Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Regretfully.

Warnings: Shonen-ai/yaoi, angst

Muhaha wasn't that a nice chapter there? Thanks much to all who reviewed. Rejoice, I have the second chapter! I bet you were all dying to read it, weren't you? Of course you were. Er...yeah. Anyway, here you go.


Kurama sat up with a gasp, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. It was just a dream, he reassured himself. Just a dream...but—

His mind recalled the moment they had kissed, and a slight flush rippled across his cheeks. The memory made Kurama blush, but it certainly wasn't just the product of a dream. Hiei was something special to him.

Hiei was an entity to himself, and somehow Kurama had fallen in love with the gruff, stubborn little youkai. The only problem was that Hiei obviously did not feel the same way, and this tormented Kurama. As a youko, unrequited love was something new to him. It was part of the very nature of a youko to be lusted after and be able to choose whomever fit his fancy. This was the first time he had felt a yearning for somebody he couldn't have, and he knew the feelings ran deeper than just sexual desire. There was a niggling sensation of possessiveness whenever he was around Hiei, something that had never been present in his jaunts as a youko.

Kurama dreaded scaring Hiei away with a confession of his feelings, and prudently decided to keep silent. As his partner, Kurama knew the jaganshi better than most, and he suspected that any declarations of undying love would move the fire demon's feet rather than his heart. Better to have Hiei as a friend, even just a friend, nearby, than ignoring him from far away. Even so, Kurama's heart ached with the absence of his short companion. It had been three long years since the end of the Makai Tournament, and nobody had received any word from Hiei. Kurama had slowly drilled himself not to think about the red-eyed youkai, and concentrated on finishing up high school, preparing to test into college. Yusuke, recently returned from the Makai, joined Kuwabara in studying at a technical school, ready to merge with the workforce. Yusuke and Keiko were still together, and Kuwabara routinely visited Yukina at Genkai's temple. Somehow it seemed to Kurama that nobody was alone but he himself.

The sound of his mother's voice broke Kurama out of his nostalgic reverie.

"Shuichi! Are you up yet?" she called from downstairs. "You'll be late for school!"

"Ah, hai, okaa-san." He snapped out of his daze and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "I'll be down in a second!"

Standing up, he stretched, running slender hands through his rumpled red hair. As he changed into his uniform, he found his thoughts still dwelt on Hiei. Shaking his head, he walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth. There was no point in thinking about the half-koorime. He wasn't going to come back any time soon, judging by the fact that his sentence with Mukuro had been long over, and that unlike Yusuke, Hiei had not returned to Ningenkai. With a sigh, Kurama gathered up his schoolbooks and walked downstairs.

"Ohayou, okaa-san." He greeted his mother with a warm smile. "Sorry I was late."

Shiori smiled back at her beloved son. "It's okay, dear. Come eat your breakfast."

When Kurama finished, he put his empty dishes in the sink. "Ittekimasu," he told his mother, giving her a kiss on the cheek as he walked out the door. Shiori beamed.

"You're so sweet, Shuichi. Have a nice day at school!"

Kurama waved as he neared the corner, still smiling. But the smile faded as he turned. Contrary to the light-hearted pretense he'd kept up with his mother, Kurama was feeling less than cheerful. Much less. School really wasn't that appealing anymore. There was just something about the constant giggles, whispers, and stares generating from the masses of his fangirls that made it a little hard for Kurama to concentrate. Today it would be even harder, with stray thoughts of Hiei drifting through his mind. Sighing, he plodded resignedly through the gates, wincing slightly as shrill squeals of "Minamino-kun!" filled the air.

.-.-.-.-.

Finally, the ordeal was over, and Kurama was thankful. Today had been worse than usual, even without visions of a certain dark-haired youkai popping into his head, because, according to one over-excited fangirl, "Minamino-kun looks even more beautiful when he's daydreaming!" Wondering if the girls would ever realize he wasn't interested, Kurama was too preoccupied to notice the heavily-concealed ki emanating from the bough of the oak tree.

"Tadaima, okaa-san!" he announced as he headed up the stairs, careful to keep a bright tone in his voice. Even his mother's cheerful reply of "Okaeri, Shuichi!" failed to pull him out of his hazy dejection. Dropping his schoolbag by his desk, Kurama sank onto the bed with a sigh. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to relax, and soon fell asleep.

He awoke suddenly. It was still early evening. Obviously his mother had decided to let him sleep, as he could hear her washing the dinner dishes downstairs. Kurama sat up, wondering what had caused him to wake up.

"Baka kitsune," a deep voice chuckled. Kurama's head jerked, and his astonished eyes alighted onto the small youkai leaning on his windowsill. He gasped.

"Hiei!"


Puhaha what a terrible cliff-hanger. I hate to be so evil and make you wait for the next chapter but—okay, maybe I don't hate being so evil. xD It's kind of nice to have people waiting for your work. But I won't stretch it out too long, just until I've written the third chapter. Although that may take a while. But that's okay. -evil grin- Sayonara, minna-san.

Translations-Note: All translations may not be exactly correct or spelled the way you spell it; romaji isn't precise anyway-
Hai : yes
Ohayou : short for ohayou gozaimasu- good morning
Okaa-san : Mother
Ittekimasu : What you say when you're leaving the house. I think the people you're leaving are supposed to say something back but I forget what it is.
Tadaima : I'm home!
Okaeri : Short for okaeri nasai- welcome home
Baka kitsune: Stupid fox

Edit: 1/2/2005 - I went back and edited this today; added a couple details, changed some of the wording I felt icky about. It's just a sort of touch-up that I think makes it better, but I think most of my readers will not go back and read this chapter, so sadly they won't get to read the changes.