Kinda a short one.I was actually going to make this chapter and the next
chapter the same chapter, but I got this far and my muse said, "Nope.
You're not about to continue the story until this part is posted." So :P.
Thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys know how to make an author feel appreciated. Oh, and if you see just periods showing up in the middle of sentences, that's because my program won't let my story have ellipses in it for some reason.I do not know why, but I'm really sorry about it.
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"Who is it mother?"
"Kuwabara Kazuma."
"Kuwabara?" Kurama walked into the entryway, genuinely surprised to see his large friend bowing politely to his mother.
"Hey Kurama!" Kuwabara greeted enthusiastically. The fox sighed and rolled his eyes. "What? Oh! Shuichi! I meant Shuichi!" he quickly amended. The damage was already done, though, and he knew it. Kuwabara looked anxiously at Kurama's human mother.
"Oh, it's quite all right," Shoiri said, a smile on her face. "Shuichi told me all about his little nickname. I think it's cute." Kuwabara tried not to sigh out loud in relief, but his facial muscles relaxed considerably, giving him away all the same.
"Is there something you needed in particular Kuwabara?" Kurama asked. His friend was too energetic and very tense. Plus, the human reeked of nervousness.
"Hehehehehe. It's kind of one of those...um...'boys only' matters," Kuwabara stuttered, glancing nervously between Kurama and his mother. The excuse had worked for Yuusuke before...
"Oh, I see. I'll just leave you to your 'boy matters' then," Shoiri teased, a mother's knowing smirk on her face as she left to go tend to a few things out back.
"My room is this way." Kuwabara followed Kurama's lead, whistling as he entered the pristine bedroom. The bed was perfectly made, not a thing on the floor except a pile of books and shoes in one corner. Kuwabara suspected the clothing was hung or folded neatly in place. While these things, themselves, weren't uncommon of a typical teenager's room, the room itself had a stale, unused atmosphere. It felt more like visiting a museum rather than a place someone made their home in.
"Do you actually live in here?" Kuwabara asked, almost afraid to touch anything.
"Since mother's illness? Hardly. Too much time is spent on our work and separate troubles that come with being a demon and one of the most feared thieves in the Makai at that. You should have seen this place when I was younger, though." Kurama laughed.
"You were a bad kid?" Kuwabara was obviously surprised.
"No, not really," Kurama said. "As a youko, I never stayed in the same place for too long for fear of being discovered. It was un-necessary to do any chores that didn't pertain to my health or that I could get servants to do," Kurama explained. "But I'm guessing you're not here to discuss my hard-to-break habits."
Kuwabara looked around a bit more, fidgeting as he stood before his friend's scrutinizing gaze. He had planned this whole conversation out in his head last night, but now that he was here and talking to Kurama, he was at a loss for words. It wasn't that he was scared of what Kurama might think of him; the answer to his question was what he feared most.
"Well." There was another long pause. Kuwabara was thankful Kurama was so patient. "You remember yesterday with Yukina being attacked?" Kurama nodded. "Well, it got me thinking about things I've never noticed before. Like how Hiei and Yukina have a lot more in common than I thought. Or how Hiei treats Yukina all nice and stuff. I mean the shrimp was all threatening and protective over her. And he smiled for her, Kurama! He actually smiled a good smile!"
"Really now?" The corner of Kurama's mouth quirked up. He had an idea of where this was leading, and if his guess was correct, things might start to look up for him.
"Really!" Kuwabara continued, happy to see the fox was paying attention and wasn't giving him that "you're a complete idiot" look. That was one of the things he liked most about Kurama; the guy treated him with some respect. "Hiei likes you and talks to you more than anyone else I know, so I figure you would know the answer to my question."
"Which is?" Kurama prodded, trying to hurry Kuwabara along.
"Is...is...is..." Kuwabara turned a little red. "Naw, you'll just think I'm stupid."
"Kuwabara, I'll admit that you don't always make the most intelligent comments, but you seem to be serious about this topic. You wouldn't have bothered to come to me if you didn't believe it was worth it. I'm taking this as seriously as if you were anyone else," Kurama assured him. Kuwabara studied the fox for a moment before nodding as if he had made his decision.
"Is Hiei Yukina's brother?"
"Yes." Kuwabara blinked and looked Kurama, eyes skeptical.
"That was easy," he said, almost disbelieving what he had heard. Kurama smiled at his friend's doubtful comment.
"Did you want me to make it harder?" he asked. "Perhaps you would have preferred if I lied to you? But even then you wouldn't have believed me, and this conversation would have dragged on for hours. Really, Kuwabara, why should I make life more complicated?"
"I dunno." Kuwabara scratched the top of his head. "No one ever tells me anything, so I figured it'd be the same this time around. Heck, I bet even Urameshi knows about Hiei."
"He does. Yukina and you are probably the only two that don't really...well, you two and Keiko...I think Yuusuke tries to keep her out of these things as much as possible..." Kurama added as an afterthought.
"See what I mean!"
"I would figure you would be more upset about Hiei being Yukina's sister," Kurama said.
"Well, to tell you the truth, I really only wanted you to tell me I was right. I thought about it all last night, what I would do if you said yes," Kuwabara said, going over and sitting on Kurama's bed, ruining the unwrinkled spread. "At first, I was scared. I mean, it's Hiei. How the hell are he and Yukina related? He's so evil and she's so sweet."
"I think evil is a strong word for Hiei," Kurama replied, sitting down across from Kuwabara on a desk chair. His tone was slightly biting.
"Yeah, I realized that too." Kuwabara shook his head. "The shrimp is hard to figure out, but he's not that bad when he's around you and Yukina. And he hasn't killed me or betrayed us yet, so that has to count for something. And you know...I still love Yukina, even though I know about her and Hiei. She's still....well, she's still perfect." Kurama regarded his friend for a moment, knowing there was more.
"But..." he said. Kuwabara sighed.
"Everything is still normal, right?" he asked.
"Kuwabara, logically, that would be correct. But reason doesn't always override emotion," Kurama said, smiling in an almost pitying way. "It doesn't make sense because everything else in the world is still the same, but the idea of Hiei being Yukina's brother will change your life, especially since you love her. But as long as you continue to hold onto that love, I'm sure everything will work out."
"Thanks Kurama. You're a big help," Kuwabara said standing. "I should come over and talk to you more often."
"I might actually enjoy that." The sincerity and lack of sarcasm in Kurama's voice lifted Kuwabara's spirits.
"Can I ask you one last thing?" Kuwabara said as Kurama was showing him out the door. The fox nodded. "Why hasn't Hiei told her?"
"That is a question for Hiei." Kurama grinned mischievously, pushing Kuwabara out of his house.
"Hey! Why would I wanna tal-"
Kurama slammed the door shut before Kuwabara could get out any more complaints. Still grinning, he bounded up to his room and jumped on the bed, falling amidst the covers with a satisfied sigh.
Kuwabara finally figured it out. It was about time, too! Kurama had been ready to leave the teen a note screaming the obvious to him.
Yuusuke was too understanding of Hiei's situation. He wouldn't butt in unless he felt it was important to the group or Hiei's health that Yukina knew. Koenma didn't care about how Hiei handled things as long as it didn't destroy the world. Boton was too scared, Genkai felt the same as Koenma, and Shizuru was (for once) keeping her nose were it belonged. Even he, Kurama, could never convince Hiei to tell Yukina. Hiei trusted the fox far more than he trusted anyone (his sister the exception), but even Kurama knew his words were always sly and had hidden agendas laced throughout them, making it hard to for equally cunning people such as Hiei to listen to his advice without thinking twice. It was part of being thief. Even his conversation just now had been full of careful plotting and planning. Telling Kuwabara the truth and then forcing him to go talk to Hiei was something Kurama had been trying to do for months.
Kuwabara, as he saw it, carried the same amount of love for Yukina that Hiei did. The human was also stubborn. Best of all, Kuwabara was direct with what he wanted to say, something Hiei appreciated and practiced himself. If Kurama had to choose the person best suited for getting Hiei to talk to Yukina, it would have to be Kuwabara.
Kurama just hoped his gamble would produce a winning bet.
Thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys know how to make an author feel appreciated. Oh, and if you see just periods showing up in the middle of sentences, that's because my program won't let my story have ellipses in it for some reason.I do not know why, but I'm really sorry about it.
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"Who is it mother?"
"Kuwabara Kazuma."
"Kuwabara?" Kurama walked into the entryway, genuinely surprised to see his large friend bowing politely to his mother.
"Hey Kurama!" Kuwabara greeted enthusiastically. The fox sighed and rolled his eyes. "What? Oh! Shuichi! I meant Shuichi!" he quickly amended. The damage was already done, though, and he knew it. Kuwabara looked anxiously at Kurama's human mother.
"Oh, it's quite all right," Shoiri said, a smile on her face. "Shuichi told me all about his little nickname. I think it's cute." Kuwabara tried not to sigh out loud in relief, but his facial muscles relaxed considerably, giving him away all the same.
"Is there something you needed in particular Kuwabara?" Kurama asked. His friend was too energetic and very tense. Plus, the human reeked of nervousness.
"Hehehehehe. It's kind of one of those...um...'boys only' matters," Kuwabara stuttered, glancing nervously between Kurama and his mother. The excuse had worked for Yuusuke before...
"Oh, I see. I'll just leave you to your 'boy matters' then," Shoiri teased, a mother's knowing smirk on her face as she left to go tend to a few things out back.
"My room is this way." Kuwabara followed Kurama's lead, whistling as he entered the pristine bedroom. The bed was perfectly made, not a thing on the floor except a pile of books and shoes in one corner. Kuwabara suspected the clothing was hung or folded neatly in place. While these things, themselves, weren't uncommon of a typical teenager's room, the room itself had a stale, unused atmosphere. It felt more like visiting a museum rather than a place someone made their home in.
"Do you actually live in here?" Kuwabara asked, almost afraid to touch anything.
"Since mother's illness? Hardly. Too much time is spent on our work and separate troubles that come with being a demon and one of the most feared thieves in the Makai at that. You should have seen this place when I was younger, though." Kurama laughed.
"You were a bad kid?" Kuwabara was obviously surprised.
"No, not really," Kurama said. "As a youko, I never stayed in the same place for too long for fear of being discovered. It was un-necessary to do any chores that didn't pertain to my health or that I could get servants to do," Kurama explained. "But I'm guessing you're not here to discuss my hard-to-break habits."
Kuwabara looked around a bit more, fidgeting as he stood before his friend's scrutinizing gaze. He had planned this whole conversation out in his head last night, but now that he was here and talking to Kurama, he was at a loss for words. It wasn't that he was scared of what Kurama might think of him; the answer to his question was what he feared most.
"Well." There was another long pause. Kuwabara was thankful Kurama was so patient. "You remember yesterday with Yukina being attacked?" Kurama nodded. "Well, it got me thinking about things I've never noticed before. Like how Hiei and Yukina have a lot more in common than I thought. Or how Hiei treats Yukina all nice and stuff. I mean the shrimp was all threatening and protective over her. And he smiled for her, Kurama! He actually smiled a good smile!"
"Really now?" The corner of Kurama's mouth quirked up. He had an idea of where this was leading, and if his guess was correct, things might start to look up for him.
"Really!" Kuwabara continued, happy to see the fox was paying attention and wasn't giving him that "you're a complete idiot" look. That was one of the things he liked most about Kurama; the guy treated him with some respect. "Hiei likes you and talks to you more than anyone else I know, so I figure you would know the answer to my question."
"Which is?" Kurama prodded, trying to hurry Kuwabara along.
"Is...is...is..." Kuwabara turned a little red. "Naw, you'll just think I'm stupid."
"Kuwabara, I'll admit that you don't always make the most intelligent comments, but you seem to be serious about this topic. You wouldn't have bothered to come to me if you didn't believe it was worth it. I'm taking this as seriously as if you were anyone else," Kurama assured him. Kuwabara studied the fox for a moment before nodding as if he had made his decision.
"Is Hiei Yukina's brother?"
"Yes." Kuwabara blinked and looked Kurama, eyes skeptical.
"That was easy," he said, almost disbelieving what he had heard. Kurama smiled at his friend's doubtful comment.
"Did you want me to make it harder?" he asked. "Perhaps you would have preferred if I lied to you? But even then you wouldn't have believed me, and this conversation would have dragged on for hours. Really, Kuwabara, why should I make life more complicated?"
"I dunno." Kuwabara scratched the top of his head. "No one ever tells me anything, so I figured it'd be the same this time around. Heck, I bet even Urameshi knows about Hiei."
"He does. Yukina and you are probably the only two that don't really...well, you two and Keiko...I think Yuusuke tries to keep her out of these things as much as possible..." Kurama added as an afterthought.
"See what I mean!"
"I would figure you would be more upset about Hiei being Yukina's sister," Kurama said.
"Well, to tell you the truth, I really only wanted you to tell me I was right. I thought about it all last night, what I would do if you said yes," Kuwabara said, going over and sitting on Kurama's bed, ruining the unwrinkled spread. "At first, I was scared. I mean, it's Hiei. How the hell are he and Yukina related? He's so evil and she's so sweet."
"I think evil is a strong word for Hiei," Kurama replied, sitting down across from Kuwabara on a desk chair. His tone was slightly biting.
"Yeah, I realized that too." Kuwabara shook his head. "The shrimp is hard to figure out, but he's not that bad when he's around you and Yukina. And he hasn't killed me or betrayed us yet, so that has to count for something. And you know...I still love Yukina, even though I know about her and Hiei. She's still....well, she's still perfect." Kurama regarded his friend for a moment, knowing there was more.
"But..." he said. Kuwabara sighed.
"Everything is still normal, right?" he asked.
"Kuwabara, logically, that would be correct. But reason doesn't always override emotion," Kurama said, smiling in an almost pitying way. "It doesn't make sense because everything else in the world is still the same, but the idea of Hiei being Yukina's brother will change your life, especially since you love her. But as long as you continue to hold onto that love, I'm sure everything will work out."
"Thanks Kurama. You're a big help," Kuwabara said standing. "I should come over and talk to you more often."
"I might actually enjoy that." The sincerity and lack of sarcasm in Kurama's voice lifted Kuwabara's spirits.
"Can I ask you one last thing?" Kuwabara said as Kurama was showing him out the door. The fox nodded. "Why hasn't Hiei told her?"
"That is a question for Hiei." Kurama grinned mischievously, pushing Kuwabara out of his house.
"Hey! Why would I wanna tal-"
Kurama slammed the door shut before Kuwabara could get out any more complaints. Still grinning, he bounded up to his room and jumped on the bed, falling amidst the covers with a satisfied sigh.
Kuwabara finally figured it out. It was about time, too! Kurama had been ready to leave the teen a note screaming the obvious to him.
Yuusuke was too understanding of Hiei's situation. He wouldn't butt in unless he felt it was important to the group or Hiei's health that Yukina knew. Koenma didn't care about how Hiei handled things as long as it didn't destroy the world. Boton was too scared, Genkai felt the same as Koenma, and Shizuru was (for once) keeping her nose were it belonged. Even he, Kurama, could never convince Hiei to tell Yukina. Hiei trusted the fox far more than he trusted anyone (his sister the exception), but even Kurama knew his words were always sly and had hidden agendas laced throughout them, making it hard to for equally cunning people such as Hiei to listen to his advice without thinking twice. It was part of being thief. Even his conversation just now had been full of careful plotting and planning. Telling Kuwabara the truth and then forcing him to go talk to Hiei was something Kurama had been trying to do for months.
Kuwabara, as he saw it, carried the same amount of love for Yukina that Hiei did. The human was also stubborn. Best of all, Kuwabara was direct with what he wanted to say, something Hiei appreciated and practiced himself. If Kurama had to choose the person best suited for getting Hiei to talk to Yukina, it would have to be Kuwabara.
Kurama just hoped his gamble would produce a winning bet.