Hiei did not know what was worse, helping Fox, or allowing this terrorizing to continue. He could not deny the strong bond of friendship between them. He'd be lying if he did. But going so far as to defending him from some fool nigens? If Yuskue found out, he'd never allow Hiei to live it down. Neither would Kuwabara. The thought of those two torturing him because he had a friend… No. He would not let those two scare him out of aiding a fellow demon. This foolishness would stop. And he would make it stop without Kurama's knowledge.

Hiei slipped out of the window far before the sun shone behind clouds of pink, orange, and red. He made his way down the street, ducking through impossibly big crowds of humans on the sidewalk. At long last, Hiei found himself in the school yard, Kurama's building towering above him. His face void of human expression, Hiei let himself in through an open window.

Now he had no idea of what to do. Should he wait until the bullies made their move again on Kurama, then leap out of a closet and slay them? "…Violence is not the answer Hiei… Humans are different…" Swearing, Hiei let that idea die. He did not want to make Kurama upset, nor did he relish the thought of being tossed in jail for killing a human. Koenma would blow his top if he found out, and if he noticed the connection between the attack and Kurama, Kurama would get tossed too. Hiei knew that in that body, Kurama wouldn't last a moment in demon jail. "Frail human…" Hiei muttered in a hostile tone, his red eyes scanning the room around him. He scrunched up his nose in distaste as he gazed at white walls, green chalkboards, and endless rows of desks. He wandered aimlessly around the large room, stopping every now and then to stare blankly at a paper taped on the wall: A+ tests, perfectly done homework assignments, and a few stupid posters about math. Hiei sought Kurama's name on every paper, owing to the fact it was the only human symbol he knew, other than a stop sign. He found most of the work did, in fact, belong to the redhead.

Hiei wanted to know where it was that Kurama sat. He lifted his face, giving a slight sniff. Sure enough, the sent of roses met his nostrils, and it followed it's trail to a seat, front row, center. Hiei slipped into the desk, his hands falling into his lap in a mock imitation of Kurama. He tilted his head to the side, his jagon glowing a soft ray of gold. The room was instantly alive, filled with children and a teacher. They were not real, their bodies giving an occasional shimmer, but reproductions of those who had been there the day before. With a cynical look on his pale face, Hiei watched the goings-on of the room, his jaw set. Just as Kurama had said, cruel words were exchanged, and when a girl burst into sobbing and ran from the room, only her friend followed her or showed any remorse. The teacher watched this battle being waged with a tired eye, her face showing no signs of displeasure at the cruelty. This surprised Hiei, had not Kurama told him that the teacher was in charge of a classroom? Was it not her responsibility to stop this?!

Finally, fed up with the scene around him, Hiei shut his jagon and sauntered from the room. He wandered aimlessly in the halls, again following the sent of roses. He found Kurama's locker, and with a flicker of his jagon, had the combination and spun the lock to open it. Many snapshots were taped haphazardly on the inside of the door. One of Yuskue and Kayco at the fair, Kayco beaming as Yuskue handed her an enormous stuffed bear. One of Kuwabara and Yuskue standing in the park, snarling at one another over something stupid. One of Yukina and Kuwabara strolling down Main Street. Hiei lifted a hand to touch his sister face, his dulled fingernail tracing the outline of her smile. He had several of his mother, one of which had Kurama in it, his arm around her and his smile radiant. The final picture was of Hiei. He had his hands in his pockets and a sullen look on his face. Hiei wondered when this had been taken. He appeared to be outside, in a field of some sort. He snatched the picture from the locker door, planning to rip it to pieces. But first he flipped it over, his red eyes falling on miniscule numbers in the corner. The date was not that long ago. Not having the heart to tear the picture and hurt Kurama's feelings, Hiei placed the picture back in the locker and slammed the door shut with a defiant, "Hn."

* * *



Kurama folded the sleeping bag neatly, careful to smooth out the creases before placing it in it's former corner in the closet. Stifling the urge to yawn and curl back up in his bed, he stumbled into the kitchen. He had dressed casually that day: a light green Tshirt and jeans that were a faded blue owing to the fact he had worn them so often already that summer. His sock-clad feet made no sound on the tile floor as he sat himself in his usual seat. He watched his mother with smiling eyes as she tittered around the kitchen; flipping pancakes, pouring orange juice, copping up some apple slices. She set a towering glass of juice infront of him, along with a plate of pancakes with chunks of apple on the side. She set herself across from him with a content sigh.

"Smells delicious. You must tell the pretty, young cook she's got a knack for foreign foods." He teased, causing his mother to blush lightly in response.

"Silly!" Shiori laphed, waving a napkin at her son. Her pleasant smile and joyous manner made her some glad beyond words, his eyes lighting up with the happiness she brought him. How dearly he loved this woman! "My, my, Suichii, you're going to be quite the flatterer. You'll make a girl very happy."

Kurama choked on the food in his mouth, his hair falling in his face as he bent forward. He reached for his glass, washing down the offending food down with orange juice. "M-Mother!" He gasped out, panting from lack of air. "What on earth are you implying?!"

She tilted her head to the side, her worn face shining with the motherly knowledge she chose to keep to herself. She smiled rather secretively, her eyes sparkling. "You'll find out, my son, you'll find out."

Kurama closed one eye, his mouth upturned in a smile, his shoulders up in a slight shrug, and his head cocked to the side. His comical look caused his mother's laph to ring out again in the small kitchen.

"You are a riot!" Shiori giggled, putting her napkin to her lips to stifle her laphter. "You'll make a very good boyfriend: You've so sweet, and funny, and intelligent, and kindhearted---." She went on for a great deal of time, listing her son's good traits. She appeared unaware of his uncomfortable fidgeting and embarrassed flush. "Some day, dear, you'll bring home some pleasant little girl, and the next thing you know, you'll bless me with grandchildren!"

Unfortunately for Kurama, he had gone back to eating, and his mouth was once more full. He hacked and spluttered, gulping down the last of his juice. "Grandchildren?!"

"Of course! Having a grandchild is the highlight of aging. Oh, they'll be little angels, just as adorable as their father…" She continued to gush, her eyes drifting off into the obis. "… But you never seem to notice girls." Shiori said, a slight worried note to her tone. "You've never had a little girl friend, ever. Nor have you ever been on a date."

Kurama gave her a guilty look, his bottom lip inching out, his brilliant green eyes wide and teary, like those of a puppy. Shiori laphed harder, leaning in on the table, wrapping her arms around her waist and shaking. "D-Don't S-Suichii! Y-You're k-k-k-killing me!" She gasped out between fits of laphter.

Kurama leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile, viewing his mother with happy eyes. "I lack nothing in my life, Mother. What makes you think female companionship is so necessary at my age? I can't get married, I'm only fifteen! Besides, I don't think any of the girls in school would even consider dating me. They think I'm odd." He lied, guilt coloring his cheeks. The girls swooned over him, worshiped him! It was the boys who thought he was weird. And it was because they were jealous of the female attention he got. Or, at least he assumed. But Kurama's assumptions were almost always right.

"Suichii, don't think I'm pressuring you into dating." Shiori spoke with emphasis as she stood up from the table, "You're my darling boy, who is surly old enough to make his own decisions." She leaned over her beloved son, kissing his soft locks of scarlet hair. "Now, you scoot off to Yuskue's house. Do tell that sweetie he's welcome any time, and Kuwabara. And that short friend of yours, what is his name?"

"Hiei. I don't think he'd come for dinner anytime soon… He's a bit on the antisocial side." Kurama told his mother heavily. The thought of having his little demon friend over for dinner brought a rueful smile to his face. "But maybe I can persuade him, somehow."

"See if he can spend the night tonight, along with your other little friends. We can have a party! I'll go shopping later and get supplies. It'll be so fun…"

"Um, yeah." Kurama couldn't fathom how his friends could sit in the same room long enough to have a party before spilling blood and freaking out. Suppressing a shudder, Suichii smiled at his mother. She seemed to accept his fake grin as a real one and went about clearing the table (after Kurama graciously offered to help but she firmly told him to go have fun). How was he going to keep them from killing one another?

* * *

"Yuskue! Hey, moron, your pal is here. Wake up, you lazy punk!"

Yuskue rolled over in his sleep at the sound of his mother's voice, muttering softly as he further buried his face into his pillow. Kurama bid her a kind goodbye as she left the room. He made his way acrossed the room, altering his course so as to avoid piles of dirty, rancid clothes, and who-knew-what-else. He stepped lightly beside the lighthearted teenager's bed, his hand resting on the edge of the bed. "Yuskue, it's past noon. You really ought to awaken, it's a perfectly lovely day."



"Kurama?" Yuskue opened one eye to glare at the redhead for waking him up. "…Yup. Who else says 'perfectly lovely' other than you and Kayco?" He yawned, not bothering to cover his mouth. He made no move to get up. "How's it hangin'?"

"It's hanging quite well, Yuskue. Thank you for asking."

"Shut up with that adequate crud." Yuskue muttered groggily, flexing his arms in effort to raise himself. "Girls must love you…" Yuskue made a face, much like a jealous grimace. "Mr. Gentleman… I tell yeah…"

Kurama lifted his face abruptly, and had he been eating, he would have choked. "Not this again! Please Yuskue, tell me I'm not perfect and I will never have children, before I loose my mind!"

Yuskue blinked in perplexity. "Ooookay, then. We all have stuff wrong with us, man. I can't guarantee you won't have kids, though. I can't picture you as a father, if that makes you feel better."

"I sopose so, thank you. Mother would like to extend a party invitation to you, tonight at my house. Everyone we know is coming." Kurama heaved a sigh, feeling himself teetering on the edge of sanity. Well, not really, but he still was worried about his heath. And every one at the party's health. Please, no fighting… No blood… No surprise missions…

"Party?! Sweet! Can I bring Kayco?" Yuskue grinned at the thought of trashing some one else's house for a change. He wrung his hands greedily, laphing from between his teeth. "So, what is it that we're going to do there? Eat? Live it up? Should I bring some CDs? How about Linkin Park? Or, what about Brittany Spears?"

Kurama cocked an eyebrow at his friend. He wasn't much into music, but he knew who Brittany Spears was.

"Sike!" Yuskue laphed at his own joke, stopping abruptly when he noticed Kurama was still looking at him as though he had… issues. "I was kidding!" Kurama's expression did not change. "I was, really!"

* * *

"PARTY!!!!" Kuwabara bellowed thickly, jumping up and down like a giddy girl who had spotted Kurama a few feet away. After a few minutes of this, and a few insults slung at him by Yuskue, then a few punches thrown by Kuwabara, then a few punches returned by Yuskue, then… (You get the picture) they headed to Kayco's to "spread the word", as Yuskue cleverly put it.

Kurama felt worry well up within his chest, a certain sense of forbidding he often got before a battle. This would not go smoothly if those two did not calm down. Hiei would not even bother trying to come, and if he did he'd most likely kill them. Kurama had tried to stress the importance of behavior to the human boys, but what good did it do? None! He lifted a hand to his face, covering his eyes so only his mouth could be seen, drawn up in an amused smile.

"Well, we could listen to some Smash Mouth or Phantom Planet," Yuskue was saying to Kuwabara as they strode through the crowded side walk of Main Street. Kurama shook his head and listened, lest they say something important and worth wile hearing. "But Linkin Park is a definite."

"How about some karaoke?" Kuwabara suggested, listlessly kicking at an old dented can, sending it flying up the street. He stowed his hands in the deep pockets of his jacket. "You know, I think they rent out karaoke systems at the store, that'd be loads of fun. In fact, just to pay Kurama back for having this party, I'll rent it!"

Kurama blanched at the thought of being forced to sing infront of Hiei. Infront of anyone! Kurama did not enjoy singing in the least, not in the remotest regains of his mind did he ever imagine being the next big pop star, like so many others his age did. His Yoko sneered within his mind, snickering at the image of Kurama, on stage with thousands of screaming girls watching, suddenly unable to remember his lines. Kurama forced the thought away, along with his other self, who seemed to appear in his mind when ever his emotions ran high or he was on the brink of a breakdown. "Are you sure want to do that, Kuwabara? I assumed you'd be almost broke by now," Kurama said, planning to say he'd rent it, since it was his party. But then say at the party he had forgotten and it was to late.

"Naw, I got plenty! 'Sides, what kinda friend was I if I made you pay for it when I got the cash?"

Kurama laphed nervously between gritted teeth, his eyes closing and his cheeks stained red. "Well, if you insist," He managed to say, the image now back in his mind, this time the girls were tossing vegetables for all they were worth, screaming words of hate. His Yoko barked out a harsh laph. "Well, at least some one's enjoying this." He hissed aloud at his other self.

"What was that?" Yuskue asked, turning his face to his friend, a worried expression on his face. Talking to one's self wasn't a sign of strong mental health.

Kurama blinked, then laphed apprehensively again, his voice so high pitched it came out as a titter. Yuskue and Kuwabara stared at his with looks of both confusion, and a certain brand of freaking out. "Uh…"

* * *

Thank you sooo much to my reveiwers!!! I love you all!!! Don't you worry, Mizu and Oyu'll get their just deserves... Hiei style!!! Please read my other stories- Like In The End!! BYZ! Oh yeah, review, please!!!!