((Thanks to the nameless guest who reviewed this story. While I wasn't able to update as soon as you wanted me to, I do hope that this was soon enough and that you enjoy it as much as you seemed to like the last couple of chapters.

Thanks to argenteuslupus, Stelina Miko Kitsune, ginseiookami, and Tsukasa-kun for favoriting and following this story. Hopefully I continue busting out the hits and making it worth your time in reading it.))

Chapter 3: The Date

Kimura had accepted the proposal of eating human food in her demon-only bar. She teased him gracefully, commenting on how the soul-searching kitsune was going to show her human culinary skills as she playfully flicked her tail. And the next day was the day for their little discussion. 10 o'clock sharp.

Kurama was nervous. Of course he was. As smooth as he could be, this would be the first time that he was eating with a woman besides his mother, one-on-one. It was too personal for him to ignore and he couldn't summon up Youko's courage without bringing out the seductive fox in all his tantelizing glory. Hiei was the last person he could go to for advice... actually, Kuwabara was the last person, Hiei was just unhelpful in these sorts of social situations. And Yusuke had a habit of making Keiko slap him for his perverse acts... yeah, in times like these, you could only rely on one person. Your mother.

'Well, she is a woman. It's not pathetic to go to Mother with this problem... yes, it is. But I need input. And with Kuwabara cooking for the date, I'll need something to talk to her about besides business when she loses her appetite for human food ever again...' he thought as he went to his mother's side. It was a joke, really, Kuwabara cooking. But then again, with a sister like Shizuru, it's either killed or be killed, cook or starve. A man can only survive on instant ramen and take-out food for so long. Hopefully the orange-fro'd young man realized that convenience store boxed lunches didn't count as paying for the meal. How embarrassing...

"M-Mother..." he started, clearing his throat. "I-I need your advice... about girls..."

Shiori looked up at her son with surprised eyes. "Shuichi, I thought we already had the talk? Was there something you didn't understand? Perhaps you needed pictures to get the real idea..."

"No! It's alright, Mother... we don't need to go through that again. I just... I need to know about the other part of being around a young lady. The dating part... I'm just a little unsure and perhaps you can help me. I mean... you were once my age. A-any tips on how not to screw up?"

"..." She chuckled. "Yes, no pressuring her into sex. Many young men mess up by trying too hard and making it obvious that they only want her for her body. But of course, my Shuichi is a gentleman and would never do that unless he were willing to make a life-long relationship with her. So the other part is... well, listen to what she has to say, keep your eyes off her cleavage, and just be yourself."

Kurama nodded. Great, everything that she said was stuff that he'd already read from the covers of magazines in the bookstores he frequented. "Thank you, Mother..."

"My little Shuichi's growing up... so when will you bring her by to meet the family? I'm really curious about her, how long have you known her? She's not one of your scary fan girls, is she?"

The redhead shook his head. "No, she's not a fan girl. I've recently met her and we'll introduce her to you when it comes to that point in our relationship. I promise."

Shiori nodded. "Make sure you take a shower and smell nice. B.O. can kill a date, you know. And dress nice but not like you're going to a formal affair. Carry breath mints..."

Kurama chuckled and gently patted her arm. "Mother, I'll be fine... you've given me the confidence I need..." He exited the room, thinking, 'Not... at... all. I guess I'm on my own since Botan's a big mouth and will blurt out the plan to Koenma. Yukina won't approve- assuming she's not so innocent as to realize what's really going on. Besides... this isn't a date. It's a...a... business discussion. With food from Kuwabara. If it was a real date, I would make the food myself.' He headed to his room to get ready.

Kuwabara smirked as he put the finishing touches on his cake. Rum cake with cream cheese frosting. He'd already made drunken noodles (extra booze), beer-battered fried chicken (extra beer in the recipe), and a light stir-fry of sliced veggies. He was quite proud of himself, praising his culinary expertise. And for the drink, he'd spiked some fruit punch with vodka, making sure it wasn't too much to be totally obvious. There were several taste-tests for everything he'd made. To say he was a little buzzed would be quite correct...

But this was all for the sake of his friend, his ally in battle, and for a fellow love-god. Yes, he was a love-god as well. That was soooo not the booze talking.

End of the day. Kimura smiled as she cleaned up her pride-and-joy diner. The demons had all gone home and she was waiting for Kurama to appear so she could say what she should have said before he'd left the last time. There was no way she could just give up. This was a haven- she refused to do what that over-bearing King Yama wanted her to do. It wasn't fair that just because they were demons, they couldn't hang out in the human realm. If they weren't causing harm, it shouldn't matter if they were there or not. And when she did hear of plans to harm the humans, she took care of the problem immediately. Even if she was a female, that didn't mean she couldn't deal with assholes like that.

The door bell dinged and she looked over to see the demon-spirited human enter with a large picnic basket. How cliche... a picnic as a first date... Her ears pricked up in irritation. No! Not a date! This was a discussion with food, straight and simple.

Kurama noticed the ears and smiled wryly. He knew she was getting agitated- he'd seen his own ears do that back when he was Youko. Perhaps she'd caught herself thinking what he'd been thinking earlier? No, it was impossible. She was a fox demon, he was practically half-human. It wasn't in the cards... "Sorry for being so late... were you waiting long?"

"... that was so odd..." Kimura giggled softly. "Humans say that line when they go on dates, don't they? But this isn't a date so you don't have to worry about how late you are. Or in this case, aren't." Biting her lip and exposing her fangs slightly, she sighed. "Look, in the risk of losing out on your nice offer of food, I must let you know that I will not surrender my diner. I don't care if we bring the wrath of Yama upon us, I will die for this little corner of the human world."

"... not pulling any punches, are you?" The redheaded vessel put the basket on the counter and looked her in the eye. "For the risk of looking like a traitor... I think what you're doing is very admirable. And I don't want you to stop. But is there not a way to compromise? Perhaps if you could have a permanent portal to the demon realm at all of the exits of this establishment, you can keep your business here?"

"Yama doesn't compromise. You know this as well as I do. However... if you can get him to agree... that doesn't sound like too bad of an idea. But I don't want Spirit World to get the idea that they can just stomp in whenever they want. They'll scare my customers and they don't treat demons like they'd want to be treated in return. I'm not saying demons are any better for the most part. Both sides are guilty of aggression and I won't stand for it on either side. If I have to be the bad guy, I will."

Kurama nodded, unloading the food. "I'll see what I can do. For now, let us partake of this feast. I hope you like it. Kuwabara insisted on cooking."

"Kuwabara...? The one with the orange hair?" Kimura looked nervously at the dishes. "Are we sure they're edible? I mean... I don't want to sound like a bitch but..."

"They're okay. He had to learn how to cook because of his sister. She'd very tough on him."

The fox demoness nodded and went to the underside of the table to pull out styro-foam plates. "Hope you don't mind. I don't really feel up to doing more dishes..." She did feel a little embarrassed about using paper-like plates for food in her diner but hey... it was supposed to be a human meal. Humans used fake plates. She even had plastic silverware for the occasion. "I've always wanted to try these..." she said, her cheeks a soft rose color as she unwrapped the plastic forks and knives.

The demon-vessel laughed softly. "No, it's okay. And by the way... you look cute when you explore human cutlery..."

"And you look cute when you watch me play around with plastic devices..." Damn her vixen nature! It was so easy to make everything so dirty! But then again... it was fun. Her tail twitched seductively and she grinned at the male as he blushed lightly, obviously trying not to say anything in response. "Let loose, Kurama. It's okay. It's just us here... we can talk normal without having to worry about what that human society will think of us."

Kurama had to admit that it sounded nice. He was always so polite, always so proper that even he annoyed himself. He couldn't be loud and obnoxious or else everyone would think he was a delinquent, like Yusuke. Even his mother got a toned-down version of who he really was but that was out of respect for her. "Well, I was just going to say... that at least those objects don't vibrate... think of how hard it would be to eat if they did..."

She giggled deviously. "Humans are so odd, creating phalus' that shiver for pleasure. But surely nothing can compare to the real thing..." She helped dish out the food and got glasses for the red drink. She'd forgotten about plastic cups so she would have to do those after they were done.

The redhead raised up his glass and said, "Here's to the diner... hopefully King Yama will agree to our plan and we can talk more for entertainment and not just for his business..."

"Here's to our budding friendship..."

Their glasses clinked softly and they took drinks of the spiked beverage. They didn't notice the off flavor, assuming it was just something Kuwabara did wrong and that it wasn't life-threatening. Besides, after a few drinks and some of the food, it was hardly noticeable.

((Next time... Kurama and Kimura get drunk... and lucky. Review if you want more. Everyone wants a drunk Kurama...))