If you didn't read the side story (chapter 23), then know that:

Kujou is the god of war, and Natsume is the god of hunt and virginity. Kujou and Natsume are mortal-turned-immortals. They literally share the same soul.

In the past, there was a love triangle between them three. Kujou liked Chu, Chu liked Natsume and Natsume liked Chu. Kujou cared for Natsume and vice versa.

"It's a fairly common story," Hiei started. "The former king of Ehendel, Mukuro's father, became infatuated with one of his concubine's maidservant. That was Mukuro's mother. As the infatuation got deeper, he elevated her status to a concubine."

"The other concubines weren't happy," Kurama surmised.

Hiei nodded. "You're familiar with the royal court, aren't you? The concubines couldn't do anything against Mukuro's mother since she was the king's favorite, but in a palace where a king had over three hundred concubines to choose from, the infatuation didn't last. When it became apparent that Mukuro's mother was out of the king's favor, the other concubines arranged an accident to befall on her."

"What happened?" Kurama asked.

Hiei's eyes flickered to him. "She died," Hiei answered flatly. "Among the concubines, news got out that Mukuro's mother was pregnant with the king's child. They felt threatened, fearful that the child would turn out to be a boy and that Mukuro's mother would gain power within the court, so they arranged for her to die in an accident. They succeeded, but Mukuro survived and was alive in her mother's stomach."

"One of the staff found out and successfully cut Mukuro out of the mother's corpse. Normally the king would be told of such occurrence, but Mukuro's mother was well-liked enough among her staff and they rightfully feared that whoever planned the mother's death would attempt to harm Mukuro. In attempt to protect her, they put Mukuro under my care. I suppose they thought I would scare away anyone who wishes her ill."

"Mukuro was raised secretly by her mother's staff outside of the palace but as the years passed, it became apparent that Mukuro was the king's child. She had mostly the king's features with the addition of her mother's blue eyes. Her mother's eyes turned out to be the very thing the king was attracted to and when Mukuro was called into the palace for the king to see Mukuro for himself, he accepted Mukuro as his daughter."

"Mukuro was seven at the time with no knowledge of her lineage. She was raised a street child and didn't fit in the palace. She didn't want to be in the palace and others didn't want her there either. She tried to run away but never managed to get out of the palace. The king tried to reform her but to no avail. Soon, she was forgotten by everyone but the children."

"At the time, there were already eight possible heirs to the throne. The crown prince was seventeen and he was an utterly spoiled bastard. He developed a special interest in Mukuro when he heard about her. The bastard went to her, thinking she was a delicate child and easy to play with, only that even at the age of seven, Mukuro was a tough child." Pride was evident in Hiei's voice, before it became overshadowed by the rage that soon followed.

"When it became evident that Mukuro was not someone who would easily submit, he gathered two other heirs who firmly supported him." Hiei's eyes turned dark with rage and his energy swirled angrily within the room. "They raped her and Mukuro's spirit broke. She had no one to turn to and no one who would believe her even if she spoke up. Her soul became incredibly dark, and she drew all kinds of evil spirits towards her. That was how I am across her."

Mukuro glanced up at the sound of his approach, stumbling to a stand on shaky legs. "Y-you're the god of the Underworld," eight-year-old Mukuro said, fear and something else evident in her voice.

Hiei ignored her, glancing at the negative souls that clung to Mukuro, weighing her down by refusing to move on the Underworld. They skittered back as Hiei's gaze landed on them and attempted to run. "Be gone," Hiei hissed, sending out a blast of power towards them.

The negative spirits let out a loud cry, so loud that even Mukuro heard them despite unable to see, and left. Mukuro fell against the ground, stunned and fearful. She lifted a hand to shield herself as Hiei stepped towards her.

"You heard them, didn't you?" Hiei said flatly.

Mukuro stared at Hiei, breath getting heavier as fear coursed through her.

"Answer me," Hiei demanded.

Mukuro jumped and despite her best effort, tears began to fall down her face. Hiei looked on in disgust as Mukuro nodded.

"Stop crying, child, and listen." He waited for Mukuro's sobs to subside, before continuing. "You were attracting those spirits and it's creating problems for me. Tell me what's wrong."

Mukuro gazed at Hiei uncomprehendingly, before pressing her lips together. "Why do you care?"

"I don't," Hiei said and Mukuro flinched. Hiei felt an unwanted feeling of guilt go through him and cursed inwardly. "You're one of mine, aren't you?"

Mukuro nodded silently.

Hiei glanced critically over her state of dress, not in rags but not exactly in good condition either. Some bruises on her arms, like someone gripped the appendage too tightly, and…

Mukuro flinched back upon seeing Hiei look over her, and the nervousness that dissipated reappeared again. She stood like a cornered animal, frightened and wanting to show a brave front and failing.

There was a trail of red down her leg.

Hiei's stomach dropped. "You were raped," Hiei stated, not wanting to believe but unable to ignore the evidence either.

The way Mukuro scurried back at the word told Hiei everything he needed to know and suddenly, blinding fury overcame him.

"Then the foolish prince came back, loud and mocking, saying he wanted to play with Mukuro some more and I snapped." Hiei glanced over at Kurama, who was gazing at him without judging. "You heard, didn't you?"

Kurama nodded. "You killed him and then Ehendel's imperial family became at odds with you."

Hiei nodded in response. "Koenma decreed I must not interfere with the royal family anymore, and I was to be confined in the Underworld for two years. Koenma was forced to let me out a year early when Kujou came out of his self-imposed isolation and created war. There was too much devastation for me to not partake in taking care of the deceases' souls."

"During my confinement, Mukuro was treated warily, but with respect. They feared I would kill anyone who harmed her, not knowing how easy it is for immortals to lose track of the many followers under their care. She was just one of my followers, easy to forget, except she was my reason for my confinement. It's not easy to forget someone like her."

"I went back to see her, despite Botan's warning. It wasn't like I was interfering with the imperial family anyway; I was just caring for one of my followers."

Kurama's lips quirked in spite of the seriousness of the story. The thought process Hiei had was undeniably clever.

Hiei's eyes met Kurama's and some of the darkness in his eyes went away.

"Mukuro met one of her half-brothers during the year of my confinement, the third prince called Yomi. From what she had told me, he took care of her when everyone else was too fearful or indifferent. He arranged for her to have an education, for her to learn to read and write and to be updated and knowledgeable about the current events. Mukuro grew under his care and she was happy."

"At the time, a crown prince had yet to be named after the death of the last crown prince. Fighting for the position within the imperial family were the second prince and the third prince. They were the leading candidates for the eventual ascension of the throne and as you realize, Mukuro chose to side with the third prince."

"She made many enemies with that choice and so little friends since many on Yomi's side still feared her due to her association with me. I guess perhaps I felt like I owed her something, especially since Yomi soon became too busy to truly follow Mukuro's progress and interact with her."

"Yomi gave her education and I gave her strength, you could say. You know I fight with Yusuke in the Dream Room, Kurama. I did the same thing with Mukuro in the palace. I sparred with her occasionally and taught her how to fight. She had the basics already and I reinforced those instincts. Six years later when an assassin attempted to kill Yomi, it wasn't his guards that saved him, but rather Mukuro."

Hiei's eyes shifted, looking far off in the distant. "It was at the price of the right side of her face. Sometimes I feel like I should have trained her better, but Mukuro held that scar like a badge of honor. Yomi and Mukuro grew closer after that incident and Yomi began trusting Mukuro with more of his business. I continued to work infrequently with Mukuro to improve her fighting skills."

"The war ended after five devastating years, when Chu made some kind of agreement with Kujou to stop his belligerent aura from spreading to the mortals. Before it ended, however, there was an opportunity for the candidates to the throne to prove their worth. The second prince clamored to go and so he was sent. He failed, however, and returned to the palace in a body bag along with the three other princes that went with him. Shortly after, Yomi, the third prince, was pronounced the crown prince."

"Two years after Mukuro saved Yomi's life, Yomi was told by their father to reclaim the land that the kingdom lost during the first two years of war. Yomi took charge but gave Mukuro the title second-in-command. There was outrage but their arrangement was a success, and they managed to reclaim the land within a few months."

"And you didn't do anything," Kurama said with eyebrow raised. Not challenging but merely remarking with a small smile on his face.

Hiei's lips quirked minutely with amusement. "I didn't help her, not physically, but she was in my favor and I did train her. Her enemies were not her match."

Hiei resumed the story.

"No one complained about Mukuro after that and she continued to lead a division of the troop despite being only seventeen. It was unheard of."

"The king died soon after, and Yomi ascended the throne. Two of the eight princes, excluding Yomi, remained. Yomi's right hand man was the fifth prince who supported him and his left was Mukuro. Together, they governed the land and there was peace."

"Not even a year passed when Chu, Kujou and Natsume had a fall out. The whole world shook from Kujou's belligerent energy as the three of them had what was essentially a cold war. Then Runisca's idiotic king declared that Ehendel's Mount Illisen contained the immortality fruit and demanded Ehendel to hand it over."

"Ehendel refused," Kurama said.

"Yes, and then Runsica, without a warning, invaded Ehendel's land in attempt to reach Mount Illisen. Hundreds of Ehendel-ian civilians' souls entered the Underworld. Yomi demanded Runsica's king to withdraw his troops, but he refused and so Yomi declared war on Runisca. As he struggled to mobilize his troops and get everyone together for war, Yomi sent Mukuro out to deal with the troops that were invading Ehendel's land. Mukuro went with two-thirds of the available troops and successfully held back Runisca's invasion."

"During that time, a coup d'état occurred within the palace, led by the eighth prince who felt wronged by Yomi, because Yomi allowed Mukuro to be his left hand man instead of the eighth prince. Yomi's right hand man, the fifth prince, was killed in the struggles but Yomi, the king, was kept alive."

"The eighth prince used Yomi's king seal and summoned Mukuro back to the palace, explicitly telling her to return by herself. Mukuro had no knowledge of the coup d'état since the eighth prince kept it quiet. Mukuro entered the audience room, where the king normally held most of the discussions with various of high ranking officials. She found the eighth prince there alone."

"What are you doing here, Shiba?" Mukuro called, her voice strong and still dressed in her armor. "Where's everyone else?"

Shiba turned towards Mukuro at the sound of his name and smiled rather unpleasantly. "Welcome, welcome, Mukuro," Shiba said, sounding rather jovial. His voice slid over her name like a slimy caress.

Mukuro glared at Shiba, having inherited a rather impressive glare from Hiei. "Answer me, Shiba. Where is King Yomi?"

At that, Shiba's smile widened and an unsettling feeling settled within Mukuro. "King Yomi, you say," Shiba said, casually ambling across the court floor. He smirked at her, before turning away to walk deeper into the court. "Yomi is not here," Shiba drawled.

"How dare you address King Yomi without his title," Mukuro snarled.

Shiba's smirk widened as he walked up the steps towards the throne. Mukuro's eyes widened in shock as she began to have an idea about what was going on.

"And I am now the king," Shiba declared as he sat himself on the king's throne.

Mukuro clenched her fist in fury. "You betrayed King Yomi," Mukuro said.

"Betrayed?" Shiba reiterated calmly. He dramatically put a hand to his chest. "Oh, dear sister, you wound me." His eyes sharpened. "I'm merely getting back what I deserve with my own two hands."

"You supported him –" Mukuro started.

"Oh I DID," Shiba shouted, his voice suddenly loud. "And look what he did to me. He gave Fifth Brother the place of his right hand man and what did he give me?" Shiba flung his hand out. "Nothing! I threw all my support behind him when he was fighting for the throne and that's the reward I get. Ridiculous! Instead of giving me the opportunity to help him rule the country, he pulled you into the fold and casted me out! After everything that I did for him!" Shiba paused and straightened up, regaining control. "Well, that hardly matters now. Now I have everything, gained with my own two hands, unlike Yomi whose throne literally dropped into his lap."

Shiba looked at Mukuro. "Tell me, Mukuro, won't you join my side? I admit I don't like you much, but I could see the use in you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Mukuro said, sliding the sword at her waist out of its sheath. She pointed the sword as him. "Now where is King Yomi, Shiba?"

Shiba's smile never wavered as he gazed at her. "You want to see him, Mukuro?" Shiba said. He snapped his fingers, and the curtains behind the throne rustles. Mukuro's eyes widened as King Yomi's still form, held up by Shiba's close aid Jin, was revealed. "Well, here he is."

"King Yomi," Mukuro called as she rushed forward. A blade held against the unconscious king stopped Mukuro in her step.

"Shiba!" Mukuro growled, whirling to glare up at her half-brother.

"Oh, I do like that look on your face, Mukuro," Shiba said with a smirk. He licked his lips. "How delicious. Although you really didn't think I would come without being prepared, did you?"

"What do you want?" Mukuro hissed, gaze darting worriedly from Yomi to angrily at Shiba.

"Want?" Shiba threw his head back and laugh. Mukuro wanted to slide one of her daggers out and throw it towards Shiba, but Jin's unwavering eyes were on Mukuro, warning her. "Oh dear sister. I'm the king now. I have everything! What else could I possibly want now?" Shiba's eyes slid to Mukuro's. "Better question for you to ask is: what should you do so your dear King Yomi wouldn't have to die."

Mukuro knew Shiba would kill King Yomi anyway. The risk was simply too high for Shiba to not kill him. Mukuro stayed silent, watching Shiba for his next move.

"Hmm… I don't know," Shiba said, as though Mukuro had really asked the question. "Why don't you start by removing that armor of yours? It's awfully stifling, isn't it?"

Mukuro clenched her teeth as Shiba roared with laughter. He leaned back against the throne after a moment, bringing one arm up to rest against the armchair and braced his head against his hand. "Well, come on," Shiba urged. His smile turned absolutely vile. "Don't you want to save Yomi?"

Shiba slanted his head toward Jin with a nod, and Jin pressed the knife closer to Yomi's neck. A trickle of blood slid down Yomi's pale neck.

Mukuro bit her lips and Shiba's smirk widened. "Drop that sword while you're at it," Shiba said. "It's unsightly."

Mukuro clenched her sword tightly for a moment, before she closed her eyes and let go. The sword that Yomi bestowed upon her fell against the floor with a clatter, seeming to signify the end to everything.

Shiba smiled, almost kindly. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" His eyes sharpened. "Now off with those clothes."

Mukuro inwardly shuddered, not missing the change of wording from 'armor' to 'clothes.' Her mind flashed unbidden to when she was eight and there were the former crown prince and two others…

Mukuro's hands shook despite her best effort as they went to the left side of her shoulder to untie the knot. She had not relived those memories since she had last put them to rest years ago.

Just like her sword, one by one, pieces of her armors were removed and dropped against the floor until Mukuro was left facing Shiba in her thin undershirt.

Shiba whistled. "Wow, look at you, Mukuro," Shiba said, eyes scanning up and down Mukuro unreservedly. "Who would have thought? Pity about your face, but I guess you've proved a woman has more to look at than just her face."

Shiba looked at Mukuro as though he was proud, and Mukuro would have liked nothing more than to kill him. Shiba knew this, she was never really the one to be able to hide all her emotions, and he smiled. "Now take off the rest," he said, like he was talking about the weather. "And don't you dare take it off like you did with your armor either." He leaned back with a smirk, triumph. "Give me a show or it'll be our dear brother who suffers."

Mukuro remained silent, eyes remaining on Shiba the whole time as her fingers touch the bottom of her undershirt. Her arms crossed and slowly, painstakingly, she lifted them, revealing the skin beneath inch by inch. Shiba watched, riveted as Mukuro's hand occasionally brushed against her own curves and skin.

By the time Mukuro had her shirt off, she also had the pointed dart she hidden in her bra in her hand.

Men will be men, Mukuro thought as the dart flew out of her hand in the blink of an eye, hitting Jin, who was also watching the show, right in between the eye.

Shiba shouted as he realized what was going on but Mukuro didn't care as she hurried forward, watching in horror as Jin fell at all the wrong angle and slit Yomi's throat.

"No!" Mukuro exclaimed, quickly picking up Yomi. "Yomi!"

Yomi's eyes fluttered open, usual clear eyes murky with whatever drug Shiba gave him. "Mukur…"

"Don't speak," Mukuro said, pressing her hand against the wound. It was bleeding and without a stop. "Please," Mukuro begged, hugging Yomi's head. Her eyes blurred as all the fear and hurt, the sense of hopelessness bubbled within her. She didn't know who she was begging anymore. "Please."

What was the point of all the training, all the work of improving and changing when she couldn't even protect the person most important to her in the world?

Yomi's hand slowly went up and Mukuro grasped it with no question asked. "Yomi-nii," she rasped as tears dripped onto Yomi's face.

Something like a broken smile went across Yomi's face at the name Mukuro used to call him when she was young. He parted his lips. "S…"

"Wha?"

Mukuro leaned down close to Yomi's mouth to hear what he was saying. "S'rry," he whispered. Mukuro shook her head, not wanting to believe.

"No, no," she said.

"Live," Yomi said, hand squeezing Mukuro's with all the strength he could muster for one last time. Then, his head lolled, losing the strength that held it up and he was gone.

"They had a standoff," Hiei summed up, "Mukuro tried to protect Yomi, but ultimately failed. After that, for two week she was locked up in a cell. In the third week, I heard her call and appeared before her."

"Mukuro," Hiei called, his tone a tad soft and not really knowing how to approach.

Mukuro whirled around, eyes wild and sunken. Those blue eyes darted over Hiei, like they weren't sure whether Hiei was real or a figment of her imagination. Grief, hurt and fear rolled off her, making Hiei recall the first time they'd met.

There were bruises on her arms again.

Hiei stepped forward as Mukuro stared, neither retreating nor approaching. "You'll attract the negative spirits again, Mukuro," Hiei commented carefully, knowing Mukuro would recall Hiei saying that to Mukuro the first time. Her eyes widened for a second, welling with tears, and then Mukuro lunged at him.

She screamed, she cried, she sobbed and screamed some more, all very loudly like a volcano exploding and never wanting to stop, like she wanted to destroy everything. She clawed at his arms that wrapped around her, clawed at his back, trying to find purchase and something that could ground her.

All the while, Hiei let her, let her claw at him and let her cry and shout. He held her tight in her arms, not letting her fall and letting her know he was there.

No one came by to investigate, either already used to Mukuro doing such things or frightened by the dangerous aura that swirled angrily within the cell.

Hiei held Mukuro until she was all spent and her sobs were reduced to hiccups. He ignored his own discomfort at the moment.

Hiei looked at her and thought she looked very young. Her blue eye was dull and haunted, standing out so contrastingly against her features.

"I want to kill them," Mukuro rasped. Her hands clenched tightly, painfully on to his arm. "They'll die painfully, each and every one of them."

"Revenge," Hiei said lightly.

Mukuro nodded and roughly wiped away her tears, although some still continued to fall. "I can't let what they did go."

"Do you have a plan?" Hiei asked, not deterring her. Not only was there no point, the thought of revenge may also be the only thing that was keeping Mukuro alive. Besides, Hiei wanted the others to pay as well.

Slowly, Mukuro shook her head.

"You'll have to think of one, Mukuro," Hiei said slowly. Betrayal and hurt slowly bloomed across Mukuro's features as she realized Hiei said 'you.' Not 'us.' "This is your revenge," Hiei reminded.

Mukuro pulled away from Hiei with the shake of her head and Hiei let her. He stood and watched her for a moment. "Mukuro," he finally said, "if you are really resolved to go through this, use everything at your disposal. Throw everything into this one gamble. Gain power, gain trust. Be patient and think of the whole picture. Then when you finally have victory in your grasp, be ruthless. It's either you or them. Lastly, don't forget about your allies."

Mukuro's dull eyes flickered to him, uncomprehending.

"You commanded a troop, didn't you?"

Life sparkled into Mukuro's blue eyes, intelligence pushing through her wall of grief as hope appeared before her.

Hiei stepped forward and Mukuro let him. He leaned forward and planted a kiss against her clammy forehead and she flinched only ever slightly. Hiei didn't let that bother him.

"I'm watching over you, okay?" Hiei said, his voice soothing.

Mukuro nodded. "I'll do it, Hiei," she said, a girl using grief, hurt and anger to fuel her resolve and strength. "I'll make them pay."

"I know you will," Hiei said, stepping back. "Stay alive, Mukuro."

Mukuro didn't hear him, eyes glimmering with a plan, filled with resolution and ruthlessness. She wasn't a girl that could be stopped, and Hiei briefly wondered if that was really for the best.

"I saved her a life of wasting away that day," Hiei said, "and gave her an idea of how to get her revenge. I gave her advice and she took them, utilized them. Within a month, she convinced Shiba that she switched sides. She played her character just right, a girl not wanting to live a life in cell and reluctantly going with the flow and switching sides as human nature dictated. She didn't pretend to be weak, Shiba knew she wasn't, and instead pretended to submit to the superior. It made Shiba arrogant and prideful to think he had tamed Mukuro."

Disgust was evident in Hiei's voice by how he spat out Shiba's name.

"Despite that, Shiba was smart enough to not let Mukuro have access to any important information. His hands were forced when the war with Runisca was right outside his doorstep, and he had no experience as to how to deal with it, however. He had gotten rid of most of the officials experienced with warfare, since many were loyal to Yomi, and imprisoned the rest."

"Mukuro let Shiba sweat over it for a bit, while their people cried outside for help as chaos reigned, before stepping in and suggesting to let her talk to the people loyal to Yomi. Shiba was suspicious, but Mukuro had been careful to show she was on Shiba's side for the better part of a year. He reluctantly agreed and Mukuro managed to convince many that were loyal to Yomi to work for Shiba. Shiba was elated and began to place his complete trust in Mukuro. Unbeknownst to him, Mukuro was also secretly communicating with Yomi's followers to plan an overthrow. When Ehendel's troops managed to finally slow Runisca's troops' aggressive invasion, Shiba began allowing Mukuro to help him with his duties as a king."

"Mukuro was officially Shiba's half-sister, unofficially his concubine, but everyone also knew that Mukuro did many of the work that Shiba neglected. Mukuro allowed Shiba to ignore his duties and encouraged it even."

"Meanwhile, Mukuro continued to do a good job helping the Ehendel's people, gaining their trust. She also used Shiba's authority to eliminate many of the people that she saw would stand in her way later on. Shiba questioned her at first, but he was a man smitten with woman and drinks. Everything he wanted, he got without a question, without having to work at all. Soon, he stopped caring about politics and work all together and left everything to Mukuro."

"When she gained enough power, two years after Yomi's death, she stopped the façade all together and executed the overthrow. She had completely removed everyone from Shiba's side by then and utterly ruined his image as a king. There was no one to protest. It was a bloodless overthrow with no blood spilt."

Hiei's lips curled wryly, cruelly for a moment. His eyes were filled with darkness. "Well, no one except Shiba, that is." Hiei seemed to have come back to himself and glanced over at Kurama, who looked vaguely uncomfortable. "I won't speak of what she did to him but after that, she became the king and ruled Ehendel."

"Mukuro never planned to rule Ehendel; she had only gained power with the intent to get revenge, but after she succeeded in her plot, she found herself in a position available to rule Ehendel. She was unsure what to do, as all avengers tend to feel after dealing out retribution. When I reminded her that Yomi wanted her to live, Mukuro decided to devote her life to ruling Ehendel in Yomi's place."

"Runisca's army continued pushing deeper into Ehendel during Shiba's rather incompetent rule, and they continued to do so until Mukuro became king and had personally overseen the defense of the next town that the Runiscna troop was going to overrun. The town held during the enemy's attack, the first time ever since Runsica's invasion, and that made anyone who doubted Mukuro's ability to rule due to her gender began to trust her."

"Slowly Ehendel began to push back and Runisca slowly retreated as their general and commanders were brought down. Mukuro gained absolute trust and power from her people after that and that remain true even today, eighteen years after she took the throne from Shiba."

The two of them stayed silence for a moment, Kurama thinking over what Hiei told him and Hiei allowing himself to about all that occurred to Mukuro.

Finally, Kurama said, "Thank you for telling me about Mukuro, Hiei."

Hiei snorted, snapping out of his mood. "It wasn't my story to tell either way."

Kurama 'hmmed' and after a moment, allowed a slow teasing grin to spread across his face. "Should I tell you about Yuki then, since you told me about your favored one?"

"Not interested," Hiei said blandly. He stepped back, causing Kurama to gaze at Hiei in puzzlement, but the look Hiei gave Kurama had him stand in place. Hiei stepped back into Kurama's space bubble a moment later and huffed. "Lean down a little, would you?"

Kurama raised a questioning eyebrow at Hiei but obliged. Hiei's calloused hand went to Kurama's collared shirt and flipped the collar over. "It was folded," Hiei explained, tilting his head in Kurama's direction. "Don't tell me you were going to court like that?"

A small frown unconsciously formed on Kurama's face. "I was busy helping you with your clothes," he pointed out, a pout in his words.

Hiei smirked. "Now I wonder if I should fix my clothes again."

Kurama let out a little huff and tilted his head to kiss Hiei's cheek. "I'm not going to fall for such obvious bait," he said, straightening. "Try that with Yusuke instead."

Hiei hummed in acknowledgement, knowing that while a long time ago Kurama may have fallen for it, Kurama of today wouldn't have. And Hiei was fine with it. "More the reason why we need to get the idiot back, I suppose."

A small chuckle of amusement escaped Kurama. "We should head out then. I doubt Yusuke enjoys the wait."

Hiei let out an 'hn' and headed towards the door. Kurama followed with a smile on his face.