Unexpected Opportunity
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or its characters.
Author's Note: The first chapter was really short I know. This one will be longer, and a little more depthful. If that's a word…
Hiei awoke with a start, with all of his senses on alert. The night was cold, and he was still curled in the nook of the tree, but that wasn't all. An all too familiar ki was nearing his hiding place. 'What are you doing Kurama?' Hiei wondered as he quickly gathered himself, and leapt from the tree, to a safer vantage. Hiding his ki as best as he could, Hiei waited for the fox to enter his view.
Kurama's voice reached his ears before he could see the fox. "Damn it! He knows we're here." Cursing? No, this was a trick. Hiei recoiled further from the fox, not wanting to be detected at all costs. Using every piece of concealment knowledge he'd learned over the years, Hiei managed to all but erase his presence.
Another voice, carried recklessly into the night, "What are we doing out here, Kurama?" The tired male voice clearly stated its owner's loathing for the late night excursion.
A little too loudly, and a little too emotionally, Kurama replied, "We have to find Hiei!" The over acted concern made Hiei's skin crawl. "Who knows what he might do to himself?" 'As if I'd give you the satisfaction!' Hiei thought viciously. His defenses wavered for less than a moment, but it was enough to bring him back to reality. This was just a plan to get him to show himself. 'Tricky fox,' Hiei thought with a little admiration.
Yusuke replied something unintelligible to Hiei. Kurama however, was apparently bothered by the comment. He whirled on Yusuke, only to get an annoyed stare from his partner in crime. "Am I right?" The raven-haired fighter queried.
Kurama huffed, not replying. Standing for another few moments, emerald eyes scanned every detail of the area for any trace of the demon. Sighing he motioned for Yusuke to turn around so they could leave. As Hiei listened to their retreating forms, he still refused to move until they were well out of the park. Kurama had sharp ears, and a sharper wit. It was easy to get caught in the carefully set traps, Kurama always seemed to have in place.
Hiei refused to move, even as he knew they were gone. His mind was working out places where he could hide. There was no place he could go, that the fox wouldn't know to look for him. Also, he was still technically on parole, so he couldn't go anywhere secret in the demon world. Carefully contemplating his possibilities, his heart sank. The hassle was almost not worth avoiding Kurama for.
It would after all, be only a little disquieting, for the Kurama to not know where he was for a while. Still, since it was the only revenge that would be effective as of now. The opportunity was hard to pass up. Hiei brooded still, slowly dropping his shields. One place came to mind, but he frowned at the thought.
Kuwabara's house might be the last place Kurama would think to look for him, but it was the last place he wanted to go. The thought of even sharing the same space with the human made Hiei shudder involuntarily. He'd only been in the Kuwabara household a few times, and even then a very short time indeed. While he didn't truly avoid the human's presence as much anymore, being within closed walls with him was not an option.
Hiei sighed. All of that speculation was assuming that Kuwabara was going to allow him to stay. If there was anything in the universe that Hiei was sure he could count on, was the shared animosity between himself and the taller boy. It was assured that Kuwabara would not accept the Hiei, for while power levels differed, egos were about the same. Hiei snorted, happily assured that he was at least correct in his own self-evaluation.
The third problem lie in how the human would handle lying to his friends. There were a few character traits Hiei could expect from Kuwabara. One, that he was stupid, two, that he was honest, and three, that he was utterly self-righteous. All of these things stacked up high against the demon's hope for confidentiality. Burying his face in his hands, Hiei went over alternatives one more time. It was quick, because there weren't any.
Not liking gods very much, he didn't bother to pray to anyone for help. Even if nothing short of a miracle would pull this off, miracles just didn't happen to him. As cautiously as he could possibly manage, he slipped out of the woods and toward the general direction of Kazuma Kuwabara's house.
~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~-~~
The human in question was also up late that night. The feeling of the dark aura that had been following Hiei had not left him yet, disallowing sleep of any kind. The only sound was the scratching of his pen against paper, as he carved his emotions into the paper. He'd never been a very articulate person, words seemed to get jumbled so badly when he talked. Thus his vocabulary, though limited, suited him just fine for socializing. Yet, when writing, there was no sound, no quavering in the voice to obstruct what is trying to be said. When the words put themselves to paper, even the most ridiculous statement could make sense.
He had volumes of these small journals. Books of poetry basically, since he wasn't much for talking to himself. They kept him sane, most of the time. Of course, sanity was all relative anyway.
As the cryptic symbols were etched onto the rough paper, they would register and transform into sounds, words and ideas. Currently, and more often than not, these spoke of a certain fire demon. The frown on Kuwabara's angular face deepened, as the thoughts continued to pour out. There was a puzzle to solve, and he wasn't sure he could do it. The dark aura he now understood, had been a burden of pain that Hiei carried. Kazuma clenched the pen in his teeth as he reached over his bed, and fumbled for more of his books. He couldn't solve this puzzle without a few more clues, he was sure, though he didn't know what to look for.
He managed to grab three books, containing information on the demon. Over the two years he had known Hiei, the short demon had begun to fill his thoughts, dreams, and journals. He wasn't altogether certain of the information he had at hand, but he had a hunch there was something in his books that could help him.
Flipping open the red book, dated the year before he had met the demon, he skipped to the end. He had long memorized where his writings of Hiei were, having analyzed his own addiction many times. Ready to study hard, though he didn't know what he was studying for, Kazuma was interrupted by a rather sudden realization.
The realization came as Hiei slid his bedroom window open, making a swishing noise in the process. Perplexed, and a little shocked by being unable to sense the Hiei's ki, all Kazuma could do was stare at the fire demon who now crouched in his window. Fear gripped at Kuwabara's chest as he realized the books were well within the demon's view, and the contents of the open pages were at best, questionable.
Never taking his eyes from Hiei, Kuwabara snapped the book his was holding shut, and gathered the rest of his things. Through all of this, Hiei just stared straight back at him, as though waiting for something. Finally, when fear quit gripping the cogs in Kuwabara's mind so much, he realized what the demon wanted. He gestured for Hiei to enter, with a wave of his hand. Without further hesitation the demon dropped through the window, neatly landing on the floor. He quickly shut the window behind him, and Kuwabara wondered just how long Hiei intended this meeting to be.
"I have a favor to ask, human" the demon began, after he'd turned to face Kuwabara. Kazuma just barley managed to burry a laugh behind a cough. 'A favor,' he thought, 'well, that's rich.'
"I need to stay here for a while," he continued evenly. Then looking sideways slightly, he amended, "I need to hide here for a while."
Kuwabara was glad he was sitting in bed, because if he'd been standing he might have collapsed. Everything about Hiei seemed serious, yet it didn't seem quite right. Kuwabara pulled his knees up, carefully avoiding the storm like dark aura that threatened to engulf both of them.
"Hiding from what?" He asked, a mix of joy and apprehension fluttering in his chest. Hiei had come to him for help. 'Ah, the gods must finally be on my side' he thought inwardly.
"Kurama, and Yusuke." The demon stated flatly. His happy bubble having been cruelly burst, Kuwabara tried not to look as crestfallen as he felt.
"Why?" He asked, and then immediately regretted the question. The dark aura flared suddenly, causing pins and needles to run down his spine.
"I-I mean," he stammered quickly, sweat dropping, "I-It's nothing illegal right?" He managed the question putting his hands up defensively.
The aura receded, and a slight smile lit Hiei's face. "No, nothing like that. It's more, personal" The dark shadow flared slightly at the word 'personal,' and Kuwabara managed a small smile and nod.
"Huh," Kuwabara grunted as he slid off his bed, and tossed the books in the general direction of their hiding place. "Well, we don't have a guest room here, so you have two choices," he stated matter-of-factly. "The bed, or the floor." He left a stunned Hiei in the room while he traveled out into the hall to get extra blankets and pillows. Upon his return he dropped the contents of the closet on the floor, and looked expectantly at Hiei, who hadn't moved.
"The bed, or the floor," Kuwabara repeated clearly. Hiei simply stared at him.
"Why are you doing this for me?" Hiei inquired dubiously.
"Why? Oh, I suppose," he began as he shuffled industriously around with the blankets on the floor, " It's 'cause I like you so much." He grinned broadly when Hiei snorted.
"I'm serious, human," Hiei insisted, an edge creeping into his voice. He was taken aback when Kuwabara laughed softly.
"It's not like I had much of a choice is it?" He had finished making the haphazard bed on the floor. "Now make you're choice shrimp, or I'll choose for you."
"Hn," Hiei stated as he sat on the edge of the bed. Kuwabara watched in mild interest as Hiei removed his boots and jacket before crawling under the covers. He noted the ragged tank top, and wondered if Hiei had any other cloths.
Kuwabara flicked off the light before removing his own shirt and pants. He crawled under the covers, feeling Hiei's eyes, watching his every move. It was uncomfortable, and a little disheartening to feel those red eyes bore through him. 'Eh, the gods must be crazy,' Kuwabara thought to himself as he fell into an awkward slumber.
****End Chapter 2****
Redragon: You may be asking why I chose to pick on Kurama, but I'm not. This is just the most recent idea that has popped into my head, and I'll definitely be able to get through this one with out the plot problems that I had in "Cherries." Why? Because this time I have a plan! ^^;
