VI. run, run, run as fast as you can...

Quickly, Kurama reviewed his options, he tried to transform back to his human form but discovered to his chagrin that he could not do so.
 

:Hiei stall my aniki and his friends while I run for it:
 

:Hn, wouldn’t it be better to confront them about their presence here? Or maybe ‘fess up?:
 

:Not in this form and in this time. Can’t transform.:
 

:Hn.:Disapproval was evident on Hiei’s tone but he put away the detector they were given and positioned himself in battle-ready stance.  It was of no use to them now. The time it took to battle the strange youkai had allowed the Schwartz to get out of its sensor range with the “Chosen One”. 

Kurama backed away into the balcony to make his escape as the members of WeiB was clambering up the staircase. He reached out with his ki to the plants in the garden below coaxing some vines to grow up into the balcony. 

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.

The vine was almost in the right height when he saw that it might not be enough. His brother would get close enough to see what happened and would probably give chase despite any distraction provided by Hiei. Kurama knew that his cover was blown but he’d rather have that discussion in his own terms not in these conditions. He tried again to transform but it just won’t take, on a desperate gambit he tried his kitsune form and was rewarded with a twinge. He transformed completely into his fox form and used the resulting mist to cover his get away. The vine wrapped itself around his furry middle and made is way down under the balcony so that even if anyone had peered down from where he had come from would see him. 

How am I going to explain this to Ran-‘niichan?  His stomach cramped in nervousness just to think about the confrontation that had just been delayed not totally eliminated. He had absolutely no plan on coping with this turn of events. 

***

Hiei watched impassively as WeiB cleared the steps. 

“Who was that and where did Schuiichi-chan go?” Ran demanded as he made it on the second level of the building. 

Meanwhile, somewhere in the pockets of Hiei’s cloak an indicator light was flashing unheeded. It was the device given to them by Botan to ascertain the identity of the “Chosen One”. 

"Hn. None of your business." 

"I am making it my business." Ran drew his sword to mirror Hiei's stance. 

“Hn.” Hiei said charging to disarm his opponent. Disarm not kill. Despite Kurama’s current difficulty with his brother, Hiei knew he’d be in big trouble with his friend if he injured Ran in any way. 

The rest of the tall redhead’s team moved to interfere but he waved them back. Clearly, Ran saw this as an issue between him and Hiei and wanted to settle it by himself. ptyle="mso-spacerun: yes">More the fool he, no ordinary ningen could match Hiei’s speed or the fire demon’s sword-skill. 

Ran had somehow managed to evade Hiei’s first charge barely.

“Rei Gun.” 

Hiei was going in for another pass when an energy ball passed him by and hit the far wall. 

“Um, guys, I don’t know what this is about but I think you would like to continue this elsewhere?” Yuusuke said having gotten everybody’s exclusive attention. He was waving his hand in the direction of Kurama’s distraught classmate who held one of the Schreint females, the blue haired one Hiei saw him talk to earlier in the week. The one-eyed Schwartz member had downed the female with a thrown knife earlier in the fight. The brunette’s ki level was rising sharply and he was now accumulating enough ki to glow even in ningen sight. Eerie blue dusted dark hair and dark eyes were almost invisible under the glow of power. It was clear to see that the young telekinetic had been pushed to the brink of sanity and was about to release a massive blast of power, not the best person to be close to just now. 

“Hn.” Hiei said sheathing his sword as Ran did so. 

Both the Urameshi Team and WeiB went their own separate ways after that anxious to be gone from the place. 

In the deep darkness of a cloak pocket, an indicator light blipped a few more times before growing silent. 

Later as he observed the fury of the young Schwartz rage break over the skies in a massive outflow of ki energy from a safe distance, Hiei wondered what Kurama’s oniisan thought of the situation and of the Urameshi Team as a whole. 

***

As he waited in front of Meioh High, Ran felt his frustration mount at being led around by the nose especially about something potentially dangerous as this. It was the same feeling that prompted him to draw his sword at Hiei though he knew it was quite futile to do so. To be honest, the feeling had been there for a while now, far longer than the event in the Schreint mansion. Ever since he had known about Hiei there was a part of him that held a suspicion that all was not as it seemed but he had stilled it and continued to insist that it was only Hiei but it wasn’t. His brother kept a very important secret from him…a dangerous secret. 

Schuuichi had made him scarce for three days. Neither Omi nor him had had much luck getting his little brother alone for so much as a minute. He didn’t know how the latter did it but Schuuichi had managed to go to and fro school without having to pass him. Ran had waited diligently at outside the house and by the school gate but he still wasn’t able to catch so much as a glimpse of his little brother. ptyle="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

Omi had better luck. He had been able to speak with Schuuichi. Noncommittal conversations mostly about schoolwork and ordinary things since Schuuichi had been extremely careful not to be caught alone with thee genki WeiB member. ptyle="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

How does he do it? And what is he hiding that he’s so afraid to tell me?

As the minutes dragged on, Ran frowned at the schoolgirls who tried to strike a conversation with him recognizing him no doubt from the Koneko. Schuuichi was never this late, it looked like his otouto wasn’t going to show…again. Damned!

***

Somewhere in the Meioh High grounds… 

“Kurama, this is absolute the last time I’m going to do this!” ptyle="mso-spacerun: yes">Hiei said as wrestled to keep his balance on the tree, made ungainly by additional weight. 

:This is the only way. Hiei I just need to avoid Ran-niichan until I can find a suitable explanation for all this.:  Preferably something that didn’t involve his identity or anything close to the truth. Hiei knew the Fox and knew he would try almost anything to protect his identity. Even when the case was hopeless it seems. As far as Hiei was concerned it was only a matter of time before Kurama had to ‘fess up, why prolong the agony? But he’d never say that to the Fox, it was Kurama’s decision to make as telling Yukina was Hiei’s. Besides it would probably hurt the Fox to admit it…

“Hn.” Hiei’s said unimpressed by the explanation. 

:Please Hiei.:  Kurama licked the fire demon on the nose and curled closer to him. That did it, Hiei decided that he’d do this as long as Kurama needed him to and sped off to the Hatanaka residence. 

***

* - The title of this chapter is from the fairy tale “The Gingerbread Man”. The full line goes: “Run, run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me! I’m the Gingerbread Man.”

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