Author's Notes: Okay, finally writing chapter 3. Happy? Heh. I hope so. This chapter will be a bit unpredictable for me to write since I've never ever in my life planned anything for a fanfic. Therefore, any events that come up are spur of the moment kind of things. The other two chapters, I've actually had a few ideas for. This one, well, I have none. I'm just writing and writing. Whatever gets written was never planned so I hope you won't be too disappointed…

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters. If I did, Hiei and Kurama would be screwing each other into a mattress with a video camera taping every second of it. XD evil laugh

Pairings: HieixKurama, maybe slight YusukeKurama.


Recommendation:

Title: A Birthday Present

Author: JadeDragoness

Anime: Naruto

Summary: Iruka's birthday is coming up in a few days and Naruto needs help finding him a birthday present, so he enlists the help of Sakura and Sasuke.

My comments: This fanfic is hilarious, fluffy, and just plain cute. Not the usual stuff I would read, but it's so awesome I read it anyway. If you've never seen Naruto, I say read the fanfic anyway. It's too good. Oh, and it's shounen-ai! Nothing's better than that, right? Teehee!


Trifled Bonds – Chapter 3

clowangel


Kurama woke up the next morning to a slight ache in his head. For some reason, the slight throbbing that he and Hiei sensed was back and stronger too. Mentioned demon was nowhere in sight, having left at the break of dawn. Forcing himself to ignore the small nagging feeling he was getting, Kurama sat up, got dressed, performed his morning ritual and got ready for school. Sighing, he eyed the pile of schoolwork with tired eyes and took two folders off the top and placed it in his schoolbag. Shouldering the black bag, he left his room with a click of his bedroom door.

By the end of the school day, Kurama was more than just a little tired having dealt with fan girls and fan boys alike. Added to that, he had another project added to his pile of paperwork. Not to mention the constant tugs at the back of his mind hadn't ceased but increased instead. However, he knew Shuichi would be bringing Yusuke over today. He just hoped he had the energy to deal with two energetic teenagers.

Sighing and resigning himself to the inevitable doom that lay just behind the harmless looking wooden oak door before him, he placed his key into the lock, twisted, and opened the door with the same hand, retrieving the keys and depositing them in his pocket.

"Tadaima," he said softly but loud enough for the occupants of the two-story house to hear. Taking off his shoes, he went into the kitchen and gave his mother a hug before returning to the living room just as the younger Shuichi and Yusuke came rushing down the stairs.

"Onii-san, okaeri!"

"Yo Kurama!"

"Hello Shuu-kun, Yusuke," Kurama greeted warmly with a smile.

"You've got a brave lil brother, Kurama! He managed to not piss in his pants when he came up to me! Didn't even know you had a lil brother, man." Yusuke laughed and began telling Kurama of his little brother's bravery.

The kid had come up to him after school and mumbled something he couldn't quite hear. Yusuke had frowned and mildly glared at the kid telling him to repeat himself causing him to just fidget more and mumbled again, but louder that time. Finally, the black-haired boy managed to ask him the question. At first, he was confused. He didn't know anyone by the name of Shuichi. He said as much. The kid's eyes had widened and he looked utterly confused.


Flashback

"Demo… you do know my Onii-san. He said I could ask you to come over without getting beat up…" Shuichi had stammered, a faint blush apparent on his cheeks.

He had looked surprised. Who knew him enough to invite them over to their house?

"Kid, I really don't know anyone by the name of Shuichi" he had said.

"Ano… you all call Onii-san by a nickname though." Shuichi's face scrunched up in concentration as he tried to remember what the sword-wielding guy had called him.

"All?" Now Yusuke looked even more confused. "Who's 'all'?"

"Ah!" Shuichi floundered around for a bit trying to remember the man's name. "Ano… Hiei-san."

"Hiei!" Yusuke's eyes had widened considerably. "As in short-tempered, vertically challenged, Hiei? The Hiei who has a katana with him everywhere he goes? And looks like he'll hack your head off if you talk to him?"

"Hai!" Shuichi smiled brightly when he found Yusuke recognized the short man. "Wait… He didn't seem like he would hack off my head. He did look dangerous though…"

"…" Yusuke stared at the kid with a deadpanned expression. "You're kidding right?" His expression changed to that of mild annoyance as he remembered some of his fights with the short demon. "He nearly hacked off my head several times with that damn sword of his. He doesn't talk much either. Probably had a stick shoved up his ass at birth or some shit what with the way he glares at everyone and everything."

Shuichi's face was red as he listened to Yusuke rant about how wrong he was. 'The man had almost took off Urameshi-san's head…?'

"Demo, he didn't do anything like that. In fact, he let Onii-san scold him for bringing his katana with him."

"Chotto matte! Your 'Onii-san' scolded him and he's alive correct?"

Shuichi's blush faded into confusion. "… Of course Onii-san's alive! Why would Hiei-san kill someone over scolding him?"

"Aha! Now, I know who your bro is! Kurama is your aniki right?" Yusuke smiled brightly, eyes shining with recognition.

"Ah! Sou da yo! You all call my Onii-san Kurama!" Shuichi's expression brightened with recognition. "Hai, so… Ano… Can you come over to our house?"

Yusuke blinked. A wide grin split across his face. "Sure!"

End Flashback


Kurama chuckled at Shuichi's expression. The younger boy had turned red from embarrassment.

"And wow, your mom's cookies are great!" Yusuke praised. He really had never had such good cookies. His mother couldn't cook if her life depended on it, so not many home cooked meals.

"Why thank you, Yusuke-kun." Mentioned woman had just come out of the kitchen with another plate of cookies fresh from the oven and placed it on the coffee table in the living room. "Shuichi, I made your favorite."

"Arigato, kaa-san."

"You're welcome, Shuichi. I'll get you and your guest some drinks." She turned and left for the kitchen again.

"Ah, arigato, kaa-san."

The black-haired woman returned moments later bearing three cans of soda, which she set down on the coffee table alongside the plate of cookies.

"Oiy, Kurama. Why am I here again? I forgot to ask Shuichi there."

Shuichi blushed at being mentioned.

"No reason really. Shuichi just wanted me to prove you and I are friends. I hear you're still threatening your poor schoolmates." Kurama smirked slightly, watching Shuichi and Yusuke's expressions.

Yusuke broke out in boisterous laughter. "Maa na! I get bored and those idiots always pick fights with me anyway." Turning to Kurama and giving him a once over, he asked seriously, "Are you getting enough rest now? You seriously didn't look too good yesterday. Didn't really notice though before Hiei pointed it out since you hide it so well."

Shuichi's face scrunched up in thought. His Onii-san did seem more tired lately. His schoolwork must be really hard to keep up with.

"Yes, I got more sleep last night after Hiei forced me to get into bed." Kurama resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he remembered the previous day.

"Heh, that Hiei." Yusuke shook his head slightly, a small smile on his lips. "Ah! That's right. On Wednesday, where are we meeting? The usual place?"

Kurama nodded. "Speaking of which, I should tell kaa-san."

"Where are you going, Onii-san?" Shuichi's curiosity was peaked. His Onii-san often left for days at a time several times a month. When he returned, he'd sleep away almost a whole day.

"Taking a little trip." The redhead smiled brightly. "It should be fun."

"Can I come?"

"Afraid not. We already bought the tickets. Maybe next time you can come along."

Yusuke meanwhile began munching on cookies again. "Man, these cookies are really good."

Kurama chuckled. "Of course. Kaa-san's cooking is the best." He took a cookie for himself.

Having polished off another five cookies in mere seconds and washing it down with half his can of soda, he turned to Kurama. "Ne, let's spar! I need a good work out. The idiots at school are so weak!"

"…" Shuichi blinked. The question was ringing in his head. Urameshi-san wanted to spar with his delicate brother? No way! "No way! You're not going to hurt Onii-san!"

Yusuke blinked. "Huh? Hurt him? It's only a light spar. We're not gonna kill each other, ya know?"

"Demo! Can Onii-san even fight?" Shuichi was curious but also panicking. He had never seen his brother fight before. He always seemed so calm and gentle, unable to hurt a fly.

"You've never seen your aniki fight? Wow. You're missing out on a lot, kid! He's so…so…" Yusuke was at a loss of words when it came to describing Kurama's fighting style. Beautiful? Graceful? Deadly? Was there even a word for all that?

"Oh? Shuu-chan, did I hear correctly?" Shiori stepped out of the kitchen, eyes on the trio. "You've been cooped up in school and at home this past week anyway, Shuichi. It's time you loosened up those muscles. Why not go for a spar?"

"Ah… Hai, kaa-san." Kurama looked over at Yusuke, a gentle smirk on his lips. "It's not a bad idea. I haven't sparred with you in a while, Yusuke. And I am feeling rather stiff after sitting in a classroom for so long."

"Is that a challenge I hear? Well then, let's step outside!" Yusuke immediately got up, rushed to the door, put on his shoes, and ran outside.

Shuichi could only sit there and blink. His Okaa-san knew Onii-san could fight? And now, his Onii-san was going to spar with Urameshi-san? Could the day get any weirder?

"Hai, hai." Kurama followed the energetic teen out the door.

Shuichi was about to turn and follow when he heard his brother's surprised voice, stopping him in his tracks.

"Hiei!"

Shuichi immediately ran for the door too. He forgot the shorter man would be there today. Peeking over his brother's shoulder, his eyes fell on the short stature of the sword-wielding black-haired young man.

"Kurama" was Hiei's short greeting. He never did bother saying more than was necessary, unless he was baiting his opponents of course.

"Want to have a three-way spar since you're here, Hiei? Kurama and I was about to spar anyway," Yusuke asked. "It ought to be fun! You two can even team up against me."

Hiei eyed Yusuke with a raised brow. "Spar? With you?" He had never really 'sparred' with the hanyou before. He'd only ever sparred with the redhead fox so he was slightly surprised.

Yusuke's brow twitched. "Teme! Was that an insult?"

"Hn. Fine. This ought to be interesting. Fists only, correct?"

They were all aware an ordinary human teenager would be watching the sparring session. They couldn't use their superhuman powers. Therefore, Yusuke would have to stick with street fighting, Hiei wasn't allowed to use his insane speed or sword, and Kurama would not be able to use his botanic powers.

"Two against one? Or three-way?"

Hiei and Kurama exchanged a look before replying in sync, smirks evident on their lips. "Three-way."

Yusuke and Shuichi's looks of surprise couldn't be hidden. It wasn't everyday two people could just look at each other and understand what the other was thinking. Added to that, they spoke at the same time. It was kind of 'freaky'. A small part of the reikai tantei felt jealousy. However, he quickly squashed it. After all, what was there to be jealous of? Right? Right. Heh, he knew he was lying to himself though. Deep within him were buried emotions.


A half an hour later, the four teens re-entered the house, three of them breathing irregularly and the other beaming.

Shuichi was practically glowing with joy. The sparring session was more interesting than he had thought. Not that he thought it would be boring to begin with, but he didn't expect something so beautiful and deadly. It definitely beat television.

It started off rather boring, each testing the other's reflexes and dodging well-aimed blows. After a few minutes, it heated up when acrobatics and teamwork started. Although it was agreed that it would be a three-way spar, it ended up being a two on one for almost half the session, the two being Hiei and Kurama of course.

It was surprising how well Hiei and Kurama worked together. It was nothing short of amazing. Their attacks were practically synchronized. While Hiei attacked from below, Kurama would attack from above making Yusuke have to work to keep the blows from landing on his person. And if that weren't enough, they seemed to have planned out attacks by just exchanging glances and reading each other's moves making it more than a bit unpredictable for Yusuke who was fighting against two people at once. For Shuichi who was watching from the sidelines, he was practically sitting on the edge of his seat.

Of course the three-way parts were awesome too. All of them had to watch two people at once to avoid hits and had to deal blows on the other two as well. It was almost funny when Yusuke stumbled one time trying to hit Kurama while Hiei had moved to deliver a punch in his direction as well. Yusuke had ended up tripping, rolled over to avoid a kick from the redhead and ended up being punched in the face by Hiei instead of the stomach as intended.

Shuichi noticed several things even though he wasn't a fighter. Yusuke was more of a street brawler, using brute force most of the time but was pretty quick as well, and took all the hits with ease and not the least bit of discomfort evident. It almost seemed like he was made of rock what with all the hits he received. (Little did he know just how tough the dude is.)

Hiei was fast, accurate, and tricky. He knew how to fight fist against fist, was quick so he easily avoided blows, and he used his brain to confuse the opponent. Not more than once, he had tricked Yusuke into believing he would attack one way and ended up attacking completely differently. (Our dear Hiei loves baiting the enemy doesn't he? And that smirk he wears when he cuts them in half afterwards is just so cute!)

His brother on the other hand was pure grace, having acrobatics on his side and martial arts as well, performing flips and cartwheels befitting of a gymnast. He also noticed his brother could read the other opponents' moves very well and was quick to avoid blows, move out of the way, and then attack his opponents as well. His redhead brother, like Hiei, also used his brain in combat, but for battle tactics.

All in all, the entire sparring session was awesome and one he didn't think he'd ever have the privilege of laying eyes on. The fights were more real than Jackie Chan on television and his brother and his friends were just sparring!


"Wow! Onii-san, that was great!" Shuichi beamed, smiling brightly and practically bouncing as the group walked back into the house.

"See? Told you your brother's fighting style was… uh… Well, his fighting style was awesome, ne?" Yusuke smirked at the slightly flushed kitsune.

"Maa, it was nothing special," Kurama insisted, face still slightly flushed from the compliment. "You should see Hiei and Yusuke fight when they're serious. Now, that's a sight to behold." Of course, it usually ended up a bit bloody when the two brunettes fought.

The group sat down on the living room couches and proceeded to talk about the spar.

"But it was amazing, onii-san! I didn't know you could fight at all! I'm sure Urameshi-san and Hiei-san could fight very well, but it was my first time seeing you do anything of that sort!"

"Tch." Hiei looked at the kid as if he was stupid. "Of course your brother can fight. He can fight as well as he can grow a garden of flowers."

"… But those things are so opposite. Do I have an oxymoron for a brother?" Shuichi wondered aloud.

"Ano, Shuu-kun, you don't need to think so much into it. It was just an ordinary sparring session after all."

"It wasn't ordinary at all, Kurama. After all, this was the first time you and Hiei sparred with me. Usually, you two just go off 'n spar with each other," Yusuke said with a grin on his face.

"So I see you've seen Shuichi-kun fight, right Shuu-chan?" Shiori's voice floated in from the entrance to the kitchen. All four heads turned to look at the middle-aged woman standing there. "Was it not amazing?"

"Mother!" Kurama was red in the face. "It's nothing amazing."

"Of course it is!" Shiori insisted with a gentle smile. "I never knew you could fight so well either until I saw you spar with Hiei-san last year. It was absolutely amazing, beautiful even."

"Mother, you're embarrassing me," Kurama said with a sweat drop rolling down the back of his head.

"Oh fine, Shuichi-kun," Shiori smiled playfully before heading back into the kitchen to finish up preparing dinner.

The three boys chuckled. (Of course I said three. Hiei doesn't chuckle.)

"Ne, Nii-san? Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Ah… Well…" How do I explain this to Shuichi…? "I've learned in secret for a long time."

Thankfully, Shuichi didn't seem to have caught the slight hesitation in his elder stepbrother's voice and readily accepted the answer. "Really? Wow!"

Hiei refrained from rolling his eyes. Long time was an understatement. In fact, it was probably the understatement of the century.


Dinner later thateveningwas eaten in a friendly atmosphere that night although there were a few funny moments in which Hiei stared at the chopsticks in utter incomprehension. Eventually, he learned how to use the eating utensils, but not before embarrassing himself by stabbing the sticks into a fish rather barbarically.

That night, after everyone was asleep, the redheaded fox spirit woke up in cold sweat, head feeling as if it would split open at the pain he was feeling so suddenly. Grabbing his head with sweaty hands, he winced when the pain, instead of fading elevated. His psyche was so jumbled, the fire demon that was sleeping just outside of his window in the tree woke up as well from the psychic shock. Said demon appeared at the bedside just in time to catch the unconscious fox.

Hiei placed Kurama back in his bed and tucked him under the covers before slumping against the bed and sliding to the plush floor. Wincing, he held his head in his hand and pressed a finger to his throbbing temple hoping to ease the pounding. What in the seven hells of makai was going on anyway? These constant pulls at his mind were practically driving him insane. If that weren't enough, headaches developed so frequently lately, he was tempted to take one of those human painkillers.

He had the jagan to help him, but the fox certainly didn't. No wonder he passed out even with his centuries of experience at protecting his mind. It has been happening so frequently, his mental shields weren't even enough to protect his mind anymore due to exhaustion from keeping them up all the time. Hell, even in sleep, he had to have them up. Just because he was strong, doesn't mean he has limitless power. And that was something they all knew.

It's no wonder he's been so exhausted lately. And I wasn't fucken around to give him some help. The two humans are completely useless when it comes to something like this and can't be relied on.

Sighing, he put up a kekkai, sat at the end of the bed and was soon dozing lightly. Eventually though, he fell into a deeper sleep and ended up as Kurama's teddy bear for the remainder of the night.


Author's Notes: Finally done with this chapter along with my other fanfics' chapters! Aren't you guys proud of me:) That last part was thought up out of nowhere. In fact, I didn't even intend to end it like that. But I figured ending it with something more serious would be nice.

And wow, Shuichi-kun is appearing in this piece quite often, isn't he? I just like writing an innocent personality once in a while so I hope you don't mind too much. ; Heh, if my younger sister read this, I think she'd think I was insane!

Sister: You, the sadist, like writing an innocent personality? Ha! That's just too funny! dramatic gasp You're an alien aren't you!

Me: glares And what do you care if I do?

Sister: Begone, evil demon! –sticks an ofuda on my head-

Me: -knocks her unconscious and tosses her into a river-