"Hiei, are you alright? You look so tired…." Hiei turned to look at Kurama. "I'm alright, Fox. Go back to sleep." He whispered. The kitsune got out of bed and walked over to where his companion lay. He sat down on the edge of the bed and touched Hiei's hair. "Do you want me to sleep beside you tonight?" Hiei shook his head, but moved closer to put his head sleepily against Kurama's thigh. "No, but you could lay here for awhile. I could use…" Hiei's words trailed off as Kurama leaned down and captured his lips. The fire demon wrapped his arms around Kurama's neck as he was pulled upwards and into the redhead's lap. He started leaning his smaller friend back, against the mattress. Hiei pulled away, breaking the kiss. "No, not now…You could, however…" He looked up hopefully at the kitsune. He smiled and brushed his bangs away from his Jagan. "Of course, Hiei." He murmured gently, taking the fire demon's lips in his own again. Hiei wrapped his arms around Kurama's neck again but, this time, added his legs as another way to keep him close.
Across the hall, in Yusuke and Kuwabara's room, the tall, dimwitted member of Team Yurameshi opened his eyes with a small cry of pain. He was out of bed in an instant and out to the living area the team shared. "Where's that weird energy coming from?" He asked himself mentally. Just as he was making a move toward Kurama and Hiei's room to ask the fox demon if he had sensed the strange disturbance, too, the door to the outside hallway opened and Yukina came out, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Ohayou, Kazuma-san." She said sleepily but still cheerfully. Kuwabara's ugly face lit up with a hideous smile as he regarded Hiei's half-sister. "Hey, baby! You can't sleep, either? Did that weird energy wake you up, too?" She shook her head in the negative. "Iie." Kuwabara got a bit closer to the Koorime. "So, what did? You wanna talk about it?" Yukina smiled gently. "Oh, no. It's quite alright, Kazuma-san. I just had a bad dream. That's all. I came out here to talk to someone…." She dropped her eyes to the side as Kuwabara followed suit. [So, she doesn't want to talk to me about it. He let out a sigh. [Figures, I guess. Yukina moved closer to Kurama and Hiei's room. Kuwabara's eyes got big as Hiei-bats began circling around his head like stars in 40's cartoons. "No way you're going in there, Yukina! Hiei's in there! What if you wake him up?" Yukina looked imploringly at Kuwabara. "But, that's who I need to talk to. I don't think he'll be all that mad at me if I wake him up gently, will he?" She asked, a small smile crossing her face. Kuwabara nodded. "You remember what I said about him? He's scary and he'll bite off your head!" She turned from him, back toward the door. "I think I like him, Kazuma-san." She said softly. "Besides that, I have a question to ask him. Something only he can answer." Kuwabara let go of her.
Although, as it was, it didn't seem that Yukina would get her audience. Hiei was too busy with the kitsune and the tongue in his mouth, forcing him to use every ounce of self-control he possessed to keep from crying out in pleasure. Hot tears of passion fell from the eyes of both demons as they locked in a desperate battle, clutching one another so tight it almost pushed the breath from their lungs. When Kurama broke the kiss, at long last, both were gasping for breath and breathing hard. "God…Kurama…Don't hold anything…back, do…you?" Hiei made out between gulps of air. Kurama shook his head. "You needed it, didn't you?" Hiei nodded. "Yes, but…." Kurama leaned forward and captured Hiei's lips again, more gently this time, and with no tongue. Hiei gripped his hair with both hands, just the same. It wasn't desperate at all or even a fraction as passionate as the last kiss, but it was warm and loving and brought tears to Kurama's eyes as he pulled the black-haired demon up to hold him tighter. As the kisses continued between the four walls of their hotel room, Kuwabara's strange feeling grew stronger. Yukina turned back to her original plan to speak with Hiei but, as she put her small, soft hand on the doorknob, a spark of reddish-black energy shocked the appendage back to her. "Oh!" She moved backward and sat down on one of the couches in the room. Kuwabara looked at her. "Yukina, are you alright?" She nodded, transferring some of her powers to heal the scratch on her palm. "Oh, Kazuma-san, you don't need to get alarmed. I'm alright. It just surprised me. That's all." Kuwabara took her hand in both of his and looked at her, worried that that wasn't all that had happened. As he was moving his grotesque face closer to her, the door to the hallway and the girls' room opened again, this time bearing Botan. "Hey, Kuwabara. Oh, Yukina! I was wondering where'd you'd gone." Yukina looked up at the Not-So Grim Reaper. "I'm sorry I worried you, Botan-chan. I needed to talk to someone. When I came in to wake him up, - …" Botan held up one hand. "You don't have to explain it to me, Yukina. I understand perfectly. I'm going back to bed so you and Kuwabara have fun with your midnight rendezvous!" She said, backing up toward the door. "Oh, no, Botan-chan! It wasn't Kazuma-san I needed to talk to, it was…" Botan looked quite surprised. "Oh? Did you need to talk to Yusuke? I'm sorry, Yukina, but that boy is so hard to wake up and I'd be afraid that he'd be angry with you for waking him. Why don't you talk to him tomorrow?" Yukina looked down. [Why doesn't anyone listen to me? Kuwabara cleared his throat. "Actually, she wants to talk to Hiei." He said. Botan looked scared as the Hiei-bats began to circle around her head, too. "Hiei? What do you need to discuss with him that can't be solved with a little girl talk? Come on, Yukina. We'll go get some ice cream and wake up Keiko and Shizuru. We'll have a real slumber party!" The pilot of the river Styx said, pulling the apparition along behind her. Yukina tried to pull away from her but Botan insisted and pulled her back to their room, leaving Kuwabara to ponder what had just happened. The oaf finally either got sick of thinking so hard or wore his peanut-sized brain out on the question and fell asleep on the couch, leaving the red-and-black sparks to fly around the doorknob of the demons' room.
The next morning, when everyone awoke, Kurama and Hiei were still asleep in their room, as was Yukina in hers and so, the ones awake decided to leave them and go out for breakfast. The hotel's cafeteria was large and ostentatiously decorated with red, purple and gold leaf appliqués. The less civilized Yusuke and Kuwabara thought this as true as anything and spent most of their time trying to make the waiters hate them even more than they already did by shooting spitballs at them, laughing loudly, and annoying other guests by belching loud enough to wake the dead or, more appropriately, their sleeping friends on the fourth floor of the hotel. The girls had a permanent blush on their faces and Shizuru inflicted enough pain on her younger brother to keep those gruesome bruises on his face for weeks to come.
Kurama awoke first and rolled over to touch Hiei's face gently with one hand. "Come on, Hiei-chan. It's time to wake up now." The Jaganshi yawned and sat up, his hair wilder than usual and sticking up in more spikes than Kurama had even seen it. He leaned forward and kissed his lips tenderly in hopes to clear the fog from his mind. Hiei made a small noise of appreciation and returned the kiss threading his fingers into Kurama's hair. "Ohayou…" He whispered, nuzzling against the kitsune's chest. Kurama cradled the smaller demon in the crook of his arm, kissing the false eye in his forehead. Hiei hissed at this treatment. "Leave that alone, Kurama." The kitsune smiled. "I know. It's sensitive, isn't it?" Hiei nodded. "You know it is!" Kurama moved closer and kissed his cheek. "Are you really going to get up?" Hiei shook his head and laid back down. "No, and neither are you." He said, pulling at Kurama's arm, forcing him back into bed with him. "Lie with me. I'm not completely fulfilled yet." He whispered. Kurama giggled. "Yes, yes. I know. I'm not, either." Hiei nodded. "That's right, now…" Kurama nodded and slipped under the covers, pressing his lips to Hiei's gently. "You're so warm right now, Hiei. I could lie here forever." The kitsune murmured in a tone so tender it would have brought tears to anyone's eyes. Hiei pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the side, losing it in a corner of the room. He reached out and took Kurama's hands in his own. "Here, touch me. It'll help." He whispered. Kurama nodded. "I know." He said softly.
"Jesus Christ, where are those guys? They've been asleep all day." Yusuke said, packing up his clothes. Kuwabara nodded his agreement. "Yeah, and I haven't seen Yukina all day, either. I wonder if they went somewhere together?" Yusuke stopped packing and looked at his moronic friend. "Why would Yukina-chan be with them?" Kuwabara shrugged. "I don't know. She was up late last night and she wanted to talk to Hiei, for some reason. I don't understand her at all sometimes, Yurameshi." The bosozoku punk admitted. Yusuke shrugged. "Whatever, I guess. Maybe she found out about him." Kuwabara's tiny mind had already occupied itself with other matters and had lost interest in Yusuke's words for now.
In truth, Yukina wasn't in bed at all but taking a walk outside. Botan flew by on her way to see Koenma and spotted her on the same cliff Hiei had used as his training ground after attempting the Dragon of the Darkness Flame technique against Zeru in the quarterfinals. The Not-So Grim Reaper smiled and flew down to her. "Well, looks as though you and Hiei have more in common than I thought!" She said brightly, watching the Koorime's face light up at the mention of his name. "Yes…Maybe you can help me, Botan-chan." She said, smiling just as brightly as Botan herself. Botan made a cat face. "Meow, meow." She said, making Yukina giggle. "Okay, Yukina. Why don't we go back to the hotel room, make some tea and talk?" Yukina smiled. "Can you make mine cold?" Botan nodded, the cat face still gracing her features. "Sure, Ms. Snow Lady! One iced tea, coming up!" Yukina smiled and the blue haired woman patted her oar. "Come on! I'm an excellent pilot and I promise not to drop you!" Yukina gulped but mounted the floating oar anyway.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Botan put down her tea cup and glanced across the coffee table at the Ice Maiden. Yukina set her cup down as well and sighed. "What do you know about Hiei-san, Botan-chan? No one will ever give me any straight answers. Kazuma-san says he's scary and he'll bite my head off and Koenma-dono says to be very careful with him but everyone else I've asked says he's a good person. I wish someone would just tell my what I want to know about him and let me make my own decision. Onegai, Botan-chan, tell me everything you know about Hiei-san." Botan opened and closed her mouth a few times before she finally cleared her head enough to think. "Well, Hiei is…Hiei…is…Have you tried asking the man himself?" Yukina shook her head. "No." Botan cocked her head. "Why not? His door is right there. Go see him." Yukina bit her knuckle and looked down. "Actually, Botan-chan…Kazuma-san told me to stay away from him and kept pulling me away from his door last night when I tried to see him. I'm afraid to go in now. I think he's still sleeping." Botan shook her head. "No, not if Kurama's in there, too. Kurama-sama's an early riser, from what Yusuke says." Yukina blushed deeply as the wheels in her head turned. Botan's cheeks turned red. "Oh, no! No! It's not like that, Yukina. I just mean that Hiei wouldn't still be in bed. Kurama wakes him up. Maybe they went for a walk or out to breakfast before going to meet up with everyone at the boat back home. Maybe they're in their room and Hiei is helping Kurama pack." Yukina's spirits seemed to lift and she smiled. "I think you're right, Botan-chan. I'll go knock on their door and offer my assistance!"
Hiei lifted his head as best he could with Kurama's weight on top of him and the kitsune's lips leaving wet marks all over his neck. "Kurama…stop….I'm done." The kitsune lifted his head and looked at Hiei, his eyes half-closed. He nuzzled his friend's nose and kissed the tip. "Are you sure? You're completely fulfilled now? All satisfied?" He ran one hand down Hiei's side. The fire demon wriggled a bit and freed his right arm from its position under his head, still unable to move his left arm because Kurama still held that hand. "Yes, Kurama. I'm fulfilled, satisfied, content, and done. You can get off me now." The youko giggled and kissed Hiei's Jagan gently before sliding off of him and dropping to his knees on the carpet beside his friend's bed. Hiei sat up, dazed, and looked down at Kurama. "Now, fox, I know I'm done, but are you?" Kurama gazed on Hiei's body, half-naked in the dim light of the cracked hotel blinds and smiled gently. "Although I could do this all day and never truly be fulfilled, I think I'm alright for now." Hiei ran a hand through Kurama's hair. "Are you sure you couldn't take a little more? I know how much it means to you, Kurama-chan." The way Hiei said that honorific, even as little as he used it, made Kurama think twice about his opting out. He smirked and climbed back onto the bed with Hiei, cuddling close and resuming his neck-kissing, this time adding in his tongue and teeth as bonuses.
Yukina and Botan finished their tea and Yukina made her way over to Hiei and Kurama's door. "Um, Hiei-san, I understand it if your busy, but I'd like to…talk to you about something. Um…" She knocked on the door twice but there came no answer from the two demons necking furiously on one of the beds inside. She knocked again, more firmly this time, but still, no answer came. Yukina gave up and walked away. "It's alright, Botan-chan. Thank you for trying…I'll talk to him later, I suppose." She said.