Feeding

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Contains shonen ai (male+male) and blood. Edited and renamed as of 5/5/2010.

"Feeding"

Kurama winced as he pressed a hand to his wound. It wasn't life threatening, but it wouldn't make things any easier for him. Blood was seeping through the front of his school jacket, turning the cloth a deep shade of plum, and his palm was painted red as he attempted to pinch the gash closed with his fingers. It was annoying, but he could live with it. It was his own fault for leaving himself open to attack anyway. He shouldn't have been so careless.

"I'm sorry, Yusuke." Kurama gave the human boy a rueful smile.

Yusuke waved his hand carelessly. "Nah, you've earned yourself a break anyway."

"Yeah, I'll handle the next one," Kuwabara said, his eyes glinting determinedly as he clenched a fist.

"Oh, sure," Yusuke rolled his eyes. "You nearly wet your pants when you saw Genbu!"

"Hey, I just got a little freaked, that's all!"

Yusuke and Kuwabara fell into an argument—Kurama had the feeling this was an old routine for them and beamed softly. Teenagers, he thought as he puffed out a breath to move a stray lock of hair from his face. Shaking his head at the pair, he glanced at his other teammate. Hiei stood as still as a statue with both hands in his pockets and his shoulders slouched carelessly. The little youkai's face betrayed no emotion at all, but his eyes looked strange…too sharp, too aware, with equal measures of interest and revulsion. All of it seemed to be concentrated on Kurama's midsection.

Kurama peered at Hiei, tipping his head to one side and wordlessly asking about the unwarranted attention. Hiei managed to look up long enough to meet Kurama's curious eyes. Then he glanced away with a snort and hunched his shoulders, clearly uncomfortable.

"You know, I personally don't care what happens to your miserable planet, but if you want to defeat the other three beasts before the Makai takes over, I'd suggest you get moving," Hiei spoke up harshly. Yusuke watched with a look of surprise as Hiei stalked away from the group. The hem of Hiei's long black coat flapped around the corner of the doorway, and then he was gone.

Kuwabara broke away from Yusuke's headlock and crossed his arms over his broad chest in the manner of a sulking child.

"Sheesh, where does he think he's going?" he asked, scowling at the place where Hiei had been only a moment before. "We can't go back the way we came. The Gate of Betrayal is still blocked off, isn't it?"

Kurama rose to his feet.

"Stay here," he murmured. "I'll see if I can talk to him."

Kurama could feel the humans' eyes burning holes in the back of his neck as he left Genbu's dungeon. Without a glance back, he closed the doors behind him. As soon as he was out of the boys' sight, he let his senses sharpen and deepen. He lifted his nose, easily picking out Hiei's scent from the stale air of the castle, and followed his prey down the halls. It didn't take long for him to reach the Gate of Betrayal, where Hiei had saved his human comrades from the descending ceiling trap. The Gate was blocked off by the enormous boulder that had fallen after Hiei had raised the lever.

The youkai in question stood in front of the sealed entrance. His hands were clenched at his sides, and he was shaking with suppressed anger, as if cursing the boulder that now blocked his escape. But he wasn't trying to find another way out—he seemed to realize that his capture was inevitable.

"Go," Hiei muttered. Kurama stopped in his tracks a few steps away. Hiei clenched his hands more tightly and shuddered. "I don't want you near me."

Kurama stared at Hiei for a moment, wondering what could have triggered such odd behavior. He took another step, and after a second of indecision, he placed one hand on Hiei's shoulder. He frowned when he felt the tense muscles beneath his palm.

"What's wrong?" Kurama asked quietly. "Talk to me."

Hiei glanced over his shoulder. His eyes met Kurama's face out of instinct, but they went down to look at the wound again quite against his will. He cringed and turned away, another shudder running through his small body.

"No," he said roughly. "Go away."

Kurama frowned. It obviously had something to do with his wound, but… Oh, not again. Kurama's eyes softened in distress, and then he leaned forward, pressing his mouth close to Hiei's ear.

"Have you been starving yourself again?" he asked gently. Hiei shivered once more, but refused to answer. Kurama sighed and began to stroke the little youkai's hair, petting the dark strands comfortingly. Hiei tried and failed to suppress a moan. "Hiei, why do you keep doing this to yourself?"

"Don't…"

"Come now, you can't carry on this way. You're not doing yourself any good by starving." Kurama uncovered his wound and brought his hand up so that it was level with Hiei's chin. A small, red pool had collected in his palm. "Here, take it."

"I won't!" Hiei snarled, though he didn't try to move away. "I don't want it!"

"You may not want it, but you do need it." Hiei shuddered at the words, unable to deny them. He was part of the unfortunate minority of youkai who needed human blood to survive. They both knew it. Kurama brought his hand closer to Hiei's mouth, allowing the blood to splash across his trembling lips. Another shiver ran through the little youkai before he leaned forward, opening his mouth and slowly lapping at the blood. Kurama's other hand continued to pet that soft black hair. "There, you see? It isn't so bad."

"You can say that!" Hiei cried furiously, tears pricking his eyes as the pain came. His teeth were breaking through his gums, sharpening, lengthening in preparation for digestion much as a human would salivate after the first bite of a cookie. The blood from his torn gums mingled with Kurama's, and Hiei started to feel sick. "You don't need it, you filthy human!"

Kurama nuzzled his nose into Hiei's hair, sighing.

"Oh, Hiei," Kurama murmured again. "Don't be upset. It isn't that bad." He leaned forward and licked some of the blood from his own hand. "See?"

Hiei made a gagging sound, and Kurama immediately covered his mouth with his bloody hand. The little youkai began to convulse, but Kurama wrapped his free arm around him, embracing him with one arm while he forced his mouth closed with the other.

"Swallow it."

Now that he was trapped, Hiei did make an effort to get away. Kurama held him fast and kept his mouth firmly shut as his partner retched. Hiei flailed, bucking, but Kurama pushed so the youkai's small body was sandwiched between the wall and his own larger frame. He buried his face in Hiei's hair and forced his body forward, pinning him against the stone. The arm that had been wrapped around his body moved up and began to rub the youkai's throat.

"Hiei, you're just dragging this out. Swallow it. I'll let you go then," Kurama whispered into Hiei's ear. "Please don't make this harder than it has to be."

The youkai thrashed, his fingernails becoming sharp claws, and tore at the wall that he had been pushed against. Deep scratches appeared in the hard stone. Kurama murmured softly, trying to comfort him. He kept massaging Hiei's neck with his hand.

Eventually, Hiei's throat started to move beneath his palm. The youkai kept swallowing for at least another minute, and then Kurama loosened his arms enough for him to get away. Hiei slumped, slowly sliding down the wall to huddle on the floor. Kurama crouched down behind him and wrapped his arms around the small, shaking form. Hiei stuck his fingers in his mouth, applying pressure to his cut gums in an attempt to lessen the pain.

"Don't do that," Kurama said reprovingly. He cupped a hand around Hiei's cheek and used his other hand to pry his fingers from his mouth. "You know better."

Hiei whined, but his resentment faded a little when Kurama plucked a seed from his hair and grew a familiar plant. As soon as the plant was mature the little youkai grabbed it and shoved it into his mouth, viciously chomping on it. The sweet sap washed out the nasty metal taste of the blood, and its anesthetic properties quickly numbed the pain in his gums. Hiei shuddered and went limp with relief, the force of his chewing lessening until he was sucking on the sugary plant as placidly as a human baby on his milk bottle.

Kurama took Hiei's chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned his face toward him. The little youkai had tears streaked down his cheeks and blood smeared around his petite mouth. Kurama leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to those wine-colored lips.

"Was that so bad?" he asked.

Hiei snapped his eyes open, staring narrowly at Kurama. He wasn't broken yet, and Kurama would do everything in his power to keep that from happening. Hiei would accept his basic needs eventually.

"I hate humans," the youkai said quietly. He thought of Yusuke and Kuwabara, how they could probably eat whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted—and get pleasure from the experience. They didn't need to endure pain every time they fed. They didn't go without food for weeks, dreading the moment when they would inevitably be forced against the ground, the bed, or in this case a stone wall by a concerned friend determined to keep them alive by any means necessary. It wasn't fair. "I hate you."

"I know you do. But if you would just stop trying to starve yourself, then I wouldn't have to do this every time. You know I don't like to force you."

"Then don't!" Hiei snarled. "If you hate it so much, don't do it!"

"I have to. I'm sorry." Kurama hugged his friend. "I know you don't like it, but you need it. Don't you realize that you'll die if you keep starving yourself?"

"Well maybe I don't want to live anymore," Hiei said feverishly.

Kurama snorted. Now he was just being stubborn. Hiei did want to live—he just didn't want to endure the pain that came with it. Kurama rocked gently against Hiei's body. The little youkai struggled weakly for a moment, but soon slumped, allowing himself to be rocked.

"Shhh," Kurama hushed. "You'll feel better soon."

finis