Author's Note: One day in my English class, my teacher decided we would "warm up" by looking at some pictures and writing whatever came to mind. At the time of this assignment, all I could think of was Yu Yu Hakusho, specifically Kurama and Hiei. So, what came out of this was a series of drabbles that, with my wonderful and talented sister's help, I was able to edit into something suitable for publishing here.

Warning: Kurama/Hiei-centric, ranging from friendship to romance, but no explicit.

Chapter 1: Of Forests and Fear

A small black shadow wandered aimlessly through the dangerous woods, lost in internal recollections. Despite the danger, he was unconcerned due to the knowledge that there was almost nothing in this world that his sword couldn't slice through in seconds. Suddenly, he was shocked by a loud noise, "WHOOOOOOO!" The figure stopped dead in his tracks and scanned the area with a trained eye. As the noise rent the sinister air of the forest once again, he began blurring as he ran at a speed most others could not even comprehend. Erratically he raced through the trees, desperately wishing he knew the source of the disconcerting sound, attempting to outrun the range of the thing and yet having no idea what it even was...

When a tall red headed figure appeared in front of him, he had no time stop and ran directly into the new arrival.

"Hiei?" the figure questioned.

"What the hell, Kurama? What are you doing out here?" the smaller man asked irritably.

The green-eyed boy showed no reaction to the other's hostility. He ruffled his fingers through his long hair and replied leisurely, "Well I needed some new seeds after I used so many in my last fight."

"Hn." Hiei grunted, and tried to make his escape.

Kurama grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop. "Wait, Hiei, why were you running?" he asked with concern.

The fire demon's eyes shifted with discomfort. "Uh… no reason-" He was interrupted by yet another of those loud, frightening sounds: "WHOOOO!"

"AHHH! It's coming for me!" the smaller demon shrieked, and with that Kurama found himself with an armful of fire demon.

A confused expression passed over the semi-human's face. "Uh… Hiei, are you afraid of…owls?"