Atopos - This has got to be one of my favourites. Don't ask why, it's merely the concept I love. I own nothing, but I would like to own some nice reviews from you guys.

Bad Days

It had been a long day. Yusuke was watching the fire their campsite was settled next to, Kuwabara was searching for more dead wood, Hiei was taking a quick time out from the group in a tree, and Kurama was taking a dip in a spring not too far away. The weather was cold and harsh so the water had to be warmed up first.

The reason it was a long day was because Koenma had sent them to fight a demon in the middle of nowhere. Kurama was the lucky one to find out that the demon could also squirt some kind of black slime and the fox wound up with it in his red hair.

"How's it coming, Kurama?!" Yusuke yelled to his friend.

"Well, it's coming out," Kurama tugged mournfully at his hair. "I guess that's a good thing."

The redhead pulled on his dirty clothing. They had been slimed as well and the attempt to wash them proved useless. Kurama made his way back to the campsite and plopped onto the ground. He was having a bad day. No one knew that the Demon World was experiencing a blizzard and now all the plants were dead, unable to break through the ice no matter how much energy Kurama fed them, thus, leaving the Youko with only his rose whip which was broken. They concluded Kurama was having a very bad day so far.

"We can go back to the Human World tonight if you'd like shampoo," Yusuke suggested. "Or clean underwear."

Kurama shook his head as he snuggled farther into his heavy, muddy sweater, "The storm will be getting worse. It's best for us to stay out. We should move everything inside the cave soon."

Yusuke agreed to it, but remained out longer. The Demon World was beautiful at this time of year sometimes. "We'll need water to drink. Do you know where we can find some?"

"We can melt some snow," Kurama smiled sincerely. He knew Yusuke did not want the water he had just bathed in. "I'll go find some farther from here where there isn't any footprints."

It wouldn't be hard to find snow; the hard part would be finding some without sand or roots in it. The wind blew fiercely, chilling him to the bone. The storm was picking up, so he stumbled to his left in search of a chunk of snow. He could feel his heart plummet into his stomach as he suddenly lost his footing, the ground giving away beneath his feet.

With an outstretched arm, Kurama gripped the cliff he had previously been standing on to save himself. Now he could get a clear view of where they were as he surveyed his dilemma. The campsite was on a beach-like cliff almost five hundred meters above a frozen, raging lake.

"Um," Kurama mumbled pitifully as he attempted to climb his way back up only to slip further down. Now he could not see the flicker of the fire at all and his shoulders were paining him; time for his last resort, "Can someone help me?!"

Instead of the calm, relaxed voice Kurama usually possessed, the redhead's voice was barely a whimper on the breeze, which showed how frightened he was.

A few minutes later, Kuwabara and Yusuke were looking down at him, worry and good humour in their eyes.

"Are you all right?" Yusuke chuckled. He slowly moved closer to his comrade in distress. The snow crumbled under his own feet causing him to stumble backwards in surprise. "That's not good."

"I guess we're way too heavy," Kuwabara stated. "What about –"

As if he knew Kuwabara was going to say his name, Hiei appeared next to them. He stared at Kurama, then to Yusuke, and lastly to Kuwabara.

"Did you push him?" Hiei accused bluntly.

Kurama let out a nervous laugh, directing Hiei's attention to himself, "Uh, Hiei, I slipped. Yusuke and Kuwabara can't walk on the ice. Can you help me?"

Hiei looked thoughtful for a moment, either deciding on how to help his friend or whether he should just let him hang there for awhile. With a shrug, Hiei softly made his way to where Kurama was struggling, lightly taking step after step.

He bent over when he made it to the redhead, reaching out for a hand. The fire demon was completely serious about what he was doing. Kurama could tell by the way he stared intently down at him. The fox let go of the cliff and put his faith into Hiei for holding him up in the air. Then, for no reason at all, Hiei froze, a hand grasping Kurama's right hand tightly.

"Hiei!" Kuwabara yelled at him, "Don't drop him!"

Kurama stared at Hiei. The ruby eyes that were usually full of fire were now full of fear. "Hiei?" Kurama said softly, "Is there something wrong?"

Hiei continued to stare down at the Youko, "This isn't right…" He finally mumbled, "Why is this happening again?"

"What?" Kurama gasped breathlessly.

"This has already happened to me only…" Hiei paused, closing his eyes tightly so he didn't have to look at Kurama's face, "only I was in your place…"

Kurama finally realized that Hiei was remembering and practically reliving his childhood. It was exactly when the Ice Maidens had thrown him from their islands. Now, it was Kurama's turn. However, if this was really a reenactment of it, then Kurama would…

"Hiei, please snap out of it," Kurama pleaded as he grabbed his partner's hand tighter with both of his. "If you pull me up, it'll all change. Your past won't be repeated. Please, just pick me up. I'll be killed if you don't." Kurama began to mutter incoherent words over, "I'm not full demon anymore… I'll be killed by the fall…or the icy water…or the rocks… Please, save me, Hiei…"

The fire demon's eyes widened as the situation he was in finally sunk in. He pulled the fox up with one hand and brought him into his arms carefully. Their friends watched them half-amused, half-worried at how they were acting.

Yusuke stepped forward first, "Hiei, are you guys all right?"

"Fine." Hiei said sharply as he ran off in a blur with Kurama still in his arms.

When he was sure they were a safe distance away that they could talk, Hiei set Kurama down under a frozen, leafless tree. Hiei turned his back to Kurama so the fox could not see his face. The fire demon looked down at his own hands, still able to feel Kurama's shaky hands holding them. Someone else had been dependent on him; that was big to a demon.

"Thank you for helping me, Hiei," Kurama returned to his usual calm demeanor. "I didn't feel like falling from that high up."

"Shut up, stupid fox." Hiei replied coldly, "You should be more careful. I don't know why I bother watching out for you."

"Would you have done it for the others?" Kurama asked innocently.

Hiei scoffed at the idea, "Yeah right. They could have died for all I care. You're different from them, though, you're useful."

"I wasn't today…" Kurama moved his gaze to stare at his feet.

Hiei just shrugged, "One day doesn't matter, you're still useful to me. Now, are you going to come back to that stupid camp the idiots made, stay here, or do I have to drag you?"

"Can you stay here with me?"

Hiei eyebrows shot straight up, almost flying past his head band. "Of course, stupid fox. If anyone asks, though, I'm doing this for your protection, not because I want to. Got that?"

Kurama nodded cheerfully. If the day ended up with him and Hiei alone under a tree – even in a blizzard and Hiei had to warm them up for the night – Kurama knew that there was a happy ending to this awful day for both of them.

- Atopos