"Both Worlds"

Water sprayed from the shower head, pouring down over Hiei's compact, muscular body. He tipped his head back, taking pleasure from the heat and pressure of the water on his chest. Groaning, the Jagan master popped open a bottle of shampoo and lathered up his hair. Nothing beat a scalding shower after a hard-fought battle.

Under the shower heads to his left were Yusuke and Kuwabara. The humans were taunting and laughing at each other as usual. They seemed to be having a contest this time.

"Nah, mine's definitely bigger!"

"Nuh-uh, look, I've got at least an inch more!"

It was more or less traumatizing to hear the fools compare the size of their "man-dingoes," so Hiei focused on his own shower instead. He had just rinsed the foam from his hair when he caught a glimpse of red to his right.

"Today's matches were tough, weren't they?" Kurama commented. Hiei grunted in response. He hadn't fought any matches today. He and Kurama had been tangled up with Dr. Ichigaki's robot in the morning, and by the time they got to the arena the Masked Fighter had ended the first bout. Then Hiei had been ruled unfit to fight against Team Mashou, and he had been caged in the medical tent while Kurama barely scraped through three rounds on his own. All in all, Kurama's day had been tougher than Hiei's.

Hiei wondered how bad Kurama's injuries were. And the redhead was standing beside him, conveniently naked… He sneakily looked out of the corner of his eye.

Kurama didn't look too bad. The worst of the wounds was the gash on his arm where he had planted his deadly grass, and there were some minor cuts where Touya's ice shards had sliced him. There were also large bruises all over. Hiei felt his blood boil at the memory of that bastard Bakken beating on Kurama even after he'd lost consciousness. At least he hadn't caused any permanent damage…

Then Hiei looked a little closer. There was something strange about Kurama's body. He didn't have Yusuke's tan lines or Kuwabara's bleached butt. Save for the bruises, he was peachy and evenly colored. He had a strange figure too. His torso was short, legs very long and a bit curvy, arms slender. More like a woman than a man, Hiei thought. He guessed it was a side effect of his kitsune soul. Though there was more than just pubic hair between his legs…

"Hiei, Kurama, would you guys settle this already? Tell this moron that my dick is bigger than his!"

Snorting, Hiei closed his eyes. "You're both too tiny for me to judge."

"What? Oh fine, you little prick! Kurama, it's down to you man."

Hiei glanced toward Kurama to see how he would respond. He was surprised to find the fox looking pale, eyes wide and startled.

"I… Um." Kurama swallowed, and Hiei couldn't help wondering why. Surely he wasn't embarrassed by the humans? "I don't think it's an issue of great importance. You're…" His eyes flicked down to the organs being compared, and he bit his lip. "You're both well endowed in proportion to your bodies, so there's no need to compare."

"Oh, what the hell…"

"Ha ha, you know what 'proportional' means, dumbass? It means I'm bigger!" Kuwabara laughed.

"Shut up!"

Yusuke grabbed Kuwabara and started wrestling, though it was hard to do when they both were slippery from the soap. Hiei ignored the two fools, instead keeping a watchful eye on Kurama. The redhead was hurriedly rubbing soap on his body, lathering up. His chest, his stomach… Hiei froze in shock.

"Kurama?" Hiei couldn't find words for what he was seeing. He ended up with his mouth hanging open dumbly. Kurama saw the stunned look on his face and blushed. The red color burned on his face, crept down his neck and partway down his chest.

"What's wrong?" Yusuke asked sharply, abruptly loosing the headlock he had on Kuwabara.

"Nothing," Kurama said weakly, but Yusuke and Kuwabara had already noticed what had caught Hiei's attention.

"Holy shit, Kurama!" Yusuke crowed. "Did my dick get you horny?"

"Ew, Urameshi, don't say that," Kuwabara grimaced. "Kurama's not queer. He's probably just excited 'cause of all the hot water."

"Y-yes, of course," Kurama said in a horribly unconvincing voice. "M-my body is quite sensitive. Just ignore it, please. It's a natural physiological response to environmental stimulation."

"There he goes with the big words again," Yusuke grumbled.

Kurama, who had kept his eyes on the shower floor during the exchange, glanced up to see if his teammates were looking at him. Yusuke and Kuwabara had returned to their showers, mercifully accepting Kurama's explanation. But Hiei kept a penetrating stare on him, making the redhead flush darkly and look away. Hiei frowned as Kurama ended his shower, grabbed a towel, and left without saying goodbye.

"Will you be out training tonight, Hiei?"

"Yes," Hiei replied. Each competing team had been given a suite in the hotel with three bedrooms, meant to accommodate six team members. He and Kurama were sharing a room, as were Yusuke and Kuwabara. The humans had grumbled about the Masked Fighter taking the last room, but they dropped the argument after finding out she was a woman. "Why? Are you thinking of having someone over? I thought Touya seemed interested."

Hiei said it with every intention of seeing how Kurama reacted. The fox cringed and smiled painfully, confirming his suspicions.

"Ah, no," Kurama said. "I just wanted to know if I should expect you back at all."

"No."

"Oh… Okay then. Right." Kurama nodded. "I—I'll see you at the match tomorrow, then."

"Hn."

Much as Hiei hated the bitch who had trapped him in the medical tent, he had to admit that her energy had done well for his arm. The nerves had regenerated, the skin was growing back. He could feel again, he could move his fingers, he could punch and grab…and most importantly, he could summon. The Jagan couldn't give him control of the black flames yet, but mortal flames were better than nothing.

Hiei was just starting to darken his pale fire with energy when the open Jagan picked up a presence. Awareness struck Hiei like a lightning bolt, making him stumble back, feeling as if he had died a little inside.

"W-what the hell?" Hiei turned toward the source of that psychic jolt. He could see a huge, black outline against the inky blue sky. The contrasting lighted windows glittered like stars.

The hotel.

In a flicker of black, Hiei took off. He was down from the cliff in one minute, speeding through the dark forest the next. Soon he was inside of the hotel, racing up the stairs. He threw open the door of the Urameshi Team's suite.

"Oh, hey Hi—"

Hiei stalked past Kuwabara, his third eye wide and blazing. He headed for the door to his own room…or rather, the room he shared with Kurama.

Kuwabara was tagging along. Almost without Hiei's order, the Jagan's power lifted the nosy human from his feet and chucked him onto the couch. Loud cusses followed Hiei as he opened the door to his room and locked it behind him.

It took a long second for the scene to register. The only light in the room came from the lamp on the table between their beds. Kurama lay naked on the bed near the window. There were several towels spread out beneath his pale body and another over his lap. Hiei felt his face twist.

"What have you done?" Hiei's voice rumbled with power that he normally wouldn't bother giving to words. Despite the strength of his voice, Kurama was too busy crying to look at him. There was a black cloth tied around his mouth, so the sobs were nothing more than soft gasps inaudible outside the room.

When Kurama didn't respond, Hiei tore across the room and ripped the towel away from the redhead's lap. He felt his stomach try to curl in on itself.

"No," Hiei breathed. "No… Oh Kurama, you fool."

His response was a stifled moan. Hiei shivered and stared for a long moment before turning his eyes away. He looked into Kurama's face instead, seeing the tears that poured down and the spit that was leaking out from the corners of Kurama's mouth. Hiei reached up and untied the gag. He wiped the spit away with the cloth and then cupped Kurama's face, forcing his comrade to look at him.

"Why did you do this to yourself?" Hiei asked. Kurama opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. He let out a sob.

"I-it was the only s-solution." Kurama shuddered. In one hand he held the grass blade he had used, and on the stained white towel beside him were his bloody, severed genitalia. "D-don't you s-see? I c-can't have a lib-bido if I don't have b-balls, right? And that means I can't be g-…gay…"

"Gay," Hiei repeated. "You mean you're attracted to men. And you'd rather maim yourself than accept it."

"I-it's wrong. I c-can't be g-gay. W-what would my m-mother say…?"

Hiei's eyes flashed with fury as he forced their mouths together. Kurama shrieked and raised his hands to claw at him. Hiei held firm, staring fiercely into Kurama's shocked eyes as he kissed him. Kissing was something Hiei had trained himself to do in case such a skill became necessary for his survival, and now he used the suppleness of his lips and the heat of his youki to make it feel overwhelmingly good. Kurama whimpered, starting to shudder as the kiss stirred up the very desires he had tried so hard to exorcise. Hiei continued to work his lips against Kurama's until the fox finally sobbed in despair and kissed back, his tears pouring harder and faster than either man could move his mouth.

When he ended the kiss, Hiei stared hard into Kurama's tear-filled eyes.

"You will not mangle your body like this," Hiei said coldly. "I am bringing Yukina in here, now. She will reattach all that. And you will not attempt to mutilate yourself again, or so help me, for every cut I find on your body I will make a match for your mother."

Kurama's face went gray.

"N…"

Hiei left the bed and started toward the door.

"No!" Kurama gasped. "No, Hiei please! Please!"

Kurama tried to keep him from leaving by grabbing his scarf. Hiei merely loosened the scarf and left it behind. Kurama lost his balance and toppled forward off the bed, weeping. Such a pathetic display would have given Hiei pause if it were a hated enemy begging for his life. But for once, the tears did not move him at all.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS! YOU CAN'T! HIEI! HIEI!"

A/N: Kurama is terribly out of character, but I've had this plot floating around for a while and it finally wrote itself. Please don't hurt me. Kurama will be all better once Yukina reattaches his balls. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.