A/N: A new story! Happiness! This one concerns the relationship between Hiei and Kuwabara (something I find adorable when done correctly). It will most likely be rather short, but at least that means less suspense for my readers! In any case, this was written as a stress-relief (Hallmark will be the death of me...), but I liked it so I kept going. I have the next chapter done, but I'm not going to post it until I see if this chapter is well-received. That means... REVIEW!! Enjoy!

Warnings: None to speak of

Disclainmer: I do not own YYH or anything relating to it. All credit should go where credit is due: Yoshihiro Togashi.

Silently, Hiei flitted from tree to tree in the park, stalking a particularly acrobatic squirrel. He paused suddenly, appalled by how pathetically bored he was, and once again considered going back to Makai. After all, it wasn't like he really had a reason to stay in the Ningenkai; merely a convenience. He could sleep at Kurama's when it rained and steal food from Yusuke's when he couldn't find any good prey. The Reikai Tantei hadn't had a mission in months, and it didn't look like any apocalyptic demons were going to be popping up any time soon… Hiei half-turned towards the direction of the nearest portal, but paused as he heard a small hiccup from below him and smelled the unmistakable scent of Kazuma Kuwabara… beneath the overpowering scent of alcohol, of course. The little fire demon wrinkled his nose against the smell and was about to take off towards the portal when he caught sight of Kuawabara's aura… it was a sickly grayish color, not at all like his normal, bold blue. He paused in mid-step and ended up breaking the branch that supported him, falling in an unceremonious heap at Kuwabara's feet. The other boy looked down in surprise, and a wide grin spread across his face.

"W'll hey, Hiei!" The koorime rose, brushing himself off, and settled into his usual scowl.

"You're slobbering drunk, you ingrate, shouldn't you be in a bathroom somewhere, throwing up the contents of your last four meals?" It took a second for Kuwabara to grasp Hiei's words, but he only grinned wider once he did.

"Naw, I c'n handle more'n this!" He threw an arm around Hiei's shoulders, which the fire master quickly shook off, and leaned down to whisper in his ear conspiratorially. "I c'n out drink Urameshi anyday!" Hiei wrinkled his nose against the overpowering scent and stepped back.

"Go home, Kuwabara."

"No." The quick response startled Hiei; he glanced up into the other boy's black eyes and found them burning with some emotion Hiei didn't recognize. He took another step back, loath to be part of that emotion or anything it entailed, and saw for the first time how ragged Kuwabara looked. His normally pressed school uniform was wrinkled, dirty, and slightly bloodstained. His hair, normally gelled into some odd formation of curls, was disheveled and streaked with dirt. His shoes and belt were gone completely.

Quickly, Hiei added up the days in his head and determined that it was Sunday. He didn't know much about humans or their lifestyles, but he was fairly certain that Yusuke and Kuwabara never wore their uniforms on Sundays…

"What happened to you? You're a mess."

"Got in a fight... Why's it matter to you, shortstuff?" There was a clearly defensive tone to Kuwabara's voice now.

"It doesn't," replied Hiei, his tone clipped. He turned to head for the portal after all, but paused as a new scent drifted to him hidden among the other, stronger scents… the scent of fresh blood. The fire demon turned back to see Kuwabara leaning tiredly against a tree, his hands crossed over his stomach. He frowned.

"You're bleeding…"

"So?" the human growled, clutching his stomach harder, "I'll be fi-" He cut off in mid-sentence with a groan and fell forward, completely unconscious. Only then did Hiei notice the growing stain on the seat of Kuwabara's uniform pants. His eyes widened slightly as he stepped forward to confirm his suspicions. One quick sniff told him all he needed to know; Kuwabara had been violently raped.

Scooping the larger human into his arms, Hiei hesitated in a moment of indecision; should he take him to a hospital, Yusuke's house, or Kurama's house? Well, he didn't know where there was a hospital, so that left the latter two options. Kurama's house it was; Hiei was certain Yusuke would have no idea what to do. But, before he had taken two steps, Kuwabara's eyes fluttered open.

"What're you doin'? Put me down!" Hiei frowned down at the injured boy in his arms.

"You've been hurt, you fool. I'm taking you to Kurama's so he can heal you."

"NO!" The red-haired human writhed suddenly, catching Hiei off guard, and rolled to the ground with a grunt. He struggled to his feet and staggered a few steps before he fell again. Hiei watched, perplexed, and waited until the psychic wore himself out again.

"Are you quite finished?" he muttered sourly, hefting his injured teammate into his arms again. Kuwabara spasmed suddenly and let out a choked cry. In spite of himself, Hiei looked anxiously down at the boy's face. Kuwabara was in agony; perhaps Hiei had been a bit too rough… "Sorry…"

"Put me down!" the red-head demanded again, tears flowing freely down his face now. "I don't need help, lemme go!"

"No," said Hiei, calmly. "You're injured, I'm taking you to Kurama's house and that's the end of it." He took off in the direction of Kurama's residence and the familiar sight of the house appeared moments later. Kuwabara was still protesting loudly and struggling with all his might, but he was in no condition to fight Hiei off. "Quiet down, Kuwabara, you're only injuring yourself further." The fire master was beginning to grow annoyed as his teammate resisted his help. "I said stop struggling!" He gave the young man a firm shake and Kuwabara gasped in pain. Anxiously, Hiei searched his teammate's face for the source of the pain. Perhaps shaking him had not been the best idea… Kurama… come outside.

Up in his room, Kurama jerked as he heard Hiei's voice sound in his head; Hiei usually didn't contact him telepathically. If he wanted something he just jumped through the window and asked in person. Rising from his desk, Kurama walked over to his window and glanced down curiously. Hiei was standing on the lawn with a bedraggled Kuwabara cradled awkwardly in his arms. He gasped and dashed down the stairs two at a time, then out the front door.

"Kuwabara! Hiei, what happened to him?!" Hiei opened his mouth to reply, but Kuwabara growled out an answer before he could.

"Nothin', 'm fine. Put me DOWN, Hiei." Hiei did not loosen his hold in the slightest. Kuwabara was badly hurt in a fight of some sort… I think he was raped. Can you help him? Kurama's eyes widened slightly, but, bless him, he kept his face carefully blank. Verdant eyes roamed over Kuwabara's ravaged body, noting the dirtiness of the uniform and the lack of shoes and belt. Something had certainly happened to him.

"Kuwabara, I'd feel better if you'd let me examine you. Please, for my own peace of mind."

"I told ya, 'm fine. I don't need no fuckin' examination." Kurama's mouth tightened into a thin line. Apparently his friend didn't trust him to examine him without making judgments…

"Kazuma, please…" Hopefully using Kuwabara's first name would help… The red-head scowled angrily at his would-be healer.

"Fuck off, 'm fine. LET ME GO, HIEI!" He thrashed again, so Hiei set him down. Immediately, the psychic attempted to get up, but he fell to the ground again with a yelp and a curse.

"What happened to you? Who did this, Kazuma?" Kurama was kneeling by his side anxiously, one hesitant hand extended to offer help if his teammate wanted it.

"Did what?! Nothing happened, stop making assumptions! And stop calling me Kazuma!" He batted the helpful hand away from him, a snarl on his face. "Both of you just leave me alone!" He heaved himself to his feet and began to stagger away from the concerned pair of demons.

"Kuwabara, wait!" The red-head stopped, but did not turn. Kurama flitted to his side and handed him a small pouch of various Makian leaves. "If you mix these all together with water and spread it on your wounds, it will help them heal without scars." Kuwabara scowled.

"I told you, I'm-"

"All the same, please take them." Kurama's voice was firm but slightly pleading at the same time. He pressed the pouch into his friend's hand, then turned and walked away. Kuwabara stared at the little pouch in his hand, then shrugged and pocketed it. He began walking again, ignoring the blinding pain in his backside. He could feel Kurama's and especially Hiei's eyes on his back as he walked. Let them make what assumptions they wanted; they had no proof of anything. He forced himself to keep walking until he was well out of sight of Kurama's house, then gave himself over to the pain and collapsed on a park bench with a soft groan. The last thing he noted, before consciousness left him, was a shock of black hair with a pure white streak in it.

-

Consciousness returned slowly as different parts of Kuwabara's body began sending him signals. He was warm, and he felt… clean. He opened his eyes blearily and tried to focus on his surroundings. With a groan he began to sit up, and Hiei was at his side instantly, scowling as usual.

"Careful; don't irritate your wounds. I just finished bandaging them." Kuwabara gasped and ripped back the blanket that had been draped over him. He was nearly naked beneath, only a pair of boxers he didn't recognize were left on him.

"Wh-what did you do?! I said I was fine!"

"No," Hiei disagreed, "you're not fine. You were raped, there's no use denying it. What happened?" He realized too late that his blunt words might come off as callous.

"It's none of your business! Stay out of it!" Kuwabara yanked the blanket around him and attempted to stand, but Hiei stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Don't make me knock you out," he threatened, one hand balling into a fist by his side. Kuwabara glared at him.

"Let me up!"

"Tell me what happened." Hiei's hold did not loosen.

"None of your business happened. Fuck off." Hiei frowned.

"Kuwabara, I have no problem with profanity, but normally you only use it sparingly. Now I know someone hurt you, and I want you to tell me who it was and where to find him."

"Why do you care?" The question was spat venomously, but Hiei paused to consider it anyway. Why did he care?

"I'm… not sure," he said, finally, "most likely because you are my teammate and I see weakness in myself when my team is weak. I abhor weakness." Kuwabara glared at him.

"Well sorry to make your team weak. Don't worry, I won't mention it. No one will know."

"You're missing the point," replied Hiei, irritated. "I will fix the weakness by destroying the one who caused it. Give me his name and location or I will lift it directly from your mind. You know I can…" He trailed off, letting the threat hang dangerously between them. Kuwabara folded his arms obstinately.

"It's not your business; you don't need to know. It won't happen again, just let it go."

"Just give me a name and I'll let it go."

"… I can't do that." Hiei stared at him, then frowned again.

"Fine, have it your way. Go running back to him and get raped again; see if I care." He turned away from Kuwabara, releasing him and leaving the room swiftly. The psychic lay still for a moment, unsure about Hiei's reaction. Why was the fire master so angry about this? He didn't care about anyone but himself and, maybe, Kurama. Hiei's voice from the other room startled him from his thoughts. "Yusuke wanted to know why you weren't in school. I didn't give him specifics, but I told him you were hurt in a fight. He's coming by to see you today." Kuwabara's stomach sank to his toes and his heart began to race. Without a word, he blacked out once again.

-

"Kuwabara… Kuwabara, wake up, man!" The human's eyes fluttered fitfully at the sound of that familiar voice, and his body tensed immediately for attack, but it never came. He opened his eyes to find himself staring directly into the chocolate-brown orbs that belonged to Yusuke Urameshi; his best friend… and rapist. "There you are. Damn, dude, you had me worried!" Kuwabara forced a weak smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just napping, you know." Yusuke was sober now; he had no recollection of the violent sex he had forced his friend through when he was drunk. Yusuke grinned and punched him playfully in the shoulder; Kuwabara flinched away from the blow.

"Hiei says you got your ass handed to you in a fight. What happened, were there two little kids instead of one?" He snickered at his own joke and Kuwabara forced another half-hearted smile.

"Yeah, somethin' like that…" Yusuke raised a brow inquisitively.

"Never thought I'd see the day where Kazuma Kuwabara let me rag on him without threats against my life. What happened to you?" Kuwabara cringed when he heard his first name, spoken so easily by his best friend. That name had been crooned out breathlessly not long ago; the name that echoed in his head as Yusuke violently thrust himself into him over and over and over…

"Nothin', I'm fine. Just a little street fight that got kinda out of hand. They were only human; I couldn't justify using my powers on them." In truth, he had tried to use his powers against Yusuke… but the smaller boy had beaten at him until he could not longer access his spirit energy…

"Well get your ass up outta bed! Let's go to the arcade or somethin'!" He grabbed Kuwabara's forearm and heaved him to his feet. Kuwabara yelped and collapsed on the ground, shaking as waves of pain raced through him. "Kuwabara! Are you ok?"

"J-just a little sore," he muttered, not meeting Yusuke's eyes. "Go on without me, I'll kick your ass at Goblin City some other time." Yusuke frowned, studying his friend, then shrugged and lifted him back into bed.

"Whatever you need, man. I'll let you heal. Call me, 'kay?" Kuwabara nodded, pulling the sheet back over himself and curling back into his pillow to sleep. Yusuke stared at him a moment longer, then took his leave. As soon as he was gone, Hiei was at Kuwabara's bedside, frowning.

"I heard you scream. Didn't I tell you NOT to aggravate your wounds?!" He ripped the sheet away from Kuwabara's huddled form, despite the boy's protests, and reached for his boxers to check his wounds. He was shocked when the red-head blasted him away with a burst of spirit energy.

"Stop it! I'm fine, leave me alone."

"Nonsense, you're being ridiculous." Undeterred, Hiei approached the bed again, ignoring Kuwabara's struggles, and reached for the boxers once more.

"Hiei, dammit, stop! I don't need help! Get off of me, you don't have to do this!" Hiei ignored him, pinning his flailing hands with one arm and ripping the boxers down with the other. Kuwabara froze, then burst into angry, humiliated tears. Hiei stared at him, eyes wide with shock. He had no idea what to do with someone when they cried; comforting was not his forte. He decided to ignore the tears and continue checking the wounds. They had opened and were bleeding again. Hiei grumbled an oath under his breath and turned to go get more medical supplies, but a hand caught at the back of his shirt. He looked back to see Kuwabara, still sobbing pitifully, clutching at his shirt just for something to hold on to. Hiei frowned and pried the fingers away.

"I'll be right back. Stay still." And he flitted to the bathroom to grab the supplies. Kuwabara's sobs were audible, even in the bathroom, and Hiei felt some odd new emotion stirring in him. Was it… pity? No, not pity… Something he couldn't identify. He shrugged it off and returned to the bedroom. Kuwabara was still crying, but he was facing the wall now, his back to Hiei. Shrugging, Hiei set about cleaning and re-bandaging the wounds. Kuwabara gasped as the stinging cleaner burned on his open wounds, his sobs redoubling. Hiei felt the stirrings of that strange new emotion again, but suppressed them and continued his work. When he was finished, he turned to clean up the supplies, but paused as he heard words through Kuwabara's tears.

"I c-can't d-do this. I-I can't f-face him." Hiei frowned and spun back to face his ward. Kuwabara was facing him again, his tear-stained face in agony.

"Can't face who?" Kuwabara shook his head, incoherent again through his tears. Hiei turned to clean up the supplies again, but stopped when he heard Kuwabara's voice.

"D-don't leave me…" There was that new emotion again, ripping through his chest and causing him almost physical pain. Hiei frowned, gathering the supplies into his arms and taking a step towards the bathroom.

"I'm not leaving you; I'm just going to clean up these supplies. I'll be right back." The red-head whined something unintelligible, then curled into a little ball on the bed. Hiei made good on his word, and was back at Kuwabara's side literally moments later. Unsure what Kuwabara needed, he waited silently by the bedside. The red-head didn't seem to know he was there until he suddenly shot out a hand and closed it around Hiei's. Ruby eyes widened in spite of Hiei's natural disposition, but he allowed his hand to be clenched in his teammate's. It seemed like companionship was what Kuwabara needed right now… Well, Hiei could do that. He remained standing, silent, at Kuwabara's bedside as the red-head cried himself into silence. Finally, after a few final gasps, the crying ceased and Kuwabara's grip loosened on Hiei's hand. Hiei made to pull his hand away, but the other boy looked up suddenly, his eyes bright.

"It was Yusuke." Hiei froze, his face a blank mask of shock. Yusuke had… raped Kuwabara? Nonsense! And yet… he couldn't doubt the young man looking at him with those earnest eyes.

"Yusuke…"

"He didn't mean to hurt me!" Kuwabara was rushing to excuse his friend now. Hiei didn't buy it, but he listened. "He was drunk, he didn't know what he was doing. It was just a big mistake, that's all. No harm, no foul. Besides, he doesn't remember any of it."

"Yusuke," said Hiei, once again, his voice flat. He jerked his hand free of the human's and turned abruptly to head for the door.

"Wait!" called Kuwabara, "Where are you going?"

"To take care of this."

"NO! Hiei, you can't! You can't tell anyone! I shouldn't have even told you… Don't tell him; you can't. Please, Hiei. Please!" The fire demon paused by the door, indecisive. "Please, Hiei…" The human's voice was softer now, pleading with the undertone of a sob. "D-don't leave me a-alone right now…" With a frustrated growl, Hiei unclenched his grip on his sword and stood by the doorway a moment longer to get himself back under control. A moan from behind him broke his concentration, and he twisted to see Kuwabara once again shaking with sobs. Once again that new emotion raced through him, compelling him to Kuwabara's side. Unsure what he was doing, but letting his instincts take over, Hiei sat down beside the weeping human and pulled his head into his lap. Gently, he stroked the disheveled hair, letting his fingers trail down the bruised neck gently.

"I'm not going to leave you." The boy curled into Hiei's warm body and cried himself to sleep as the little demon's fingers soothed his aching body.

Did you like it? I have more ready to go, I'm just waiting for reviewer feedback! PLEASE let me know what you think! Yes, for anyone who was going to comment, I do rely on rape as a plot device far too much... Oh well. You know you liked it... REVIEW!!!! Much love!

Princess Seki