Chapter Two- Living Arrangements

"Hiei's never gonna understand or respect humans," Kuwabara moaned as he and Kurama traveled to Demon World, the full impact of the spell's condition finally hitting him.

"Perhaps he will," Kurama pointed out. "After all he wishes to be a demon again just as you desire to be human once more."

"I know I have to understand demons and that being one is necessary in order to do that, but I think trying to figure them out will be hard."

"How so?"

"Well, the ones that we've fought were evil and vicious."

"Banish that preconception from your mind, Kuwabara. You need to keep an open mind or you'll never be human again."

Kuwabara gulped at the thought. "All right. I'll keep an open mind. You think Hiei will do that?"

"He better. Hiei may think he understands humans but he is mistaken. He probably believes that you alone needed this spell to be used on him."

"You think so? Well, let's hurry so I can start learning. I bet I'll learn faster than he will."

Kurama sighed softly. This is not a competition. This is to understand why demons and humans do what they do. At this moment, it is difficult to determine who has the easier task: Yusuke or myself.

Kuwabara automatically looked up at the sky upon hearing thunder before recalling that thunder and lightning were common in Demon World and did not necessarily mean rain. "Kurama, how do you know if it's gonna rain?"

"The rain has a distinct scent and that's how we tell." Kurama sniffed the air. "No rain detected, not that it matters. Shall we get settled in first?"

"Sure. Is it far?"

"Not at all. If we run at top speed, it should only take a few hours."

"Hours?" Kuwabara repeated faintly. "I can't run at top speed for longer than a few minutes."

Kurama laughed. "Kuwabara, you're a demon now and have Hiei's abilities. A few hours' run will not be a problem."

Kuwabara gave a sheepish look. "Oh, right." He fingered the headband Hiei had given him to conceal his Jagan. "Okay, then. Lead the way." Kurama sped off and Kuwabara followed, easily keeping up with the fox.

"And where am I expected to stay?" Hiei grumbled as they headed down the sidewalk. He was already in a foul mood as he found that his fast speed belonged to Kuwabara now. He was also annoyed with being in a crowd of humans some of who had brushed lightly against him.

"You could stay with my mom and me or with Shizuru once we tell her what's going on. Actually, we have to tell her since Kuwabara won't be coming back for a while." Yusuke headed for Shizuru's with Hiei in tow as he really didn't have anywhere to go or anything to do. During the trip to Human World, Hiei had suggested he'd stay at Genkai's to wait for Kuwabara to break the spell.

"For Kuwabara to break it?" Yusuke had repeated. "Hey, you have to do your part too."

"Really? I think I understand humans pretty well."

"You might but you have to respect them too."

Hiei had moaned at that and Yusuke had come up with a great motivation. "Just think Hiei: If you learn understanding and respect faster than Kuwabara, you could mock him for not being an understanding demon."

Hiei's eyes, still red, had lit up at the idea and then a smirk had appeared. "Oh, that's good, Detective. Very good. That oaf will take days to learn."

Hiei's mood lifted as he recalled that conversation. Yes, it would take him days too, but he suspected no more than two maybe three. Kuwabara would probably take a week. Hn, once I've learned, I can head to the mountains and wait to become a demon again.

They soon arrived, though to Hiei it felt like it took forever. How do humans deal with being slow, he wondered as Yusuke rang the bell. The door opened and Shizuru stood there, looking for a moment as if she was about to lecture but it passed and now she looked concerned and puzzled.

"Yusuke? Where is Kazuma? He should have been home."

"He won't be coming home for a bit. Koenma had switched Kuwabara and Hiei's races in order to understand the other's race."

"Kazuma's a demon?" Shizuru gasped.

"Yeah and Hiei's human." Yusuke tilted his head at his friend. "Kurama's watching out for Kuwabara and I'm watching Hiei unless you want to have him here. A kind of surrogate brother."

Shizuru regarded Hiei. "He has to understand and respect humans, right? I could have him sleep here, but you'll have to show him what humans do, Yusuke. That is your responsibility.'

"Yeah, yeah. Thing is, I have no ideas and someone is not gonna help." He shot Hiei a pointed look.

Hiei returned the look. "I didn't ask to be human. I'd rather be in Demon World sleeping in a tree."

"Yeah, well Koenma decided you needed an attitude adjustment about humans and since Kurama's more experienced than me when it comes to demons, he got to assist Kuwabara who's probably giving and receiving suggestion on how demons live."

Shizuru nodded. "Yes, Kazuma would do that." She looked at her watch. "Yusuke, would you and Hiei like to stay for dinner? I'm about to start it and Hiei can sleep here."

"Sure, we'll stay. Mom's probably out partying." Yusuke steered Hiei in and closed the door. Shizuru nodded as she headed for the kitchen, lighting a cigarette as she did so. So, Kazuma's a demon while Hiei is human. Both need to learn in order to change back. It won't be easy to help Hiei and Yusuke's right that Kazuma will ask Kurama to guide him. I wonder what demons eat.

Kuwabara looked around Kurama's place while the redhead stood by the concealed entrance. "We're staying here?" he asked in awe. "Amazing."

"Thank you and yes, this will be our home while we're here." Kurama went to a pantry and looked in: Empty as he expected. "We will need to forage for food."

"Forage? No grocery store?"

Kurama chuckled. "No grocery store. Demons tend to keep to themselves or serve a stronger demon. The desire to help others by providing a service is a human trait and I find that admirable."

"Yeah. So, what do we eat?"

"Anything edible we find. I will assist you in determining what's edible."

"I could use the help." He took a sack Kurama handed him.

"I might cook up a stew depending on what we find around our home. Tomorrow we can venture further out to find other ingredients and maybe even hunt for meat."

Kuwabara nodded as he followed Kurama out. He was disappointed that there wasn't a nearby place to get supplies, but he was eager to learn how to live off the land. This could be useful if I find myself lost in a forest whether here or in Human World.

Kurama and Kuwabara crawled around, searching grasses and around the trunks for food. Kurama noted the absence of demons and surmised that they sensed the strong energy he and Kuwabara emitted. We will end up engaging in fighting strong demons. That is inevitable. I do hope we encounter friendly demons or at least as friendly as demons can be. Kuwabara needs to know that not all demons are bad.