Once Upon A Time…

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Here's another chapter, finally. If you're wondering, I based my Alaric on everything I could remember about the old Germanic tribes (since Alaric is a name from Old German meaning "noble ruler"). Of course, it's also mixed with a lot of my own stuff. And now, enjoy Yusuke and Hiei's drunken antics.

This chapter is dedicated to the incredibly talented Blossomwitch.

Mulled Mead and Vinegar

Yusuke led Hiei out of the plaza, down a street and through an alley. Soon they were making their way down a narrow backstreet. It was darker here, Hiei noticed; the tall buildings on either side blocked out the sun, casting heavy shadows over the uneven cobblestone. Even though sunset was hours away still, some of the streetlamps were lit.

"Where are we?" Hiei asked.

"Relax," Yusuke said. "And come in here a minute, will ya?"

Hiei held back a yelp as the Toranin demon dragged him down an alley. Scowling, he jerked his hand away. "Yusuke, we've been over this…"

"Yeah, yeah. No holding hands on penalty of having them removed. Ever wonder if this no-touch policy is why no one's asked to mate you yet?"

"I don't care if I never mate."

Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "You really shouldn't say things like that, Hiei. It's a dead giveaway that you're a virgin."

Hiei opened his mouth to protest, only to let out a startled yelp when Yusuke grabbed his foot. The prince wobbled ungracefully as his friend removed one of his slippers. Silk, blue with pure white trim, and embroidered with tiny white stars, they were the only part of his wardrobe Hiei hadn't been able to replace.

"Cute shoe," Yusuke commented. Hiei glowered as the other demon glanced around and snatched up a sliver of wood from the ground. "You mind burning the end of this?"

Quirking an eyebrow, Hiei took the end of the sliver between his thumb and finger. A short burst of energy turned the bit of wood into a cinder.

"Perfect," Yusuke said. He pushed the sole of Hiei's slipper to the wall and started scratching at the inside.

"What are you doing?" It was obvious, of course—Yusuke was using the charcoal to draw on the bottom of his slipper. Hiei stared blankly as the Toranin wrote a very lopsided '18' on the thin sole.

"There ya go," Yusuke said proudly, returning the slipper.

"And what is this for?" Hiei frowned.

"Just trust me, okay?"

Hiei stared for a long moment. Finally, he sighed and put the slipper back on his foot. Carefully rearranging the front of his robe so the slippers were covered, he followed his friend out of the alley.

Yusuke went up to a battered wooden door and knocked three times. There were a few seconds of silence, and Hiei briefly wondered if Yusuke had made a mistake. Then the door creaked open and a sea demoness popped her head out from behind it.

"Hey there, Juri," Yusuke grinned. "How's the mead today?"

"It's fine," the demon girl frowned back at him. Her scaly blue ear twitched. "Who's your friend?"

"His name's Kage. He's, uh, not from around here. Came to check out the Festival, if you know what I mean."

Juri looked Hiei over slowly. She began at his feet and traveled upward, her eyes going all the way up to the tips of his hair before returning to his face. Then she frowned doubtfully.

"Are you over eighteen?" Juri asked. Hiei froze, but Yusuke just threw an arm over his shoulders.

"Yep, he sure is," the Toranin winked.

Juri's ear twitched again, but she opened the door to let them in. Hiei's eyes went wide.

She was practically naked. She wore a pink scarf draped over her seafoam-green ponytail and a second wrapped around her hips—that was all. Juri's state of undress left Hiei speechless, but she didn't seem bothered by it. In fact, she was wearing some sort of body glitter that drew even more attention to her bare, light brown skin.

"Have a seat, gentlemen," Juri said as Yusuke pushed his shocked friend into the bar. "A server will be by in a minute."

Hiei was baffled as Juri walked away, her long tail swinging to and fro. He glanced around and saw other girls serving drinks and chatting with customers. All were beautiful and not one was fully clothed.

"Don't stare, Baby," Yusuke said. "You're making me jealous."

Hiei snapped his mouth shut with a click of his fangs.

"What the hell is this?" he hissed.

"It's a bar, of course." Yusuke was unapologetic. In fact, the bastard sounded all too pleased with himself. "You ask me, you should make the most of it. Maybe we can get you laid."

"You son of a—"

"Okay, wasted first, then laid," Yusuke said decisively. Hiei growled furiously, but Yusuke raised his voice. "Hey, Chu! Where are ya?"

With an arm over his shoulder, Hiei was guided further inside and seated in a chair at a round table. Yusuke took the chair beside him, separating him from a tall demon who reeked of alcohol. The demon's tan, muscular arms were left bare by his leather vest, and his purple hair was shaved away on the sides so there was a narrow strip standing up in the center. Hiei had never seen anything like it.

"Well, if it ain't Yusuke!" the demon grinned.

"Hi Chu," Yusuke returned. "How've you been?"

"Not bad, not bad. Haven't seen ya around Gandara lately, mate. Where've you been, eh? Last I heard you ditched Yomi for Hiei."

"Mukuro. But yeah, Hiei too."

"Damn risky move, up and changing lords like that. And coming over here… Yomi musta been pissed when you told him. I hear he still has the marks on his hand from when Hiei bit him!" Chu laughed raucously, and then he suddenly seemed to notice the demon in the chair next to Yusuke's. "Hello… And who might this be?"

"Kage. He's not from around here either," Yusuke said.

Chu scratched his stubble thoughtfully, peering into Hiei's face. "Ah… And whereabouts are you from, Kage?"

"North," Hiei answered shortly.

"Oh?" Chu clearly expected him to elaborate, but after a few seconds he just shrugged. "Well, tha's your own business I guess." He looked around and beamed. "Ah, there it is!"

Hiei turned his head as a redheaded demoness carrying a tray approached. She was dressed just as scantily as Juri, with her round breasts wrapped up in green cord and her pale skin sparkling.

"Here's you go, sir," she said. She lowered the tray so she could place a pint of mead in front of Chu.

"Thanks, Ruka." Chu jerked a thumb in Hiei and Yusuke's direction. "You mind getting a few for my friends here, too?"

"Certainly. I'll be right back, gentlemen."

Ruka left, and Hiei couldn't help staring at her as she went. Her long, ruby-colored hair swung with every step, waving at him flirtingly. It was only when that red hair whipped around the corner and out of sight that Hiei came back to his senses. Shaking his head slightly, he turned and saw Yusuke watching him with raised eyebrows.

"I don't think I've ever seen you check someone out like that," Yusuke commented. "Got a thing for redheads?"

"Shut up."

"Nothing to be embarrassed about! The sheilas are here to be checked out, aren't they?" Chu raised his pint to Hiei in a toast, and then he drank deeply. A minute later he slammed the empty mug back on the table, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Ahh… Good friends, good mead, beautiful girls… This is paradise, mate."

Hiei might have disagreed, but Ruka chose that moment to return. The redhead gave him a small smirk as she placed a pint in front of him, and Hiei blinked uncertainly as she leaned in close.

"Enjoy," Ruka murmured in his ear. She gave his cheek a quick kiss and left. Hiei sat stunned for a moment, and then he was thumped on the back.

"You heard the girl!" Yusuke laughed. "Drink up!"

Hiei slowly picked up his mug, looking down at the contents. It was clear, golden, and fresh enough that froth floated at the top. He took a hesitant sip. There were spices in it, maybe ginger and nutmeg. Curious, Hiei took a large gulp and then lowered the mug. Yusuke looked at him eagerly.

"Well? How is it?"

"It's spicy." Hiei blinked, surprised. "And sweet."

"So you like it?" Yusuke asked. Hiei nodded. Yusuke beamed and reached for his own mug, clinking it against Hiei's. "Cheers!"

"Come on! One more! Yeahhh!" Yusuke waved at one of the servers. "'Ey! Hi—I mean Kaga—gu… Ah hell, we need s'more!"

"No, we don't," Hiei said. "You've had enough."

"Don't be a baby!" Yusuke lifted his mug, but he ended up slopping the mead all over himself. He blinked dumbly.

"Haha, yer pretty smashed!" Chu laughed. Hiei rolled his eyes and stopped a passing server.

"We need a towel," he told her. She nodded and hurried off.

Hiei was only a little drunk. He had sipped slowly from his mead and was pretty much subdued, though his senses were a bit clouded. Yusuke was another story. He was giggling incessantly and kept blurting things out—for instance, the inappropriate comment that had made Ruka slap Hiei (which made no sense at all) and ask another girl to look after their table.

"Juri, I'll have summa that," Chu said as the girl passed with a pitcher of beer.

"How many did he have?" Juri asked, edging around Yusuke.

"Barely two," Chu grinned. "Kinda a pushover."

"Am not…" Yusuke hiccupped once, twice, and the second one sent him toppling backward. Hiei wrapped his arms about his friend in hopes of keeping him steady, and Yusuke moaned, his cheeks pink. "Oh hell 'iei, are you this hot on the inside too?"

Hiei's face turned a blotchy red when Yusuke started rubbing against him. "Get your hands off me!"

"Pushover," Chu said under his breath. He watched as Hiei tried to catch Yusuke's wandering hands. "Good kid though… I think I like 'im."

"Knock it off, Yusuke!" Hiei snarled. "You said I'm not your type!"

"Course you are, Baby," Yusuke said with a languid smile. He leaned forward, hands moving over Hiei's chest, and nibbled gently on his friend's ear.

"Ohhh no," Juri put her hands on her hips and frowned as Yusuke shamelessly groped the horrified prince. "Look, we have perfectly good rooms upstairs if you want to do that kind of thing."

"They aren't staying the night, Juri," Chu shook his head. "Kage over here needs to go home in an hour."

"Yeah, yeah. You said that two hours ago," Juri grumbled. She walked away, her tail flicking agitatedly as she went to serve another customer. Hiei and Yusuke froze.

"Two hours?" Hiei asked slowly. He closed his eyes tightly and then opened them. "What… What time is it now?"

"About sunset," Chu said. "The good times do fly! You gonna be in trouble with your parents, kid?"

Hiei tossed Yusuke from his lap, making a run for the door. He made it all of three steps before the single pint of mead he had consumed suddenly tipped his vision. He staggered and crashed into a bull demon with large horns.

"What the hell are you doing, you little moron?" the bull snorted. Hiei regained his footing and continued toward the door. Yusuke chased after Hiei, collided with the same demon, and shouted for the dumb heifer to watch where he was going. This was the last straw for the bull: he charged, knocking three other customers from their stools, and soon mead and broken glass were flying in all directions. Chu tugged one of the serving girls out of the way as Hiei and Yusuke escaped into the street.

"We're dead, we're dead, we're so dead…"

"Shut up Yusuke!" Hiei snarled. "It's not us who's dead, it's Ki…Ke…Keeee…"

Hiei toppled against a wall, head spinning. Yusuke paused next to him, grabbing his hand and helping him to his feet.

"Shit, I can't believe we were in there for two hours," Yusuke muttered, slinging Hiei's arm over his shoulders. "What are we gonna do?"

"Go back," said Hiei. "There's nothing else we can do."

Yusuke nodded helplessly. He half-carried Hiei along the dark backstreet and through the alley, and soon they emerged onto the main street. It was crowded, with shadows stretching through the orange glow of sunset.

"The procession starts at dusk. We'll never make it."

"Like hell we won't," Yusuke rumbled. "We're two of the fastest demons in North Alaric."

"Only when we're sober," Hiei pointed out.

"We'll just have to sober up then, won't we?"

They started up the street, Yusuke looking through the various stands as they went. The area had been redecorated for the procession: wires were strung between the streetlamps, dangling with glass baubles and silvery ornaments, and reflective surfaces were hung on every door. The lamps were starting to flicker to life, their usual orange glow replaced with pale blue-white. Every decoration was chosen to reflect or compliment the full moonlight.

"There! There it is!" Yusuke brought Hiei over to a stand that sold cooking seasonings and bought a bottle. Then he ducked into the alley next to the stand, propped Hiei up against a wall, and uncorked the bottle.

"What is that?" Hiei asked.

"Something to sober us up," Yusuke answered. He took a quick sniff of the contents, wincing. "Ugh… This is gonna suck."

He pinched his nose, raised the bottle to his mouth, and knocked it back.

It looked painful, Hiei thought. Yusuke's face twisted, and when he lowered the bottle he went into a coughing fit. He clutched at his throat, sputtering, and passed the bottle over to Hiei. "H-hurry up, and try not to get it on your tongue."

Now that the bottle was under his nose Hiei could smell its contents easily. Cringing at the foul odor, he wet his lips and drank…or tried, at least.

He couldn't understand how Yusuke had done it. The stuff was sour, worse than anything Hiei had ever tasted. His tongue kept trying to force it from his mouth, and soon he choked, nearly dropping the bottle. He tried to drink again and had the same result.

"Hiei, we don't have time for this!"

"Well I'm sorry if I don't go knocking back acid like the rest of you idiots!"

"Damn it…!"

Yusuke pinned Hiei up against the wall and snatched the bottle away. Hiei opened his mouth to yell, but the next thing he knew Yusuke had poured the vile liquid down his throat and clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Mph—nghhh!"

"You can thank me later," Yusuke said. Hiei gulped loudly, his reflexes apparently having decided that swallowing the nasty drink was better than drowning in it. Yusuke let the prince down and chucked the empty bottle into an alley. "Now come on!"

Hiei coughed violently, trying to get air into his lungs. His throat and stomach and everything in between felt as if they had been scrubbed raw. As he began to regain his senses, Hiei swore that he would never, ever drink alcohol again.

Yusuke took his hand and led him out of the alley. Hiei stumbled and tripped several steps before his vision cleared.

"You okay?"

"No."

"Yeah, didn't think so. But at least you're sober." Yusuke looked up and down the street. "Now, where did you leave your clothes?"

Hiei pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ease his sudden headache. Instant hangover, he thought unhappily. "This way."

A/N: Well, that's it for that chapter. Not much going on, except some character background. We now know that Hiei hasn't been asked to mate but has a thing for redheads, and we've learned that Yusuke used to work for Yomi…among lots of other things, but I expect I don't need to list them all.

¹ Metheglin - a type of mead made with spices or herbs. Also known as "mulled mead."

² Vinegar - absolutely revolting home remedy for sobering up fast. The sooner you take it, the better the effect.