he was ready for the others to know yet, or if the others were ready for that matter. There were enough things on everybody's minds without having something else to ponder over.

Stepping back up onto the porch of the dojo, Kurama lead Hiei inside to find everyone situated as they had been when they left. It seemed like they were discussing something important but Kurama had no clue exactly what that might be. He hoped that perhaps Katsumi had shared some more information with the others in his absence but was not sure if that was the case. Kurama led Hiei over to his usual spot by the wall before releasing his elbow. Kneeling down beside him, Kurama decided not to interrupt whatever was being discussed. He could ask Yusuke later about what had passed in his absence.

Genkai did in fact recognize the term, there had been an increasing number of kids with psychic powers lately. Her face didn't show any recognition, but she nodded in response to Yusuke's question. She turned to look at Katsumi. "How about you explain your theory?" Genkai asked, not wanting to explain anything at the current moment. She watched Kurama and Hiei reenter the temple, and she sighed.

"I think that these nightmares are some kind of mental territory, and that someone is behind it pulling the strings." Katsumi responded, folding her hands loosely in her lap. She looked down at her feet before she continued, a small lump forming in her throat as she thought about her deceased friends. "About a month ago on the night my teammates were killed, I felt...something shift. It was subtle, but it was like something just turned on. I believe that something, perhaps a territory, entered my head that night, and its been lurking about my subconscious ever since." She glanced up, but she didn't look at anyone in particular.

"So, how did this thing get in Hiei's head too then?" Yusuke questioned, scratching the back of his own head. He had no idea what this girl was talking about. 'What the hell is a territory anyway?' He thought to himself, confusion plain across his face.

"I have a theory on that as well." Kat replied, her icy eyes staring straight at the smaller fire demon now. "That time we met in the hospital, I could feel you probing my mind for something. Maybe that temporary link was enough to give passage to this thing and allow it to enter your mind as well. However, I could very well be wrong. It's merely a theory."

Genkai sat there thinking for a while as she sifted through the new information. After a moment she sighed, "That may turn out to be more than just a theory." She said. "There's been an increasing number of new psychics, all of which possess these powers over territory." Genkai closed her eyes. "When initiated, the territory spreads around an area and shifts the atmosphere, making it seem as though you're not standing in the same dimensional space. If someone finds themself within a territory, they are subject to the powers of the psychic who created it." Genkai frowned as she remembered something she felt last night. "Also, I believe I felt a shift last night. A sudden flux of power, but I can't quite figure out what it was."

As he sat where Kurama had deposited him, Hiei thought over the theory Katsumi presented. "The timing is right. When did you start having the dreams?" He said slowly. His dreams had started right after he met the demoness in the Rekai hospital. "And if your theory does turn out to be true, how do we stop them?" He asked, leaning forward and pulling one knee up to get more comfortable. He crossed his arms on his raised knee and used them to prop his head up. Red eyes blinked wearily at Katsumi. The weariness was eating away at him. He wondered how Katsumi was holding up so well. Then he remembered his heavy use of the jagan the night before. Without such a severe drain to start with, it would take longer for her to become as exhausted as he was.

Yukina noted Hiei's somewhat glazed expression. She was tempted to offer him more energy but decided against it. With what happened last time it was better not to risk it. She wouldn't want him to be caught without access to his fire powers if whoever was doing this decided to attack. At Katsumi's words she grew increasingly more upset. "A psychic that can kill people with their dreams?" She was wide eyed with horrified disbelief. "That's terrible! Why would someone do such a thing?" She was nearly in tears at the thought of such cruelty.