Rae: I apologize for the nudity in this chapter, but I needed a break from the silliness and needed to set up some stuff for later chapters to make the storyline feasible. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I think.

Green Tea and Secrets!! Hiei Makes a Date!!

The purple haired one was nearly in tears as Hiei walked by Home Fashions to clock out for the evening. He had been looking forward to some time training on his own. It had been a long week, and it wasn't over yet.

That was until he saw the heavyset woman grab the purple haired one by the arm and drag her to the register while she was talking to another customer. Hiei was certain he'd seen her open that morning, and she should have gone home by now.

"Excuse me, can I get some help here?" A young black woman asked. She was the one Raederle had been talking to before the fat housewife had grabbed her.

"I don't know anything about curtains." Hiei protested. The young woman looked distressed.

"I guess I'll come back later." She said, looking over at the long line mounting in front of the hapless Home Fashions associate.

"Wait." He ordered her. "Someone must have called in sick. I will take the register, and send her back here."

Hiei darted over to the register before the woman could protest and sneered at the other customers as they flocked to the other register as soon as he came up.

"Go help them on the floor. I'll ring here." He instructed. She nodded briskly.

"That other register is closed, I'm sorry. Hiei will get you all here in a moment." She told them as she hurried back into the curtains. "Or you can take your purchases to another register, if you have some more shopping to do."

He wondered if managing to break though the illusions in this place so far had made him capable of seeing other things which were masked, because as she made her long strides toward the other side of the department, he could have sworn he saw something shimmering falling out of the back of her blouse.

Hiei may not have been good at everything that the humans wanted him to do at this ridiculous place, but one thing he was excellent at was ringing and bagging very quickly. Even the fat housewife that had grabbed Raederle had no room to complain as he swiftly packaged her merchandise.

"Boxes." He asked flatly. The woman stared for a moment. "Do you need any boxes."

"Oh, yes. For the t-shirts."

He grabbed some of the smaller boxes and finished with her. "Thank you for shopping with us. Next."

Within ten minutes, he'd decimated the line. Looking around, he noticed a human in an overcoat standing by the razors, looking around himself nervously. Hiei doubted the human could see him behind the counter.

"Can I help you." Hiei asked, though it sounded more like a threat. It had taken less than a second to appear behind him. The man jolted and put the razor he was looking at down.

"Oh, no… I was just waiting for my wife." He said quickly.

"What's her name. I can page her."

"That's alright. I'll meet her at the car."

Hiei smiled like a Cheshire cat as he walked back to the registers. Thieves so unskilled had no business making a profit.

"Now, Hiei." Raederle said, not looking up from her register. She was keying in the curtain order of the black woman he'd seen a few moments earlier. "If you scare away all the shoplifters we won't have any customers."

The woman laughed. "Thank you so much young man. I needed order these curtains tonight, because the sale goes off, but I couldn't wait much longer, or I'd be late for work. I'm over at the call center."

"Ugh." Raederle expressed with feeling. The woman smiled.

"It's only part time, and it's not so bad if you're used to it. Just don't let people get to you." She accepted the receipt as Rae handed it to her. "Don't be so sensitive about how they treat you and you'll be just fine. Because after they whine and bitch at you because you can't do something for them, they still aren't going to get their way, because when you say you can't do it, you just can't with the system we have."

"Yeah. You should get that in about two weeks. If it doesn't come by then, give us a call so we can look it up for you. And hang onto that receipt in case those measurements don't work out."

"Thank you!" She called back pleasantly as she hurried to her car.

Raederle locked the register and walked around to lean against the tandem. "Well she was nice. Thanks for helping me by the way. I hope you don't get in trouble with Jonathan for staying over."

"I really don't care." Hiei responded, looking up at her evenly. She shrugged.

"They get fussed at from up above if they go over pay requirements. Which is why we have so few people here. I can't believe both the girls working tonight called in on me."

"Leave." Hiei suggested. She crooked the side of her mouth.

"That sounds pretty damned tempting." She admitted, playing with the silver half heart on the end of her necklace.

"Your necklace is broken." He remarked. She looked down for a moment.

"It isn't broken. It's made that way." She raised a brow when he gave her another blank look. "They make it with two halves, so each person can have one."

She held her half up. "Says best friends. My sister has the other half."

"Your sister."

"Yup. You have a sister?"

Hiei looked at he accusingly.

"I'm guessing, don't take it personal." She walked around the counter. Hiei glared back at her as she began talking to another customer. He thought he faintly smelled green tea, but he could have been mistaken, and a customer came up behind him immediately after.

"How much does this cost?"

"I don't know." He took it and scanned the pan at the register, reciting the price for the customer.

"But the sign said it was on sale?"

"Rae?" Hiei called back, hoping she would hear him. He had no idea what this was even for, though he half remembered Kurama using one at some point in time.

"One sec." She held up a finger to the woman looking at the towels. "What?"

"Is this supposed to be on sale?"

"Um, no. That's an exceptional value item. It's always that price. The ones on sale are the T-Fall. It'll be more expensive but it's a better value really." She pointed directly in the middle of the cookware. "I'm a terrible cook and I've yet to destroy mine."

The man nodded and headed back into the cookware section. Rae nodded to Hiei and went back to the little old lady shuffling through the towels.

And so it went for three more hours, running back and forth between customers, ringing, and going crazy from the repetitive Christmas music.

At fifteen till, it had slowed down, and Raederle groaned loudly. "If I have to hear about Miss Damn Susie Snowflake one more time, I may go postal."

"Are they trying to torture us?" Hiei asked seriously. Rae shook her head.

"No doubt." She said looking at her watch. "Goddess bless. Fifteen till."

Hiei raised a brow as she opened up one of the registers.

"I'm going to precount them. So as soon as they announce closing we can get out of here."

"Hn." Hiei said in approval.

"Our first Christmas, more than we'd been dreaming of… old Santa Nicolas had his fingers crossed that we would fall in love…"

He glared back at Raederle as he heard her singing along to the music playing the store.

"It must have been the mistletoe, the lazy fire, the fallen snow, the magic in the frosty air- eep. Sorry. I've heard these song so many times it's ridiculous."

Her voice wasn't bad, per say, but she was no Kurama. And he certainly didn't want to hear the foolish human music any longer than he had to.

The second the store was announced closed, she darted to the other register and had them both closed in five minutes.

"Let's jet." She said eagerly, grabbing the clear plastic bag that they had given to Kurama and skittering out of the department quickly. Hiei followed her, easily keeping up with her long legs.

She swiped her card and grabbed a black leather coat and turned to him. "Do you have a ride?"

"I'll be fine."

"You're not going to walk, are you? It's freezing. I hate the cold."

Hiei pondered this for a moment, while Raederle looked at him like he was from another planet. She would certainly begin to think his group was strange if he didn't accept a ride, and he could examine her further. She did seem strange to him as well. Pointed ears were something, he was pretty certain, that most humans didn't have.

"Come on. I'll take you home and feed you first." She offered.

"Alright." He agreed hesitantly following her out into the parking lot. They walked silently through the bitter cold to her blue car. He eyed the strange ningen machine as she opened the door for him.

"Go on. She doesn't bite." Rae went around to the other side of the car and muttered: "Guys at least."

She started up the engine and stared at him as he slowly entered the vehicle. He could hear Japanese singing coming from somewhere in the car.

"Close the door." She said, softly, obviously biting back impatience. "Not to be nosy, but you don't have much experience with machines, do you?"

"No."

"Then why did they put you in electronics?" She asked as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed to her apartment. He shrugged and listened to the music.

"Do you speak Japanese?"

"Not much." She replied honestly. "If you hear us using the honorifics around work, that's mostly because we picked it up from Anime."

anata to deatte kara
mune no oku de hikatteru
itoshisa ga setsunakute
shizuka ni hitomi wo tojita

"It was really nice of you to stay with me. It was really busy tonight."

"No problem."

Raederle creased her eyebrow.

"Damn. I can still feel where that woman grabbed me." She muttered. "Sorry. I don't like to be touched much."

"That's understandable."

"Yeah, you just need your personal space." She braked at the light and waited. "So are you boys getting along okay here? I know some of the employees can be jerks."

"They don't bother me."

koi wa Lonely Lonely heart
hitoribotchi yo
Lonely Lonely heart
yorokobi mo kanashimi mo itsudatte
watashi dake no yume no naka
koi wa Lonely Lonely heart
dakedo kitto itsu no hi ni ka
anata no tsuyoi ude ni dakarenagara
watashitachi ni naritakute. . . .

"It's good to have friends though. I'd rather have friends than… anything else."

"Hn. It is good to have allies." He caught her large sparkling sea green eyes. They were incredibly serious at the moment, layers of history roiling behind then in a storm that could have ended in madness, but instead ended in wisdom. She leaned over closer brushing her tongue over the thin somber mouth…

HONK!!

"Fuck." She spat as she straightened up. He could see the people behind them screaming in their own machine, and she quickly moved her foot over and pressed down hard. He could almost see spots of red springing up on her cheeks. She focused resolutely on the road, feeling pretty stupid. "We're almost there."

dare mo shiranai
Secret tears
nugueru hito wa
Only
watashi yori
watashitachi ni naritakute...

After a few moments, they pulled up in front of an apartment building and she led him inside. Flipping on the light, she tossed her coat onto the beat up sofa and motioned him inside.

"Go on in. I'm going to make some food."

Hiei stood in the living room waiting for her.

"So… how long have you and Kurama been friends?"

Hiei didn't respond, and looked around the apartment. It was a little messy, but over all seemed organized. He spotted a few weights in the corner that he figured were Belle's. About half a dozen books laying face down to mark the page were on the couch and some on the end tables and floor.

"Yo. You can clear a space and sit down. We have to clean later for anyway." Rae peered through the little window between the tiny kitchen and the living room. "So you've known Kurama, what? Five years or so? Been partners a long time."

That got his attention as she looked at him questioningly. Can she be guessing?

"Yes. A long time." Hiei raised a brow. "Shuiichi."

"Oh. Right, Shuiichi. Damn." She stirred something in a saucepan. "How bout the others, not so long? But you trust Yusuke a lot."

"How would you know?" Hiei growled. He looked through the little window to see her shrug.

"I watch people. That's all." She adjusted the knob on the stove and look back over at him.

"What about you?" Hiei said, turning it back on her. She shrugged.

"I've known Belle about two years. Sarah and Mia I met at the store. Ryo was in one of my classes. You met him right?"

"Yes."

"Neat little guy isn't he? Has he been helping you with the electronics over there?"

"Yes. Human machines are ridiculous."

"No doubt. But really, the more you work with them, the more you get used to it." Stirring the pot one more time, she emptied the contents into two bowls. Then she added some hot water she was boiling into two mugs. Taking a little spoon, she turned her back to him and clinked around the sides of the mug adding a few things before she was satisfied. Some how she managed to balance most of it onto a plate and head out into the living room. "Hope you don't mind ramen and cocoa. I'm not the best cook in the world, but it's warm, at least."

"Hn." Hiei noted, as she set the bowl of noodles in front of him with a pair of chopsticks.

"I steal those from restaurants whenever I go." She said with a grin.

"You eat with chopsticks."

"I'm turning Japanese." She replied softly. Then more seriously: "Only when I eat Japanese foods."

"You and your friends do many Japanese things."

"It's a bonding thing."

He took a sip of the cocoa to find it surprisingly sweet. He drank it appreciatively and looked over at the girl, legs askew slurping up her ramen.

"You and your sister are close."

"Very close. How about you?"

"Hn."

"You and your family? Are you close?" She insisted, looking over into his deep red eyes. Once again he felt that deep connection as she solemnly starred him down.

"Not as I would like to be."

"That's too bad. You can find strength in your greatest weaknesses." She said softly. "When you've found that deeper need inside, it can give you immeasurable power. If only you dare to look for it."

Hiei breathed in sharply, realizing that he'd been holding it for too long. This girl was just too bizarre. Raederle got up, setting down her mug, and looked down at him seriously.

"I know you suspect certain things about me. And I know certain things about you." Hiei glared at her, challenging her knowledge. She raised an angular brow. "You're a demon. So is Kurama, and I believe Yusuke as well, at least in part. You know that I'm… not normal… I guess. You're looking for something."

Hiei wondered if he should kill her right there.

"I'm not telling you this to threaten you. I want you to trust me. And that can't be easy for a person such as yourself." She turned from him and slowly began to pull up her blouse. Inch by inch she revealed her naked back as Hiei watched, unsure of how to interpret this gesture. Did she want to display her vulnerability to him? It would be unwise, since she'd just admitted she knew where they came from. Maybe he should kill her if she was so foolish. The pale naked flesh lay before him, and he focused on it, as though it held a secret for him to crack.

And it did. After a few moments, he saw the shimmering thing he'd though he'd seen earlier that evening. Something he was absolutely certain that normal humans did not have. She had wings.

They shimmered like faerie wings, but seemed to still be slightly conforming to the shape of a butterfly's. And then he knew, she wasn't human.

"What are you?"

"I don't know." She said softly lowering her eyes as if trying to remember something. "I appeared in this world about two years ago. I'm not human. But I don't know where I came from. Sometimes I get glimpses."

She lowered her shirt and sat next to him again. "I can make people look away from me… make their eyes gloss over my differences so they don't recognize that they're looking at the unusual. It isn't malicious, more… for self-defense.

"You do this for your friends as well."

"I'd hate to divulge their irregularities, but yes. Sometimes." Raederle slid her long fingers through her hair, tossing the tail over her shoulder, and cocked her head at him. "A secret for a secret?"

Hiei studied her for a moment, considering her options, the gravity of what she'd just admitted to him, and the fact that she was willing not to blow their cover. "Alright."

"Did you like the cocoa?"

"Huh?"

"The cocoa. I added some extra chocolate. I was betting that you liked sweets."

"Oh. I like it sweet. I want to ask another question."

Raederle cracked a small smile. "What's that?"

"Why do you smell like green tea?"

She covered her mouth and held back some merry laughter. "I… don't think humans have anything comparable, but it's sort of like my scent. It resembles the smell of green tea, I'm told. By Belle, and others."

"Interesting. I'll know how to find you." Hiei noted, showing his fangs a little mischievously.

"Presuming I want to be found." She shot back. "So. Do you want to go upstairs-"

"Hn."

She frowned. "So I can show you how to use a computer? I can even teach you how to set an alarm clock."

"Oh. Alright."

***

"So… have you narrowed down the search for the Sears Senshi yet?"

A dark man stood in the shadows waiting for an answer from his flunky. The man with a bad crewcut hid behind his large, pimp-esque sunglasses and a trench coat as he listened to what the man had to say.

"I'm getting closer, sir. I've only been able to narrow it down by scanning the employees one by one."

"That isn't good enough." He replied tersely. "Do what I've shown you and find the Sears Senshi. I want their powers."

"Yes, sir." The man replied quickly. "I'll find them and drain all of their energy for you."

The dark man rubbed his hands together gleefully. "Excellent."

***

"Holy Mary mother of fucking god!" Sarah swore irreverently in the breakroom Kurama, who was entering just then, turned his head to the blond girl and laughed.

"What's wrong?"

"Hiei let Raederle drive him and he ate her cooking. Damn you're brave!"

Raederle tossed her purse at the girl. "Shut the fuck up. I'm not that much of a terror."

"Akane, baby. Akane." Sarah replied starring mirthfully into Raederle's irritated face.

"He's still alive!" She protested. "My cooking has yet to actually… kill someone. Don't listen to them, Hiei, you'll be fine."

Rae stuck her tongue out at Sarah, and Mia who was conspiratorially making gagging faces at the blond, and sat next to Hiei. She rustled through her bag and pulled out a cookie.

"Here you go." She smiled at him and eyed the girls.

"No cookies for us?" Mia said, trying her best to look sad without laughing. Hiei nibbled on the cookie, happy to find it sugary and delicious.

"No cookies for brats."

"Then this is fucking against the law." Blue declared as she marched into the breakroom and snatched a few cookies. Smiling back at Rae she handed one to Kurama. "One won't hurt, hon. Try them. She bought them, so I know its safe."

"Bitch." Rae shot at her challengingly.

"Back atcha, bitch." Belle grinned, winking at her. "So has everyone had a perfectly horrible day?"

Sarah raised her hand. "Oh! Me! Me! I will never have children. Sally has me over in the Children's department today and there was this little rugrat over there saying the most horrible things to his nana!"

"Oh, I know, honey." Mia said emphatically. "Kids are so awful these days. If Morgan ever talked back to me like some of these chillins do to their mamas I'd bust him upside his head."

"One time I was in the ladies, and I swear. In the next stall there was this little kid, bawlin up a storm." Blue told them, taking a bite out of one of the cookies. "She kept sayin, are you done? Are you done? I'm not going to talk to you until you've finished fussin. Noo.. it's not nice to hit mommy."

"Never having children." Sarah repeated with a look of disgust and dismay on her face. Mia looked at her seriously.

"Bare the rod, spank that child. They'll be happy you did later. Hell, my momma, spanked me whenever I was bad, and it got so she didn't have to do it anymore. Cause I knew she'd pull my britches down in public and teach me not to behave like an animal. If you're going to have children, raise 'em right."

Rae slapped the table hard with her palm. "Aaaaaamen!"

Blue chuckled. "Preach it, sista."

"Oh, like you ever got to worry about that."

"Mebbe someday." Belle challenged her.

"Turkey baster." Mia sneered, getting up to go back to work. "See you hooches latez."

"See ya, bitch." Belle called. Mia pursed her lips and ran her fingers over Sarah's head as she left.

"Yeah, you better show up tomorra, bitch. Because you said last time you'd give me a run for my money and I ain't runnin."

Bellezabble smirked as she leaned back in her chair and flipped Mia off, bobbing her head arrogantly. Kurama looked at her questioningly and she shrugged.

"Pool. Tomorrow we're all going to the pool hall, remember? And Mia bet me awhile back she could beat me in a game, that's all. We're only fooling around." She smiled at him warmly and took his hand in hers. Kurama's eyes lit up and he took both of her hands and rubbed his over them.

"You must have bad circulation, Belle. Your hands are always cold." He smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips. Raederle turned to Hiei and made a face. He rolled his eyes in response.

"I must return to my department." Hiei announced, flitting out of the room as Raederle saluted to him.

"See you lovebirds later." Rae quipped, pushing the rest of the cookies over to Sarah. "Make sure Mia gets some."

Sarah nodded, avoiding looking at the couple across from her. She took a cookie and began to lick it lightly with her tongue. Kurama and Belle were hardly paying attention to her, so she held up her cup and lapped up some water as well. Eventually, she tossed the cookie up and chomped it in the air territorially. Smirking behind her, Sarah left, sashaying out of the room, her ears still twitching for sparks of conversation far into the hallway.

"Mmm." She whispered to herself, browsing through the Men's department for a reason to delay heading back to the timeclock. "Curious as a cat."

***

Kurama looked around the trashed Juniors department fretfully. He was really beginning to hate closing night after night. People stayed in the dressing rooms until the last minute, stole clothes when he wasn't looking and half the little teenagers who came in to spend their parents money made nasty comments about what the tall "redheaded girl" wore. Or didn't wear. Apparently, not wearing makeup was a sure ticket to being called a lesbian, which Kurama wouldn't have minded much if he had been a girl, but since he'd gone to the trouble to reincarnate into a male he would have appreciated it if others had noticed.

The fox had never been picky about his lovers. Something that came in the territory of being a youko, the long life gave him opportunities to understand the transitory nature of mortal existence. Change was inevitable. Nothing was permanent. And the only restrictions that existed were restrictions that one put onto oneself.

Kurama placed another dress back on the hanger he was sure a half-blind drag queen would turn her nose up at and hear the click of the intercom for an announcement.

"Attention. Number 689 is a defiler of virgin goats. Repeat... Hiei... defiler of virgin goats."

Kurama stopped what he was doing immediately and looked up at the ceiling in disbelief. That had been Sally's voice he was certain. He couldn't believe that was actually her. The intercom clicked again.

"Please repeat that last page." It was Hiei. Kurama couldn't tell whether or not he was angry or amused. He hurried to finish cleaning up the rest of his department so he could meet with the others at the exit. The intercom clicked again.

"Stop fooling around with the intercom. Hiei, please report to the main office." Jonathan ordered. Kurama quickened his clean up once again.

***

The gang waited at the door for Hiei to get out of Jonathan's office. He came out looking bored and unimpressed.

"Are you still working here?" Ryo asked worriedly. Yusuke laughed.

"If Jonathan hasn't canned my ass yet, he can't bust Hiei. Besides, he didn't even do anything."

"He wanted to know if I knew who might have a machine that could mimic Sally's voice." Hiei told them glaring. "I told him I did not know. Let's get the fuck out of here."

They nodded in agreement and headed for their cars.

"You boys walking?" Mia asked.

"Well, they certainly can't ride with Rae." Sarah joked. Raederle swiftly scooped up some snow and stuffed it down her shirt. "Eee!! I was just kidding!"

"It isn't that far." Yusuke assured them. Ryo furiously polished his glasses, which seemed unhappy with the change in temperature.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow night, then hon." Belle promised, pecking Kurama on the cheek and headed off. He waited until she was out of sight before rubbing his cheek.

"Cooties?" Yusuke teased. Kurama shivered.

"No. She's cold! I was afraid her lips would stick to my cheek."

Ryo snorted and waved, heading toward his car. Raederle caught Hiei's eye meaningfully before she headed to her car, gazing deeply into the red abyss. He in turn, looking into her fathomless green pools of wisdom.

"Goat-fucker." She said softly. Hiei smirked.

"Bitch."

...........

Endnote: Fear not. I will not trouble you with any more of my back-story unless it has to do with Raederle being evil, as always, and prying into Hiei's past, which she might. In this story she doesn't know enough about her past to reveal it anyway. I'm sorry, but this chapter was really fun to write. Some girls are ever failing at romance and spectacular at friendship.