Okay, sorry this is late.. I promised I would update a few hours go.. but I didn't.. I do, however, have a good, true, and slightly entertaining reason for delaying..

I had to play cock-block for my friend.. See, she was going on kind of a date and I was there to make sure everything went well, which it did. . well, I brought my friend and he brought a friend, so it was pretty sweet.. anyway..

Along with that, I've had school and I kind of.. didn't remember that when I said it'd be up by Friday.. at this very moment of my typing. It's 11:53 pm EST.. huh..

Anyway! Reviews

Jessica: glad you liked it. And I'm updating now, to answer your question

Infurita the Black: Cool name.. and thanks for the compliment.. and don't worry about not reviewing.. as long as you're enjoying my fic, that's all that matters to me, though feedback is indeed nice

FireChibi: thanks for the confidence that making Hiei cry wasn't the biggest mistake ever.. glad to know everyone isn't trying to tear my head off xD;; and so many wonderful comments from you.. thank you

Inumoon3: Sorry, I'm not able to squeeze lemon into it!! ;; and Hiei wouldn't be on top.. after thinking it over.. it wouldn't be very Hiei-like in my story, you know? Kurama's the snake charmer in it so it makes it a bit harder for Hiei to think of himself as the superior lover and thanks, I've had that scene planned out before I'd even started the fic (the Yusuke giving Hiei advice scene).. good to know you liked it

Just a warning: This is a very fast moving chapter. This isn't because I'm rushing or anything, but it's just my artistic mind.. Lemme explain. When time seems to fly for the characters, I make sure the chapter moves quickly, to represent that lapse in time.. If a moment is dragging, the descriptions will also drag. But here, it's sliding by pretty fast for our favorite youkai through most of the chapter, so if it seems like everything is happening too fast, that's why; because that's how Hiei's feeling. Okay? Hope you like the last chapter!


Monica and naughty Billy
Got together something silly now
Holy wars out of lusty minutes
Another Cuban cigar crisis

Honestly!
Do we need to know if he really came inside her mouth?
How will all this affect me
Now and later?

You know that we belong
In a presidential suite
Armed guards in the street
Waving back at crowds who greet

And when I look over
Over my shoulder
I can't see my past
It seems so far away

Found an icon that gave him a hard one
Little Boris just can't help himself
Got so hot in the decadent nineties
Pass another vodka dear

We can dance
'Til the early hours of the morning catches up
Then we'll return to business
If there's any of it left

You know that we belong
In a presidential suite
Armed guards in the street
Waving back at crowds who greet

And when I look over
Over my shoulder
I can't see my past
It seems so far away

What makes you think that
We belong in a presidential suite
Armed guards in the street
Waving back at crowds who greet
Yes indeed

You know that when we met
There were fireworks in the sky
Sparkling like dragonflies
Spelling "All bad folk must die"

And when I look over
Over my shoulder
I can't see my past
It seems so far away
It seems so far away
Far away


There was a light knock on the door. Shiori looked up from her place on the couch and shifted her gaze to the door.. Who could that be…?


Hiei had left the Reikai and traveled back to the Ningenkai. He stopped for a long time and just watched Kurama's house from a distance. Kurama didn't seem to notice the ki of his lover and went on with the day, walking from his house to school, his head hanging in a sort of defeated way.. What was he so upset about? Surely not about Hiei… though Yusuke had said that he was worried..

When he figured the redhead was far enough away, he made his move, running through Yusuke's instructions again. The boy's image appeared in his head and repeated the directions for the nth time.. "Speak calmly, clearly, honestly.. and for god's sake.. don't hit her or hide… just tell her what you told me.. hell, maybe if you cry alittle she'll give in.. and remember.. Don't Hit Her…" Hiei smiled softly, listening to the last line again.. In a situation like this, even Hiei knew not to hit her.. as for crying.. he couldn't foresee it happening.. then again, he hadn't foreseen the sudden knot in his stomach either..

He reached the door and rapped lightly upon it..


Shiori had reach the door shortly after the first knock and was quite surprised to see Hiei.. a very thin Hiei.. "Hiei.." she said softly, looking him over quickly.. much thinner than last time.. seemed different.. his very presence had changed somehow and she couldn't place what had changed.. "Please, come in.."

Hiei did as he was instructed, never taking his half glaring eyes off of her.. He was nervous.. what about though? She didn't strike fear into him.. she couldn't hurt him.. then again, emotionally she could.. if she didn't care about what he had to say.. it would hurt him more than any physical wound.. "I have to talk to you.." he muttered to her.. dammit.. speak clearly, clearly.. "I have.. things to tell you…"

Shiori nodded and took a seat on the couch, patting it for the black-haired boy to sit. He remained where he was though, convinced he'd be better off there.. he took a step or two forward and sighed. ".. I.. Look.. I'm not.. very good with talking about this sort of thing.. but.. I.. I love.. Shuichi," remember his Ningen name, Hiei, he told himself… "And since you forced us to separate, I have not been doing well.." Shiori nodded her head somewhat and looked him over yet again, "You're so thin Hiei.." The youkai looked down, "I haven't eaten in two weeks..."

Shiori's eyes widened. Two weeks? Was that even possible? She'd thought you could die after that sort of time.. "Surely.. you drank a lot of water, didn't you?" Her only answer was a slight shake of his head and silence.. He hadn't been drinking either..? He had one hell of a body if he could handle something like that.. "Hiei.. why.. would you hurt yourself like that..?" She asked with concern in her voice.. she may have disapproved of their being together, but she never stopped caring for the boy infront of her..

Hiei lifted the sleeve of his black shirt, revealing the cuts running up and down the arm, "I understand that this is also unacceptable.. a.. friend told me that.." Again, Shiori's eyes widened, this time twice the size as they'd been before. He'd been cutting himself? Had her punishment really been that horrible..? She couldn't speak.. nothing should be so horrible that one must hurt themselves.. She reached out to Hiei, who was standing only a foot infront of her now, and took his hand, pulling him gently over to her. She sat him down and looked at his arm, running her fingers softly over the scars.. Hiei merely watched, remaining as calm as he could, restraining every urge to just run, which certainly would've been MUCH easier..

A buzzer went off in the kitchen and a delicious smell began floating into the room, flooding Hiei's nose with a strange tingling feeling.. "W-what's that..smell?" he asked, showing his nervousness as he let his guard down. Shiori was glad to see he was alert enough to notice the smell.. she was afraid he'd waste away before her eyes.. "Those are cookies.. I was baking them before you came.." she explained, taking note of the confused look on Hiei's face.. ".. Cookies..?" he asked, tilting his head ever so slightly. Shiori blinked, staring at him as if he had a second head growing out of his elbow, "You've never had a cookie..?" Hiei shook his head and took another few whiffs of the sweet smell.. "I'll get you some then.." she told the short boy, getting up to retrieve the cookies..

Hiei watched her leave and sighed.. this was going far better than he'd planned.. But the reason why eluded him.. he expected a struggle, anger, a fight.. but she seemed okay with it, oddly enough.. What was going on..?


Kurama sighed, looking out the window. "Minamino-san!" a loud voice boomed, catching the boy's attention, "Stop daydreaming and get to work!" The teacher turned back to his own work and grumbled. Kurama had been zoning out for a long time now.. it seemed so unlike him to be a bad student.. But he couldn't take his mind off of Hiei.. about everyday he tried talking his mother into letting him see Hiei again, even if they had to just be friends it would've been worth it. She seemed to have been lightening up about it lately.. perhaps she was starting to see that he really loved the small koorime.. or perhaps she was just tired of seeing her son so sad..

More importantly, he wanted to know if Hiei was alright.. The last time they'd talked face-to-face Hiei had told him he'd stopped eating and just watched over him.. Perhaps he was doing that again? And what was with Yusuke? He was very glad to see Kurama before school and was smiling.. smiling alittle too much, even for him.. Something was up and he wanted.. no.. he NEEDED to know what it was.. He looked to the clock.. two hours left…


Shiori returned to the youkai with a plate of cookies, the smell wafting through the room and into Hiei's senses more clearly. They smelled so good.. "You can take one. Just be careful, because some of them are still hot.." she told the boy, holding out the plate.. She hoped he'd eat..

Hiei looked at them with a semi-disgusted looked. Those brown circles with the little black dots.. were the things that smelled so delicious? No way.. No way in Makai… He looked up at her and frowned, "They don't look good.." Shiori just smiled wider, "Just try one, Hiei.. If you don't like it, I'll make you something else.." The youkai-koorime looked back at the cookies and reached out to take one, pausing only slightly before grabbing one and taking a small bite.. He chewed it, savoring the flavor… He then stuffed the cookie in his mouth and took another.

The woman was relieved that he liked the cookies.. and that he was eating them.. he'd need to eat a lot of them to get back to his usual weight, she was sure, but it was a start.. "Have as many as you like..." She said, sitting next to the boy again. He'd obviously come here to talk about Kurama and had done a pretty good job of quilting her into believing she was too strict.. She refused to accept homosexuality as an o-k thing though.. "Hiei," she said softly, thinking more on the subject of his arrival, "Would you like to stay for dinner..? I'm sure Shuichi would like to see you.."

Hiei nearly had a spit-take, looking at her like she was insane.. He swallowed the cookie in his mouth and searched her face for a hint of a lie, but he found no such thing.. "Really..?" he asked, unconsciously taking another cookie. Shiori nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Of course.. you can help me cook if you like.." Just like before she'd separated the two boys..


Yusuke met Kurama after school, still smiling as he'd been before.. "Hey!" he shouted over the evil flock of fangirls, "Kurama!" The redhead heard his true name and looked to the black-haired boy, smiling and shoving through the crowd to see him. "Yusuke," he said, looking at him seriously, though he kept his smile, "What's going on? You're acting oddly and it's suspicious.." The boy just laughed, placing a hand on Kurama's back, "Let's go to your house, shall we? I found something out recently that you'd be very interested in hearing.."

Kurama nearly fall backward as Yusuke told him some very interesting news. He swallowed hard and looked at the boy, shocked, "You know about Hiei and I? H-how did you figure it out?" Yusuke shrugged, "It took me a while, but I finally got it.. you guys are really subtle, you know? Always together, always side-by-side, always very caring.. and that little one-week mission thing? Just you and Hiei? Obviously a romantic get-away.. but don't worry. I'm happy for you.." He patted Kurama on the back and smiled wider, "I know Hiei cares a lot about you.." Kurama just stared.. Yusuke had observed all of that by himself? Sure, it'd taken him a while to put it together, but he'd done it.. The kitsune was impressed, "But.. how do you know Hiei cares about me? We haven't seen him in two weeks, nobody knows where he is.. Maybe he just doesn't care anymore.. Did you think of that?" Yusuke shook his head, still smiling, "Not once.."

The two high school students neared Kurama's house, but again the youko didn't seem to pick-up on the youkai's ki. Yusuke, however, was smiling like a Cheshire cat on the inside, knowing that Hiei was there.. He couldn't wait to see this; oh that romantic side was breaking out for this one.. Kurama opened the door and stepped in.

"I'm home!" Kurama announced, hearing an odd scrambling of feet from the kitchen.. and then a light thud.. and a small crash.. What was going on..? The boys looked at eachother and moved to the kitchen, the redhead's eyes wide as his eyes settled on one thing..

Hiei sat on the floor, a bowl on his head with the contents, some sort of flour, running down his body, his eyes clenched. Shiori was laughing a little, looking to Kurama with a smile, "Welcome home.. I think you startled Hiei, though.." Kurama's eyes began watering and he ran to the youkai, falling to his knees and removing the bowl from the koorime's head. Hiei opened his eyes slowly, blinking them a few times, afraid the flour would get in them. Their eyes caught the other's and they stared for a long time, Kurama smiling and Hiei blushing.. how embarrassing to be seen for the first time in two weeks covered in powdery stuff..

"Hiei.." Kurama muttered, holding back a joyous cry.. He opened his mouth to speak again, but couldn't manage it.. he couldn't manage to say anything. Hiei couldn't think of anything either, especially because he didn't talk much anyway.. He wrapped his arms around the redhead and rested his cheek against Kurama's, shutting his eyes again.. Kurama returned the gesture and smiled wider, nuzzling the small boy's cheek, "I missed you so much, Hiei.." He could feel a difference in Hiei's body the moment he hugged him.. he was so thin.. he'd been right.. he hadn't been eating.. and his you-ki was low.. he was weak and no doubt hungry.. And.. apparently cooking with his mother.. Something was up..

"We were making dinner, Shuichi, but I think Hiei should get cleaned up. I'll be able to manage the rest on my own," his mother said, shooing them out of the room, including Yusuke, "Nice to see you, Yusuke, but last time you helped me cook you burned the food.." She winked at him and went back to her cooking, leaving the boys to do what they wanted until dinner.


Kurama carried Hiei around almost like a baby, cooing over him and how much he loved him, missed him, how thin he was, how he'd take care of him until he was strong again.. Hiei wouldn't have minded too much either.. but that damned Yusuke was there, smiling at them.. And so Hiei managed a grimace while he was being lavished with attention from his lover..

"I'm fine, Kurama.. Really.. I've gone without food before.. This isn't a big deal.." the youkai muttered, softening his face.. "It's not.. but THIS is!" Yusuke announced, pushing up Hiei's sleeve to reveal the scars, and then stepped back and grinned evilly at the demon. "H-hiei.. you.. did this?" Kurama asked, frowning at his lover.. Hiei just sighed and glared at Yusuke.. what was he trying to do anyway? Get Kurama worried over nothing?

About an hour later, Hiei had explained everything to Kurama, Yusuke had constantly added his own two cents, and Shiori had finished making dinner.. Hiei had also run downstairs for the remainder of the cookies..

The boys gathered at the table, Hiei and Kurama on one side and Yusuke and Shiori on the other side. They talked as they ate, but never really mentioned the relationship between Kurama and Hiei.. it was obvious that Shiori was still not on great terms with the subject.. After dinner Hiei and Kurama went into the living room to talk and watch TV, while Yusuke had, for reasons that will soon be revealed, offered to help with the dishes..

"So.." Yusuke started, looking to the woman next to him, "They make a great couple, huh?" Shiori paused and looked at him, shaking her head, "I wouldn't think so.. Yes, I believe they care for eachother, but I do not believe it is true love.. True love between two men.. That's not right.." Yusuke smiled and shook his head as well, "Whether or not you think it's right, that's how they feel.. Trust me.. They're in love.." The woman sighed, "That's not a good thing though Yusuke.. It's wrong.."

Yusuke got more serious, looking directly at her, putting down the plate he was washing.. "Why? It makes them happy, doesn't it? It's their business, isn't it? Honestly, do we need to know what they do? Should we care? No, we shouldn't.." He told her, his tone stern, "How will all of this affect us now? And later?" Shiori stayed silent.. how DID it affect her? The only thing it affected was that her son was gay.. and had a boyfriend.. it didn't really affect anything else.. The two walked to the doorway to the living room, watching the two lovers on the couch. They were talking, sitting very close, and watching the TV, every now and then Kurama would give Hiei a small kiss or a hug.. Just like normal lovers.. The act didn't seem so wrong when it was between a girl and a boy.. infact, the act didn't seem wrong at all.. was it just that she'd been raised to believe homosexuality was wrong that made it seem like a wrong act?

Yusuke smiled and looked to her once more, "It might not seem okay to you, but why deny them their love? The only people it has to affect is them.. And if it makes them happy, that's all that matters, isn't it?" Shiori watched as Hiei cuddled up against her son, resting his head on Kurama's chest as the redhead's arms wrapped around him.. he had the most blissful look on his face, just so happy to have his koorime back..

And that was when the woman smiled. Yusuke was right..? How did is affect her? It didn't.. Did she need to know what they did? No she didn't.. Their love was theirs and she had no right to tell them otherwise or what they had to do with it.. And although she didn't approve of the relationship, she couldn't help but feel that it was somehow right.. somehow justified by the happiness they provided for eachother.. That's all that mattered, afterall..


Kurama ran his fingers through the spiky black hair of the fire youkai, smiling softly down at him, "We should take a vacation soon.." Hiei looked up at him and shrugged, "Why?"

"I think we deserve some time alone.."

"Hn…"

"I think we should go to America.."

"Why there? What's so special about that place?"

"I'd like to see it.. I bet you'd like it too.."

"Hn.."

"We could get one of those big rooms.. A Presidential Suite.."

"..Uh-huh.."

Kurama smiled down at the small youkai in his arms, seeing how tired he was, his eyes starting blink faster as he tried to stay awake. The redhead looked over to his mother and Yusuke, smiling wider at them before turning his attention back to his lover, "I love you Hiei.." The small youkai smiled up at him sweetly, leaning up to give him a small kiss on the lips. Kurama hugged him tighter, resting his chin in the spiky mass of black hair..

The past seemed so far away now.. And all he could see was their future together..

The End- Thanks for Reading!


Yup, that was it. I hope you guys liked it.. I know it's not the best ending, but I was having trouble thinking up a way to tie in the song.. heh.. if you didn't understand what it has to do with the rest of the story, lemme explain:

"Honestly, do we need to know if he really came inside her mouth. How will all this affect me now and later?"

That's basically the overview of the story.. the basic idea that what Hiei and Kurama did was their own problem and no one else's. And that Shiori had to find out that it wouldn't affect her and that it really only mattered to them, so she shouldn't care if they're homosexual if they're happy..

Well, I'll make sure to keep posting responses to Reviews from this day forward. I really hope you guys liked it. Sorry for the lack of lemon.. It just didn't seem like a good ending, you know? Well, see ya next time I write a fic..

Might draw you all a picture for being so supportive of my first fic!! A Hiei x Kurama picture, of course, so stay tuned in the near future for that, okay? I've ranted long enough. Thanks again!!