Chapter 13: Yukuta

"So, lets see... it's at the Kurishiku Shrine, and it's at noon 'til 5:00pm. Sound good?" Hiei nodded half-heartedly. Sukari tilted her head, sighed, and waved a hand in front of his face. He looked up. "Ne?" "Look. It's not... it's not like I'm forcing you into this, right? And if I am, I'm sorry. Please don't go if you don't want to."

Hiei shook his head almost unnoticeably.. "...I... er... I don't have a yukuta." "...oh." Sukari ticked her finger in front of Hiei's face teasingly. "And why don't you have a yukuta?" Hiei blinked. "Why...? I don't need one!" "But you--! ...um..."

Hiei watched, confused, as Sukari fidgeted. "...nani...?" "Well, um, you wore one once... and you look... really good. I-in one. ...Really good." Hiei stared at her for a moment, but then nodded. "Arigatou, I think. S'pose I have to get one, then...?" Sukari grinned. "Aw, no worries, Hiei. I'll getcha one. Nooooo worries..."

"Hm... well, red would go with your eyes, but green just kind of suits you, you know, but blue might--" '...Ugh... girls and shopping...' Hiei kept an eye on Sukari as she searched through yukuta, after yukuta, after yukuta. 'Huh. It shouldn't take this time to find one damn yukuta...' He sighed and tilted his head, considering a dark green Sukari was looking at. 'What's wrong with black...?'

"Suki-chan? Can we hurry?" "Yeah. Here!" Sukari stood up, shoving a yukuta in Hiei's face. "It's perfect. Do you like it?" "...Suki-chan? I can't see it." "...Oh. Heh." Sukari drew the yukuta away from Hiei's face. It was a deep navy blue, and if you tilted it a bit, a shadowy black dragon flashed across the back; oddly, the dragon seemed to resemble Hiei's. "Hn... not bad." Sukari grinned. "I knew you'd like it."

LATER

"Right. So tomorrow I'll wake you up at 11:00am if you're not up yet. ...wait, why wouldn't you be up yet?" An uncomfortable look donned Hiei's face. "Uh... I kind of... tend to sleep in late." "...Oh. Okay!" Sukari nodded. "You do understand though, that if you don't get up after three tries, I'll be forced to get out the camera?" Hiei smirked. "Fine." They stood in front of Sukari's room, the chosen yukuta folded carefully in Hiei's arms. A short silence prevailed as they ran out of things to say.

"Okay. So... goodnight." Sukari turned, putting a hand on her doorknob. But she didn't turn it. "...Hiei?" Hiei wasn't sure whether she was talking to the door or him, but he answered anyway. "...What?" "Gomen. For overreacting today." Hiei shrugged. "...Forget it." Sukari turned, her face brightened by a soft smile once more. "Okay. Thanks." She paused for a moment; then hesitantly leaned forward and kissed him. "...Goodnight, Hiei." To her surprise, the blushing fire demon returned her smile. "Goodnight, Suki-chan."

The Next Day, 9:26am

Sukari stretched, yawned and rolled out of her bed. She'd gotten a relatively good night sleep, and she was really looking forward to her date with Hiei. "Hm... guess I'll go take a shower..."

* * *

"Hey, Hiei? I've... well, I've changed my mind. I really don't want to go to that festival." Hiei tilted his head, raising an eyebrow at Sukari. "Why not?" "Well... I've decided... well, I really don't like you. Not like that. But we can still be friends, right?"...

Hiei sat up with a start, letting out a small sound of surprise. He breathed deeply for a few moments, then rubbed his head. "...a dream..." He'd never had a dream like that before, though... strange. He sighed exasperatedly, rolled over, and sunk back into a fitful sleep...

10:21am

"Hm... maybe Hiei was telling the truth; he's not up yet." Sukari mumbled out loud, typing in updates on her website. "I'll have to wake him up soon if he doesn't get up; I don't want to miss this festival..." She sighed angrily; she was so nervous she couldn't concentrate! She shut her laptop with a click, got up and stretched, yawning widely. "Hm... I'll go see if Botan's up..."

*knock knock* "Hello?"

"Hey, Botan?"

"Oh, Sukari! Come on in!" Botan's door swung open. "How are you??" She chirped happily, grabbing her hand and pulling her inside. "I'm good. Er, I have another question. I'm sorry if I'm being a bother but--" "--No, you're not! What's your question?" Sukari nodded.

"Just wondering if Hiei usually sleeps in late..." *teehee!* "Yes; who told you?" "He did." Botan blinked stupidly. "...He did? That's odd..."

"Huh?" Sukari tilted her head, obviously confused. "Why?"

"Well, he never told anyone that he slept like death. We all figured it out on our own. Did Yusuke say anything about how he found Hiei when he woke him up for the 'spin the bottle' game yesterday?" Sukari shook her head. *giggle* "He was still in bed. He had his sheet practically strangling him, he was drooling, and he was snoring." Botan laughed again, while Sukari gawked at her.

"Hiei snores!? Who would have guessed!" "I know!" Botan chuckled, trying to get the vision out of her head. "And I doubt you ever thought about this, but..." Botan leaned over next to Sukari and whispered something hurriedly in her ear. Sukari gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh! You're right, I never thought about it, but it makes sense." She was blushing. "Whew, does THAT one leave a vision in your head..." Botan laughed again. "Yeah; and not a pleasant one!" Sukari laughed along with Botan on that one, but she wasn't sure she agreed...

Author's Note: Yes, I know, I'm being unfair. I didn't tell you what Botan said; sorry! I'll bet most of you can guess, but here's what she said:

"Hiei wears boxers to bed, just like most guys; but what's funny is that they're black, just like everything else he wears!"

Hee hee! Yes, I'm so perverted. ~_^ Sorry about that!

Hope you enjoyed! I have the rest of the story planned out, so nobody fear! I'm also gonna write a sequel! PLEEZ tell me you'll read it...? Anyway... I have some idea's for that too, but it's gonna be a lot shorter. (You're all sighing now. *whew!*) Okay. See you next chapter!

-- Naroa-chan