Kurama nodded, glad that Yusuke had been the one to suggest that solution. "Thank you Yusuke..." he responded grateful that the delinquent had offered to carry Katsumi. The girl wasn't very heavy but after expending some of his energy, the kitsune could feel his fatigue return tenfold. Kurama stood to move out of the way when Katsumi spoke up again to plea that she didn't need their help only to wince again in pain. "Katsumi, it seems you're not alone in what you've been suffering lately. What I'd really like from you is to compare your experiences with Hiei so that we can possibly begin to understand what's happening to both of you. Like Yusuke said, there's a woman who can help heal your wounds more fully. We'll take you there and you can explain after you've rested up a bit." With that, Kurama stepped out of the way for Yusuke to get by to the girl and made his way back down the hallway and to the entrance of the apartment once more. Slipping on his shoes, Kurama opened the door to allow Yusuke through when he arrived with Katsumi and stepped in stride with him as they began the trek to Genkai's temple.

Yusuke and Katsumi mutually agreed to a piggyback as opposed to Kurama's previous bridal carrying style. He lent her a jacket to cover the blood stains on her clothes and it also served as a barrier for his own. "My name's Yusuke by the way. I'm sorry we didn't meet under better circumstances." He said as he helped her climb up onto his back.

"You already know my name, but it's nice to have yours," Katsumi replied. She wasn't at all sarcastic, just making a genuine statement. It was nice to atleast know names. Her shoulder ached and cracked as she tried to semi-relax her arms around his neck. This position was hurting her much more than the previous one, but if this Genkai person lived far away then this would appear less suspicious and more playful to any people they passed along the way. "I'm sorry you have to carry me at all." Kat mumbled.

"Nah, don't worry about it. We'll get ya fixed up in no time, Kat." Yusuke smiled, glancing back at her. She really wasn't too heavy and the Spirit Detective didn't have any problems keeping up with the pace Kurama set.

Kurama was happy that Katsumi seemed much more complacent now. As they walked through the woods, Kurama let his mind relax in the midst of all the natural smells. The forest made him feel a bit more refreshed but Kurama still longed for a bath. The closer they got to Genkai's, the more active his mind became again.

He hoped that at Genkai's they would be able to find some answers from Katsumi but he was somewhat doubtful. If Hiei didn't seem to know much about what he was experiencing, what were the chances that Katsumi understood what was going on? Hopefully if she didn't have the answers he sought, Kurama would be able to convince the girl to return to the Reikai for some tests to be run.

Stretching out his awareness, Kurama picked out the energies at the temple. It seemed the same people were still present there. Picking out Hiei's energy in particular, Kurama reveled in it's familiarity. <Looks like we'll be having a guest. Let's hope she has some answers...> Kurama sent the message instantaneously to Hiei through his thoughts.

Genkai was mostly alone inside the temple, Yukina and Hiei had gone outside. She was sitting on the floor sipping at the tea Yukina had made earlier. Some of it was still rather warm, and as she glanced to the entrance she could feel three different energies approaching. She could already tell who they were, apart from the third, who she did not yet know. "Heh, looks like the dimwit is finally awake." She muttered mostly under her breath as she stood from the spot and walked outside. She looked out over the area in front of the temple and let out a soft sigh.

---

Keiko had woken up a bit early and gone to school, and of course she barely expected to see Yusuke there. And she had been right to assume that he would skip, especially since she was still mad at him. Keiko huffed out a sigh as she tried to pay attention in class. She would have to teach Yusuke a lesson later. The teacher called on her to answer a question and Keiko was quick to do it. School was more important at the moment, she would simply have to wait for the end of the day before she would talk to Yusuke.

Hiei was still sitting on the porch when Kurama's message trickled through his mind. He didn't try to reply, knowing the fox wouldn't want him to waste the energy. Instead he shoved himself to his feet and held a hand out to help his sister up. "Kurama is on his way back, and he's bring company." He told her calmly, trying to hide his relief that the redhead was returning. He hadn't been sure if Kurama might do something dangerous when he left that morning.

Yukina took the hand but was careful not to rely on it alone as she rose gracefully. She didn't want to accidentally pull Hiei over. "I'll go make some fresh tea." She said with a smile. She went inside the temple and offered a small bow to Genkai. "Kurama-san is on his way back with someone." She told the old woman, smiling hopefully. "I hope whoever it is can help..." Her eyes betrayed her worry though she tried to keep her expression positive.

Genkai nodded at Yukina as she disappeared to the inside of the temple. Genkai was curious about the foreign energy that was with Kurama and Yusuke, knowing that they wouldn't be bringing them here unless it was important. She took a deep breath, "Don't worry Yukina, I'm sure we will learn something eventually. Though I do hope we can get some information as soon as possible." She said, showing that she too was a bit concerned with the situation at hand.

Yukina nodded her thanks for the reassurance and gathered up the old tea cups and pot. She hurried into the kitchen to make more, grateful to have something to do to keep her mind busy.

Hiei stood on the porch, torn between the desire to sit back down and rest, and the urge to go meet Kurama. He finally gave in to the latter. However, he wisely decided to wait at the top of the stairs rather than exhaust himself by going down and then trying to climb back up them, not that he usually used the stairs. Generally he preferred to use the treetops as his staircase, but today he knew he wasn't up to such feats of speed and balance. He sat down on the top step and leaned against the pillar, adopting a relaxed pose despite his chaotic emotions.

The walk to Genkai's temple was a long one. Yusuke wasn't really tired from carrying Katsumi, but he'd be lying if he said his arms weren't getting stiff from holding her legs. It was also a constant struggle to keep the girl from falling asleep. Every time he felt her body begin to go limp he added a little, extra bounce to his step in order to wake her back up. The teen was sure to mumble a soft "sorry" each time. He really felt bad, but he knew it was for the better anyway. Though that problem seemed to pretty much disappear as the small group started tackling the ridiculous stairs that led up to the old lady's temple. The constant bounce, as he took each step one at a time, was enough to keep Kat awake. "Oye, Hiei!" He called up to his friend as the demon came into view. "Man.. You do look rough." Yusuke added as he came closer to the shorter man's perch at the base of the stone steps.

Katsumi did appreciate Yusuke's effort to keep her from falling asleep, but the way he woke her up irritated the wound to her shoulder. She was glad that he couldn't see her pained expression, especially since he kept apologizing anyway. Soon he was calling out to someone, so they must be getting close. 'God, how many steps do you need?' She pondered to herself. She'd tried to count the steps earlier but quickly lost count and interest.

For once Kurama was happy to see the grand staircase come into view. It meant they were close... As he began climbing the stairs, Kurama realized just how thankful he was that Yusuke was the one carrying Katsumi at this point. He felt tired enough just dragging himself up them.

As they got closer to the top, Kurama spotted a familiar figure waiting for them and a smile appeared on his lips despite himself. He had been worried about leaving Hiei alone but it seemed the fire demon had managed. He still looked quite weary however as Yusuke pointed out and the fox hoped that they could get to the bottom of things quickly. His instincts told him that Katsumi would be willing to work with them on the problem as it would help her in the end as well. Whether or not he could convince her to go back to Spirit World for tests however was yet to be seen.

Mounting the final stair, Kurama gently placed his hand on Hiei's shoulder, "How are you feeling?" he asked quietly, happy to be back in the presence of the fire demon.

"Bring the girl inside, dimwit. Let's not waste time standing around." Genkai said, her voice clearly concerned yet also slightly annoyed. She was looking at the demon girl, knowing that the spirit detective would not be carrying her for no reason. She walked inside the temple, knowing that Yukina was in there preparing tea. It would also be the best place to look at the girl's wound and heal her. She sighed as she stood there, waiting.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm coming!" Yusuke spoke up to Genkai impatiently, already annoyed by the old woman's blunt attitude. His sneaker-clad foot landed on the last step a few moments later. Instead of stopping to rest, he kept right on walking. The last thing he needed would be to get scolded by Genkai so early in the day, not that that was uncommon for Yusuke anyway. "Hey Genkai, where do you want me to put her down at?" The teenaged boy asked loudly as he finally entered the temple.

Katsumi was surprised when she first caught a glimpse of this Genkai person. This woman was elderly and very small in stature. Though she briefly questioned Genkai's ability to offer her any kind of help, she knew better than to judge a book by its cover and kept her mouth shut.

Genkai made a gesture as if telling Yusuke to put the girl down on the futon bed that was used only a few hours earlier. She could tell that the girl's wound was stable for the most part, but if she didn't get to checking it soon there could be an infection. "Just put her down. I'll see to her wounds." Genkai said simply as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Hiei glared at Yusuke as the boy passed him. "Shut up." He told the dark haired boy snappishly. At Kurama's gentle touch, his scowl vanished and he turned his attention to the redhead. "Fine." He said shortly, conscious of the people around them and unwilling to admit that just the short walk to the top of the stairs had left him feeling tired again despite Yukina's gift of spirit energy. He held a hand up to the fox wordlessly. It was as close as he was going to come to asking for help where someone might see his weakness.

Yukina finished making the tea and brought it out into the main room where Genkai was waiting. "Welcome, Yusuke-kun. Who is your friend?" She asked with a gentle smile for the injured demoness. Genkai would have her fixed up in a flash. Yukina sat the tea tray down and wandered over to the door to check on her brother. She stopped as she saw Kurama standing with him, watching from the cover of the doorway.

Kurama wasn't entirely surprised when Hiei snapped back at Yusuke's comment. He was sure that Yusuke had meant the best but Hiei wasn't exactly in good humor given his current state so kurama could also understand Hiei's reaction to it. Deciding not to say anything, Kurama silently took hold of the hand that Hiei stretched out to him and carefully pulled the fire demon to his feet. Greatly resisting the sudden urge to embrace Hiei, he instead looped his arm under Hiei's and guided him towards the dojo in Yusuke's wake.

Hiei leaned on Kurama as they walked towards the temple. He most likely could have made it without the support but he liked the warmth the redhead was radiating. That thought made him falter in his steps and the redhead's hold was all that was keeping him upright. Kurama had never felt warm to him before. Yukina's energy must have still been affecting his body temperature. He wondered if the fox would notice.

Yukina smiled sweetly at the interaction between her brother and the fox demon. She could see the affection between them. Hiei wouldn't allow just anyone to touch him and the fact that he had initiated the contact spoke volumes to the observant koorime.

When Hiei faltered, Kurama felt realized just how cool the fire demon's skin felt. Was his internal temperature dropping due to fatigue? Kurama's concern returned tenfold, "Hiei, are you alright?" he asked, holding onto the fire demon's arm to prevent him from falling. "You feel cool... Maybe you should lie down," he suggested cautiously. He doubted that Hiei would do so however, especially after Yusuke's remark.

"You got it." Yusuke grinned as he walked over to the conveniently placed futon. He bent his knees so that the ground wasn't like a plummet for Katsumi as she unhooked her arms from his neck and slipped off of his back. When Yukina entered the room a moment later and asked him a question, the boy replied with a quick, lax introduction, "Oh, Yukina this is Katsumi. Katsumi this is Yukina." He'd completely forgotten that no one here had never met Kat before, and he should have introduced the newcomer more promptly. Oh well. With his task of delivering the demoness to Genkai complete, the spirit detective stretched his arms out in silent relief.

Katsumi didn't need any help to sit on the futon. After all, it was her shoulder that was really banged up and not her legs. She felt very uncomfortable being surrounded by faces she didn't recognize. She just wanted to stand up and leave as soon as possible. However, for some odd reason, she felt the need to stay put.

Hiei steadied himself quickly. "I'm half koorime, fox. Cold isn't a problem." He said quietly, not meeting the fox's eyes. He was stretching the truth but he didn't want the redhead to worry over him. Most likely Yukina was right and the cold would fade soon. Hiei didn't want to admit that Yukina had given him energy and he was still exhausted. It was causing him enough concern without it upsetting Kurama as well. "It will pass." He said with more conviction than he felt.

Yukina was concerned when Hiei stumbled but she trusted Kurama to keep the fire demon upright. She also knew Hiei wouldn't appreciate having attention brought to his embarrassing slip up. Instead she turned her attention to Katsumi and Yusuke. "Would you like some tea? I've just made some." She offered politely.

Kurama gaze slipped away from Hiei's face to look down at the ground for a moment. For some reason he felt hurt by Hiei's response. To the fox it was felt as if Hiei wasn't taking the situation seriously enough. Such a severe change in body heat wasn't something to shrug off. Most human would go into shock if their internal core experienced such a drastic change over such a short time but apparently Hiei felt he could handle it. It was true that demon's bodies were more resilient however Kurama still felt concerned. Instead of relaying this to Hiei however, he remained silent as he led the fire demon into the dojo and then untangled his arm from the other once inside.

Kuwabara finally made it to the school building after a getting the scolding of his life from his sister. It wasn't like she didn't realize where he'd gone, but she had been upset by the fact he hadn't called to say he wouldn't be coming home. He ran into the building and into class, calling out a 'here' as the teacher happened to call his name. His friends were looking at him oddly, but he couldn't worry about that, he had other things on his mind. Like, how soon he would head to Genkai's once school was over, and things like that.

---

The feeling like he was being watched remained, and Taykayo tried not to let it bother him as he did his school work. Though no matter how much he tried to stay focused the feeling never left, and the hair on the back of his neck was beginning to stand on end. Taykayo lightly ran his hand through his hair and over the back of his neck. "I'm being absolutely rediculous." He whispered softly to himself. There was no way that someone could be watching him while he was in school, and unless they were some kind of psychic, or a demon, he would be feeling a lot more creeped out. That alone told him that nothing could be wrong.

"No thank you," Katsumi replied politely, her posture slightly rigid in her discomfort.

Yusuke, on the other hand, was very thirsty from walking so far without taking any breaks. He hastily accepted the tea from Yukina and downed it almost as quickly as he got his hand on the cup. "Ahhhh," he smiled, placing the empty cup on the nearest table. He wiped the corners of his mouth with his forearm as he spoke, "Nothin' like a fresh cup of tea. Thanks, Yukina."

.::.

Across town where the flow of bystanders was much lighter than the prefecture that Katsumi was attacked in, a tall man waited quietly. His skin was tanned and his jet black hair slicked back into a small ponytail. Though his eyes were shut, he gave the distinct impression to passing bystanders that he hadn't let his guard down. Shinobu Sensui, the spirit detective of Earth before Yusuke's reign, was an intimidating man even when he was just harmlessly leaning up against the front of a building. He had sent his ally, Sniper, off earlier to give a firm warning to one of Koenma's employees, and he was waiting to find out how that had played out. As of right now, two of Koenma's people were infected with his other friend's nightmare territory. If they didn't succumb to their dreams soon, all he had to do was ask Sniper to go ahead and finish them off. In their weakened state, the boy and the girl wouldn't stand a chance.

Besides that, he'd also been carefully watching a local boy who attended a nearby school. He had heard rumors that the boy was 'strange', and Sensui could even feel his interesting energy from his position dozens of blocks away. He was rather curious of this child's abilities. Maybe this boy could be useful to his cause.

Hiei wasn't sure what he had said but he didn't like the way Kurama got quiet, nor did he care for the way the redhead moved away from him as soon as they were inside the temple. He decided to try and smooth things over, unable to stand the thought of the redhead being upset with him, but not certain what he needed to apologize for. He hesitantly reached out with his telepathy as he sat down and leaned against the wall. 'Fox.' He called out silently, 'What is it?' He asked with genuine confusion evident in his mental tone. He hadn't intended to upset the redhead and couldn't figure out what he'd done. His face was set in a calm mask for the benefit of the other occupants of the room but his eyes were slightly wide as he looked at the sulking fox demon.

Yukina smiled at Yusuke's enthusiasm. "Would you like some more, Yusuke-kun?" She held up the pot to pour some more into his cup. She couldn't help but feel a certain amount of empathy for Katsumi but she was also very concerned for her brother. "Katsumi-san," she started hesitantly, "Kurama-san said you might know something that could help my brother....do you know what is happening to him?" She asked hopefully.

A motorcylce interrupted the flow of people in the area as Sniper came to a halt on the sidewalk. He could see Sensui waiting for him and hoped he hadn't kept the man waiting too long. Sometimes it just wasn't good to be late. He didn't have a helmet on, so he simply locked the controls on his bike and walked over. "Sorry if I'm late. Traffic's a bitch." Sniper said simply as he adopted a relaxed stance, causing a lot of people to wonder how he seemed to not notice how dangerous the guy in front of him was. Other people were steering well clear of the area, not wanting to get too close to the dangerous man.

<Don't waste your energy Hiei,> Kurama chided, gently ignoring the topic. He didn't want Hiei to think that he was being irrational or too motherly. Kurama only allowed himself to mull things over for a moment before forcing himself to stop, deciding that it was the sleepless night that was making him overly pessimistic. The redhead moved slightly to kneel comfortably closer to where the others were gathered. The fox approved when Yukina gently prodded Katsumi for some answers. The ice demon was so innocent it would be hard for Katsumi to feel threatened by her questioning.

Yusuke graciously accepted a second cup of tea from the koorime. As he sipped away on the warm, comforting liquid, he also listened intently as Yukina tried to start a conversation with Katsumi. He was pretty curious if the demoness knew what was happening to his friend.

Kat was caught slightly off guard by the question, but she didn't allow that to show on her face. So, Hiei was Yukina's brother. Her eyes lowered to the floor as she tried to piece together an appropriate reply. The truth was, she didn't know what was happening to her and she hadn't the slightest idea how Hiei came down with the same problem. "I'm sorry. I can't explain what's happening to your brother." She finally responded, sad that she couldn't offer this girl any kind of comfort.

.::.

"Understandable." Sensui replied cooly, his eyes opening abruptly. Sniper was a bit late, but he couldn't condemn him for it. After all, it was these disgusting humans' fault for congesting the streets in the first place. He kicked himself off the building and placed his hands in his pant pockets. "How'd it go?" He asked plainly, his expression as stoic as ever. He was fully aware that the average human avoided him like the plague, even the most spiritually unaware ones. It didn't bother him.