Well… Those weren't exactly what I'd expected… I thought everyone would guess what the world and the items were right away, but almost nobody got it right! The few people who got close had the answers in the wrong places, so I guess I did a good job, eh? I'll give another hint. The metaphorical items were the necklace, the eyeball, and the rose. Another hint: All four metaphors were people. (Jorg- Oh if that didn't give it away…) Shutup dammit! Anyway, it'll be obvious when you figure it out, or after it explains itself (which will probably be very, very soon), whatever comes first. –shrugs-

"Hiei?" Kurama called from the ground. "Hiei, wake up! Come down from there already!"

Hiei snapped his eyes open and jumped with a gasp, throwing him off balance and sending him plummeting to the ground. He landed softly on a large leaf Kurama had grown to break his fall, and lay there, eyes still wide.

"That's not exactly what I meant when I said 'come down'… Hiei? What's wrong?" Kurama had come close enough to notice the shocked expression on the smaller apparition's face.

Hiei lay still, not acknowledging Kurama, breathing heavily. Kurama reached down to touch him. "…Hiei?"

Hiei flinched violently from the touch and stared at Kurama. He shivered once and blinked a few times, then calmed down.

"I'm back from school, Hiei," Kurama started cautiously. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"…Nothing," Hiei said at length. Kurama put on a skeptical look.

"Liar. Were you doing something you shouldn't? Spying, perhaps?"

Hiei's eyes narrowed at the redhead angrily. "Why the hell are you so concerned? It's none of your business!"

Kurama rolled his eyes. "Hiei, if something's happened that's big enough to get you frightened, and you live with me, I would think it is my business, so spill it."

Hiei sneered at him. "Yes, since you're in such a position to protect us all…"

"I beat you, didn't I?"

"There were conditions then. If we were to fight for real, you would not survive the encounter."

"Yes, that makes me so intimidated," Kurama responded sarcastically. "Now will you tell me what's going on, or do I have to weasel the information out?" Hiei grunted. "I'd rather not do that, Hiei. You know that can be unpleasant. So tell me."

"All right! If you must know, it was a dream! Are you happy now?" Hiei snapped.

Kurama frowned. "A dream? What kind of dream?"

"A bad one! What, do you expect to know something about it?" Hiei was close to shouting.

"Calm down, Hiei. I just thought, since I've been having nightmares of late, they might be connected..."

"And why would you think this?" Hiei asked flatly.

"Well… In order for me to make sure, I would need to know what happened in the dream…"

"Do I have to?"

"Well, because it concerns the welfare of my mother and myself, yes!"

Hiei rolled his eyes at him, but acquiesced, needing to relay the morbid scene to another. "Well… I was in a field. And then I was… somewhere else. I don't know where," he began, in that way one begins when telling a story secondhand. "It was dark there, but the ground was white. The sky was black, and… the snow was black, too. And then there was a man…"

"What did the man look like?" Kurama asked interestedly, pleased that Hiei had let him into his mind so easily. Not because he wanted to provoke him again, but because he really was genuinely interested. Hiei frowned at remembering the man.

"He was tall and pale, and wore all black clothing. His hair was also black, and long."

"And his eyes?" It was barely more than a whisper.

"They… were… like purple icicles in a frozen wasteland." He shuddered. "Anyway, he spoke to me. The first thing he said was, 'You are not the fox,' so I assume he meant you." Suddenly, Hiei shifted and became uncomfortable. "It was only a dream anyway," he said quickly. "It doesn't matter." Kurama was silent, but he stood with Hiei.

"Would you like to come inside to eat, Hiei?" Kurama asked, looking absorbed in other things. Hiei nodded and flitted up to the window. Seeing this made Kurama laugh a little, breaking him from his trance. "Hiei, you do live here now; you can use the door," he said, still chuckling, before walking in through the door and shutting it. He knew Hiei wouldn't use it anyway.

Hiei came down the stairs after a minute, finding Kurama in the kitchen. The two were alone together; Shiori having gone to work after greeting Kurama and informing her son of Hiei's whereabouts—not that she needed to.

"What would you like to eat today, Hiei? Something new? Or something you know?"

Hiei shrugged. "I don't care. Whatever's edible," he said, flopping down in a chair unceremoniously.

"Hmm… New it is, then," Kurama responded cheerfully. He had not forgotten about Hiei's dream, but now that the little demon seemed back to normal, he wouldn't bring it up again unless he had a reason.

Kurama opened up a cupboard and shuffled through it until finding the spices he needed. He then procured a large cut of beef from the refrigerator and something to cook it all in. "Do you like vegetables, Hiei?" Kurama asked as he was doing all of this. Hiei shrugged nonchalantly, not familiar with the plants of Ningenkai. "All right, vegetables are in, then." He produced some carrots and celery from the refrigerator as well. Starting the stove, he began to cook.

Later, when the pungent, delicious smell of spiced steak was wafting through the air, Hiei came to stand beside Kurama. The redhead looked over his shoulder at Hiei. "Yes? Did you want something?" Hiei merely stood and watched, looking semi-interested in what Kurama was doing. "All right," Kurama said, perplexed, continuing to cook.

"What are you doing to the meat?" Hiei asked after a while.

"Umm, cooking it? Why, does it seem weird to you?"

"Shouldn't you leave it raw and bloody?"

Kurama was amused by the fire demon. "Is that what you do?"

Hiei shrugged. "Most of the time, but I thought you would prefer it that way, since foxes are carnivorous."

It was Kurama's turn to shrug. "That is true, but this body is human and therefore more susceptible to certain diseases that eating uncooked food might bring about." Hiei snorted and muttered something about the frailty of humans before sitting back down. "You're going to like this, Hiei. It's good, trust me." He smiled as the food was finished and Kurama joined Hiei at the table to eat.

Hiei didn't sleep that night. He didn't want to have a repeat of last night's encounter. Instead, he opted to stare out of Kurama's window, occasionally looking over at the kitsune as he slept.

Kurama was in the same state as he had been the past nights. Shifting constantly, sweating, and muttering slightly; Hiei could tell he was having another nightmare. He shook his head and the Jagan glowed to his bidding. Kurama's eyes popped open after a few seconds, and he looked at Hiei. Hiei looked back at him impassively, then shrugged and sat in the windowsill. Kurama stared at Hiei, who was no longer looking at him.

'Why did he wake me up..?' Kurama wondered. 'I'm sure he knows I was having a nightmare, but why would he care..?' The redhead was too sleepy at the moment to sort out his thought properly. He decided to ask the dark one about it in the morning, and went back to sleep quickly.

All right, I know this chapter was kinda short (or it seems that way to me), and whatever. I'm writing my way through some grey right now, trying to figure out how the next big thing is gonna go down. I know what needs to happen, don't worry, it's not like I'm stuck or anything, but it might take a little longer than I expected to make it happen. In the meantime, I'm going to hold a vote of sorts. Here it is: WHO WANTS MORE HIEIxKURAMA FLUFF TO GO ON BEFORE THE NEXT PLOT DEVELOPMENT? And I'm talking some serious fluff, not just those little adorable moments you get in the show. VOTE IN YOUR REVIEWS!! XD