Fighting Equals Foreplay

Team Fan Service

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 06:12:41 GMT

Title: Team Fan Service
Rating: M … to be on the safe side.
Pairings: Kurama/Hiei, Yusuke/Keiko, Yusuke/Koenma if you squint, Kuwabara/Yukina

Summary: Team Urameshi is now Team Fan Service! Everyone’s got their own inappropriate Super Hero nickname to boot. What’s all this about?

A/N: This is all inspired by that little clip BlueUtopiah put up on YouTube, from Shin-chan, with Kurama's English voice actor doing the voice for the 'Deflowerer'. I told my brothers about it, and we had fun with coming up with such names for the Hakusho characters. Pure crack, of course, but I hope it makes you all laugh anyway.
--

What the reader must first understand is that the author has far too much time on her hands and stays up all night long writing these things for your amusement.

Then, it should be made common knowledge that the job of the Prince of Hell was an incredibly boring one. Of course, Koenma usually entertained himself by sending his favorite ~~bitch~~ spirit detective, Urameshi Yusuke, on ridiculously difficult missions that would surely kill him, but never did. However, lately the pickings had been slim as far as world apocalypses go. Bored out of his wits from the mind numbing job that was ‘paperwork’, the infant prince devised an excellent way to pass the time.

“As the official owner of Team Urameshi, I have decided to temporarily rename it, for the good of all fan girls,” Koenma announced to his spirit detectives, whom he’d called to his cozy little office in Spirit World (complete with an official desk, comfy chair, and large screen TV). “Team Urameshi is now Team Fan Service!”

“And what, pray tell, is your reasoning?” Kurama wanted to know. “I should know better than anyone that Fan Service in this series is insanely hard to come by. You’d think Hiei and I would have gotten at least one shower scene. Leorio and Kurapika got one.”

“Not a real one,” Yusuke argued, shaking his head. “That was more like… a ‘Kurapika beating Leorio up for walking around naked’ scene.”

Koenma leapt up on his desk with a maniacal laugh. “That’s exactly it! The lack of Fan Service is something that must be rectified!” He discretely pushed the record button on his TV remote, seeing as how this was something he would want to watch again later. “So, I have decided that it will be Team Fan Service’s goal to provide some quality fan service to deprived viewers! In honor of this noble cause, I’ve assigned titles to all of you.”

“He’s really lost it this time,” Hiei remarked casually from the corner of the room, where he stood in all his brooding glory with his hands on his hips.

“Hush, you,” Koenma retorted, narrowing his eyes. “As I was saying! I’ve decided to use a super hero theme. You each will be given an Inappropriate Super Hero title, until such a time when I grow bored with this. Kurama! You will now be known as Mega Slut!”

Kurama frowned. “I’m not sure how I feel about that title,” he remarked.

“Well, if the shoe fits…” Hiei mumbled.

“Hiei, you’re next,” Koenma continued. “You will be known as Super Virgin!”

Yusuke snickered. “If the shoe fits, indeed.”

Hiei’s face turned bright red. “Now, you listen here,” he objected, hand going to the hilt of his katana. “I’m not interested in playing along with all this nonsense. I have better things to do with my time.”

“Super Virgin, if you don’t like the title, I’m sure Mega Slut wouldn’t mind helping you out,” Koenma replied with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. Kurama grinned at Hiei to further prove Koenma’s point, effectively shutting the little demon up.

“Ewww…” Kuwabara made a face.

“Ahem! Quit interrupting me! Now, we come to Yusuke.” Koenma looked far too pleased with himself. “Yusuke, your title is Sexual Tension Man! A bit of a mouthful, but all things considered, I think it’s quite suitable.”

“He has a point,” Kurama agreed, nodding. “What with you never getting anywhere with Keiko, even by the end of the series. Not to mention all of the stunning bishies that seem to constantly surround you. And, being Koenma’s bitch.”

“Sexual tension is probably what helped him win the Dark Tournament,” Hiei added, eager to get in a few jabs now that his own pride had been officially wounded. “Seeing Kuwabara ‘die’ probably unlocked it all.”

“Eww!!” Kuwabara and Yusuke both exclaimed at the same time.

“That’s disgusting!” Yusuke insisted. “Kuwabara’s got a mug like a horse! And he’s an idiot. And also, I’m not Koenma’s bitch!”

“Hey! Well, even if I wasn’t straight, you’re too much of a smart mouthed punk for anyone to like,” Kuwabara countered. “Maybe that’s why you and Keiko still haven’t done the deed.”

“Oh yeah?” Yusuke narrowed his eyes at the carrot-top. “Hey, Koenma, what’s Kuwabara’s super hero name?”

Koenma sighed. “I don’t have a name for Kuwabara,” he replied honestly. “You see, out of all four of you, he has the healthiest relationship. There wasn’t really anything to pick on.”

Kuwabara smirked triumphantly while the jaws of his team mates hit the floor. “I think I like this game,” he remarked. “What’s our first mission?”

END

Something in My Eyes

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:27:28 GMT

Title: Something in My Eyes
Rating: T
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Kurama/Hiei
Summary: “I never cry!”
Prompt: Denial

Prompts from impromptu50

(Sequel to Marked and Breaking Fire.)

Hiei was used to collapsing after using up all of his energy and then waking later on, completely refreshed. Yusuke poked fun at him and told him he went into hibernation. He didn’t really didn’t care what his associates thought about it, though; they were the unlucky fools who had to stay awake during healing. And it also took them twice as long to recover.

This time, however, was different from all the other times he’d woken from a healing sleep. His body was still stiff with pain and his youki was dangerously low. He groaned softly, wishing he could go back to sleep and escape it, but he knew he couldn’t continue to simply lay there in the middle of Genkai’s forest. There were demons about. Why hadn’t they already pounced on him?

His stomach twisted uncomfortably when he realized that it was probably the bite mark that had kept them all away. It warned them that he belonged to someone who could kill them with ease.

He forced himself up into a sitting position and nearly screamed aloud at the pain it caused him. With shaking hands, he pushed himself up on the ground and onto trembling legs. Blood slid down his leg and into his line of vision. His stomach lurched at the sight and he suddenly found himself clinging to a tree while he vomited out the contents of his stomach.

Standing straight again, he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and tried to think logically about what he should do next. Where should he go? The temple couldn’t be too far away, but the only person that lived there now since Genkai passed away was Yukina. He was nearly sick again at the thought of going to his innocent, pure sister for help with this. He couldn’t go to Yusuke or Kuwabara, either. He refused to let them see him in such a vulnerable state. What would they think, anyway? Would they laugh? Would they be disgusted?

They’d probably be disgusted. If they didn’t already think he was a worthless wretch of a creature, this was certain to clinch the deal. There was no way he could show up on Yusuke’s doorstep with blood and semen running down his legs, asking for help. Hell, would the detective even let him in the door?

Of course he would, you dumbass, he mentally scolded himself. It’s Yusuke; he couldn’t turn down Toguro if the man turned up at his door covered in bruises. Yusuke had a heart of gold. When he really thought about it, Kuwabara wouldn’t turn him away. He would be awkward and uncertain, but he would fumble around and do his best to help Hiei.

He couldn’t ask that of either of them, though. And that left no one but Kurama.

Kurama already knew he’d been marked. Kurama had begged him for the name of his attacker, or at least a description and he’d refused to give the kitsune either of those. He didn’t know the demon’s name, but the image of him was now seared into his mind like a cattle brand. It was a permanent scar, he was sure. Would he be able to sleep without seeing that face in his nightmares?

He looked around for his clothing, seeing only shreds of black clothing and the useless remains of his belts. His katana was there, though, and that he picked up, bending with some difficulty. For a single, horrifying moment he thought he was going to have to go to Kurama’s apartment in nothing but his skin, but then he spied his tattered cloak in a heap on the ground. He snatched it up and draped it around himself, clutching the material close.

He started walking then, blocking out the thoughts of how long it would take him to make it to Kurama’s, and the pain that shot through his body with every step he took. Instead he focused on Kurama’s arms around him that night after the marking, the concern in his voice.

“Tell me who it was so I can kill that person.”

His legs wobbled dangerously, threatening to give out on him, and after only ten minutes of walking. There was so much further to go, and he knew he couldn’t give up now. If he did, he’d bleed to death in out in the middle of nowhere. He didn’t want to die.

He inhaled sharply at that thought. He didn’t want to die. He wanted to live, he wanted to survive this and go on with his life. He wanted to kill that demon. He wanted to train and become stronger, strong enough to defeat anyone else who ever tried that.

A broken sob escaped him when he realized that more than anything, right now he wanted to feel Kurama’s arms around him again.

Please, just let me make it that far, he begged whatever higher power was listening. Don’t let me die yet. I can’t die without seeing him again.

He soldiered on, and soon all that filled his brain was pain and the vague idea that he was headed somewhere important and he had to get there as soon as possible. One foot in front of the other, as he traveled down the highway, ignoring the random cars and the humans that rolled down their windows to call out and ask if he was okay.

Not okay. Not ever okay again.

One foot in front of the other, as he made it into the downtown of the city. Yusuke and Kuwabara lived here, he thought to himself. He passed their old school. He had to keep going to uptown, where Kurama lived.

His foot snagged on a rock and he stumbled, toppling forward to collide harshly with the ground. He cried out as the pain increased. His ribs were broken from the beating… he hoped he hadn’t punctured a lung with that fall.

I should get up, he thought to himself. But he couldn’t find the energy to make himself move. He couldn’t go any further, but he wanted to see Kurama. He held onto that thought, even as darkness took him again. He wanted Kurama.

--

“Hiei? Oi, shrimp, you awake yet? Rise and shine.”

Hiei moaned at the sound of that grating voice. What was the oaf doing, disturbing his slumber? Stupid human, always making things inconvenient. He reached out and weakly swatted his hand in the general direction of Kuwabara’s voice. A large hand gently caught his wrist.

Immediately, Hiei’s eyes snapped open. He jerked his hand back, breathing in sharply. “Don’t touch me!” he snarled, with every bit of venom he could muster, his eyes glaring daggers at the human. Kuwabara instantly backed off, frowning.

“Calm down, shrimp,” the orange-haired human urged, turning his hands palm-up to show that he was harmless. “I’m just helping. You wanna’ tell me what happened?”

Hiei scowled, having just realized that he was in Kuwabara’s bed. He’d been bundled up in old blankets; he could see an old bloodstain on the one closest to his face. These blankets had probably been used for this sort of thing before. How many times had Kuwabara come home bleeding from a fight? Shizuru must have hated it, back when they were spirit detectives, when her little brother came back home seriously injured on a regular basis.

“Hiei?” Kuwabara spoke again. “You okay, man? Hey, look, I know we hate each other an’ all, but you’re really roughed up. I just wanna’ help.”

“K’rama…” Hiei mumbled, staring numbly at the bloodstain. He’d been trying to get to Kurama’s apartment. That was where he was supposed to be. Kurama would know how to fix this. Kurama always knew what to do. “…want Kurama.”

Kuwabara looked confused. “You want Kurama?” he repeated. He hadn’t yet grasped just how badly damaged Hiei was. He was still under the impression that Hiei had just really lost a fight. “Why do want Kurama?”

“Please…” Hiei was not below begging at this point. He wanted Kurama now. He started to push himself up. “Have to… find him.”

The human quickly moved to push him back down. “Hey, don’t move so much, you’re bleeding.” His eye twitched when Hiei attempted to shake him off. “Listen to me, shrimp, I’m trying to do you a favor! Lay back down!”

Hiei flinched at the harsh tone and shrank back, his eyes wide. Kuwabara’s own eyes widened and the boy let go. “Hey… you’re really not okay, are you?” he asked, as gently as he could imagine. The question made Hiei’s cheeks burn red with shame. He dropped his gaze to the floor.

“Kurama…” he repeated, his eyes starting to sting. But he wasn’t going to cry. He never cried. And he couldn’t cry now, because Kuwabara was there. If he cried, his tears would become gems, and Kuwabara would know who he was. And then Kuwabara would tell Yukina, and everything would be ruined. “I want Kurama… please…”

Kuwabara nodded and picked up the cordless phone from his bedside table, quickly dialing the number. “I’ll get him, shrimp,” he promised. “Just hang in there, okay? Hey, stop crying…”

“I’m not crying,” Hiei snarled back, but even as he said it, black gems dropped to the mattress and rolled off onto the floor. “I never cry!” His body started to shake with sobs that he couldn’t keep holding back. “Just… just… I have something… in my eyes…”

Kuwabara stared back in pity. Kurama greeted him on the other end of the phone with a polite “Hello?” and for a moment he forgot to respond. He heard the confused fox repeat the greeting in a questioning tone and he remembered that he’d called Kurama. “Hey, Kurama, it’s Kuwabara. Umm, Hiei’s at my house… He’s really… I mean… can you just come? He really wanted me to get you.”

“I’m coming,” Kurama replied, far too quickly; as if he had an idea of what was wrong. “Tell Hiei I’m on my way.” And then he hung up without another word. Numbly, Kuwabara put the phone back down on the table.

“He’s coming,” he told Hiei, who was still fighting to control his tears. The little demon looked up at him with painfully hopeful eyes.

“Thank you…” Hiei whispered with a hint of desperation in his tone. “Thank you.”

“You’re… welcome…” was all that Kuwabara could think to say in response.

Breaking Fire

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:31:26 GMT

Title: Breaking Fire
Rating: M
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: OC/Hiei, Future Kurama/Hiei
Summary: He should have stayed at Kurama’s.
Prompt: Fire

Prompts from impromptu50

A/N: Finally, I am to the prompts I plan to use for the 'Marked' plot line. Here's first. Warnings for rape (and possible sucky writing, on my part).

(Sequel to ‘Marked.’)

He should have stayed at Kurama’s. He should have told the fox everything he could about the demon that had marked him, and let Kurama deal with it for him. His pride just wouldn’t let him do either of those things, of course. He’d told himself that if the demon came back, he would be prepared.

The demon was incredibly strong. He was one of those mysterious creatures that lurked on one of the deeper levels of the Makai, the ones that you heard about but didn’t fully believe in. He’d taken an interest in Hiei, and Hiei had lost their first battle, despite his best efforts. The demon was cruel and sadistic, and Hiei wasn’t sure that he wanted him for a mate, so much as a sex slave.

The demon initiated the chase two nights after Hiei had gone to Kurama. The fire demon had already healed from the beating by then, and thought himself prepared to at least outrun the demon. No one he had ever met could match him at his current level when it came to speed.

He ran, hard and fast, through the city and through the park. He passed the city limits in his desperation to escape, fled into the forests that surrounded Genkai’s temple and retreated to the tree tops, which propelled him along even faster as he leapt from branch to branch. Still, his attacker kept up and was gaining on him. Hiei was starting to panic.

In mid-leap, he suddenly found himself crashing to the ground, the much larger demon pouncing on him. He hadn’t even realized that the demon had caught up to him, and that in itself was a terrifying thought. He didn’t hesitate before he unleashed the black dragon on his attacker, point blank.

The demon cackled and spiked his aura. So simple a move and Hiei’s best attack was defeated, burning into nothing when it hit the powerful energy crackling about the demon. Hiei resorted to clawing, with both hands and feet, as the body atop of him, screeching out in anger and fear. The demon easily restrained him and jerked his small body upwards, grabbing Hiei’s scarf in his mouth and ripping the material away. Next he grabbed a mouthful of Hiei’s cloak and the tank top beneath it and ripped again to reveal the slowly healing mark Hiei had gone to great pains to hide.

Hiei let out a scream when the demon’s teeth sank into that mark once again, his energy starting to drain from his body and into the demon, making his attacker even stronger. Hiei felt light headed with so much lost energy. He wondered if he would pass out.

The demon’s teeth released and Hiei gave a soft gasp of relief. The demon cackled and licked his lips. “Jaganshi Hiei, your bloody is so sweet,” he growled out. “You’ll make a wonderful mate, little imp.” He stretched his tall, dark skinned body as the energy buzz sent tingles of pleasure through his body. A mess of dirty blond hair tumbled down his shoulders and golden eyes peered at Hiei in delight. “Finally, we’ve gotten to the good part.”

“Let go of me, you jackass!” Hiei snarled, once again coming to life and fighting against that iron hold with everything he had. “I’m not up for grabs, you disgusting filth!”

“All unmarked demons are ‘up for grabs’, foolish child,” the demon sneered, pinning Hiei’s hands with one hand while the other grabbed a handful of Hiei’s cloak and ripped. The article of clothing was pulled away and tossed carelessly aside. “If one is strong enough to catch what it desired one is welcome to claim it. Honestly, I’m surprised you lasted this long. Perhaps most are intimidated by your ruthless reputation.” He leaned in and licked Hiei’s cheek as though he were licking a lollipop. “It turns me on, though.”

Hiei trembled and clenched his eyes shut. “Someone of your strength still lowers himself to such beastlike behavior?” he growled, hoping to at least appeal to the demon’s pride, if nothing else.

“It is our way,” the demon growled back as he shredded Hiei’s shirt to nothing. His fingers ghosted across a nipple and he grinned deviously at the light gasp that escaped Hiei at the contact. “Like that, little one?” he sneered, pinching the nipple harshly.

“Fuck you!” Hiei shrieked, trying to jerk away once more. No matter how he struggled, he couldn’t get free. He knew he had no other chance of escape; that he was too far away from town for anyone to hear him and come to his aid.

Rather than make a lewd comment in return, the demon brought his hand across Hiei’s face harshly. Hiei tasted blood in his mouth, the blow having busted his lip. The demon holding him dove in for a harsh kiss, hungrily lapping the blood from his mouth and sucking at the wound for more.

The fight was starting to leave him as the need for sleep and recovery pressed on his body. How much longer he could hold out was yet to be seen, but he doubted it was any substantial amount of time. His body started to go lax in the demon’s hold.

“Good boy,” the demon murmured, sensing Hiei’s weariness. He started to unbuckle Hiei’s belts, fumbling with them for several moments before giving in and just snapping them. Hiei remained lax, dazed from the harsh attack. When he felt the demon start to slide off his pants, however, he snapped out of it.

“Stop!” he snarled, drawing on the last of his strength to fight back, kicking at the demon desperately. The demon’s golden eyes glinted with anger and he grabbed a handful of Hiei’s hair, throwing Hiei to the ground.

Panting, Hiei looked back up at the demon in time to see the fist coming at him, but not in time to dodge. The blow caught him in the midriff, knocking the breath out of him. His vision blurred slightly as the demon continued to rain blows down on him, kicking him and punching him. By the time he paused in his assault, every inch of Hiei’s body ached. The sound of ripping fabric reached his ears and then he felt his legs being pushed apart.

He screamed when the demon entered him, and kept screaming as his attacker began to thrust in and out. His fingers dug into the ground beneath him as he fought to find some sort of support. This couldn’t be happening, this couldn’t be real. Oh Kami-sama, this had to be some sort of really bad nightmare, because he, Jaganshi Hiei, would never allow someone to do this to him. He would never lose to this perverted bastard.

“Please…” he choked out. “It hurts.” His effort earned him a sharp blow across the face and the demon’s speed increased.

“I’ll be back,” the demon told him afterward. “This bond can only be broken by death, boy, so don’t try to run away. While I’m alive, you belong to me.” Hiei didn’t move from where he lay prostrate on the ground. “I’ll expect a submissive mate when I return, or I’ll have to punish you. Do you understand?”

Hiei nodded numbly. “Y-Yes…”

“Good boy,” the demon murmured, kneeling beside Hiei to ruffle the little demon’s hair. He pressed a final kiss to Hiei’s bruised lips. “Fair well, little one.”

The fire demon said nothing; just let himself fall into unconsciousness, lying helpless on the forest floor.

Aftereffects

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 04:56:56 GMT

Title: The Aftereffects of Consuming Alcohol in Large Quantities
Rating: T
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Kurama/Hiei
Summary:
Prompt: Wake Up

Prompts from impromtu50

A/N: Note, this is a drunken KuraHi ficlet, but not the one with the groping that I promised. I haven't reached that prompt yet. =3

There was a reason why Keiko had been so against the idea of the boys going out for a night on the town. She’d said to Hiei, “You be careful and make sure they don’t get themselves totally smashed. Yusuke doesn’t know when to quit. I know you won’t let them drag you into the stupidity, so just make sure they can get home safely afterward, okay?”

Unfortunately, Keiko had overestimated Hiei’s willpower.

As he rose from a previous unconscious stupor, Hiei became aware of one thing first and foremost. He had a headache bad enough to rival the pain he’d experienced when having the Jagan implanted. Was this what Yusuke had been calling a ‘hangover’ last night? Kuwabara had said they weren’t good, too… but last night seemed so fuzzy and far away…

He groaned and snuggled closer to the warm body beside him, inhaling Kurama’s scent. It was so nice, being so comfortable and secure like this, he felt like he could have slept for a week, despite his splitting headache.

And then, it occurred to him that he should not be sleeping next to Kurama. And then, it occurred to him that they were both curled up in Kurama’s bed together. Embarrassed, he shifted away from the fox, wondering how he’d ended up in this situation.

And then, he noticed that neither of them was wearing any clothes.

He bolted upright in a flash; and immediately wished he hadn’t. A sharp pain spread through his body and he grimaced. “What the hell…?”

“Mmm… Hiei, ‘s that you?” Kurama stirred and slowly pushed himself up, blinking at his shocked bedmate. “What?” he asked, blankly, before noticing Hiei’s lack of clothing. “… Oh, fuck.”

Hiei flushed bright red. “Fuck is right!” he snapped. “Kurama, why the hell am I in your bed without my clothing? And why am I so damn sore?”

Kurama’s look of dismay faded to one of recognition as he began to piece together what had happened the previous night. “… I believe we had sex,” he remarked, far too casually. “Well, my apologies, Hiei. Shall we both agree that it meant nothing and put it behind us? In the mean time, lets sleep in a little more.”

“We did what?!” Hiei exclaimed. He would have protested further except that Kurama had lain back down and grabbed hold of him, tugging him back down as well. Now he was once again pressed up against warm, comfortable Kurama. Kurama who he’d apparently had sex with last night. “You stupid fox, let go! This is a serious issue!”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Kurama replied with a shrug of his shoulders, never loosening his hold. “We’re quite close, after all. I think we can overcome this. Later on today we’ll forget that this ever happened, I promise.”

He wasn’t very convincing. Hiei frowned. “… You know, I don’t think you actually want to forget about it,” he accused.

“Well,” Kurama offered in explanation. “It was hot sex. Or can’t you remember?” He smirked when Hiei shook his head. “Oh… well, I suppose I’ll have to give you a demonstration…”

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:23:22 GMT

Title: At the End of Time
Pairings: Sore wa himitsu desu. At the moment anyway.
Author: Rose Thorne

I blame chima_haiku in part for this. I shouldn't be writing fanfiction!

Chrislea helped me come up with the title.

Kurama checked Hiei’s bandages, sighing. It had been eight hours since Yukina had found the fire demon unconscious and half-frozen in the snow outside the temple, grievously injured, his kokoryuha unwarded. Genkai had immediately called him, and Kurama and Yukina had done what they could for the little youkai.

Which wasn’t much. Hiei’s body temperature had been frightfully low when Yukina found him, and they had no idea how long he had been lying in the snow—it could have been all night, for all they knew. All they had really been able to do was heal him and try to bring his body temperature back up to a safe level. Even then, as a fire demon and thus more susceptible to cold, it was unclear how long it would take him even to regain consciousness. After eight hours wrapped in Genkai’s reluctantly-offered electric blanket, Hiei’s core temperature was almost to a normal level, but he was showing no sign of waking.

Meanwhile, of course, they had no idea why he was even in the Ningenkai. The last time Kurama had seen him was when he had popped in at Shiori’s over eight months ago after returning a human who had wandered through the barrier. Too exhausted to go back to the Makai right away, he had stayed the night, and then left shortly after waking. Before that, they hadn’t seen each other in nearly a year.

Kurama hadn’t imagined that they would grow so far apart after everything they had been through, but it had happened. Things had never been the same between them since Kurama had decided to remain in the Ningenkai. He doubted Hiei had ever forgiven him.

Yukina entered the room carrying a cup of coffee, and Kurama smiled gratefully. “You’re a goddess, Yukina-chan.”

The Koorime smiled and sat beside him. After a moment of silence, she said, “I’m surprised he came here and not to you, Kurama-san.”

“If he collapsed before getting here, he wouldn’t have made it to my place. I don’t think Shiori would have known what to do with him, anyway.” He doubted Hiei knew that he had moved into his own apartment. “I’m surprised he didn’t find Mukuro’s healers. It takes energy to open a gate into the Ningenkai, even with the barrier down, and he clearly didn’t have that to spare if he couldn’t even make it to the temple.”

“Meaning there’s probably trouble in the Makai,” Yuusuke said from the door.

“Yuusuke!” Kurama saw Yuusuke on a more regular basis, since his ramen shop was near his stepfather’s firm and made for a nice place to have lunch.

“Baa-san said you told her not to contact me just yet, but I’m glad she did.” Yuusuke leaned against the doorframe. “If there’s trouble, I should be here to find out what’s going on. I’m all for it if you want to keep Kuwabara out, since he’s got his future to worry about here, but I’m going to end up in the Makai on a permanent basis at some point. I need to know what’s going on.”

Kurama closed his eyes. “Keiko’s not going to be very happy if you run off to the Makai.”

Yuusuke grinned. “As long as I tell her before I go, she’ll be okay. I told her there might be trouble, so she’s prepared.”

“We don’t know if it’s anything, though. You could’ve come here for no reason.” He supposed it was selfish, but he’d wanted to be the one Hiei talked to first.

“Seeing Hiei’s enough of a reason. I haven’t seen him in over a year. You’d think he’d bother to visit sometimes, the bastard.” Yuusuke finally entered the room. “How’s he doing, anyway? Genkai didn’t say much.”

Kurama gave up. “He nearly froze to death, but his temperature is almost back up. We’re working on healing his injuries. It’s just a matter of him waking up.”

“Which is sure to happen if you two keep nattering on.” They both jumped in surprise at Hiei’s voice, soft and weak, but filled with annoyance nonetheless. The fire demon tried to sit up, but couldn’t and gave up.

“Hiei-san!” Yukina’s voice was filled with relief. “Stay still. You’re still recovering.”

“Welcome back to the world of the living,” Yuusuke joked.

“Are you feeling okay?” Kurama asked.

Hiei’s eyes were half-closed, and he was shivering lightly. “Still cold.”

“I found you in the snow this morning,” Yukina’s voice caught. “I thought you were dead at first.”

“You nearly were, Hiei. Your core temperature still isn’t quite as high as it should be,” Kurama told him. “And your youki is only returning sluggishly.”

“What happened? I somehow doubt this you’re visiting to catch up on old times.”

Hiei closed his eyes and was silent for so long that Kurama almost thought that he’d fallen asleep when he finally spoke. “A couple months ago we stopped getting messengers from Enki. We weren’t that concerned at first. Running a kingdom is obnoxious, especially in the Makai, and there were rumors that some demons were really up in arms about the whole ban on eating humans again.”

Kurama shrugged. “Well, a lot of youkai are going to starve.”

“There are plenty of better things to eat,” Hiei retorted. “Little uprisings aren’t uncommon, anyway. We sent our own messenger, but he never came back. So we sent another, with the same results. Then we tried sending one to Yomi. Same thing.”

“So what happened?” Yuusuke demanded, impatient. Hiei’s eyes opened, staring the half-human down. “Alright, alright. Sorry.”

“Eventually we sent a military group to see what was going on. Only one came back, and he died pretty quickly afterwards. So we decided to go.” Hiei closed his eyes again, his jaw tightening. “It was, obviously, a trap. I didn’t see it until too late, but Mukuro did.” He fell silent.

“What happened, Hiei?” Kurama asked after a few moments.

“She could’ve escaped. Instead she blasted me out of danger and took it head-on. She told me to run.” Hiei’s voice was carefully controlled.

“You were attacked?” Yuusuke was completely serious now. “By who?”

Hiei shook his head. “No idea. It was some sort of weapon, more powerful than the kokoryuha. I got caught in the shock wave, and that was bad enough. They attacked after that, but I didn’t recognize them. I managed to fight them off, barely. Even if I’d made it back to the fortress…” Hiei sighed. “So I used the rest of my energy to make a gate.”

“Did they follow you?” Kurama asked, tensing.

“I doubt it. I barely survived the battle, and with all the blood… Well, they probably figure I’m dead.”

“And Mukuro? Hiei, what happened to Mukuro?”

A look of pain ghosted across Hiei’s face before his features schooled into an emotionless mask. “She’s dead. Mukuro is dead.”

FFN link

The Nose Knows

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:39:10 GMT

Title: The Nose Knows
Rating: K+
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Kurama/Hiei
Summary: “Hiei, go take a shower.”
Prompt: Fragrant

Prompts from impromptu50

A/N: So I saw this and I was like, no way am I writing something about how Kurama smells like roses and Hiei smells like trees. So I had a but of fun with it. Enjoy.

The fox wrinkled his nose unhappily and pointed to the bathroom. “Hiei, go take a shower,” he said, trying to seem casual about it. “You probably haven’t had a decent bath in Inari knows how long. You absolutely reek.”

Hiei was confused by this, because the truth was, he had just bathed in the bathing pools at Mukuro’s fortress a day previous, and he’d done nothing in the time that had passed that would make his body smell bad in any way. And he’d never had a problem with excessive BO.

“I bathed yesterday, Kurama,” he objected, walking past the fox to flop down on the couch. “And that’s a fine way to greet me, after I’ve been gone for a week.”

“You must have gotten sweaty on your way home,” Kurama insisted, seeming just a bit too desperate to sell that theory. “Really, Hiei, it won’t hurt you to go take a shower.”

There was no way Hiei was going to give in without a proper explanation. “I didn’t get sweaty! There’s no foul odor on my body. I smell like the air in Makai, the air here, the roast lamb I had for breakfast, and those herbs that Mukuro insists on burning-“ He paused when Kurama suddenly scowled and looked away. “… It’s the herbs you don’t like?” he asked, confused.

“She smells like those herbs too!” Kurama replied with a slight pout. “And now, you smell like her.”

Hiei’s eyes widened, in realization. “You’re jealous,” he remarked with a slight smirk. Well, he was going to milk this for all it was worth. “Alright then, fox. Go buy me some sweet snow and I’ll consider taking a shower.”

The Challenge

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:50:51 GMT

Title: The Challenge
Rating: T
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Kurama/Hiei
Summary: I need a mate, you jackass!
Prompt: Last Dance

Prompts from impromptu50

A/N: Yeah, odd little plot bunny. This is actually inspired by Hiei's fight with Mukuro in the demon world tournament. She defeats him and he 'surrenders' to her (whatever the crap he meant by that). Anyway, that's where this whole ficlet was born. Hope you enjoy. I haven't proof read it or anything (as always), so don't be too hard on it if it sucks.

Hiei left a note for him, weighed down with a rock as a makeshift paperweight, on his nightstand. He found it that evening when he returned home from work at his stepfather’s company, immediately noticing the out of place slip of paper. Hiei’s handwriting was messy, to say the least, but it was still legible enough for Kurama to decipher it.

Meet me at the park when you get this.
-Hiei

If it had simply been Hiei coming to his window and demanding his audience, Kurama might very well have blown him off, considering how tired and stressed he was from work. However, knowing that Hiei was not one to leave handwritten notes for no reason (in fact, he’d never left one before), Kurama resigned himself to his fate and put his coat back on.

When he arrived, Hiei was easy to find. He was sitting on a bench in plain sight, waiting expectantly for Kurama. His eyes brightened when he spotted the fox and his mouth twitched upwards in a pleased smirk. “Kurama, you came,” he remarked instead of a proper greeting.

“Of course I came, Hiei,” Kurama replied with a patient smile. Why did it always have to be like this? They were so close, closer than friends or brothers, close enough to have those inappropriate thoughts about each other that occasionally sent Hiei fleeing from Kurama’s apartment in embarrassment. And yet, Hiei still seemed surprised by the thought that Kurama really would come running any time Hiei asked him to. “What is it you need? Is there a demon nearby? Surely, if you just wanted to talk, you could have come to the apartment.”

“I want you to spar with me,” Hiei replied bluntly. He stood up from the bench and slipped off his cloak, draping the material over the back of the bench carefully. His hand strayed to the handle of his katana. “At this moment, I challenge you to a fight, Yoko Kurama.”

Kurama blinked at him in surprise, clearly thrown for a loop. He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration when he realized that this was all about Hiei’s own personal entertainment after all. “Don’t be ridiculous, Hiei,” he objected. “I’ve had a long day at work, and the only thing I want to do right now is go home and sleep before Yukina’s birthday party tomorrow. Or have you forgotten about that? You should be resting as well.”

Hiei’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Of course I haven’t forgotten,” he growled back, hand gripping the katana hilt firmly now. “Tomorrow, Yukina and I turn another year older. Tomorrow we’ll be one hundred years old.” Kurama didn’t know why that was so significant, he had to remind himself. Kurama didn’t know that tomorrow would be his last day as a child, or how it was going to change both of their lives. “As a fighter who must surrender his blade tomorrow, Kurama, I have come to the only person I trust completely, and even… love…” He blushed slightly when Kurama’s jaw dropped, but soldiered on through his explanation. “I have… come to ask you for a last dance, Kurama. If you defeat me, and if you want me, I… will bond with you as your mate.”

“Hiei, what are you going on about?” the fox asked, dumbfounded. “We’ve never even kissed! And what is this about being a hundred years old? What does that matter?”

The smaller demon put his hands on his hips and huffed in irritation. “Damn it, Kurama, why do you have to make this so fucking hard? It’s not gonna’ sound as good if I repeat it all, it’s a miracle I got through it the first time! Tomorrow I’m an adult! I need a mate, you jackass, and you… well, you always wanted that, didn’t you?”

Had he been a human (Yusuke or Kuwabara, even), Kurama would have been disturbed by this admission. However, he was not really a human, and Hiei certainly wasn’t. There were certain facts of life when it came to demons that could not be ignored, and mating was one of those. It suddenly occurred to Kurama what Hiei was asking of him; and giving to him.

“… You play the role of a female or submissive in this mating, then?” he asked as he put two and two together and realized that this wasn’t just a spar; this was the equivalent of going down on one knee. Normally the female or the less powerful challenged the stronger male (or female, as the case may be) to a spar, which they would fight with all their strength. If the stronger demon won, then the mating could be taken to the next step; marking and the consummation of their relationship.

A pretty blush spread across Hiei’s face. “… Koorime thing,” he grumbled, clearly unhappy with it himself. “Not that you’ll beat me anyway, damn fox. Do you want to fight me, or don’t you?” He drew his katana, pointing the blade at his old partner.

Kurama remained silent for a moment, and Hiei’s eyes had begun to droop with disappointment when the fox reached into his hair and drew out a seed. He smiled when he saw Hiei’s eyes light up as the seed transformed into his signature rose whip. “I accept your challenge, Jaganshi Hiei.”

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:48:06 GMT

A few fanart, linked from DA. I don't feel bad over posting KY all the time but I do feel guilty I do it to kuwabara_love so often, forgive me! I'll really have a Kuwa only post for you Kuwabara fans next time <3

Cross posted to : kuwabara_love, kuyuu and yyhyaoi.

Tegaki by ~Kupo-chan on deviant ART

Briefly by ~Kupo-chan on deviant ART

My inks suuuck by ~Kupo-chan on deviant ART

More Kisses

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:55:26 GMT

Title: More Kisses
Rating: T
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Kurama/Hiei
Summary: “It isn’t going to kill you to cuddle a little.”
Prompt: Cuddle

Prompts from impromptu50

(Sequel to Kisses, sort of, but can also stand alone.)

“I refuse,” Hiei stated bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest in a defiant manner. Kurama arched an eyebrow, taking it as a challenge. He crawled across the bed to his partner. There was no way he was going to go along with this. Normally he just let Hiei do as he pleased, but they were definitely going to have to overcome this particular roadblock if they were to ever advance their relationship.

“Come on now, Hiei, it isn’t so bad once you get used to it,” Kurama tried to assure the little demon. Hiei scooted backwards, pressing against the headboard of the bed. He glared at Kurama, the look in his eyes promising death if the fox chose to come any closer. “Hiei! Great Inari, it isn’t going to kill you to cuddle a little.” A tiny spark of gold flashed in his eyes. He suddenly pounced on Hiei, grabbing hold of the little demon and pulling him in for a tight hug.

Hiei was frozen in shock for a moment, but he quickly regained his senses. He squirmed in the fox’s hold, trying to get free. “Damn it, Kurama, I said I didn’t want to!” he growled. Instead of replying, Kurama leaned his face down and lightly nuzzled Hiei’s neck. He kept the demon in a firm, but gentle hold. “Let go of me, you stupid fox!” Hiei howled, blushing a deep crimson. “I’m not okay with this!”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Kurama murmured, pressing his lips against Hiei’s to shut him up. At first Hiei remained stiff and unresponsive, but Kurama knew it wouldn’t last long. Finally, the demon gave up and kissed back. Kurama smiled and pulled away. “See? Is this so bad?”

“… You didn’t tell me that this ‘cuddling’ had kissing too,” Hiei grumbled back, relaxing slightly in Kurama’s arms. “We just… hold each other like this, and kiss if we want to?”

Kurama nodded, his smile growing wider. “Well, yes, basically,” he replied. “It’s just a way to take comfort from each other and relax.”

The demon seemed to think about this for a moment. “Well, if there’s more kissing, I guess it’s okay,” he finally grumbled, snuggling up against Kurama’s chest.

Kurama grinned full out and tightened his hold on Hiei, breathing a deep sigh of contentment. After a moment, however, a sly look crossed his face.

“…You know, Hiei… sex has kissing too.”

The Art of Playing Third Wheel

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:47:09 GMT

Title: The Art of Playing Third Wheel
Rating: T

A/N: Okay, let me just say that it sucks to realize that you love your closest friend as more than just a friend, and then end up having to follow around while she and her boyfriend enjoy themselves, knowing you only got invited along in the first place is because she didn’t want you to feel left out (I mean, honestly, they’ve snuck off to make out in the dark and left you watching the movie with her dad). Anyway, point being, I often get compared to Hiei myself, and so I realized that it would be way too easy to write about it from Hiei’s POV. Hence came about this little fic. I hope you enjoy.

~

“He’s not good enough for you.”

Kurama sighed and looked up from his homework to gaze at the demon sitting on his bed. Hiei stared back, determination in his eyes.
“Let it go, Hiei,” the fox insisted. “I don’t want to talk about this right now, alright? How was your stay in Makai last week?”

This was how it had been since Kurama had started dating a human boy he’d met at work. Hiei was unhappy with the relationship from the start, but his hatred for the human had grown deeper and deeper. He would steadfastly insist that Kurama deserved better. And Kurama would steadfastly insist that he was happy.

That didn’t really make Hiei feel much better about it.

Hiei sighed and turned his gaze to the bedroom window. “It was okay. Boring.” And lonely. But he didn’t say that out loud.

“Well, then you should stay around here more often,” Kurama commented, sparing a smile in Hiei’s direction. “You know, it’s not as much fun when you’re gone.”

“You have your boyfriend to keep you company,” Hiei responded easily. Kurama rolled his eyes and turned back to his homework.

“Well, I was thinking that maybe we could catch a movie tomorrow. I haven’t seen you in a while, so it might be fun to catch up. What do you say?”

Hiei pondered the offer for a moment. “… I suppose.” Hiei didn’t like movies. They were boring. But he did like any excuse to spend time with Kurama. Lately he’d found himself giving in more easily to the kitsune’s whims.

Kurama looked somewhat surprised. “I didn’t expect you to give in so easily,” he remarked. Hiei shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe I missed you too.”

~

Hiei arrived at Kurama’s house early the next day, entering by window as was usual. Kurama wasn’t in his bedroom and so the demon went in search of the other, heading down the stairs to the Hatanakas’ living room.

Shiori looked up from her seat on the sofa, where she was knitting a scarf of some sort. The television played in the background, some sort of action film. “Hiei! So nice to see you again,” she greeted with a smile. “Shuichi’s in the kitchen. Shuichi, Hiei’s here!”

Kurama’s mother had long since grown used to Hiei’s attachment to her son. And Hiei had long since stopped hiding his presence in their household when he visited. He nodded to her in greeting and stood awkwardly in the doorway as he waited for Kurama.

The redhead bounced in, a radiant smile on his face. “Hey,” he greeted Hiei when he spotted him. “Have a good day?”

Hiei glanced at him and remained silent for a moment, suddenly feeling anxious. Kurama had carefully brushed out his hair and braided it and his outfit accented his features well. The demon felt his cheeks grow a little hot. He looked away in embarrassment. Hopefully Kurama hadn’t noticed that he was staring… “It was fine.”

“Well, that’s good.” The doorbell rang and Kurama jumped. “I’ll get it.” He rushed forward before either Hiei or Shiori could object. Hiei growled low in his throat when the door was opened to reveal none other than Kurama’s boyfriend.

“What is he doing here?” he demanded immediately, not caring about how polite he was. Kurama shot him a warning look.

“Hiei, I asked Yoshi if he wanted to watch the movie with us,” the fox explained. “I thought it would be a good chance for the three of us to hang out and maybe get along better.”

Hiei snorted in annoyance. “You think I’ll stick around to socialize with this lowlife?”

“I’m hoping you will,” Kurama replied, looking a little hurt. “But you can leave in you want to, Hiei. Nothing’s stopping you.”

The little demon’s eyes narrowed. “You owe me.”

The brunette in the doorway cleared his throat. “Uh… can I come in, love?” He glanced past Kurama at the now sulking Hiei. “Look, Shuichi wants us to try to get along. I’m up for that if you are.”

“I’m not,” Hiei replied quite simply. He sniffed and turned on his heel, heading for the kitchen. “I’m going to get a glass of water.”

~

Not surprisingly, Yoshi took the passenger’s seat of Kurama’s little blue car and Hiei, as the accompanying friend, was left the back seat. He took it, because it would have seemed strange if he’d merely perched himself on the roof or something to avoid proximity with Kurama’s boyfriend, but he wasn’t happy about it. He glowered at the back of Yoshi’s head at the pulled out of the driveway.

Kurama attempted to ignore the tension in the air as he headed for the local Drive-In. Occasionally he would try to start conversation, but it wasn’t just Hiei’s hatred of Yoshi that prevented him from conversing with the human. Hiei didn’t know anything about human matters, such as the latest popular singers or fashions. And Yoshi didn’t know anything about anything else. And obviously Hiei couldn’t talk to Kurama about the latest goings on in Makai like he wanted to, or the new fighting techniques he’d learned, with Yoshi around.

Hiei decided that it wasn’t very much fun playing third wheel. Third wheel was an uncomfortable position where one person, willing to go to the ends of the earth and back for the one they cared about, had to sit back and watch while the one they cared about kissed and loved the one guy that just wasn’t good enough.

Kurama parked the car and turned off the ignition. “I’m going to go get us some popcorn and soda,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll come with you,” Hiei spoke up before Yoshi had the chance to. He ignored the somewhat sullen look sent in his direction by the human as Kurama nodded and beckoned for him to follow.

“Are you mad at me?” the redhead asked as they stood in line for concessions.

Hiei stuffed his hands in his pockets and glared at the floor in response. “Yes. You really owe me for this one, Fox. I put up with that worthless human for your sake, because he’s important to you. That’s as good as it gets. You should have known better. I thought you were supposed to be smart?”

A sigh escaped Kurama. “As did I,” he murmured.

~

The first movie was an action film, with decent special effects. Hiei couldn’t say much for the plot line, but at least the sword fighting looked real. He could almost put up with watching it. If it weren’t for the fact that his best friend and said best friend’s boyfriend were both snuggled together under the same blanket right beside him. He made a disgusted noise, which Kurama completely ignored.

“Shuichi,” Yoshi murmured. “I don’t think he likes me very much. He keeps giving me the evil eye. Creepy little short guy…”

“Don’t be silly,” Kurama urged. “Hiei likes you just fine.”

“No I don’t,” Hiei clarified. “I hate him.”

“See?” Yoshi groaned. “I didn’t do anything to him. What’s with this hostility?”

Kurama rubbed his temples to prevent the oncoming headache. “You two, please. Just get along this one time. For my sake?”

“No,” Hiei replied point blank. He stuffed a handful of popcorn in his mouth and munched it extra loud on purpose.

“You know, maybe I should just kick your ass,” Yoshi suggested, glaring at Hiei. This brought a bout of laughter from Hiei that had Yoshi’s eye twitching in irritation. “Oh come on, Shorty, I could totally cream you in a fight.”

Kurama rubbed Yoshi’s arm soothingly. “You really couldn’t, love,” he assured him.

Hiei turned to look at them with a positively evil smirk on his face. “Let him try, Kurama. If he throws the first punch, it gives me the right to punch him back.”

“Hiei… certain people would not see it that way,” Kurama replied, referring to Spirit World, of course. “I don’t want to see you in trouble any more than I want to see my boyfriend getting beat up by my best friend. I really just want you both to get along.” He gave Hiei a pleading expression that he knew the Jaganshi couldn’t ignore, no matter how irritated he was.

“… Fine, whatever,” the little demon muttered, crossing his arms across his chest moodily and staring at the TV screen.

~

After the show was over, they drove back to Kurama’s house, where Yoshi had left his own car. Of course, this ride was even worse than the first one because it was even darker outside, and Kurama and his boyfriend were feeling romantic. Yoshi kept murmuring sappy things to Kurama under his breath that would make Kurama smile and occasionally the fox would laugh out loud.

Hiei felt like a complete outsider as he sat in the middle of the backseat, staring at them each in turn while they completely ignored him. Was it traditional for humans to become oblivious everyone else when they were in a relationship? It was very out of character for Kurama. Hiei was used to being the top priority. He was the most interesting person in Kurama’s life, right?

This Yoshi… well, he just had to go. He was not welcome, as far as Hiei was concerned. Kurama was his friend. Why should he have to share with some stupid human that Kurama had only known for the last few months? What made Yoshi so much better?

The ride seemed to last forever. In fact, it had Hiei so bored out of his skull that he was counting the trees they passed along the road as they went, and when that became uninteresting, he starting counting cars on the road; anything to divert his attention from the two sickening love birds in the front.

Finally, the car pulled up in the driveway of Kurama’s house. “Thanks for coming, Yoshi,” Kurama murmured as he and the human got out of the car. Hiei settled for glaring at the pavement as a substitute for looking at them cuddling each other as he stepped out. Shutting the door, he glanced over at them, hoping he’d missed whatever lovey-dovey goodbyes they were giving each other.

Of course, it was just his luck that they had picked that moment to have a goodnight kiss, right there in the parking lot. It was deep and clearly passionate and Hiei’s gut clenched painfully as he watched. It was like Kurama really did love this guy; and this guy really did love Kurama back.

Did he have any right to come between them? If this guy made Kurama happy… And, obviously, Hiei wasn’t a good candidate for making Kurama happy himself. Kurama didn’t want him. Kurama didn’t have feelings for him the same way that he had feelings for Yoshi.

Finally, Yoshi left and Hiei took note of the sad smile on Kurama’s face as the human’s car pulled out of the driveway. “Well, then, that was an interesting evening,” the fox remarked, turning to Hiei. “I’m sorry, Hiei… You seemed very uncomfortable all evening. Is something wrong?”

Hiei thought about telling him that yes, there was something wrong, and it was the fact that Kurama was wasting his time with some human while Hiei was madly in love with him. However, he didn’t. He shook his head, instead, and tried to force a tiny smile. “No. Everything’s fine,” he lied.

And he knew, when Kurama smiled back in relief, that he was never going to tell Kurama the truth.

END

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:21:13 GMT

It's not really yaoi (pre-yaoi, perhaps? I don't know yet), though I'm sure there are hints that KuraHi fans can take. Anyway, chima_haiku wanted to see more, so here it is...

Title: Half-Breed's Curse
Chapter 4

Chapter Four
They had only been moving a few hours, but Hiei was lagging badly. They slowed down, but it wasn't helping. Kurama didn't understand it; Hiei probably had more stamina than any of them, but now he wasn't able to keep up. The fact that he was sweating through his shirt was slightly more worrying.

Yuusuke glanced at Kurama, and the redhead nodded. "Break," Yuusuke said.

Kuwabara sat down. "Good. How long have we been moving?"

"Three hours," Botan said, checking her watch.

Kurama moved toward Hiei, who was leaning against a tree and trying not to breathe heavily. "What's wrong," he asked softly.

The youkai wiped sweat from his brow, looking irritated. "It's hot. And these damned hips make walking difficult."

"Ride with Botan, then."

Hiei glared at him. "I'll manage."

Kurama sighed. "Look, Hiei, I know it damages your pride, but you're slowing us down. Besides, if you keep this up you're going to make yourself sick, and then you'll really be embarrassed."

Hiei looked away. "Fine."

Kurama handed Hiei a canteen. "Sit down and rest for a bit."

His friend scowled at him, but obeyed. The redhead settled beside him, and Hiei scooted away from him slightly. That stung.

"I'm not going to rape you, you know," Kurama muttered sullenly as Hiei drank from the canteen. His words evidently surprised Hiei, and the fire demon coughed as the water went down the wrong way. "And I'm offended that you seem to think I would take advantage of you like that. I thought you trusted me more than this."

"It's not like that," Hiei hissed, his eyes wide. "It's... like I've been warded. And unless you're damned lucky you know exactly how that feels."

That surprised Kurama. "You have no access to your youki at all?"

Hiei looked away. "Basically."

"Basically?"

"It's ice." The words were a frustrated whisper.

Kurama suddenly realized the problem. Normally to Hiei, with his fiery essence, ice could easily mean death, and nearly had just after his birth. "You're afraid of your youki?"

"Kisama!" Hiei growled, standing suddenly and throwing the canteen at him. "This conversation is over." He stalked toward the others.

The youko let him go, frowning. He wasn't sure how to help Hiei, or if Hiei could overcome this in the first place. The youkai wasn't exactly skilled when it came to psychological battles, probably in part because he was a mess inside. And it was starting to look as though his physiology mirrored it.

--

Twilight found them still traipsing through the forest looking for a relatively safe place to set up camp, this time with the tower much closer. They had eventually found camp in the form of a defensible rocky area with plenty of cover. It had been a long day, and they were all exhausted. Even so, the only person who would be getting a full night of sleep was Botan, as Hiei insisted that he could keep watch even if he couldn't fight.

As with the night before, they had decided to have two people on duty, though Yuusuke had insisted that he and Kuwabara would take first watch and they had all agreed that there would be no fire. The teen looked concerned about Hiei, Kurama had noted, which wasn't at all surprising given that the youkai looked strained and exhausted.

Hiei, for his part, hadn't argued or even commented, eating what Kurama grew for them in silence and shortly afterward fell so deeply asleep that he didn't even stir when Kurama grew a cushion of moss under and around him, then settled a few feet away to sleep as well.

Later, after Yuusuke woke him, Kurama noted that his friend was still curled in the same position. He seriously considered leaving Hiei to sleep through the night, but he knew the youkai would not appreciate the gesture.

It only took a gentle touch to the shoulder to wake Hiei. The youkai tensed briefly before realizing his surroundings and sitting up.

"Our watch?" he asked gruffly.

Kurama nodded. "I was tempted to just let you sleep," he admitted.

"Good thing you didn't. I need to get used to fighting in this damned body. Can't do that while we're hiking. It's cooler at night anyway."

There was Hiei's practicality. "And the youki?"

Hiei glowered at him. "Drop it."

And it was gone. Kurama shrugged, closing his eyes and allowing his senses to spread through the forest, turning their surroundings into an alarm.

By the time he opened his eyes, Hiei had brought out his katana and was doing simple katas, his movements slow and unsteady. The youkai corrected his stance and rebalanced himself before running through them again a little faster. He continued his repetitions, speeding up each time until he was satisfied with his balance. By that point, he was sweating and breathing heavily.

Kurama handed him a canteen when he sat down, and the sanjiyan took it gratefully, leaning back and draining it.

"Getting used to it?"

Hiei sighed. "There are a lot of differences. The hips have a different way of moving. I can't walk the way I normally do. And the wrists are more flexible as well, which might be a problem. I'm not going to be able to fight very well." He shook his head. "I don't know why that brat thought I'd be able to help."

"He probably felt he had no choice."

"There's always a choice." Hiei hesitated for a moment, then admitted, "There's a distinct possibility that I'll be a liability on this mission."

Kurama frowned at him for a moment before responding. "Unless you get over the problem with your youki." Most people would have backed off at the glare Hiei leveled at him, but the fox was unfazed. "I know you prefer not to have to rely on anyone."

Hiei looked away. "It's not a simple thing, Kurama."

"I'm well aware of that. Normally embracing ice youki would kill you. And I have no doubt that your past with the Koorime only complicates your instinct to stay away from it."

Hiei threw the canteen at him, this time without malice. "Why do you insist on poking your nose into my business?"

"Because I'm your friend and you're in trouble."

The youkai was silent for a moment. "You're an idiot," he finally muttered, and rose to go back to his katas.

FFN link to fic

Decency

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:54:32 GMT

Title: Decency
Rating: T
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Kurama/Hiei
Summary: Most people would have more decency.
Prompt: Lovers

Prompts from impromptu50

A/N: Eh... I don't really like it. Except for the end, I like the end. Well anyway, hope you guys like it, at least.

(Sequel to From Us, Pieces, and Good Medicine.)

“You just need to rest for a while, Hiei-san,” Yukina murmured as she drew the blankets up to his waist and fluffed up the pillows that he was propped up against. Hiei looked back at her with tired eyes. Judging by the purple bags under them, she realized that he hadn’t been getting much sleep. “Are you able to sleep as of late, Hiei-san?” she murmured with a gentle tone.

Hiei shook his head wearily. “Nightmares,” he croaked out. What was the point in hiding it from her? Everyone knew what had happened. Even his pure, innocent Yukina knew his shame. “Every night I see him again. I thought that sleeping alone would help, but it doesn’t.”

She nodded in understanding. She always understood, Hiei thought, and he wondered why she cared enough to comfort him about this. After all, she didn’t know their connection. She didn’t know that he was her brother. And as far as friends went, well, he was certain she couldn’t hold his too dearly, considering that he wasn’t exactly ‘friend’ material.

“I’ll make you a tonic,” she offered with a small smile. “I’ll ask Kurama-san to help me prepare it, since he is so knowledgeable about plants; if that is okay with you, of course, Hiei-san.”

“It’s fine,” Hiei replied. “Don’t go to too much trouble. I’m fine.”

Yukina smiled sadly and shook her head. “I wish you were, Hiei-san,” she murmured before leaving the room to set to work on the tonic.

--

“What am I supposed to do?” Hiei growled unhappily to Yusuke when the detective came to visit him. “Am I supposed to pretend it didn’t happen and just be the way I was? Am I supposed to be overly happy and cheerful? I don’t know how you all want me to behave.”

Yusuke sat down beside him, putting an arm around his shoulders. “Ya’ know, I’m gonna’ let you in on a little secret, Hiei,” he said with a solemn expression. “We don’t know any more about this than you do. Hell, I don’t know how you feel right now. I don’t know what it’s like to be raped, and I especially don’t know what it’s like to have my closest friends see it happen. All I can tell you is that we’re trying to help you. You know, if they have to make you sleeping tonics for the rest of your life, Yukina and Kurama will see to it that you get one every evening. It’s not ‘cause they feel sorry for you, either, so don’t you dare say it is. It’s ‘cause they love you.”

“What if I don’t know how to love them back?” Hiei mumbled, staring at the wall with a look that could kill. “I’m not good with all this mushy crap. I just…”

“You don’t have to try and show it, Hiei,” Yusuke said. “We all know how you feel. We all know it’s hard for you to express it, too. I know nobody has any business asking you to trust them, but… you can trust us, okay? You can trust me, Kurama, Kuwabara, even though he makes fun of you and doesn’t understand you… all of us. I want you to feel safe enough to sleep at night when we’re nearby. We will protect you with everything we have.”

Hiei sighed softly. “That’s just it. I don’t want this. I don’t want to need protection.”

--

Three days passed, during which Hiei did not move from the room in the temple that they had placed him in. Each night Yukina gave him a tonic to drink and it allowed him a deep, dreamless sleep which he did not wake from until the morning. He did not like the thought of being so helpless at night, but the thought of arguing with them about it was too exhausting.

On the fourth day, he left the room. He tracked down Kurama, finding the fox out in the gardens back of the temple. Kurama was patiently tending to each individual plant, feeding his energy into them. The gardens were buzzing with life and youki.

“Hiei, it’s nice to see you out and about,” the fox remarked when he caught sight of Hiei watching him. He wiped the dirt on his hands off on his britches and made his way over to the little demon. “Did you need some fresh air?”

Hiei pursed his lips thoughtfully as he considered his response. “Kurama, you said before that you wanted us to be lovers,” he said finally. “I… wanted that, too. If you are disgusted by me now, I will accept that; but if you are willing to wait for me… I think that someday I’ll be able to give you that.” He braced himself for the rejection to come.

Instead Kurama laughed softly and bent down to lightly kiss his cheek. “What a fool you are sometimes, Hiei,” he murmured. “I’ve been waiting on you this whole time. You don’t have to ask. I will wait for you as long as it takes.”

Hiei stared at him in shock for a moment before a smirk spread across his own features. “You know, most people would have more decency than to make fun of the emotionally damaged,” he remarked. He reached up and pulled Kurama down to give him a quick, chaste kiss on the lips. “I love that you don’t.”

END

Good Medicine

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:26:19 GMT

Title: Good Medicine
Rating: T
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Kurama/Hiei
Summary: “You gotta’ let us help you with this!”
Prompt: Treat

Prompts from impromptu50

(Sequel to From Us and Pieces. There will be one more part to this mini plot, then it'll be over.)

“It’s not that I’m worried,” Kuwabara reasoned, lest it seem like he was concerned for Hiei’s welfare. That would be horribly out of character for him. It would seem like he’d let the events of last week change his friendship with Hiei somehow. “It’s just that he’s not acting the way Hiei should act.”

Kurama shrugged his shoulders. They were walking together down the street from his apartment. Hiei was at the apartment, sleeping in the guest bedroom that they’d never used before. “I admit that I expected him to leave, Kuwabara. However, I would not know how to accurately predict the after effects of rape. Perhaps he feels safer with the rest of us nearby.”

Well, that did make sense, Kuwabara thought. “He’s not talking to us, though.”

“That’s more of a relief to me,” Kurama murmured, to Kuwabara’s surprise. “It seems like something Hiei would do. He’s blocking us out. It must be hard for him to juggle both, though; the need to be near us and the need to stay away. I’m expecting a breakdown soon. It might be wise to keep a close eye on him.”

Of course, neither of them was likely to let Hiei know he was being monitored.
--
“I made some dinner,” Kurama said. Hiei stared blankly at him from the doorway of the bedroom, then shrugged his shoulders and stepped over to the dinner table to share in the meal. “I made your favorite,” the fox offered, trying to get some sort of response from his silent companion.

“Thank you,” Hiei replied in deadpan, picking up his chopsticks. Kurama watched his former lover eat, the delicate way Hiei placed every bite in his mouth, as delicately as he handled a sword. Pure, raw skill that was so unusual. But the fire he’d grown to associate it with was gone.

He picked up his own chopsticks. “You know, Koenma made an interesting offer yesterday,” he began, as casually as he could. Hiei looked up at him curiously. “Reikai often has to counsel spirits who died to grief or trauma,” the fox continued. “Koenma asked me to tell you that you are welcome to their services.”

Hiei’s chopsticks were immediately slammed down and he stood up from the table, knocking the chair over in the process. He stalked back to his room and slammed the door shut. Kurama heard the click of the lock sliding into place.
--
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Yusuke wanted to know as they hiked their way back up to that place where it had all happened. It had been nearly a week and the body was probably partially decayed, but if they were going to learn the reason behind the attack then they would have to identify him somehow.

Beside him, Hiei gave a curt nod. “Stop treating me like an invalid, Yusuke,” he sneered, the cold tone of his voice reminding Yusuke of years ago. “It’s more my business than anyone’s, and I’ll be damned if I don’t get a say in it all.”

Who could argue with that? “Whatever, man,” the detective replied, not one for dwelling on just how, exactly, he should be behaving with Hiei. Aside from a few worried questions, he’d mostly just remained the same. It was easier to block out things like this than to try and work through them. Street kid logic, maybe, but it kept him sane.

The stench of the rotting flesh was nauseating to Yusuke, but Hiei didn’t seem to mind it at all. He probably liked it, knowing Hiei. Trying not to inhale too much, Yusuke approached the headless body. The head was gone now, probably carried off by some wild animal. So much for identifying his face. Instead Yusuke rifled through the body’s pockets while Hiei poked around in the underbrush that the demon had been hiding in when he darted them.

Suddenly, Hiei gave a sharp cry and backtracked, his eyes wide. Yusuke stood up from where he’d been kneeling near the body. “Hey, man, what’s wrong?” he questioned, worried by the panicked expression Hiei wore. He stepped over to where Hiei stood and peered into the brush. The demon’s head stared back at him with dead eyes. “Oh, I thought it was gone,” he remarked casually. It wasn’t the first decapitated demon head he’d seen, after all. “I guess it must have landed over here when Kurama cut it off.”

Hiei made no sound in response and Yusuke frowned in confusion. He turned to look at his companion and realized with surprise that Hiei was starting to hyperventilate. “Can’t… breathe,” the smaller demon choked out, one hand pressed against his heart. “Heart’s… beating.”

“Hey, Hiei, calm down.” Yusuke was at his side in an instant, one arm going around Hiei’s shoulders to support him. Hiei had to be really stressed for his heart to speed up enough for him to feel it beating. “What’s the matter? It’s just a head, Hiei.”

Hiei knew that, of course. It wasn’t like the demon was going to magically come back to life just because the head was still here. But, somehow, seeing that face again was all it took to trigger the memories he’d been trying to block out for the past week.

Was this a panic attack? Did that demon really terrify him so much that just seeing his face again was having this effect on him?

“Deep breaths,” Yusuke instructed, trying to bring him out of it. “Inhale, exhale. You’re fine, I promise. He’s dead.” Hiei fought to get control of himself. And failed. “Hiei, I’m gonna’ get you out of here, okay?” Yusuke started to lift him up and Hiei, still fighting to breathe, did not argue. “I knew this wasn’t a good idea,” the detective grumbled as he set to making quick work of the trip back to the temple. “Why d’ya’ gotta’ be so stubborn about crap like this? Man, you can’t do this on your own. You gotta’ let us help you!”

I know, Yusuke, Hiei thought to himself. Surprisingly, Yusuke’s angry words were what brought him back out of the panic attack. You’re right. I really should.

Pieces

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:35:47 GMT

Title: Pieces
Rating: M
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Kurama/Hiei
Summary: It feels like I’m broken into a million pieces.
Prompt: Puzzle

Prompts from impromptu50

(Sequel to From Us. Warnings for rape. I'm not totally happy with this one. But maybe I'm just nervous.)

It wasn’t a mission for Koenma. They weren’t in Makai, defending their respective territories. They weren’t being the larger than life heroes that people outside their little group seemed to think of them as.

It was a picnic, of all things. Just the four of them, in need of a little time to reconnect, because despite all of the differences between them, fighting side by side had created a bond between them that every now and then needed to be revisited for just a little while. So Kurama had made sandwiches and Yusuke had bought a couple packs of beer, and they hiked out to the middle of nowhere amidst the trees and spent some time drinking and having manly talk.

It was supposed to be that simple. There wasn’t supposed to be an attack. Hell, they were half drunk, how were they supposed to fend off an S class demon in that state?

But Yusuke should have known. He shouldn’t have let that demon sneak up on him, because then it was Hiei who had to make a choice. Years ago he never would have even thought about it. He would have turned his back on the detective, the fool, even Kurama, because what good were friends if they got you into situations like this anyway?

It was probably the alcohol that made it all a little hazy. He’d never held his liquor well. What was it the demon had said? Had he poisoned them? What was it the demon had planned, though? Surely he hadn’t attacked them just to get his rocks off. There was something else he had wanted.

Why hadn’t he just refused? Why was it when he looked at his friends, all beaten down and helpless on the ground, he had frozen? Why hadn’t he listened to Yusuke when the other had told him to run for it and get help?

“Your friends can’t help you right now, little one,” he remembered the demon saying. “But I’m in the mood for a little fun, so I’ll tell you what. You do me a little favor and I’ll let them live. You’re the only one I need anyway. What do you say?”

He should have said no.

Now he was, backed up against a tree, realizing just what it was, exactly, that he’d agreed to. He could feel the others’ eyes on him from where they all still lay paralyzed on the ground. Why were they watching? Couldn’t they close their eyes?

“Take off your clothing,” the demon instructed, looking smug. “Slowly. Or one of your friends will die. Maybe the tall one with the ugly face. You wouldn’t want that, now would you?”

He stole a glance at Kuwabara, wondering if the human thought he would actually go through with this for his sake. He could see Kurabara’s eyes widen as he began to undress with trembling hands. He got down to just his pants and boots before his hands fumbled and he had to pause, his instincts screaming at him to get the hell out of there and fast.

“I’m waiting,” the demon growled, directing his hand towards Kuwabara, a ball of energy glowing in his palm. “I don’t care if he dies or not, kid. This is your only chance to save him.”

Hiei unbuckled his belts and stepped out of his boots and pants. Standing naked before his friends and the demon threatening them, he tried very hard not to make some sort of smart ass remark that would get Kuwabara’s head blown off. “I don’t want them to watch,” he said, miraculously managing to keep his voice calm. “I’ll do what you want if we step away from here.” Please, please, please don’t let them see this. There’s a forest all around us, we could go anywhere.

The demon laughed, like Hiei had just told him some hysterical joke. “You don’t want them to see you getting fucked for their sake?” he jeered. “Why not, kid? Don’t they have a right to see exactly what you’re sacrificing for their sake?” Hiei stared at his feet, his hands clenching into fists. “Come on, kid, don’t be shy,” the demon said with a lusty smirk. “Why don’t you give us all a little show? Touch yourself.”

“What?! Fuck you, asshole, if you think I’m gonna’ do something like that!”

He wished he had said that. He wished he’d called it off then and there, maybe even figured out some way to kill the demon without killing his friends in the process. But he hadn’t. Instead he’d looked up at the demon with imploring eyes and mumbled, “Just get it over with, okay?”

“Hiei!” Yusuke exclaimed. “You don’t have to do this!”

But he did have to, because the three of them had taught him not value himself over others. He stayed stock still when the demon grabbed hold of him, running hands across his skin. “Are the three of you enjoying the show yet?” the repulsive creature demanded, turning Hiei so that he was facing the three of them and slipping his hand between Hiei’s legs, groping harshly.

“You’re sick,” Kuwabara spat, and Hiei’s cheeks burned with shame, even though he knew that Kuwabara was addressing his captor.

“Oh, be careful, you’ll hurt my feelings,” the demon replied, laughing. He took something out of his pocket (a slip of paper?) with his free hand and wrapped it around Hiei’s wrist. Immediately Hiei could feel it sucking his remaining energy out of him. “There we go, kid, you’re all set,” he murmured into Hiei’s ear, his lips moving down Hiei’s neck, pausing to barely hover above his jugular. Hiei’s body trembled with the effort it took to stay still with such a vulnerable area of his body open for attack.

Suddenly the demon’s fingers were touching his entrance and he jerked away involuntarily with a sharp cry of surprise, only to find that he couldn’t free himself from the demon’s hold and then those fingers pushed in and he fought harder. “No! Stop it, get out of me! God damn you, get away from me!”

It hurt, and he briefly glanced at Kurama, remembering how Kurama had asked him that morning if he was ready to take their relationship a step further; if he was ready for sex. Kurama didn’t meet his gaze.

“Hold still, brat,” the demon snarled, twisting Hiei’s wrist harshly. “Or do you want them all dead? You had better stop struggling.” His fingers pushed in deeper; trying desperately to get away from them, Hiei pushed himself up on his toes, but to no avail. Then they were pulled out entirely and Hiei sagged in the demon’s grasp in his relief.

Something pressed against his back, and he nearly threw up when he realized that it was the demon’s erection. The nausea grew when the demon started to push him to the ground, and if he could have escaped at that point, he probably would have run without a second thought to his companions.

The demon took hold of Hiei’s own manhood and began stroking it into arousal. “Don’t do that!” he growled, trying to squirm away. “Damn it, just take what you want and get it over with!”

“Thought you didn’t want me to do that?” the demon questioned mockingly. “You’re giving me mixed signals, kid. Maybe you should just tell me exactly what it is that you want me to do. Do you want my dick in your ass?” Hiei stared up at him shock and the demon squeezed his manhood harshly, causing him to yelp. “Do you?”

“Y-Yes,” Hiei stuttered, clenching his eyes shut.

“Yes what?” the demon further pried. “Say it or I kill one of them.”

Hiei took a deep breath. “I want… your… dick,” he spat the word out like it was a mouthful of rancid meat, “in my… in my ass.”

A laugh was the reward he got for his efforts. “Well, how can I say no to that?” the demon questioned, unzipping his pants. Hiei clenched his eyes shut as the demon pushed his legs up and apart, leaving him exposed to everyone.

A scream tore out of him as the demon pushed all the way into him. His eyes snapped open to stare up at his captor and were met with a malicious smirk. The demon began to thrust into him and every thrust brought new pain and forced another cry or yelp out of him. The people watching stopped mattering because the pain drowned out everything else. The demon above him grunted with pleasure and he could smell his own blood, making him acutely aware of just how much damage was being done to his body.

It hurts. It’s like he’s tearing me apart.

His head lolled weakly to the side as he attempted to block out what was happening. Yusuke and Kuwabara stared back at him, their faces angry (at him or at the demon, he wasn’t sure). It kept him from forgetting, kept him from escaping. He was caught between the rapist and his teammates. Kurama was probably disgusted.

Wait. Where was Kurama? The space the Kitsune had occupied was empty. Alarmed, Hiei looked up at his preoccupied captor.

Just in time to see the rose whip slice off his head. The blood splashed his face with crimson red and he stared numbly past the body as it collapsed on top of him. Kurama met his gaze this time.

He was suddenly aware of the heavy weight crushing him to the ground, his breath coming in short gasps. He could have pushed the corpse off, he was sure, but he still lay frozen on the ground, feeling like he was suffocating while the demon’s headless body dripped blood onto his bare skin.

Kurama grabbed hold of the body and hefted it off of him and tossed it to the side. “Shh, Hiei,” he murmured, dropping down on his knees to gently take hold of Hiei’s hands. “You’re alright now. He’s dead.” He released Hiei’s hands to pick up the Jaganshi’s cloak and gently draped it over Hiei’s body. Hiei came out of his daze slightly and clutched the cloak tightly.

“Eat these.” Kurama turned his attention to Yusuke and Kuwabara, pressing a small berry into each of their mouths. “It’s the antidote to the poison he darted us with earlier.” Hiei’s eyes widened slightly. So that was what had happened… “It took me a while to figure out which poison he used. Luckily the antidote’s effect is instant.”

Slowly, Yusuke and Kuwabara stood up. And then they both looked to Hiei and the little demon wished he could have just sunk into the ground to avoid them. He started to sit up, ignoring the pain it caused. Pain he could handle, now that it wasn’t being paraded about in front of his teammates. He reached for his clothing and quietly redressed, aware that all three of his companions were now staring at him.

He turned to them when he’d finished, putting his hands on his hips. “What the hell are you staring at?” he growled viciously. “Bah, I’m getting out of here.” He took a step forward and his legs gave out, sending him toppling to the ground. His face red as a tomato, he stayed there, glaring at the ground. “Fuck,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “Damn it all to hell.”

“Here, let me help,” Yusuke spoke up. Before Hiei could react, the detective picked him up, cradling him against his chest like a small child. The fire demon growled softly and his stomach churned again with nausea. He took a deep breath to keep himself from being sick all over Yusuke.

“Put me down, idiot,” he grumbled, but his tone was subdued. He wasn’t up for the argument it would take to make Yusuke put him down, and he wasn’t so sure how far he’d make it on his own anyway. “I’m fine.”

“Sure you are,” Yusuke replied, trying to stay normal, despite what he’d just witnessed. “We’ll just take you to the temple to double check on that.”

Hiei gave up and let Yusuke do as he pleased.

It feels like I’m broken into a million pieces.

I doubt I’ll get those pieces back together.

From Us

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:44:33 GMT

Title: From Us
Rating: T
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Kurama/Hiei
Summary: “How could he touch me again after seeing that?”
Prompt: Friends

Prompts from impromptu50
(A/N: Note that this one isn't connected to the last one, they're two different beasts. This one will have a sequel though. Also, I'm not totally happy with the characterization in this one, I think I got a little too OOC. xP )

He steadfastly ignored them all, cold and emotionless as stone, as he split off from the group upon returning to Genkai’s temple. He found a tree not far away and climbed up into it, protected from the world below for a while. A feeling of safety was exactly what he needed right now. If he’d stayed at the temple they would have been all around him, asking if he was okay, if there was anything they could do. After being carried halfway home by Yusuke, he was quite certain that he didn’t want to be subjected to any more molly-coddling.

Yusuke, it seemed, had other plans. “Yo, Hiei! What are you doing up there?” he demanded from the ground. When Hiei gave no reply, he hefted himself up into the tree, climbing up to perch beside the little demon. “Man, why are you hiding up here? Come back to the temple, Yukina should look you over.”

“I’m fine,” Hiei snapped, sending a glare Yusuke’s way. “I am unharmed, I am in no pain, and I do not care. I do, however, want some alone time right now, if that’s okay with you.”

“Man, you could barely walk earlier,” Yusuke objected, not about to back down. “Look, I know we’re the last people you want to talk to about this, considering… well, we were there. But you made a huge sacrifice for me today and I won’t feel right leaving you alone with this.”

Hiei wanted so badly to be left alone with this. His shame and fear was overwhelming his senses right now, and he didn’t want his teammates to witness any more than they already had. He didn’t want Yusuke’s guilt or Kurama’s pity. He didn’t want to see the expression on Kuwabara’s face as the human tried to puzzle out how he was supposed to react to this. He didn’t want to think about how careful Kurama would be with him after this. Would the fox ever touch him again?

“I only did what was required,” he informed Yusuke, trying to keep his voice steady. “We won, and that is what matters. That makes it okay.”

“No it doesn’t.” Yusuke reached out a hand to touch Hiei’s shoulder, looking saddened when Hiei flinched away from the contact. “Hiei, rape is never okay.”

“Don’t call it that,” Hiei hissed through gritted teeth, wishing he could just disappear somehow; wishing that this was just a really bad dream. He could still feel those hands on him, stroking his skin and hurting him. He shivered. “It was nothing, Yusuke. Do you understand me?”

“… Come on, man,” Yusuke murmured, reaching out to Hiei again. “I’ll take you back to the temple, okay? Yukina can heal you… you can get a bath… And then you can go home with Kurama.”

Hiei made no move. “What about after that?” he demanded harshly, staring at his hands. “What do I do when we get home and… Kurama doesn’t want anything to do with me? How could he touch me again after… after seeing that…?” There was a hint of desperation in his tone.

“It’s Kurama. Something like this… it won’t change how he sees you.” Yusuke forced a smile, even though he didn’t feel like smiling at all. “I mean, seriously, Kuwabara’s the one that’s gonna’ be the most freaked out. Kurama’s too smart to let this hurt you guys. I promise.”

--

Piece by piece, he stripped off his clothing. There was dried blood sullying his pants, so he kicked them under the bathroom sink, unwilling to look at them. He steadfastly ignored his reflection in the mirror, knowing he wouldn’t like what he saw, and turned on the bathtub water faucet.

“You should have a bath instead of a shower.”

Kurama’s voice nearly sent him tumbling into the bathtub in his shock. Swiftly, he grabbed a towel and drew it around himself, his cheeks red with embarrassment. “What the hell, Kurama?! What’s with coming in here without knocking?!” he groused, glaring at the fox. Kurama looked back at him with a calm smile.

“Ah, Hiei, I just came to bring you this,” Kurama replied, holding out a bottle of ointment. “You didn’t let Yukina tend to your injuries today, so I’m sure you’re still in pain. I would offer to tend them, but I thought you might want to handle this yourself.”

The blush on Hiei’s cheeks grew even redder and he promptly turned his gaze to the floor. “Just leave it there,” he muttered, his gut twisting uncomfortably. All of a sudden he felt… well, mad. “I won’t use it, though,” he added quickly, looking up at Kurama with fire in his eyes. “I don’t need it, you know!”

“Ah, then you want me to take care of it for you?” the fox asked curiously, arching an eyebrow. “Really, Hiei, all you have to do is say so.” He took a step forward, ointment in hand, and Hiei took a step back, his eyes widening.

“That’s not what I meant!” he replied, his face going white. “Kurama, don’t be an idiot! I don’t want you to-!”

“Touch you?” Kurama supplied in a sad tone. “Hiei, I know you must be hurting right now, but I hope you would never think that I would do something so deplorable to you as what happened today. I killed that demon for a reason.”

Hiei looked away again, clutching the towel tighter around himself. Kurama was right, of course, but he still didn’t want the fox to come any closer. “… I need a break,” he said, keeping his voice as steady as possible. “From us.” All the little touches, holding hands when no one was looking, kissing… all the things they’d done. After all, Kurama had wanted to take their relationship to the next level. They’d planned on it tonight… “Please just… leave me alone for a while.”

“…Okay.” Kurama turned to go, and as the door closed behind him, Hiei couldn’t help thinking that he’d made a huge mistake.

Marked

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:01:32 GMT

Title: Marked
Rating: T
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Kurama/Hiei
Summary: “He’d left the window open, like always.”
Prompt: Hug

Prompts from impromptu50

He’d left the window open, like always. It was late at night and Kurama had long since fallen asleep in his bed with the blankets drawn up around him. He wasn’t expecting Hiei to come tonight. The demon hadn’t visited in several days and today had been beautiful, no sign of bad weather. Normally, it was bad weather that caused Hiei to seek shelter in the fox’s bedroom, or a severe case of boredom.

“Kurama.” The voice was soft, so soft that anyone else would have just kept on sleeping. But Kurama had learned the value of sleeping lightly, and even so quiet a sound could disturb him. His eyes flickered open he sleepily looked up at the source of the voice. Wide red eyes stared back at him, set in a pale face that looked more strained than Kurama had ever seen it before.

He sat up quickly, moving to turn on the lamp on his bedside table. A shaking hand closed over his wrist and Hiei shook his head anxiously. “No,” the little demon spoke. “Don’t… just leave it off.” When Kurama started to pull his wrist away again, Hiei gripped it tighter and added, “Please,” in a desperate tone.

“What’s wrong?” Kurama asked, gazing into Hiei’s eyes questioningly. The fire demon’s gaze abruptly turned to the floor to avoid that inquisitive gaze. Worry filled the fox. “Hiei, what’s the matter?” he asked again, gently pulling his hand out of Hiei’s hold and flipping on the lamp. As light filled the room, Kurama realized why Hiei had wanted it off.

There were bruises on Hiei. Bruises on his face, bruises on his arms and chest. Kurama realized with a start that Hiei was missing his shirt and cloak. “What…?” he started to question, but Hiei shrank back from him, his arms wrapping around his waist.

“C-Can I stay here tonight?” Hiei whispered, his voice shaking as badly as his body. He hugged himself tighter as Kurama just continued to stare at him. “Sorry, I’ll leave,” he murmured, misinterpreting Kurama’s silence as he started to turn back the way he came.

Kurama’s hand shot out and grabbed hold of Hiei’s wrist, causing Hiei to jump slightly. The fox’s eyes were locked firmly on Hiei’s left shoulder. There was a wound there, a wound that explained everything all too clearly. Realizing Kurama’s discovery, Hiei’s breathing sped up as he started to gasp for air. Kurama wasn’t supposed to know about it! He tried to jerking his hand from Kurama’s grasp, but Kurama only held on tighter. “Kurama, let go of me!”

“Who claimed you?” Kurama demanded sharply. Hiei’s eyes widened and he jerked again. The need to get away filled him, and he knew he was on the verge of panicking. It wouldn’t be the first time that night.

“No one!” he snapped, but he could tell that Kurama wasn’t fooled. The fox swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, now fully awake. He started to step closer and Hiei suddenly felt very small and helpless as he stared up at his tall friend. The fact that Kurama had obviously figured out his shameful secret made it worse.

Kurama lifted up his free hand and Hiei clenched his eyes hit with the overwhelming fear that Kurama was going to strike him. But why would he do that? What did this matter to Kurama anyway? It wasn’t as though they were anything more than friends.

Then Kurama gently wrapped his arm around Hiei’s shoulders and released Hiei’s wrist to give him a full hug, pulling the small demon against his chest. Slowly, Hiei opened his eyes and stared up at the fox in bewilderment, stiff and trembling in Kurama’s hold.

“Tell me who it was so I can kill that person,” Kurama requested, his tone deadly even as his touch was gentle and reassuring. Hiei hid his face in Kurama’s shoulder. He wasn’t ready to talk about it, not yet. Not while the memory was still so fresh in his mind. He shook his head numbly, hoping to get Kurama to drop it.

“Just leave it, fox,” he whispered. “It doesn’t matter.”

“He’ll come back for you, Hiei,” Kurama replied, sounding panicked. “You know how demons work. If he catches you again….”

Hiei knew he was right. This time he had simply been beaten, albeit more cruelly than he had ever been beaten before, and marked. The next time his abuser confronted him, it would be worse. But Hiei wasn’t going to let that happen. “He won’t catch me again, fox,” he insisted. He was very glad for the fox’s arms around him, because he was starting to feel faint. “Just… let me stay here for the night.”

Kisses

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:05:06 GMT

Title: Kisses
Rating: T
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho
Pairing: Kurama/Hiei
Summary: “Hiei, I’m in the middle of something.”
Prompt: Middles

Prompts from impromptu50

“Hiei, I’m in the middle of something,” Kurama complained when the fire demon climbed into his lap, blocking his view of the work he’d laid out on his bedroom desk. Hiei smirked up at him and Kurama could have sworn he saw horns peaking out of that ridiculously tall hair.

The little demon leaned in and pressed his lips against Kurama’s neck. “Do it later,” he murmured. “I can think of more… interesting things to do. Can’t you?” It occurred to Kurama that by introducing Hiei to kissing he’d created a monster. All that the little demon ever wanted to do, it seemed, was make out. It was really getting in the way of Kurama’s job.

“…Mmm, well, I suppose I could be drawn away from my work for a short while,” he replied, gently taking hold of Hiei’s face and drawing him back up for passionate kiss. He could feel Hiei smiling into it, really and truly happy for just a moment.

If it meant making Hiei happy, perhaps he could set aside his work.