Disclaimer:  Yuu Yuu Hakusho is not mine.  Nor are its characters.

A/N:  Took a brief break from working on ch.2 of Ice to write this, 'cause I felt like it.  Short.  Fairly pointless.  Bits of it could be taken as minor shounen-ai, I suppose.  Or just Hiei being cynical.  Or both.  *shrugs*

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Hiei's POV

Hn.  For someone with your intelligence, fox, you're remarkably stupid sometimes.  You realize that?

…No, I suppose you don't, or you'd stop it.  Or maybe you wouldn't.  I'm never entirely sure what's happening in your brain.

…Or failing to happen, as the case may be.

Stupid isn't the right word, perhaps, so much as vain.

Though that's rather stupid in its own right.

There are places for showing off.  In a fight isn't one of them.  The point of a fight is to win, and to stay alive, preferably with as few injuries as possible.  It isn't to awe all the spectators with your beauty and elegance.  Though I'll admit you're very good at that.

Not that you're bad at fighting.  Or weak.  You aren't.  It's one of the reasons you're so damned annoying.  You always do win, even when you really... shouldn't.  Your opponents, when they think they've backed you into a corner, can never resist gloating.  You're… good at lulling them into it.  They give you time to recover, and then they pay for that mistake. 

You play the part of the noble sufferer so very well.  Sometimes I suspect you let yourself get caught in very hazardous situations, just for the spectacle when you turn the tables.  You do make spectacular comebacks, certainly.  You always find some clever trick to pull, frequently at the last possible moment.  Then your opponent dies, or is made a fool of, or both, and everyone sees you victorious despite all apparent odds.  Bruised and bloody and tired, perhaps, but always victorious and somehow still beautiful.  You manage to maintain your air of grace and elegance no matter what your current circumstances.

And those watching admire you for your courage and beauty, and loathe your attackers for daring to harm you.  So it seems.  And I suspect that's how you want them to react.

I don't understand.  Why would you bother?  Why is it so important to be admired – or …loved?  Would you call it loved?  I suppose perhaps you could… I don't know.  It's not a sentiment I really understand.  Or care to. 

It's foolish.  It doesn't seem worth the effort, and it's certainly not worth risking your life over. 

It's a bad habit.  You assume that everyone is your inferior, to toy with as you like.  What happens if you meet someone who isn't?  If you truly underestimate them?  Will you be able to think your way out of a trap you hadn't planned to fall into?  Or will you decide to make your death as beautiful and dramatic as everything else?

It's your business.  I just wonder, sometimes.  You're a valuable… ally, and I wouldn't like to lose you.

Stupid fox.  Don't get yourself killed.

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A/N: Comments?