Prince Elmo: (Dressed as Youko Kurama this time) TADAH! (Strikes a pose)

Yusuke: Wow, that looks pretty real!

Prince Elmo: I know, I even got a tail and ears. Watch them dance! (Wriggles ears and wags tail)

Kuwabara & Yusuke: (applaude)

Kurama: Please remember that Elmo doesn't own Yu Yu Hakusho when you read this...Elmo, please go change!! (Walks off towards the crazed Author)

"Wow. Just...wow!" You're standing in what appears to be the world's biggest sandbox in such a way, that you're tempted to pull out your plastic bucket and shovel. The sun glares down upon your head, neck and shoulders and you draw the white cape Botan had given you out from your backpack.

Pulling the hood over your head, you throw Kurama a glare. "Tell me again, why couldn't we have Botan make a portal closer to the temple?"

Hiei answers the question for him, the arrogant tone in his voice almost tangible. "That would be dangerous and foolish. That jungle is filled with powerful creatures that could rip your empty head clear off your shoulders."

"Well, excuse me for asking, princess!" You bite out between clenched teeth. It takes all of your willpower not to lunge at the infuriating demon. You've hardly spend any time with him, which makes his obvious anger towards you even harder to understand.

You don't get angry so easily. You don't have a bad temper. But Hiei simply pisses you off.

The walk across the hot sand is awkward, your feet sinking away with every step. It's very exhausting. Within minutes, you're struggling to keep up. Kurama leads the way, sharing quiet conversation with you about various subjects. His calm, reassuring voice quickly ban any thoughts of stupid Hiei and his stupid random anger out of your mind. Occasionally, Kurama draws out Botan's map from his own backpack.

"Errm...Kurama?" Stunning green eyes meet yours and you nervously clear your throat.

"I, eh...I'm sorry...About punching you, I mean..." A small smile tugs the corners of his lips upward.

"Don't get any ideas!" You yell almost hysterically, pointing a finger at him, "I'm not apologizing for attacking you like I did! You totally had that coming, after so brutally slashing my poor back open." Crossing your arms in defense, you can no longer bring yourself to look Kurama in the eye.

"I'm not blushing. I'm not blushing. I'm not blushing. Etcetera. Etcetera. Did I just really think 'Etcetera'?"

"Apology accepted. And I must apologize myself." You turn to him, surprised.

"For 'brutally slashing your poor back open'. It was slight over-kill, since you were only trying to eat Hiei's arm. I'm not apologizing for wrapping my Rose Whip around your ankle and pulling you out of the air. If you had attacked Kuwabara and beaten him, I don't think his ego would've survived." Exchanging smiles, you duck under his arm you wrap him up in a tight hug. The redhead tenses for a second, before hugging you back. You know he would quickly warm up to your high level of touchy-feeliness.

Leaving Kurama to figure out Botan's map, you stop walking until Kuwabara and Yusuke meet up with you. They're bickering away about something, you don't know what, but you rudely interrupt them anyway.

"Say Kuwa, can I borrow Yusuke for a sec? I promise I'll give him back in more or less this same state." He nods wordlessly and slows his pace, until he's out of earshot.

Yusuke grins cockily at you. "So, came to apologize?" The smugness in his voice makes you want to slap him.

Snorting, you cross your arms and raise a delicate eyebrow. "You were being an asshole. You deserved it."

"Excuse me?"

"You had it coming and you know it! That's no way to carry a lady!"

"You're no lady."

"Either way, you had it coming."

"Psh!"

"Say, Yusuke?"

"What?!"

"Did it hurt?" Insert cocky grin.

"You're damn right, it hurt!"

"Ha! Serves you right."

"You bitch!"

You stick out your tongue.

"Yusuke?"

"What now?!"

"Sorry..."

"...It's okay."

And just like that, things are settled with Yusuke. You spend some time walking behind the two bickering humans and muse how much you and Yusuke are alike. You both like to keep things simple. Then you find yourself walking beside Hiei. "If you think I'm going to apologize to you too, I must've hit you harder than I thought."

Hiei's reply came in the form of a mocking laugh. "What makes you think you can hurt me? Even the idiot over there hits harder than you!"

After that, the two of you keep exchanging insults, which get increasingly more hurtful on Hiei's part and louder on your part, as you go on. Kurama's pleas to stop are ignored, all you hear is the firedemon and his insults.

"Your too pathetic for words! Even your own father can't stand to be around you!!" With tears stinging your eyes, you lunge at Hiei. Kurama, who had seen this coming, wraps his arms around your waist, pinning your arms effectively to your side. He is now pulling you away from Hiei, who continues to laugh mockingly. You aggressively fight Kurama's grip, kicking your legs. Anger paints your cheeks red, you hear the blood rushing in your ears. How can one person be so infuriating?

And how dare he talk about your father that way? Okay, he left as soon as he heard that your mother was pregnant.

But that doesn't say anything about you.

Does it?

You calm down, suddenly lost in your thoughts. You think about every time your mom talked about dad. Did she ever say anything about blaming you? Did she drop any hints?

Sensing this calmness, the restricting hold of Kurama's arms around your waist changes into a comforting hug. You indulge in it, thankfully. As his hand comes to rest on the back of your head, your arms wrap loosely around his waist. In the distance you hear Yusuke and Kuwabara yell at Hiei, but you block it out. You press your cheek against his chest, inhaling the scent of roses. Your emo-rant about your father is rudely interrupted by a new thought:

"Wow….Kurama smells girlier than me…."

Suddenly, you regret letting Hiei get to you. You unwind your arms from Kurama's waist, who takes the hint and lets you go. "I'm fine, let's go." You answer his unasked question and promptly turn to continue your walk.

For the remainder of the walk, you're pretty quiet for your standards. Mostly because you're pointedly ignore a certain firedemon. Thankfully, no one seems to mind your sudden lack of conversation. Dusk rolls in and the heat of the day seems to evaporate quickly. You set up camp in the first oasis of this trip.

Waving a finger at the wood Kuwabara had collected, they burst into flames, while Yusuke and Kurama are setting up the tents. Hiei is simply standing at the edge of the small pond, doing nothing. Then you remember something. After much effort to wipe that ridiculous grin off your face, you approach the pond.

You come to stand beside Hiei. He throws you a suspicious glance, which you answer with a mysterious smile. In tensed silence you stand. Then quickly, before you change your mind, you shove Hiei face-first into the pond.

Prince Elmo: (Wags her fake tail) Tune in next time on Something Wicked, to see if Hiei will let you live long enough to see Chapter 12 :)

Kurama: Don't forget to review.

Prince Elmo: Good boy! (Throws Kurama a dogbiscuit)

Kurama: (Sweatdrops) I'm a FOX demon, Elmo...

Prince Elmo: I know! :)