Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I cannot truthfully say that Yu Yu Hakusho belongs to me. -sob-

Warnings: Yaoi/shonen-ai—this means boy x boy love. Don't like, don't read. Rated PG-13 for violence and some fluff.

Yay another YYH fic. It's yaoi, like I promised. xD Of course it's Hiei x Kurama, what other pairing would it be? Anyway, on to the fic.

The corridor was dark. Lucid green eyes glittered warily as Kurama ran, footsteps echoing down the empty passage. He did not know what he was running to, only that he was late, very late, and each second of further delay only increased the peril. His heart constricted in his chest. They were in danger, all of them, and he had to hurry. As he raced down the hallway, his fear grew, and it seemed the corridor would never end. Even with all his senses alert, the only sound that reached his ears was the pounding of his own feet, each step driving into him the fact that he was incredibly, utterly alone. The thought weighed down upon him, and for a moment he slowed, but the idea of his comrades needing his assistance spurred him on, and suddenly the doorway loomed above him, a bright square in the dark tunnel of the hallway.

Blinded by the sudden light, he jerked his head back, blinking as his eyes readjusted. He was in a small, square room, only slightly wider than the corridor he had just exited. Heaped in the corner was a motionless form that could only be...Kuwabara! Kurama leaped forward, senses quivering. He gently knelt down and supported his comrade's head in his arms. Kuwabara was covered in blood, flowing freely from what looked like giant slashes all over his body. As Kurama waited anxiously, the redhead began to stir, and his eyes opened.

"Kuwabara-kun! Daijoubu desu ka? What happened?" Kurama's voice was filled with distress.

Kuwabara blinked slowly. "...Kurama?" he asked, muddled. His eyes widened in sudden alarm. "No! Don't go after him, Kurama!" His eyelids fluttered, as if he were too tired to continue. "Urameshi...tried...but...what...he wants..." he mumbled. "...not what you think..." With a finally shuddering breath, Kuwabara's eyes closed and he lay silent.

Kurama sat as if turned to ice. In his thousands of years as a youko, he had known death in many forms. He had watched other youkai tortured, raped, beat, even ripped to shreds, but never had he experienced the death of a comrade in his arms. Slowly he stood up, tenderly laying Kuwabara's still form to the side. He would come back to him later, for a proper good-bye. But now...Kurama's normally soft green eyes blazed with anger, snapping towards the only other exit from the room: a small door on the other side.

He dashed down the length of the room, red locks flowing in his wake. Once past the door, he came to another small chamber, identical to the first. Even as a flash of awful insight told him what to expect, he stiffened as his gaze fell on the motionless form of Yusuke Urameshi, also riddled with deep gashes. Kurama bent his head respectfully, eyes closing in pain.

"Yusuke..." he whispered. "And Kuwabara...who—" His heart stopped in his throat.

Hiei.

Hiei was the only one left. Whoever this youkai was, his obviously immense power had already brought down Yusuke and Kuwabara. Who could say Hiei was not the next victim?

Kurama whirled, sprinting to the entrance of the next room. Filled with a sense of dreadful foreboding, he lingered for a moment at the doorway. The thought of seeing his Hiei in the same condition as Yusuke and Kuwabara was too much for him to bear. But the sense of not knowing Hiei's fate and possibly even just missing the opportunity to help overrode his fearful apprehension, and he pushed open the door, expecting the worst.

For one heart-stopping moment, he thought he was too late. This room was much larger than the previous two. There was only one figure in the spacious chamber, and it wasn't moving. As Kurama rushed forward, the blurry silhouette focused, and Hiei materialized, katana held loosely in one limp hand. He seemed unsteady on his feet, and his red eyes stared into nothingness, as if unspeakable horror passed through his mind. Warm relief coursed through Kurama, and he dashed forward.

"Hiei!"

In two long strides, he had reached the short youkai, and without restraint threw his arms around him. Hiei awoke with a start, to the crushing pressure of Kurama's embrace.

Instinctively, Kurama leaned down towards the small youkai and pressed his lips to Hiei's, the feelings surging through him too strong for any previously held inhibitions. The kiss brought Kurama a dreamlike feeling of undying tenderness, but something jarred. Puzzled by his love's complete lack of reaction, Kurama drew back to look at Hiei, but it was too late. Too late for Kurama notice the crimson sheen of blood dripping off the katana, too late to realize the truth, too late to react as Hiei's sharp blade bit into his chest, piercing his heart.

Emotionless red eyes bored into shocked emerald ones.

"Shineh, kitsune."

Yay angst-cough- Of course I'm not sadistic...-clears throat- Well, that kind of ended up longer than it was supposed to be. Don't worry though, it's not over! I'm trying to write my first multi-chapter fic...usually I find it too hard to make a feasible plot and concentrate on fluff! Yay! But no, this story is a bit more serious than the others I've written, and hopefully it'll be better. But I won't know unless I get feedback, so uh...-hint hint nudge nudge- xD

Oh, and just in case you don't know, "Shineh, kitsune" means "Die, fox." Yup. And I added an H to the end because otherwise it would look like the English word "shine", which has a completely different meaning. "Daijoubu desu ka?" means "Are you okay?" Apologies for not clarifying earlier.

Edit: 1/2/05 - Today I went back and edited some things. I changed a couple of words and phrasings. It's a small touch-up job, little improvements, and sadly I think most of my readers won't reread this chapter to see the changes. Oh well.