By Yume
Yu Yu Hakusho, HxK shounen-ai
(A/N: Yo! Still with me? Sweet. Forgive me if the chopping up of the chapters is a little…awkward? This wasn't meant as a story in chapters originally, but come on…it's long…I'd have to be mad to expect you to sit through the whole thing in one go.
*Yami pipes up* You are mad, hika-chan.
Yume: Oh, shut up. Anyways, on with the story! This is where the humor comes in. Oh, and thanks to my reviewers. All…two of you…
*crickets chirp*
I appreciate you. Keep reviewing, keep reading, enjoy the bishounen goodness that is Hiei and Kurama!)
Chapter 3
Carnival Games!
They were immediately surrounded by rides, midway booths, and –to Hiei's great annoyance- lots and lots of people. Leaf-green eyes scanned the area for a moment before lighting on a game typical of these places. Briefly squeezing Hiei's hand to make sure he was still holding on and smiling upon discovering that he was, he pulled his companion over and indicated the booth. Hiei eyed it suspiciously. There were guns attached to a counter, hardly something he expected at such a light-spirited human gathering, and a number of targets. A man stood behind the counter yelling and waving a…what? Some grotesque plush thing, many copies of which lined the wall behind him. Hiei took a cautious step forward and stood on tiptoe, briefly examining the guns and noting with surprise that they weren't really guns. There were hoses attached, and a quick glance at the dripping targets soon illuminated the apparent purpose of this game. He glanced to Kurama and nodded.
"I can beat you at this." Kurama chuckled and handed a few bills to the man behind the counter, who thanked Kurama before turning to eye Hiei and smirk.
"Eh, the kid's too short, 'e doesn't even reach the counter!" Kurama winced and looked to Hiei, who was seething. Before he was entirely aware of it, the angry little demon had hopped onto the counter and was holding the carnival worker by the collar of his shirt.
"Watch your tongue, ningen, or you'll find it missi—" Kurama placed his hand on Hiei's arm, glancing nervously around at the people whose attentions had been drawn by the little scene in progress.
"Hiei…" he murmured anxiously, tugging his sleeve. "Let it go, Hiei, he didn't mean anything…people are staring…" Hiei growled defiantly at the worker, released his shirt, and reluctantly leapt back onto the ground. The unfortunate man looked thoroughly bewildered and was stammering an apology. Kurama glared at him for a moment, then looked down at Hiei and sighed. This was beginning to look like a bad idea- he blinked as Hiei reached up and placed his hand on the water gun in front of him.
"Hiei?"
"I said I would win." Kurama sighed and bit his lip.
"Um…can you…" He frowned, carefully picking out his words. "Are you sure you can see the target?" The man had been right; the edge of the counter was at just the same level as the spiky tips of Hiei's hair. There was no way he could possibly—
"Take your position, fox." Hiei's words were sharp and unhesitating. He took a few steps back, looked up at the target, and retook his place at the counter, stretching up to adjust the gun a little and place his finger over the trigger. Kurama sighed ruefully; he had earlier been grateful to Hiei's pride, since it was what had basically convinced him to come along, but now it was going to get him humiliated. Still, he wasn't about to talk down to his friend, and he reluctantly took aim. Hiei grinned to himself, nudging the gun just a little to the left, and the carnival worker flipped a switch.
Tssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh…ding! Kurama blinked- it was over already? He sighed again and looked over at Hiei, hoping he wouldn't be too upset. But Hiei was…smirking?? Kurama raised an eyebrow and looked to the carnival operator, who was leaning over the counter and looking down at Hiei in amazement.
"N-nice job, ki—" A glare from the dark figure staring defiantly up at him cut him off and he quickly pulled a blue stuffed dog from the shelf behind him, setting it on the counter in front of Hiei. Kurama, meanwhile, was still putting this together. No way…had Hiei…no way! It was entirely illogical, and yet…it was perfectly Hiei, down to the last drop. He chuckled as Hiei took the plush animal and eyed it suspiciously.
"Care to explain how you did that?" Hiei shrugged.
"I looked at the target and aimed. Nothing special." Kurama shook his head and laughed.
"Only you, Hiei…" The youkai wasn't paying attention to him at this point and stood examining the toy. A small boy, maybe four years old, toddled towards the booth, pulling his father by the hand and pointing excitedly to the stuffed animals on the wall. Hiei glanced over at him, looked at the blue dog in his hand, and waited for the child to step a little closer before holding it out to him. The boy blinked up at him, wide-eyed, and took the plushie, squeezing it and giggling in delight. Kurama looked on curiously as the little boy beamed and held up the toy to show his father, then smiled affectionately at Hiei, who was watching as well. The temptation to hug the little demon was overwhelming as he marveled at the way even Hiei could be nice, whether he really meant to or not. It was a temptation he made himself resist, though, and he settled for taking Hiei's hand again and smiling down at him.
"That was nice…"
"Shut up. What's next?"
Nice…che, not a distinction he'd let himself be stuck with. He just wanted to
get rid of that blue thing. Still, he liked seeing Kurama so happy, even if it
meant playing along with this whole "carnival" thing. Besides, the look on his
face after losing at the water gun game had been fairly satisfying---confusion
turning quickly to impressed amazement. He chuckled quietly, hesitating a
little upon realizing that Kurama had once again latched onto his hand. Was he
imagining it or did that seem to happen a lot lately? Shrugging this off, he
went with a passing whim and laced his fingers between Kurama's, just as he had
done earlier.
For a moment the redhead was too shocked to respond. He cast a glance down to where their hands were joined, blushed faintly, and smiled. This day was certainly shaping up. Something ahead caught his eye and he pointed it out to Hiei. The response earned was a raised eyebrow.
"Why are they hitting that?"
"It's another game, a strength test…Hiei?" Kurama blinked as he realized he was suddenly talking to a dark blur of air. His companion stood near the game, watching with a smirk as a muscular-looking man managed to register a 6 on the 1-10 scale of the test. Too easy…he mused, eyeing the hammer in the man's hand. He pushed past the crowd and took the hammer from him, swinging it casually and looking to the target on the machine. Kurama hurried over and handed a bill to the man operating the game, then leaned against the machine and looked to Hiei, chuckling.
"Let's see what you can do…" The challenging tone of his voice surprised Hiei a little, but he didn't show it. Hoisting the hammer over his shoulder with little visible strain, he earned a few murmurs of surprise and approval from the people passing, then swung it down with a yell and scored…
(A/N:
Yume: Ehehe! Cliffhanger!
Yami: Oh, the suspense is killing me. -.-
Yume: Hey, shut up, you made me write this, so don't tell anyone what Hiei scored, okay?
Yami: *evil smirk*
Yume: Don't or I'll cut off your caffeine.
Yami: Yes sir.)