Hiei woke up slowly.
He saw the night first, sitting like a bystander outside the window.
He realized that he was in a room he vaguely recognized as that belonging to the Spirit Detective.
Then he saw Kurama.
He felt Kurama.
For a moment, he didn't move as he felt the fox gently licking at his skin, laping at the injury on the side of his stomach. His breath caught. What was the fox doing? Why was Hiei allowing it...?
"Ku...kurama..." he whispered and the fox suddenly stilled and looked up at him.
Kurama gazed at the Jaganshi with golden eyes.
Hiei scowled at him and Kurama hesitated.
Then Hiei noticed Kurama's ears. They peaked up from the top of his head, tapering in red points. Then he saw his tail. Hiei felt his eyes widen.
Kurama saw that. He laughed.
It was a strange laugh; dark, unfamiliar.
Hiei tried to pull away from the sound, from Kurama who was watching him with those two strange eyes, and gasped. He had forgotten about his injuries, but his injuries hadn't forgotten him. They burned with his movement. His jagan felt painfully hot on his forehead. His eyes closed and for a moment, consciousness swam out of his grasp.
When he came to, Kurama was leaning close, his face too near to Hiei's own.
"What the hell are you doing?" Hiei snapped. "Get off of me."
Kurama smiled a sharp smile. "No." he said.
"Kurama!" Hiei began, but was cut off as the fox laughed again, that same unsettling laugh and then he leaned forward and pressed his mouth against Hiei's.
Hiei fought against that mouth, trying to pull away, but Kurama's hand was in his hair, keeping him still, and his body pressed against his own. Soon, so soon Hiei didn't understand, he stopped struggling. He didn't know why. He could lie and say it was the pain that Kurama pressing against his injuries caused as Hiei struggled. He could say that he was too damned tired. But that wasn't it...he would fight if that was all it was...but...
This felt familiar and at the same time, like a dream...
Hiei gasped as Kurama's hands brushed against the wound on his side and Kurama suddenly pulled away.
Hiei reached for him without realizing it and he came back to himself with a hand pulling at Kurama's hair.
"Hiei...?" Kurama said and Hiei paused at the sound. That wasn't the same voice as the laugh. This voice sounded too human. Hiei studied the face staring down at him. That face looked too frightened.
"Hn..." Hiei said vaguely.
"What the hell...?" a third voice said then.
Hiei turned towards the doorway, Kurama as well.
Yusuke stood there.
He stared at the two demons-Kurama straddling Hiei, blood on Kurama's face, Kurama's green eyes, too wide.
What the hell...?
"Kurama...?" Yusuke began and started forward, but he got no reply.
Kurama pulled away from Hiei then and Hiei started as the severing of that contact.
Kurama, face down, hand brushing at the blood on his face, pushed pass Yusuke and as the dumbfounded detective stared after him, disappeared. The sound of the front door closing behind him came up the hall like an afterthought.
Yusuke turned to the Jaganshi. "Hiei?" he said.
The fire-demon stared back at him and said nothing.
He had no idea what that was about, or why his heart pounded...
He kept his face blank and the detective turned and hurried after Kurama.
When he was alone, Hiei reached up and touched his mouth.
...to be continued...