I am Draith, hear me… um, go * splat * to the floor as all the readers decide I am too annoying to be allowed to live on FanFiction.net?  :::looks around, runs away, screaming:::

BTW:  Thanks for all the reviews!!  You guys are so nice! ^__^ It was so encouraging to see people didn't hate me at the start…  Well, except Pierce, but she even was nice to me.  So I suppose I cannot complain, ne?

Raven Sin:  Thanks for the tip!  I avoided that error in this chap. ^__~

B.D.:  Thanks for the encouragement!  Sorry about the burn ointment comment… I did not mean it, really! 

Anne O. Nimus:  Thanks, yeah, I knew that, and I am just enough of a baka that I typed it wrong TWICE heehee 

Radical Edward:  Hehe that would be cute!

FaeGirl430:  Thanks!  It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know someone will defend me… ok, enough of that, thanks though!

Pierce, as always, thanks for looking, and for reading even though you have the basic idea already.  Thanks for the suggestions too, I owe the flashback scene to your ingenious insanity!!

Digi-Girl:  Thanks! ^__^ Sorry it took so long…

Silenced:  I'm getting there, I'm getting there!!  Heehee.

    To everyone, sorry this took so long, but this was hell-week for this little elf, as I had two tests, two papers, a presentation, and various other assignments over THREE days… I also had a seizure of writer's block (fixed at 3am) that really hurts…  Anyways, here it is!

Disclaimer:  Again, do not own Yu Yu Hakusho… I am merely borrowing the characters with full intent to return… after I have seduced Kurama, of course.  KUSO!  Was that out loud?!  :::scary lawyer dudes calmly inform me that I'm not allowed, nor able to do this::: -__- eh heh… ^__^ Oh, and I don't own Wal-Mart, or any Fast Food chain or advertising junk…yeah, you know the drill by now!  Also, I am in no way, shape, or form encouraging the production and usage of fake I.D.s, but this was NECESSARY!  So, do not go telling people the Elf told you that you could do it!  Besides, they would just look at you weird, and give you a pretty, new white jacket that will be all snug… Uhm, yeah… Anyways!

Ok, the next little bit will focus more on Hiei…  I mean come on, we ALL know he is more prone to getting into trouble!  ^__^ Heehee Kurama will be around, and other characters may be thrown in to spice things up.  Otherwise, Hiei rules this chappy.  Yay!

Chapter 2:   We Love To See You…   Combust?

Scene 1:   Back in NingenKai

     Hiei growled as he and Kurama exited the portal upon returning from ReiKai.  He could barely believe he was not only forced to get a "job", but was only allowed to do so in NingenKai, as Koenma said this would better keep the two from trouble.  But that requires being AROUND humans, Hiei thought as he sulked.  "So what are you going to do, Kurama?" he asked, hoping for ideas.  After all, the Junior Ruler of ReiKai had not specified WHICH jobs they could pick.

     Kurama was silent in thought, and so the two began walking towards town, figuring at least seeing establishments would give them a semblance of an idea.  They passed by a Wal-Mart.  Kurama's eyes immediately lit up as he exclaimed, "Garden Center!" and quickly ran off towards the doors, leaving a stunned Hiei standing alone on the sidewalk.  He glared in the direction Kurama left in, hoping the "baka kitsune" could feel it through the back of his head. 

     "Hn."

     Hiei waited for a few minutes, hoping the fox would return quickly, and looked around.  He spotted many, "Now Hiring!" signs, but could not picture himself going NEAR the places, let alone going inside to work there.  He was just about to give up on his friend's return when Kurama came back, smiling.  "And?" Hiei demanded.

     Kurama grinned and held up a nametag that read, "Shuuichi," and a Wal-Mart apron.  He then smirked.  "I've got mine, what about you?"

     Hiei folded his arms, crossly.  "You cheated, fox, you'd enjoy that job more than it being actual work for you." He snorted.

     "Now, now, Hiei, Koenma never said we couldn't enjoy the work, merely that we be occupied.  And judging by your mood, I feel we need to find you something fitting as soon as possible," Kurama responded, placing the job items in his schoolbag, which he had never put away earlier. 

     Hiei glared at him silently, and they continued walking.  Kurama had pointed out many places along the way, though the fire demon had some excuse or another for not picking each one. 

     "How about there?"  Kurama chuckled as he pointed to a meat packing company.  The work, of course, being done in a huge walk-in freezer.  "That would cool your temper off.  At least until you get angry and your employers wonder why all of their meat is suddenly cooked…"

     Hiei shot him a death glare, and sneered, "Stop the jokes, kitsune.  This is serious."  But Kurama did not obey the command, and continued to chuckle until he stopped on the sidewalk outside a building with another "Hiring" sign.  Hiei kept walking, then, realizing his friend had stopped, turned to see what was keeping him.  Kurama was staring at the establishment to his left, and a smirk was already forming on his face. 

Hiei looked in the directing of that smirk, and his eyes widened. 

     "No.  No, no, no, fox.  No WAY in the seven hells am I working at McDonald's!"

Scene 2:   Inside Mickey D's

     "I think it will suit you just fine," Kurama said to Hiei as they walked through the entrance to McDonald's.  "Besides, it IS the only place left around that you have not already refused to work at."

     "Hn."

     Kurama sighed.  "Well, I have a bit of homework to catch up on, so I will see you later, Hiei.  Ja ne!"  With that, Kurama headed out the doors they came in, leaving an obviously protesting fire demon in his wake. 

     Baka kitsune… Hiei thought to himself.  He then turned to look at his coming fate.  The lines at the counter were dwindling, as it was now past dinnertime.  Hiei sighed.  Better to just get it over with.  With that thought in mind, he walked up to the counter, behind which stood a girl in a manager's shirt.  Looking nearly too young to be in such a position, she greeted him with a voice even more bouncy than Botan's… which annoyed the demon that much more.

     "Hi!  Welcome to McDonald's!" she said, looking down at him as if he were a child.  "What can I get for you today?"  She smiled at him, warmly.

     Having caught her manner and look, Hiei sighed inwardly, and responded in a monotone voice, "A job."  He barely got the words out, as they disgusted him so.

     At first the girl chuckled, but, as she was promptly greeted by a cold glare by Hiei, stopped short.  "Y-You're serious?"

     "Yes.  I would—like a job," Hiei responded, again barely getting out the words.

     The manager still eyed him strangely, but motioned for Hiei to follow her into the back of the store, where the office was located.  "Ok," she said, as they sat down in the small office room at the back of the building.  Hiei was not looking happy, but, polite and bubbly as she was, she smiled and began going over the material for the interview. "I'm Sara," she stated, pointing to her 'manager' nametag with her name on it.  "What's your name?"

     "Hiei."

     "And your last name?"

     "Just Hiei," the irked fire demon responded, until he looked at his fake I.D., and remembered that he had been supplied a name for such use…

***Begin Flashback Sequence***

     "And here is a set of papers for you Hiei, you will need these documents to secure a job in NingenKai.  Included in there is a fake I.D., with a last name that I picked for you," Koenma explained to the scowling demon. 

     Hiei looked over the papers quickly, as most of the information was normal and to-be-expected from Koenma.  Then his gaze crossed over the name Koenma had selected… Hiei lifted his head to stare at the toddler.  "B…Bubbles?!" he asked, his face incredulous.  Kurama had to hold back a chuckle with great effort.

     The blue ogre behind Koenma cringed, anticipating the worst, and Koenma sighed.  "It was the best I could come up with on short notice.  I think I did quite well, all things considered…" he then proceeded to prattle on about how much awful paperwork he was stuck with while his father, King Yama was away, and how he was not the mighty maker of names, and ended up looking pleased with himself that he had come up with a name at all.

     Hiei had not said a word to all of this, just glared at Koenma, ignoring Kurama's chuckles for the time being… "Hn."

***End Flashback Sequence***

     Hiei sighed.  "Bubbles… Hiei Bubbles," Hiei managed to get out, but had to try hard not to scowl at the memory. 

     She said to herself as she looked for a pen, "Mr. Hiei Bubbles… So how old are you?" she asked aloud as she rummaged through a rather disorganized stack of papers to find the now elusive application forms. 

     "Sixteen," Hiei lied, producing the falsified age/identity proving documents that Koenma had provided.  He could barely hold in his frustration and disgust over being "identified" as a human, let alone with a name like Bubbles!

     The girl gave him a look, but nevertheless, stayed chipper and finished the interview, able to squeeze the rest of the information she needed out of Hiei.  "Alright, so, when can you start?" she asked him excitedly. 

     Hiei grunted, looking around.  He sighed.  "Right now."  Starting hell tonight is as good as starting hell tomorrow, he thought to himself, as Sara seemed to brighten up at his answer.

    "Great!  We aren't too busy right now, and this would be a great time to show you the ropes."  She grinned as she gave him a very formal sounding tour, explaining each piece of equipment as if it were a respected part of nature.  "And this is the grill, and this is the fry vat, you'll probably start there until you get more used to everything," Sara seemed to know every detail of the job, and rambled on for 20 minutes about minor details that Hiei was sure he would never remember or use later.  "Well, that's about it for now… Oh!  It's closing time… I must have talked the night away!" Sara giggled, and the other employees groaned, indicating this sort of thing must happen a lot with her shift.  "Anyway," she continued, ignoring her staff, "there is one last detail to be covered, and then you are an official part of the team!"  She smiled at him, gleefully.

     Worried most by the expression on his soon-to-be employer's face, Hiei narrowed his eyes to ask, "What is that?"

     Sara grinned, disappeared for a moment into the office room again, and then returned with an instant picture camera.  Receiving a slightly worried glance from Hiei, she said, "Since out motto is, 'We Love To See You Smile', it is customary and required that all prospective employees have their picture taken with a great big, customer-serving smile on their face, and that picture is posted on the board in the office."

     Hiei looked at her blankly.  Thoughts ran through his mind of torching the poor girl for such a suggestion, and the concept of smiling for a recorded, posted picture bothered him so that his hands nearly glowed with his trademark flame…

     Seeing the look on Sara's face—expectant and cheerful—Hiei sighed, and decided he did not need to cause such trouble on the first day.  He nodded.  Sara raised the camera with a  "Say cheese!" and Hiei reluctantly smiled as she snapped the photo.  I am going to get Kurama for this…

TBC…  Yes, I know, not so long either, but that is all the thought I could fit for now, and spit out at quarter to 4am!!  Bear with me people, keep reviewing please!  I want to know if this chapter proves I have no FF talent, or if it shows I don't suck so mightily after all… heehee ^__^ Either way, I'll work on getting the next chappy up ASAP.  Ja ne!  ~

-Draith