Perfect by Keira Almar -This is the story of Hiei and Kurama's relationship, from the beginning. I tried my best to follow the real plot (of the anime) to make this as realistic as possible, despite some of my slightly out of character moments. These characters are the wonderful work of Yoshihiro Togashi, thus why it's so difficult to capture their true essence. Enjoy! (Forgive the many point of view [POV] changes)
Chapter 1- Brilliance
He had always known.
From the moment Hiei had cast eyes upon the once short-haired redhead, he knew his future with this particularly attractive human would not be uneventful. The days, years, possibly eternity ahead was to be filled with foreign places, events, people, feelings that he would soon come to accept and maybe even enjoy. However, it took him a while to realize that this human was not only substantially handsome, he was gorgeous, beautiful, untainted….
…perfect.
In all aspects, he could find no flaw. Every motion, every word, every sigh, every curve, everything was just perfect. Not just perfect, but beyond perfect. This broke the law of life's "Nothing's perfect," theory that everyone stated so commonly, he knew, but he knew he was not wrong; he was never wrong.
But back to a time when his only thoughts were training, fighting, surviving. Blood filled his sight, his touch, his scent, his taste. Violence was his nature, his daily routine. Nothing changed, and he liked it that way. Staying cold and detached was easy, and he knew no other way to live.
However, everything did change.
*****flashback*****
Gingerly, Hiei stooped down by a river, washing the blood from his few wounds from an earlier battle, including the one currently immobilizing his left leg. The gash was deep and ran up his outer mid-thigh down to his knee. Gritting his teeth against the sting, he tried to clear out most of the dirt and such, but found it difficult to dodge around the scraps of his pants.
"Damnit," he said as he hissed in a breath.
Eventually, Hiei decided it best to just bathe in the cool waters of the stream and rinse away all traces of blood, sweat, and debris, so he lifted off his sticky shirt and carefully pulled off what little was left of his trousers. Using his soiled sword as a crutch to initially stand, he limped into the waters and gasped at the sudden chill and even more severe sting. The water was about waist high, which was pretty shallow considering his lack of height. Resting his weight on his good leg, Hiei proceeded to wash down his arms and torso, closing his eyes and enjoying the soothing effect water had on his fire demon body.
He froze, feeling the presence of another's demon energy nearby.
In his current state, fighting and fleeing were hardly options; in confrontation he would be sloppy and uncoordinated, and his stealthy getaway would be loud with all his limping. He hadn't even bandaged his wounds. There was no choice but to hope to stay unnoticed. Covering his own energy as best as he could in his weakened condition, Hiei analyzed the passerby's energy.
It seemed to also be hidden, appearing only about C-class, when in reality probably closer to A or S-class. Not good. Although his Jagan had long since been bestowed upon his forehead, Hiei was hardly back to his old, A-class self. Hopefully near mid D-class. Just in case, Hiei edged closer to the shoreline where the water now reached his knees. Putting the Jagan to use, he closed his eyes and scrutinized the surroundings, searching for the disturbance.
Upon sighting, Hiei opened all of his eyes to gaze upon the demon mere yards from him through a patch of trees. He too had the idea of bathing in mind, his pale, toned skin glistening with water in the dim light with white shimmering locks rolling down his shoulders and back. Amongst the tangles of hair perked up two white fox ears. His eyes were closed in content as he washed his arms, and Hiei's eyes followed down his body, noting how little was covered by the water in comparison to himself.
Entranced, Hiei could not look away, captured by this beauty. Even this demon's unique energy seemed to mesmerize him, calm and calculating, yet fiery and fierce. He memorized every bit of the demon, from head to foot, hoping to engrave the image into his mind.
As Hiei stood under the spell of the demon's appearance, he only just found the demon in turn was eyeing his small frame up and down, seeming to like what he saw. His magnificently yellow eyes looked interested and hungry, but flickered down to the wound on Hiei's leg and softened, and then suddenly, he took a step toward Hiei.
Taken by surprise, Hiei took the defensive and stepped back, putting the weight on his injured leg and causing himself to fall.
Before splashing into the water, something stopped him and grasped him, preventing his fall. He discovered that something was the fox demon himself, grasping Hiei's arms lightly, but firmly in his hands. Reflex made him squirm in his imprisonment, out of the gentle yet rigid hold.
"Wait."
The demon's voice was almost as striking as its owner, deep and husky, but holding a slight ring that compelled him to stop his efforts. So he complied, giving in to the stranger's wishes and in a flash he was in his arms being carried to shore. Hiei was now fully aware of the fact that their two wet bodies were touching directly, so he blushed and turned away. The demon snickered softly, eyes squinting into a grin and set the fire demon down upon the shore. Hiei promptly and clumsily threw his cloak over himself as his savior also swiftly redressed in white robes and came back to his side. Prompted by the fox's gentle pushing, Hiei lied down upon the shore his eyes wide with anticipation and fear as a cold sweat trickled down his face.
"Don't worry. Just relax," the white fox's silkily soft voice whispered as he brushed the sweat from Hiei's brow. He then proceeded to close Hiei's eyelids, leaving Hiei slightly more at ease for the soft touch seemed to calm him like a drug.
But as quickly as his nerves subsided, they were back in full alert as he felt a hand slip under his cape onto his hurt leg. He gasped, opening his eyes and sitting up slightly. The hand paused briefly, remaining on his leg.
"Relax."
The single command was all that was needed. He lied his head back down, though did not close his eyes. He saw his inspector take something from his hair which he held in his palm for a moment. Suddenly, a burst of energy caused the object to bloom into what appeared to be some sort of exotic plant. The center of the flower was made of a gel-like substance in which the demon scraped a bit out with his fingers and spread across Hiei's wound.
The icy chill of the gel caused Hiei to shiver, his eyes wide in surprise as he sucked in a breath. Sitting back, after finishing his work, the demon made the flower morph back into a seed and replaced it in his hair. Hiei sat up and inspected the wound, which, covered in the gel, already seemed to be healing rapidly. Looking away he muttered, "Thanks…"
But appearing in front of his eyes, the fox demon leaned in closer to his face and gave Hiei a quick kiss, clasping their lips together for only a moment, then pulled back and responded, "You're welcome," winked, and was out of sight, leaving Hiei alarmed and entranced.
*****end flashback*****
At first he was scared; Hiei tried to push it aside and run from this alien life slowly coming at him. His mind could not comprehend such ideas, and his heart was just as befuddled. Since when had his heart ever served any other function besides being his vital spot in a battle in which he protected only to stay alive? His heart now felt foreign feelings he sometimes did not even know the name of. His heart ached for what was so close to him, but which he chose to keep at a distance, and diagnosed his aches for acceptance as aches for battle. Since when had he ever cared for acceptance? These thoughts and emotions plagued him, for he knew no cure.
Or maybe he knew it, but just refused to accept it.
To this day, he did not know.
Gradually, friendship came to him in the form of a silly black-haired boy. Although he had made an ally of that perfect redhead, he did not yet consider Kurama a friend. He did not want to consider him a friend. But Yusuke forced companionship upon him, no matter how much he resisted. Not only his own friendship, but that of Yusuke's best friend, the idiot Kuwabara; each coming as a package deal with friends of their own. Distance was hard to keep when everyone closed in on him, and he escaped to the source of this mess, his ally.
Kurama offered his hand to lead him through the darkness in which he had lived in so long, to the light attempting to force its way in and he knew no other way out. Hoping Kurama would be like those in the past, those who did not mind his distance and eventually let go, he grasped that offering, not knowing what really was to come.
That grip never let go, and had no intention of doing so.
