*blinks* Oh, sorry, was I supposed to say something? This thing is overflowing with sap and fluff. The tiniest bit of angst possible snuck it's way in here, somehow. *is puzzled* Um, yeah.

Hehe, almost forgot. -_-;; This one-shot takes place sometime before Kurama and Hiei enter the series. When they already know each other and are planning to take over the world—I mean, planning to steal the three item-thingies from Koenma-sama, and when Kurama's mother is in the hospital.

WARNINGS: Small hints of SHOUNEN-AI. Boy/boy love. Call it what you will. If SHOUNEN-AI disturbs you, bye-bye. And the ever present warning of sucky-ness is here, too.

DISCLAIMER: *sighs* And I quote: "If dreams were horses, peasants would ride." I'm dreaming, but I don't see any horses. *looks around and spots horse* Hey, you, horsie, get back here! *runs after horse*

Black Cherry

"Suuichi!"

"Suuichi, waaaait!"

"Let me get that book for you, Suuichi!"

"Did you like the poem I recited in 4th Period? I wrote it about yooooouu…"

I shook my head and sighed. The throng of girls around me stepped back, sensing my discomfort.

"Oh, Suuichi, are you all right?" One girl ran forward and put her hand on my arm.

"Hai, hai," I said with my best smile. "I'm just running late. My mother is expecting me," I explained and politely shook off the girl's hand. I walked away from the crowd of drooling girls, but a few ran after me.

"It's so nice of you to go see your mother so often," one exclaimed.

I owe her…

"Don't you get lonely at home all alone, Suuichi? Would you like me to come visit you some time?"

But I'm not alone…

"Please, girls," I said with another false smile, "I'm in a hurry." Without waiting for any wails of protest to erupt from the crowd, I ran off towards the hospital.

Not to my surprise, Hiei was waiting for me in a tree outside the building. I smiled up at him. "I'll only be half an hour or so," I told the Koorime.

In true Hiei fashion, Hiei muttered a "Hn" and something about plans for our crime. My heart twisted slightly. It wasn't enough that I wasn't a human child, I also had to be a thief. Bu, then again, it was for a good cause—the best cause.

I dumped my backpack down near the tree and pulled out some crumpled flowers to give to my mother.

I walked into the hospital and up to the nurse who was standing behind a desk. "Hello, Suuichi," she greeted me with a smile. "Here to see your mother again?"

"Yes. How is she?" I asked tentatively. I always feared the worst for my mother. This whole thing was like some cruel punishment for stealing her true child. That I, the infamous Youko Kurama should be worrying about the likes of a ningen… Oh, how the demons would laugh. Oh, kami, how they would laugh…

"I think she's sleeping at the moment, but you can see her anyway," the nurse replied, still smiling.

I wondered how someone could smile in such an atmosphere—the stench of blood even seeped its way into the lobby. Smiling just didn't seem possible. "Thank you," I said politely and jogged off to my mother's room.

Like the nurse had said, my mother was sleeping. She looked thinner and paler than she had yesterday; her cheekbones stood out, and her breathing was ragged. I walked silently across the room and put the flowers in the vase after taking out the old ones.

I felt as if my mother might wilt any second, as I peered at the dying roses in my hands. I felt like she already was wilting.

I only stayed at the hospital for twenty minutes. Shiori didn't wake up, and it was agonizing just to sit and watch her painful breathing in silence. Anyway, I told myself, Hiei was waiting. And sure enough, the fire demon was still sitting in the tree, staring ahead at seemingly nothing.

"Hiei," I called softly and grabbed my school bag, stuffing the old flowers in them. "Let's go."

The fire demon jumped nimbly down from the tree and dusted off his pants.

Silently, we began trudging towards my house.

"How is she?" Hiei asked suddenly.

I blinked and turned to him in puzzlement. Hiei was asking about my mother? "Better," I lied. "She looked healthier."

Although I had the feeling that Hiei knew I was lying, he kept silent. "Will you still need…?"

I nodded. "She deserves life more than me, Hiei. Besides, I've lived long enough. She's a good woman, despite what you might think."

"Youkos don't sacrifice themselves for others."

"But I'm not a youko anymore," I answered calmly.

"Hn," Hiei grunted and dropped the subject. I was relieved; I wasn't really in the mood to discuss exactly what I was. I wasn't even sure myself. A youko, but influenced by humans. Something in between the two, I guessed. It was too confusing. I had enough to worry about, already. And soon, it wouldn't matter what I was—what I had been.

It took us about half an hour to reach my home. I pulled out my keys and opened the door, following Hiei into the house. He walked directly into the kitchen and sat down at the table. I didn't bother to remind him to take his shoes off.

"We need a third," the fire demon said curtly.

I raised an eyebrow as I sat down opposite him. "What do you mean?"

"There are three artifacts. Only two of us," Hiei explained.

"You can keep the other one," I murmured and looked down at my hands. "I won't be needing it…"

"Don't say that," Hiei growled. Was that—concern in his voice?

I looked up at the demon in surprise. "You're right. You wouldn't be interested in eating souls anyway."

"And we'll need a third member to distract the guards," Hiei added.

"H'm," I agreed thoughtfully. "Well, who are the best of the best?"

"Us."

I sighed. Typical Hiei. "Why don't we just find a rather slow demon who knows how to fight and recruit him?" I suggested.

"Where?" Hiei asked challengingly.

"Have you got any better ideas?" I snapped angrily. There was no point in this. I knew Hiei could find an agreeable partner with a moment's notice. Every well-known thief in Makai would probably be only too happy to comply with Hiei's terms. And besides, I had a history test the next day.

The fire demon remained silent.

"As I was saying, you could probably find the type we need in some forlorn alley in Makai… Or we could 'release' one from prison."

"Hn." Hiei frowned in thought. "I'll see what I can find."

You probably won't have to look far, I thought dryly, but smiled. "Problem solved." I rose and walked over to the refrigerator. "Want some ice cream?" I asked over my shoulder.

Hiei blinked. "No. Your ningen food is disgusting," he growled.

"Really, Hiei, you should try it," I protested.

He just shook his head defiantly.

"Fine," I sighed and pulled a container of "Black Cherry" ice cream out of the 'fridge. I took a spoon out of a drawer and scooped some ice cream into a bowl.

As I sat back down at the table, Hiei leaned over and looked at my snack. He grimaced.

"Oh, it's not that bad," I laughed and sucked on a spoonful of the dessert, twirling my tongue around the spoon.

"What does it taste like?" Hiei asked reluctantly. I could see that I had caught his interest. Whether because of my "tongue tricks" or pure curiosity, though, I did not know.

I thought about the question for a moment, trying to think of something the little fire demon could relate to. "Snow," I answered slowly. "Sugary snow. And then there are lots of different flavours, like mint or…or peanuts." I stared at Hiei. "Does that make any sense?"

Hiei appeared puzzled, and I had to hide a small smile at the look. It was rather…cute.

"Want some?" I offered, pushing the bowl towards the confused fire demon.

"Hn."

I shrugged, but left the bowl in the centre of the table. I took a binder out of my backpack and began on my science assignment. Botany was the easiest class I had ever taken. Hiei, I noticed, continued to glare at the bowl cautiously. I wondered, all of a sudden, why he was still here; he usually left as soon as we had discussed our latest plans. I didn't mind at all, though. In fact, I enjoyed the quite company of the Forbidden Child.

I don't know when I first realized I was attracted to Hiei, but the thought that I could love gave me comfort. I could be a lair, a thief, and a murderer, but I could still love. I guess I really had turned into a human. And although I was sure that Hiei couldn't possibly love me back, I didn't mind…

My thoughts were interrupted as I heard Hiei emit a small purr of pleasure. I looked up to see him eating a scoop of ice cream.

"Well…?" I asked, smiling slightly.

"Good," the fire demon admitted, taking another bite.

My smile evolved into a full-fledged grin as I watched Hiei quickly devour the ice cream. "Want some more?"

Hiei nodded as I took the bowl from him. "What's it called?" he asked.

I remained silent as I refilled the bowl.

The fire demon took it back from me, his hands brushing mine. It must have been my imagination, but I thought Hiei blushed, too, at the light contact.

My hands suddenly seemed to have a mind of their own. No matter how many times I told myself to let go, I couldn't. And surprisingly, Hiei didn't protest. Encouraged, I leaned forward and ran my hand along his smooth cheek. "Sweet snow…" I murmured softly, my breath washing over the fire demon's face. "It's called sweet snow…" He moved closer to me, our mouths just millimeters away…

As if just realizing exactly how close we were, Hiei pulled back, taking the bowl with him. I smiled sadly and sat down, expecting Hiei either to behead me or leave. But he did neither. He just sat there, staring at me with wide crimson eyes, and eating his "sweet snow."

And I immediately knew that saving my mother was going to be harder than I had previously thought.

Damn it.

Translations:

Hai: yes (Japanese)

My only justification for the above: I got bored.

Uh, uh, yeah… *is confuzzled* This thing was completely random. I guess I was just puzzling over how—and why—Hiei likes ice cream so much in fanfics, especially. Although there wasn't any kissin' or huggin', fluff is always nice. ^___^

I have no other interesting or uninteresting thoughts, except I still and (most likely) will always think my work is crap. One last thought: REVIEW!!!