Disclaimer: If these characters belonged to me/Oh how happy I would be/But since they all do not/ My happiness is shot.

Warnings: Yaoi…yum. Angst…awesome.

.-cringe- I'm back. Yes, yes, I realize that's it's been almost two months (57 days, to be exact) since I've updated, and I am really really very sorry for that. Don't hurt me! But there was a lot of stuff going on that prevented me from writing—my cat ran away, two of my best friends broke up, I had finals to study for, and I just really wasn't in the mood for writing. It's a good thing I didn't write then, because if I had written something when I didn't really feel like it it would've ended up being a really really crappy chapter and you wouldn't want that anyway. I meant to work on this during winter break but I had other stuff to do (I did go back and edit some previous chapters, though); ironically, I'm posting this on my last day before I go back to school. Anyway, now I'm back, and as an apology for being MIA for so long, I present to you the next two chapters.


"Ah, good morning, Shuichi!" his mother greeted cheerfully as he walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning, okaa-san," Kurama smiled back, equally bright. "I'm going out for the day. I hope you won't need me."

"No, no, go have fun. Where are you going?"

"Just to Yusuke's house." Grabbing a granola bar from the pantry, he headed out the door, then turned. "Oh, and I probably won't be back for dinner, so you don't need to wait for me."

"Okay, Shuichi. Bye!"

"Ja!" Kurama waved as he exited. He strolled down the street, keeping an eye out for Hiei. This time his smile endured past the corner.

"What are you smiling about, fool?" Suddenly Hiei was by his side. Kurama looked down at him, still smiling.

"It's a beautiful day, Hiei. The sun is shining, you're finally back from the Makai, and we're about to be reunited with Yusuke and Kuwabara, just like old times." Something about the bright sunshine made Kurama feel as if a weight had lifted from his shoulders, and he relaxed, happier than he had been for a long time.

"Just like old times…" whispered Hiei. His eyes narrowed. Kurama, still feeling surprisingly carefree, remained oblivious.

They walked on, Kurama cheerful and talkative, mainly about what had happened during Hiei's absence, Hiei reticent and taciturn as always.

They arrived at Yusuke's apartment complex, and walked up the three flights of stairs. When they stood facing the door, Kurama raised his hand to ring the doorbell, then stopped.

"Stand behind me."

"What?" Hiei stared at Kurama. "Why would I do that?"

"To surprise them. You're the surprise, remember?"

"I am no such thing." Hiei balked. "I will do no such thing."

"Come on, Hiei," Kurama coaxed playfully. "It'll be fun. Besides, imagine how shocked Kuwabara will be when he sees you."

Hiei considered this for a moment.

"Fine," he agreed grudgingly. He stepped behind Kurama, effectively concealing himself. Kurama rang the bell. Yusuke answered, with Kuwabara hovering behind.

"Kurama!" Yusuke cried, as if he were surprised.

"Good morning, Yusuke," greeted Kurama. He nodded to Kuwabara. "Good morning, Kuwabara." He smiled politely, being deliberately slow.

"Well?" asked Yusuke impatiently.

"Well what?" responded Kurama innocently.

"Where's the surprise?" interjected Kuwabara. "Can we eat it?"

Kurama stifled a laugh. "See for yourself," he said grandly, stepping aside with a flourish. A scowling Hiei was revealed, obviously annoyed at the implication that he might be edible.

"H-Hiei!" exclaimed Yusuke. "You're back!"

"Chibi!" screeched Kuwabara, pointing in shock, other arm waving wildly. "You're back!"

"Urusei. I'll kill you." Hiei growled, glaring at Kuwabara. "Stop pointing at me." His fingers closed on the hilt of his katana threateningly.

Kurama decided it was time to intervene. "Yusuke, why don't you invite us inside? Is your mother home?"

"Ah, yes, come in," Yusuke motioned jovially. "No, my mom's out drinking with her friends again. I don't think she'll be coming back tonight." He herded the others inside, chattering all the while.

"Man, it's nice to see you again, Hiei. What have you been doing in the Makai all this time? Killing youkai?" Not waiting for an answer, he rattled on in his usual brash Yusuke way. "Things have been busy here in Ningenkai. Keiko's dad told me if I wanted to be with Keiko I had to get some sort of an education, like technical school, so I'm there with Kuwabara, and Yukimura-san also said I might take over the noodle shop when I graduate."

As Yusuke continued with his non-stop monologue, he waved the other Tantei into the sitting room, seated them, and produced drinks and snacks. Finally, he stopped talking. The four Reikai Tantei sat around the low table, silence descending upon them as nobody moved to replace Yusuke's dialogue.

Once again, it was Yusuke who broke the peace. "So, Hiei, does anybody else know you're back? Do the girls and Genkai know?"

Hiei shook his head.

"Then let's invite them over!" proposed Kuwabara. "We'll get more food and drinks and have a party!" He seemed excited at the prospect, most likely because Yukina would be present.

"Hey, that's a good idea," agreed Yusuke. "I'll go call them right now!" He started to get up, when Kurama stopped him.

"Perhaps we should wait until a later date," he suggested gently. "We'll need more refreshments, and, if you'll pardon me saying it, the house is not exactly presentable to guests of the feminine variety. Might I propose Saturday?"

Yusuke blinked, then looked around the house. Trash was strewn across the floor, cigarette ash littered the table and countertops, and the kitchen was in a state of complete chaos. He nodded, realizing that Keiko and Botan were probably more finicky about cleanliness than even Kurama.

"Besides," Kurama continued, "there's no hurry. Hiei's not going anywhere anytime soon, are you, Hiei?" He looked at the sullen hiyoukai, wondering how he would reply. Kurama hadn't yet gotten a chance to ask Hiei how long he intended to stay, and now was as good a time as ever to find out.

Hiei looked away. "Hn," he grunted.

"Well, that's settled then," Yusuke announced cheerily. "We'll have our party Saturday night, and we'll call it Hiei's Welcome-Back Bash!" Hiei snorted.

"But why Saturday?" asked Kuwabara. "I want to see Yu—I mean, I'm sure everybody wants to see Hiei sooner."

"Well, Kuwabara, something tells me it'll take a while to clean up the house," Yusuke replied.

"Why should I care?"

"Because you're doing it with me."

"Nani?.!" Kuwabara bellowed.

"Yes, you are. You're going to buy drinks and snacks, too." Seeing Kuwabara's face slowly reddening in outrage, he quickly added, "Don't you want to help out so the girls can have a nice time, especially Yukina? You wouldn't want her to sit in a pile of trash, now would you?"

Kuwabara deflated as fast as he'd puffed up. "Ah, sou."

Seeing Hiei's glare toward grow darker at the mention of his twin with any connections with Kuwabara, Kurama interjected. "Hiei and I will notify Yukina and Genkai about it, then. You two contact Botan and the other girls, and maybe Koenma if he can get away."

"Okay, sounds good," Yusuke agreed. The four sat in silence once again, until Kuwabara abruptly stood up and pulled Yusuke into the kitchen.

"Excuse us for a second." Kurama nodded.

Sitting quietly, he heard Kuwabara ask Yusuke in a none-too-quiet stage whisper, "Will it really take six days for us to clean your house?" Yusuke shushed him.

"Maybe Hiei and Kurama want to do something together."

"Like what?.!" Kuwabara clearly forgot that Kurama and Hiei were both in hearing distance.

"I don't know. Train, or something." Yusuke shrugged. "Who knows what youkai do together?"

In the other room, Kurama coughed slightly, amused. He could feel Hiei start to bristle beside him. He stood up, dragging Hiei up with him, and stuck his head into the kitchen.

"So you don't think they're ga—"

"Oh, uh, hi, Kurama. What do you want?" Yusuke questioned nervously.

"I think Hiei and I will be leaving now. We have to go visit Genkai's temple, after all," said Kurama easily, secretly enjoying Yusuke and Kuwabara's looks of guilt and fake innocence.

"Okay, then," Yusuke agreed quickly.

Kurama let go of Hiei and headed toward the door. "We'll see you Saturday." After a final glance around the house, he added with a small smile, "Good luck cleaning."

Once out the door, Kurama allowed his smile to widen as behind him he heard Yusuke and Kuwabara begin bickering about what he and Hiei were going to do for the rest of the week. He turned to Hiei.

"Let's go to Genkai's temple, then, shall we?"

He started down the stairs, Hiei easily keeping pace.

"What's wrong, Hiei?" Kurama asked, although the hiyoukai had not said a word. "I can feel you hackling."

"Stupid ningens," Hiei muttered. "As if we were more than fighting partners."

Kurama smiled. "They're only joking, Hiei. On second thought," he paused after a moment of consideration, "maybe not, but after all, it's Yusuke and Kuwabara. It doesn't really matter what they think, does it, if we know we're just partners?"

"Hn." Hiei seemed mollified, but Kurama sighed inwardly. Just fighting partners, he though regretfully. Oh well. He brightened.

"I'll race you to the temple, Hiei!"


Yay now Kurama is happy. I have to admit it really is a lot of fun writing Yusuke and Kuwabara, just because I can make them sound stupid and still have them be in character. I think their "secret conversation" in the kitchen was quite amusing, too, not to mention that Kuwabara thought Hiei might be edible. xD I used the term 'fighting partners' for lack of a better phrase; if I just said partners, it could mean more.

Anyway, like I said, the next chapter is up, too, so continue.

Edit: 6/20/05 - Rawr. apparently doesn't allow a question mark and exclamation point next to each other. So I added a period in between, because it just doesn't look right with just a question mark/just an exclamation point. Not that it looks any better with a period in between them, but whatever.

Okaa-san – Mother
Ja – very informal good-bye
Chibi – what Kuwabara calls Hiei; literally means little, ie SD (super-deformed) chibi characters; I used this as an alternative to the ever-popular 'Shrimp' because Chibi is what Kuwabara calls him in the Japanese script and it fits well, too.
Urusei - Shut up. It's either urusei or urusai; I've heard it both ways and decided on the first one.
Katana – Japanese sword
Makai – Spirit World I think that's what they call it
Youkai – demons. I use this in a very loose sense, such that Hiei and Kurama are both youkai, though there's probably more to it
Ningenkai – the human world
Reikai Tantei – Spirit Detectives
Hiyoukai – fire demon (not an exact translation)
Nani – What
Sou – that's right
Ningens - humans