DISCLAIMER: All profits, rights, and credit for "InuYasha" and "Yu Yu Hakusho" go to Takahashi and Togashi. The only thing I claim is that Hiei and Kagome work great together!

Written for The Deadliest Sin community

Prompt: "Oh, no!"

Word count: 2,741

The Hands of Fate

"Well, look who decided to show up after all? Figures you'd wait until all the work was done, shrimp," Kuwabara grumbled.

Hiei arched a brow at the redhead. "You didn't expect me to help you morons, did you? I have better things to do with my time than expend my energy picking fruit."

"Heh! I knew he'd be here sooner or later. You might not have bothered to come help Genkai pick all these peaches, but I knew you couldn't resist another chance to cop a feel of your obsession," Yusuke grinned and nodded in the direction of two girls lugging a large basket of peaches between them.

Shit! He should have known she would be here. "Very funny. Perhaps you'd like your blood added to the jam the old onna will be making?"

"Well, you'd better keep your hands to yourself this time, shorty. It ain't gentlemanly behavior to go around groping a girl's ... um, well, to go around groping a girl all the time," Kuwabara frowned at him.

"You have to admit, Hiei," Kurama chimed in, "that your past actions where Kagome are concerned have been a bit beyond the pale."

It was infuriating to have to listen to them assassinate his character like this, but for once, he couldn't come up with a scathing retort. The truth was the kami had been having a good laugh at his expense ever since Genkai had introduced Higurashi Kagome. Sure, she was attractive—he wasn't going to deny that. And he even found that she wasn't as stupid or boring as most ningen. She had power and courage and her experiences in the past were really quite interesting. Yes, she was pleasant enough and his sister had struck up an immediate friendship with her. But he was not obsessed with her or her obvious ... charms. Not at all. And it was grossly unfair that he, of all people, should have to put up with this kind of teasing and insinuation from someone who had perfected groping to an art form like Yusuke, or have to listen to threats and lectures from a gorilla who fancied himself a white knight. Then there was the fox. Oh, he might act perfectly polite and mannerly, but none of these fools seemed to realize he used his height to look down the women's shirts. Damn them all.

Yet here he was, being accused of evil intentions and untoward behavior all because of a series of ridiculous accidents. Looking over at the miko again, he saw her stop in her tracks when she saw him. From the look on her face, he knew she was thinking about their last encounter. Or possibly the one before that. He sighed to himself. Or any time they'd been in proximity with each other. Though they never said much to each other, their meetings were always memorable.

The very first time they met, here at the temple, had evidently set the tone for their "relationship." Genkai had introduced her and told them a little about her adventures. She and Yukina had hit it off right away and soon the two of them were chatting like old friends. As they walked around a bit, with Kuwabara trailing behind like a lost puppy, they paused at the top of the steps. Yukina turned to face Kagome as she spoke and started to take a step back. It was obvious to Hiei that the koorime was going to tumble down the stairs, so he had moved quickly to throw out an arm to prevent her fall. How could he have known the big oaf would grab her arm and yank her away from the stairs? His outstretched arm met nothing but air, but his hand had closed around a soft, but firm mound. He didn't know who was more shocked. Kagome's cheeks had turned dark pink and he had jerked his hand away as if it had been burned. Considering the circumstances, she had accepted that it was an accident, but that hadn't stopped Yusuke from laughing. "Damn, Hiei! I didn't know you had it in you! But why don't you try to get to know the girl better first?" Shooting the detective a cold glare, he had left without a word.

If that had been the only incident, the toushin would have let it drop. But no. The next time he had seen her had been just as disastrous. The Spirit Detectives had been assigned to escort her through the Makai to meet an old friend, a red kitsune named Shippou. They had to cross through hostile territory and at one point, they had tried to avoid trouble by slipping silently around a group of bandits. But the onna had gotten her foot stuck in a hole in the ground and lost her shoe. When she had bent over to put it back on, she had muttered to herself about knowing better than to go running around in those kind of shoes. Obviously, she had forgotten about youkai hearing, so Hiei had quickly reached around her to clamp his hand over her damn mouth before the bandits heard her. How could he have known she would straighten up at that very second? He had ended up with another handful of womanly flesh. To keep her from yelling, he had covered her mouth with his other hand. Apparently, that made him look twice as bad. Perhaps if he had released the first hand ...

Then she had elbowed him in the gut. The slight "oomph" he made had drawn his teammates' attention and Kuwabara's eyes had bugged out. The idiot had promptly announced their presence to the bandits with a "Hey! What the hell are you doing to her?!" After the fight was over, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama had all stared at him like he had grown another head.

"The damn onna wouldn't be quiet," he spat out.

"Well, hell, Hiei. What did you expect when you grabbed her boob? Take my word for it, most of them yell. Or smack you," the toushin grinned. Then he had leaned over and whispered, "But I gotta give you credit, that was a gutsy move--copping a feel when we're trying to sneak around. Too bad for you she has sharp elbows, huh?" She had stayed close to Kuwabara and Kurama for the rest of the trip.

And she had smacked him the next time.

In addition to his seeming obsession with her breasts, he had also ended up not once, but twice with a hand on her ass. Worse than that, though, was the time he had landed with his face between her legs. She had been wearing a skirt and he had actually come face-to-er ... face with a pair of lacy, black panties. And he certainly couldn't forget the incident when he had ripped her shirt off. The evening had gone smoothly for once, and he had managed to keep his distance from her so the fates couldn't make him look bad. Then she had sat down in the chair he had strewn his cloak over, and not wanting her scent clinging to it, because he was not obsessed with her, he had hastily stepped forward and grabbed it. How could he have known he had accidentally grabbed the neckline of her shirt, too? Even Yukina had looked at him like he was some kind of pervert.

It was simply inconceivable that anyone would think he had done any of those things on purpose. Even the time he had crawled into bed with her was easily explained. Yes, he had told Kurama he would be in the Makai all weekend. But after a day of fighting and gambling, he had been bored and tired. He knew Kurama was planning on going to Genkai's the next day, so he figured he would just stay in his guest room and join him so he could check on Yukina. He had stayed there many times before and it was never a problem. How could he have known Kagome had painted her apartment and Kurama had offered her his guest room for the night so she wouldn't have to smell the paint fumes?

He had been so tired, he had just gone in through the open window, stripped, and slipped under the covers. He had awakened to the sound of screaming. The extremely comfortable pillow his cheek was resting on was yanked out from under him, causing him to tighten his grip on whatever he had been clutching in his hand. It was a reflexive action. He had not been "fondling" her breast when Kurama had come running into the room, no matter what the fox said. And he had no idea who that "Miroku" fellow was she was comparing him to, but he had to give him the benefit of the doubt—perhaps he had simply been an unfortunate victim of circumstances, too.

Hiei had stayed away for a month after that.

All right, so he had to admit it didn't look good. Still, if the onna in question was still willing to risk being around him, the rest of them could just shut their damn mouths. It was probably their remarks that were encouraging the kami to keep playing their little game with him. And she was willing to come around where he was. Even if she was walking slowly right now. He wasn't sure if she realized all the incidents had been accidents or if she was just exceptionally forgiving. Whatever the case, if she was going to continue risking his company, he certainly wasn't going to be the one to run. He wasn't going to let the fates rule his life. With a pointed look at the others, he purposefully walked towards her. He could stand near her without anything untoward happening. He was in control of his own actions and he was not obsessed with her.

"Hello, Hiei," Kagome smiled at him encouragingly as she and Yukina set down the basket of peaches they had been carrying. The koorime greeted him, too. While she couldn't help but be a bit wary of being so close to him, Kagome wasn't one to hold a grudge. She knew that first time he had groped her had been an accident, and after she had thought about what he had said about her not shutting up after the incident in the Makai, she had seen how that could have been a misunderstanding, too. So, she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Despite his "curse," Miroku had been a good friend and she liked all of these people she had met through Genkai. They were good-hearted, loyal, and fun. They reminded her of her own friends from the past and helped ease the ache left by their separation.

In truth, she actually found Hiei rather attractive and she was drawn to his quiet confidence. In fact, if he would ever express any real interest in her--other than the groping--she would be open to seeing where it led. No other man had even sparked her interest that way since Inuyasha. From everything else she had seen of him, he seemed like a very honorable person. Yukina thought he was wonderful. And from what the others had said of him, he didn't make a habit of touching women inappropriately. (Actually, what Yusuke had said was that Hiei had never had been boob-happy before.) They seemed to think he just didn't know how to express his interest in her. But she wasn't buying that. No one was that stupid or socially awkward. And she wasn't about to just let him go around touching her like that, either. But she was willing to give him another chance.

The others carted the last of the baskets over and set them nearby and Yukina went to get something for everyone to drink. Much to the relief of both of them, nothing happened as they stood there on opposite sides of the peach basket. Kagome asked if he had been all right since she'd seen him last and he gave her a slight nod. Then she talked easily for a bit about some of the things she and the others had been doing. Her voice was pleasant and she didn't expect him to say anything, so he would have been perfectly comfortable standing there if he wasn't trying so hard to make sure no "accidents" occurred. He watched her take the red ribbon out of her hair from where she had pulled it up to work. He had to admit, he preferred to see it loose around her shoulders and flowing down her back. Not that he was interested—it was just an observation—like the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed. Most of the time, they more of a blue-gray, but when she laughed, they were a deeper, brighter blue. And it was interesting how very gray they got when she was angry. He had seen enough of that to know.

Hiei looked around at the others. Sure enough, they were all watching him carefully—the bastards. Well, nothing had happened. And nothing was going to happen. He had beaten the curse the fates had lain on him. With the pungent smell of the sweet fruit in the air and the self-satisfaction of the righteous, he gave them a smug smile and reached down to snag a peach from the basket. From the corner of his eyes, he saw something falling just under his outstretched arm. Something red. Kagome's ribbon. "Oh, no!"

He closed his eyes as he gently squeezed the object in his hand. Not a peach. The kami hated him.

"Hiei!!" He could hear the ape swearing.

He looked at Kagome's red face. Her eyes were not blue. As she straightened up from where she had bent over to retrieve the ribbon and clenched it tightly in her fist, he admitted defeat. They had done it to him again. It didn't matter how vigilant he was, he was always going to come off looking bad around her. He supposed he should let go now.

He released her breast and quickly moved so he could wrap an arm around her and take off. There was no way he was going to stand there and let her hit him like she obviously thought he deserved. And he wasn't going to listen to any more of Yusuke's crap, either. If he couldn't stop it from happening, he was going to have to take control of the situation another way. He was not going to let everyone continue to call him a pervert.

When Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara caught up with them, they found them locked in an embrace. It was quite obvious from the way Kagome's arms were wrapped around Hiei that she was a willing participant.

"I just don't get it," Kuwabara said, scratching the back of his head. "She's kissing him—after what he did." He stared at the couple and shook his head as he saw one of Hiei's hands squeeze her bottom. "And he's still doing it!"

Yusuke laughed and slapped him on the back. "Don't you see? He finally wised up and told her how he feels about her. Now he's got a license to grope."

"Like the one you have with Keiko? It doesn't keep you from getting smacked," Kuwabara pointed out.

"I believe that in Hiei's case, he will be able to confine his more ... intimate attentions to times when they are in private now," Kurama told him. "He really seems to believe that everything he did was accidental. Obviously, it was the only way he could allow himself to act on his subconscious desires."

"You go ahead and tell yourself that, Kurama," Yusuke winked at him. "But I always knew the little guy had it in him."

"Hmph. Takes a pervert to know one," Kuwabara grumbled.

"I suggest we leave them to their privacy." But as the three Spirit Detectives walked away, Kurama paused for a second and tilted his head as if listening to something.

"What is it?"

Shaking his head, he gave a small, rueful smile. "Nothing. For a second there, I just thought I heard laughing."

And in the Reikai, a small group of kami passed around a jug of sake and looked around for another victim.

--End.

If you are a Hiei/Kagome fan, let me invite you to check out a new message board: thedeadliestsin . proboards55 . com/index.cgi? (remove the spaces) In addition to interesting topics and good discussions, we put up weekly prompts and run fanfic and fanart contests. Come join us!