Hm... Was it only me who noticed I ended the last two chapters with the same word/question?

(crickets)

O...kay. Yeah, I notice odd stuff like that... ANYWAY... yup, uh-huh...

I'M SORRY! I'M SO SO SORRY!

(see bio for excuse for not updating sooner as promised)

But, I'm back! (from outer space!... yeah, just like that song... you know the one...)

Chapter Six...Crushes And Drunkenness

"...What?" Hiei asked again, glaring at Kurama, who still sat across from him dumbfounded at what just happened. He quickly snapped out of it when he realized that was the second time within 24-hours he had looked as such.

"Why did you do that?" Kurama said, raising his glass to his lips.

"Hn?" Hiei said while drinking his beverage. Kurama tried not to show his annoyance, but it came out in a strained tone in his voice, "Just now. Why did you do that?" Hiei set his drink down, and laced his fingers together to rest his head on them, "You mean with the guys hitting on you, right?" You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Kurama thought, "Yes."

Hiei sat back in his chair, "Thought it wasn't worth my time."

"...What?"

"I knew if those guys tried to attack you, you would've done something with your plants to stop 'em... But that would have cost you ki, and you'd be weak enough to be taken advantage of by even a D-class..."

True enough... But did you have to put it like that...? "Uh-huh, and what does that have to do with your time?"

Hiei closed his eyes, "Because... I'd have to rescue you if anything happened...," he saw Kurama going to ask something, "Because," he continued, "If you got injured while in my company, Yusuke would a hair up his ass about it."

Kurama blinked at this, then turned away with a hand over his mouth. Hiei growled, "What the hell's so funny!" This made the fox laugh louder, so that other people in the bar looked over at them, though most just yelled at him for aggravating their hangover. Hiei banged a fist on the table in frustration. Kurama finally got control of himself and stopped laughing loudly. He turned to Hiei, and tried to stop giggling, but that wasn't going so well. Hiei's eye twitched, and Kurama put a hand over his face to calm himself down. He pulled the hand down so that it was only covering his mouth, "You really do have a crush on Yusuke."

Hiei froze as he stared at Kurama, trying to digest what the fox was proposing. He choked on his words slightly, then said, "I... I don't know what you're talking about," he said defiantly.

"Yes you do," Kurama laughed, putting his hands in his lap, "And I've always suspected it, too. The way you only talk bad about him when he's not around. The way you blush ever so slightly when he teases you..."

"I do not blush, especially when he does that," Hiei hissed.

"They way you always manage to bring him up in a conversation about a different subject entirely..."

"Uh...," Hiei opened his mouth slightly, as if to say something, but thought better of it.

"You know... It's not as if it doesn't make sense... He is the one after all that let you live in a semi normal home... Truth be known, I was shocked when you showed romantic interest in me. I had always assumed you'd go after him instead..."

"Shut up," Hiei rested an elbow on the table, and put his forehead in his palm. Kurama almost felt sorry for bringing it up at the confused look on his face... Almost, "You don't know what you're talking about..."

"Really?" the fox said in monotone.

"Yes, really," Hiei spat, "This... crush that you speak of doesn't exist," the demon sat up straight, "What you're talking about and what's real are completly opposite..."

"Hm... Care to explain that to me?"

"I... I'm not... I don't... Look it's not love, or whatever... It's just...," Hiei seemed very uncomfortable with this subject, "Just that I... you know..."

"Have abnormally great respect for him?" Kurama finished for him. Hiei mumbled something reluctantly in agreement. Kurama took a long drink of his beverage to break the moment's akwardness. After, he stared at his glass for a long while, remembering the first year after he had left Yusuke's home. He had drunk almost everyday, in attempt to numb the pain he felt. He realized now how stupid he had been. He remembered there were days when he'd wake up not knowing where he was or what he'd done that previous night...

"You're doing it again."

Kurama blinked at the sound of Hiei's voice, "Huh?"

"You're thinking too much. Drowning yourself in whatever that is you're thinking..."

"I guess..."

"What're you thinking that's so sad?"

Kurama looked up at Hiei, "How do you know I was thinking about a sad subject?" Hiei leaned back, suddenly looking very tired... and old. It's trully amazing how he can seem so childish and even look like a child after falling asleep... and yet look so old at times like this... I mean... he has to be less than 100... Kurama had known Hiei for the demon's entire life... But never bothered to count those years.

"It's something you said Yomi said about you..."

"Yomi?"

"Yeah... That old partner of yours you sent a hitman out on... You said that he said you looked most beautiful in your sorrow..."

By the time Kurama had realized what Hiei had just said, the demon proposed a drinking contest between the two of them, "I wanna see how much liquor you can hold in your human form."

Kurama smiled, and accepted.

Only later would he have a tough decision deciding if that was a horrible mistake or not...

Warm... That was Kurama's first thought as he regained consciousness. He assumed it was just the bed, so he clung to what he thought were sheets. Suddenly, his head started pounding very painfully, so he sat up quickly and put a hand to his head. Guess I drank a little too much... He cracked his eyes open and the first thing he saw was that he was naked, and the second was the fact his clothes were strewn about the floor. And so were... Hiei's...? Oh, god... He felt a movement at his side, and hesitanly look over, "Kuh...," lying next to him in the bed, also naked (and asleep), was Hiei, "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

CLIFFYMUHAHAHAHAHA

I'm just killing you, aren't I?