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The Broken froze in shock, unsure of how to react. The red head had TALKED to him, talked when he shouldn't even have been aware of his presence. An odd feeling overcame him as he wondered in astonishment that this was the first time since his death day that he had talked to a live human.

Turning around slowly, the black haired boy checked behind him to be certain it was indeed him the boy in the bed was talking to. Seeing no one behind him, he looked back at the other boy with wide eyes. "Are you talking to me?" he asked, astonished.

The redhead rolled his eyes in annoyance. "No," he said sarcastically. "I'm talking to the ghost behind you."

The broken frowned. Ghost? There weren't any ghosts behind him, he would've sensed them. What was the boy talking about?

At his weird look, the redhead laughed. "I was joking!" he cried. "Don't take everything so seriously!"

"Oh." The black haired boy frowned. Joking? What was so funny? This human was puzzling.

"What's your name?" the boy lying in the bed asked, smiling softly.

"Hiei," he replied, still frowning slightly, confused at what the boy wanted with him. Did he know who he was, or didn't he?

"Well, Hiei, would you like to sit down with me for a while?" He smiled at the broken with such a hopeful look he could not help but comply. Taking a careful seat at the end of the long white bed near the boy's feet, he looked up, checking for a reaction from the odd boy.

The boy, for his part, looked overcome with happiness at the prospect of a visitor. "It's so nice to have someone come and say hi," he told Hiei cheerfully. "I don't have many friends, so Mother is really the only one to come and visit. Even though she comes everyday and it's nice to see her, she just isn't..." He stopped, looking for a word.

"Much fun?" Hiei offered.

The boy practically beamed. "Exactly. It's so nice to meet someone who understands. I'm Kurama, by the way."

"Oh," Hiei said, unsure of how to deal with the boy.

"Why'd you come in here anyway?" Kurama asked, a puzzled expression adorning his face. "You couldn't have come for me."

"I way...looking for someone," Hiei shrugged.

"Oh?" Kurama looked interested. "Who? Maybe I could help? I know my way around the hospital pretty well, been here most of my life."

"I don't know," Hiei shook his head in doubt.

"Come on, please? I'd really like to help you."

"It's not that," Hiei told him. "It's just that I don't know the person's name."

"Oh?" Kurama frowned, although if it was because of a way to solve the problem or the problem itself, Hiei was unsure. "Well, if you could describe the person to me, maybe I can..."

"No, I don't know what they look like either."

The other boy smile with mischief. "So you don't know his name, or what he looks like, assuming it IS a he. What do you know about this person then?"

"They're supposed to die soon," Hiei said, then winced. Shit, he swore. He searched the other boy for a reaction to what he said. What was he supposed to say, that he was a broken? That he had some weird psychic ability?

The other boy just laughed out loud, head thrown back and hair tossed wildly about his face. The broken could only gape at the other's odd reaction. Was he hysterical? It had been so long he had been around humans he had begun to forget how they act and that lack of knowledge scared him.

"Hiei," Kurama choked out, after he finally got in control. "Everyone in this wing of the hospital is going to die soon."

"Oh?" Hiei asked, relieved the other had misunderstood his slip. Then he frowned in realization. "Even you?" he asked.

The other sobered slightly and looked the Broken strait in the eye. "Hiei, we all die. Where or when, that's debatable. But one day the Grim Reaper will take our souls from our bodies and the boatman will take us across the river Styx."

Hiei nodded in agreement. He was, after all, indeed the "Grim Reaper," another of his many nicknames. "What are you in here for, if you don't mind me asking."

"Weak heart, high blood pressure, low blood sugar, the list is endless. Technically I could probably live at home, but I probably won't live to see twenty. Don't worry though," he smiled seeing Hiei's worried expression. "It's always been like this. I'm used to it."

Hey adoring fans!

I know, I know, it took me MONTHS to update, but I'm starting to get into fanfiction again, so there will probably be more things again soon. I'm thinking of starting a full metal alchemist one, or maybe wolf's rain. What do you guys think?

I'm updating some other stuff tonight as well, so check out my other stories. Some our updated right now, but other's will be updated late this evening, so check tomorrow morning as well.

Dream Fox