I am using Shadowblade-tara's Blood Brother AU idea. Go read her stories. They're awesome. XD
Disclaimer: Kurama and Hiei both belong to Yoshihiro Togashi. If I owned them... would I really be writing fanfiction? XD All other characters belong to him too.
IMPORTANT: The flashback in this chapter is Kuwabara's fight with Byakko. The manga is quite similar to the anime, only a few lines (that I thought were classic) from the anime weren't in the manga. So, instead of leaving them out altogether, I've made Hiei say them mentally to Kurama.
Also, I wanted to let everyone know that I don't hate Kuwabara. haha. This flashback is mostly in Hiei's point of view, so that's why there's so much hate towards Kuwabara. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the guy, but he is hilarious, and him and Yukina are super cute. lol. So yeah... onto the chapter. XD
Chapter 3
Kurama heaved a sigh as he shut his books and looked at the clock. It had taken him longer to finish his work than he thought. Of course, there was that small detour he had to take to clean up his kitchen. He still couldn't figure out how Hiei had managed to create such a mess in the first place. He shook his head of the thought and turned to the fire demon. He was sitting on the window sill, staring out at the rain. Kurama briefly wondered what Hiei was thinking about, but decided against asking him. He stood up and stretched his arms above his head, cracking his back in the process.
Hiei glanced over at him. "You're getting old fox."
Kurama smiled. "Sitting in the same position for five hours straight would cause anyone's bones to pop Hiei."
Hiei smirked, still looking out the window at the falling rain. "Pitiful humans."
Kurama chuckled, gathering up the paperwork on the desk and putting it all neatly into his briefcase. "Well, the bright side is that I've finished all of my work and can attend the reunion tomorrow afternoon."
Hiei didn't make any motion to indicate that he was listening at all, but Kurama knew better. He was just ignoring him. "Don't be so upset that you're going. It will be fun."
Hiei glared over at him, then back outside. "Hn. My idea of fun isn't associating with a bunch of moronic humans."
Kurama chuckled, sitting back down in his chair. "Then what would your idea of fun be?" He honestly knew the answer to his question, but perhaps thinking about it would put Hiei in a better mood.
Hiei was quiet for a moment, then he smirked. "Plotting the many different tortuous ways to kill the oaf. It is a true shame he can only die once. I have so many fun ways to kill him that it is quite difficult to only choose one." He had stressed the word fun, just for Kurama's sake.
Kurama chuckled, thinking about that for a moment. "Naturally." He was silent for a bit, watching Hiei stare out the window as if there were actually something interesting outside. "You know... him and Yukina are quite close. I can only imagine the poor ice maiden's sorrow if something were to happen to him."
Hiei glared at him. "Do you enjoy ruining my fun?"
Kurama smiled at him. "It's a life goal."
Hiei rolled his eyes, looking back out the window. "That explains why you excel at it."
Kurama chuckled. "Honestly though Hiei, Kuwabara isn't that bad. He's very protective of your sister. Not to mention, he's one of the very few humans I've seen who live by such a strict honor code."
Hiei scoffed at that. "His honor code. It's just an excuse he hides behind to appear smart."
Kurama shook his head, smiling. "You cannot deny that he has saved our lives more than once. He is a valuable ally."
Hiei shrugged, glaring out the window. "He may have saved the detective's, but I owe him nothing."
Kurama nodded, following along with him for now. "Yes, but he has pulled his share of the weight on missions."
Hiei almost snorted at that. "When was that? I can only remember hauling his weight around once he fell unconscious... multiple times."
Kurama shrugged. "Well, not to bring up the same mission again, but when we invaded the Saint Beast's Castle he was quite helpful."
Hiei glanced at him and seemed to be considering that. "When?"
Kurama chuckled. "I believe he was helpful while fighting Byakko. He allowed you and Yusuke both to keep your energy for the remaining two demons."
Hiei looked back out the window, silent for a moment. He was remembering Kuwabara's fight with Byakko. After Kurama was injured, the fool had sworn to take on the next demon, despite Yusuke's warnings. He chuckled to himself. That was an entertaining fight to watch. It was a shame that Byakko had eventually lost.
The memories of Maze Castle flashed before Hiei's eyes. He clearly remembered Kurama's fight with Genbu and the injuries Kurama sustained from the match. The fox was irresponsible in that fight and had let his guard down. It had left him with quite the stomach wound.
The four of them were walking down the hall that would lead them to the next Saint Beast. Hiei glanced at Kurama once more. He refused to ask the fox how he was doing, since he could very well tell due to the pain he was feeling thanks to their bond. The wound was deep, and because of it's location it hurt every time Kurama moved. He glanced at him again, but continued walking.
Kurama looked down at him and smiled. He knew Hiei was suffering from his mistake as well, only he was hiding the pain far better than Kurama was. ~I'm fine. No need to worry.~
Hiei only glared forward. ~Baka kitsune.~
Kurama chuckled at him, then noticed that Yusuke had asked him if his injuries were okay. "Still okay. I can still move."
Hiei smirked to himself. ~Hardly.~
Kurama glanced over to him and gave him a half-hearted smile. At least this time he wasn't injured in betrayal... not that the last time this happened it was true betrayal anyway. He turned to Hiei as he was speaking. "But it's not as if you can still do battle with those injuries." Hiei paused for a minute, looking at the Detective. "This isn't good. Without Kurama, we're down to three."
Hiei looked at Kuwabara as he said something unimportant about taking on the next demon. He smirked at the Detective's response to his friend. He didn't necessarily like the term 'wetting your pants', but it seemed to fit the oaf quite well. He continued to listen to the oversized moron as he went on about training or something. The oaf probably didn't have a clue what true training was. Then he created a sword out of his spirit energy. He was kind of impressed that the human could manipulate his spirit energy, but it's not as if it would get him very far. "Wow. So it isn't a normal wooden sword..." he said sarcastically. Then the oaf actually threatened his life. Didn't he realize he wouldn't be able to kill him if he couldn't catch him? He just glared at the human. Yusuke turned the moron's attention back to what he was saying earlier, then he made the spirit sword get longer. Hiei had to physically stop himself from rolling his eyes. This cretin was a perfect example of the stupidity of the human race. He ignored the rest of what he said, then narrowed his eyes as they all heard a loud roar. He glanced at Kurama. ~I'm assuming that would be Byakko?~
Kurama gave a slight nod. ~It would seem so.~
Hiei smirked. ~This should be good then. I think I might enjoy watching the human be the demon's next meal.~
Kurama ignored him, choosing to inform the other two of whom was calling them. "It's the roar of Byakko... he doesn't sound like he's in a good mood."
Hiei smirked. ~An even better show then.~
Kurama mentally sighed. ~Have you no faith in the human at all?~
Hiei lifted an eyebrow at him, as if the answer was obvious. ~No.~
Their mental conversation was cut short as they ran after the detective and into the 'room' Byakko was currently in. Hiei glanced around and decided it would make a nice burial ground for the moron. It was a true shame that Byakko would be killing him. He mentally shrugged. The human wasn't worth the expended energy anyway. Hiei watched as Byakko talked to them, even accusing him and Kurama of being traitors. What a fool. He literally lifted an eyebrow as Byakko threatened to tear him and Kurama into bits and feed them to the hungry ghouls. ~Hn. I wonder who has a larger brain capacity. Byakko, or the human oaf?~
Kurama smiled to himself at Hiei's joke. ~I suppose we'll find out once the match is determined.~
Hiei smirked and watched the large human get ready to fight. Was he really going to go through with his obvious suicide? "You're all talk, anyway. I don't think you're going to do this by yourself." He smirked at the idiot's reaction. Even his knees were shaking as he claimed that a one on one fight was a default for battles. This moron wouldn't last half a second in the Makai. He watched as Kuwabara walked out and foolishly challenged Byakko. ~Hn. Byakko isn't even taking this seriously. He's using his pets.~
Kurama nodded. ~I am worried how Kuwabara will fare with those demonic beasts.~
Hiei shrugged. ~As long as his death is bloody, I really don't care.~ He smirked as he watched the beasts attack Kuwabara, their claws digging into his flesh. One by one they were taking the human out. The more he watched, the more he was losing interest. The human hardly stood a chance. This was just slaughter. "That guy... he looks like he's on some sword stint. He'll be played to death sooner or later." He watched as Yusuke tried to take over, and the large human foolishly declined a switch. He wasn't really paying attention to what was being said, so he raised an eyebrow as Kuwabara started running back towards them. What a coward. Hiei's eyes widened as Kuwabara formed his spirit sword and skewered the demonic beasts that had run after him. So maybe he wasn't so stupid afterall...
Hiei shook his head as the beasts continued to chase Kuwabara down the path. Scratch what he had previously thought. He was even more stupid than he thought possible. He watched Kuwabara run around the circular building they had come out of, the beasts right behind him. He lifted an eyebrow. ~Do you think he knows it's a circle?~
Kurama blinked. ~I would assume so... however, one cannot be too sure.~
Hiei gave Kuwabara a pointed look. He wasn't sure what a merry-go-round was, but this human was definitely a moron. "To have hooked your spirit energy together... what illogical ideas you have..."
He shook his head as he watched the oaf go back to the fighting area, where Byakko joined him shortly after. After a few threats, Kuwabara started his fight with Byakko. He was clearly hitting him, but it didn't seem to do much damage.
Kurama shook his head. "This is strange."
Hiei nodded. ~Indeed. He's swinging his sword with the grace of a fly swatter. It's a wonder he's still alive.~
Kurama sent him a half-hearted glare. ~That isn't what I meant.~
Hiei shook his head. "Yes. Look at the two of them. It's true Kuwabara has the upper hand... but Kuwabara appears to be more tired than the opponent."
Kurama nodded, then his eyes suddenly widened. "Ah! I get it! Look at Kuwabara's sword!"
Hiei turned his eyes onto the human's sword. Sure enough, it had shrunk. He had heard that some demons had the ability to drain their opponent's spirit energy, but he had also heard the ability had it's repercussions.
Hiei shook his head as Kuwabara continued to feed spirit energy into Byakko, ignoring Yusuke's offer to step in. ~At this rate, the human will surely die.~
Kurama shook his head. "No. There's still a way. Byakko's body is unable to expand any further. If Kuwabara realized this point..." He paused for a moment. "But this move is considered suicidal! A desperation move... if it fails Kuwabara will lose his life."
Hiei glanced at him. He knew Kurama was right. However, was the oaf smart enough to figure it out for himself? And even if he did figure it out, was he brave enough to pull it off? He knew it was a stunt Kurama would likely pull... but he wasn't so sure about the oversized human. Hiei's eyes widened as Kuwabara did exactly what him and Kurama were thinking. He narrowed his eyes as the human hit the ground. He wasn't dead, regardless of what the detective thought. He watched Kurama stop Yusuke from running out to Kuwabara. He too noticed how funny Byakko was acting. And then the oaf was up again. He shook his head as he watched Byakko's pitiful demise. ~How truly disappointing.~
Kurama smiled. "Kuwabara's spirit energy slightly exceeded what Byakko could bear."
Hiei only glared at the human as he tried to absorb his spirit energy that he thought was in the air. ~I don't think he realizes that his spirit energy returned automatically.~
Kurama chuckled. ~Probably not.~
Hiei grunted. Kuwabara had proven himself to the team after that fight. Of course, Byakko wasn't truly dead after all of that, and then he survived once more after falling in the lava. "Hn. It's not like Kuwabara actually killed him."
Kurama shook his head. "No, but he did do a good job in handling his own weight. He took out Byakko, twice, leaving you and Yusuke to the final two demons."
Hiei glared over at him. "He's still a moron."
Kurama chuckled. "I believe when you see him tomorrow, you'll be impressed with how smart he's become. Afterall, he finished high school, and is well on his way to a successful career."
Hiei shrugged. "He's weak. Yukina deserves someone who is strong... and with more than one braincell."
Kurama seemed to be thinking about that for a moment, then he smiled. "While he has stopped fighting demons, he hasn't stopped his training. He's still training his spiritual awareness and for a human, he's quite powerful. I believe they're a wonderful match."
Hiei glared out the window. "You should watch your tongue. It could lead you to your early grave."
Kurama chuckled. "Yes of course. Just remember to give him a fair chance tomorrow."
Hiei smirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Sure thing fox. He'll get a fair chance. I'll give him a three minute head start before I try to kill him."
Kurama smiled, shaking his head. "I suppose that's all I can ask for."
To be continued. ^_^
