A/N: Yeah... this lazy author finally got off her lazy ass, only to sit in a more comfortable chair, to finish this story. Since it's been a while since I last updated, you might want to go back and reread the story. To the people that reviewed:
Krato's Angel: Hmm... I don't remember you reviewing before (did you change your pen name?)... it's been a while since I've even visited this site. Anyway, thank you for being so fanatical about the lack of reviews. It really doesn't bother me anymore as long as I have people like you who still read this story. (I wonder if I even have loyal reviewers left, it's been so long...)
angel of darkness flame: Yeah, I remember you. Thank you for even dropping a line. At least it shows you're interested.
JadedSoul: Tee hee! I remembered another reviewer. Thank you for still reading this. I think you'll like this chapter since a lot of paths are crossing.
Birth stained scarlet: Yay, you've reviewed just about everything I wrote. Well, I'm too lazy to check, but I think you did. Thanks for showing me your support since I started writing KuramaxHiei fics. It's loyal readers that make me get back to writing. I hope you're still active on this site.
Psychogirly:I think you'll like this chapter. A lot of paths cross here. But... you do realize this is a HieixKurama fic, right? If you're hoping Kurama and Shuichi will get together, you'll be disappointed, well maybe not... ... I'm not telling!
mistressKC-wanteddeadoralive:Wow, you have a long name. Is the KC your initials? Anyway, thank you for reviewing. I'll check out your fic (it's probably finished by now, right?) if I have time. I'm trying to finish this story. Uh... Yukina will probably be in the next chapter.
YokoYoukai: Sorry, but Shuichi and Kurama meet in this chapter... but you probably won't be too disappointed.
Katsume18: Sorry for being a lazy bum, but it's my nature. I hope you're still around to read this.
yuio: Yay! A new reviewer, well as new as the last time you reviewed anyway...
What2callmyself: I feel bad that I left people hanging, especially when things were getting good. I was uninspired at the end of the last chapter, but then thoughts just started flowing when I visited again. I hope you're still interested in this!
tbiris: Yeah, things will pick up from here. I'm thinking this is probably somewhere in the middle of this story. I'll probably write a few more chapters and that's it. How fast I update will depend on how well my creative juices flow.
That's it for the reviewers! There was a lot more than I remembered. Maybe it's because I've been gone for 6 months... Sorry to everyone who really liked this story only to have it stopped because I'm one lazy fucker. If you guys are still around, I'll like to know.
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
His lips were so warm and inviting. The kiss was devouring him and he felt himself give into the other's every touch. He had waited for this for so long. The strong pale arms pushed him down onto the bed as his hands slowly removed the youth's shirt. The silver creature climbed on top of the teen and brought his groin down onto his. The redhead moaned at the contact. His breathing grew erratic and his body felt so heated.
The human brought his hands into the other's hair and caressed the silver locks. It felt so lush and smooth. The youko brought his mouth to the human's again and their heated kiss resumed where it left off. The youth slowly slid his hands around the youko's waist and removed the sash there. The thin white garments fell apart and the human eagerly pushed them off the youko's body. Now both parties only had their pants on.
"Kurama," Shuichi moaned. They broke the kiss for air and Kurama started to unbuckle his pants. He slid them off the boy's smooth legs and proceeded to lie in between them. Just as Shuichi was about to remove the youko's pants, a loud noise interrupted this process.
Shuichi's eyes shot open. His emerald eyes looked around the room. There was loud cursing and things smashing just outside the door to the hotel room. Shuichi groaned and pulled the blanket over his head.
'Again? I dreamed of him again? Kurama...' Shuichi thought. His body felt hot again as he replayed the dream in his head. His pants grew uncomfortably tight as he pulled his head out from underneath the blankets. He needed a shower. Shuichi looked around the room, grateful to see that Hiei was not there. He wouldn't be able to live down his embarrassment.
The human got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. He turned the knobs until there was cool water spewing from the shower head. He stripped off his clothes and stepped into the water. The coldness made him jump, but his body cooled down and he was no longer in an uncomfortable state of arousal. He hated how his body reacted to the slightest stimulation, like even lying on his stomach while sleeping.
"Kurama," Shuichi moaned again. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about his surrogate parent ever since he left. His heart felt a stab of pain every time he thought of him, but he couldn't stop his thoughts from wandering back to the seductive youko. Shuichi wanted nothing more than to forget about him and to focus on his training with Hiei. Speaking of Hiei...
Shuichi finished off his shower and dried himself off. He put on some loose clothes and headed back into the bedroom. 'Where did he go?' Shuichi wondered. His eyes found a piece of paper on the table and he read it. 'Be back around noon?' He looked at the clock on the wall to see that it was almost eleven. He sighed and plopped back down onto his bed. Every muscle in his body still hurt.
'Damn you, Hiei. I'm not a demon. I can't run as fast or fight as hard as you do.' Shuichi thought. He had stopped complaining about his cuts and bruises a while ago. It only fueled Hiei to push him harder. 'Why do I even listen to him? It's not like I'm training for a battle.' Shuichi sighed. 'How did things turn out this way?' Once again his thoughts strayed back to Kurama and the sheltered life he lived. He tossed in bed and forced the thoughts out of his mind. 'No. I'm learning to live on my own now.' Shuichi told himself. But he knew it was a lie. He wasn't living with himself. He was living with another demon. 'It feels like I'm living by myself. Hiei barely talks to me.'
Now his thoughts drifted in a new direction. Hiei was a huge enigma to Shuichi. He had never met anyone like him. The fire demon was so distant and detached. He sometimes wondered if Hiei's soul leaves his body. It was creepy how Hiei would just sit and ponder for hours. And that third eye... Something about it unsettled the human.
Shuichi wondered some more about Hiei. What was his past? What is he doing in the Ningenkai? Someone like him most definitely came from and belonged to the Makai. There were so many questions that he would like to ask him, but he knew Hiei would never tell him anything. Hiei had a very strong barrier guarding his heart.
'So... what am I doing with him? Why does he even keep me around? Why doesn't he kill me or sell me off? It's not like he has uses for a human.' This last thought bothered him. What if what he has with Hiei will end up like what happened with Kurama? What if he got attached to Hiei, fell in love, only to have Hiei spurn his feelings? This brought a bitter smile to his lips. Fall in love? With Hiei? Like that could ever happen. Shuichi pondered some more, only to fall asleep again.
X X X X
Hiei eagerly scouted the area outside of the city, searching for Karasu's signature. He had to find him. Karasu was definitely linked to the ice maidens. Hiei clutched the tear gem in his hand, thinking of Yukina.
The fire demon couldn't sense any powerful demons around the city. That human better not have lied to him. Sakyo was his name? Hiei had a feeling that he was one of the elite humans in the Ningenkai. Someone like him should know about the dark dealings of the human world.
Disappointed that he couldn't sense any strong signatures, he headed back to the inn. As he got closer and closer to Shuichi, he felt two strange energies not too far off. Hiei took off his headband to probe the energies further. Hiei changed courses and headed toward the demons. One of the two left and the other one was headed in his direction. Hiei speeded up to meet with this demon.
As the two neared each other, Hieis heartbeat sped up. An image of a demon with long black hair was approaching him. It was Karasu.
The crow couldnt help but smile when he saw Hiei. How nice of his prey to come to him. He stopped a few feet away from the jaganshi and examined him. The sword master was without his sword. Karasu smiled behind his mask. He had the advantage. He felt the adrenaline pumping in his veins. He couldnt wait to take a bite out of this demon, literally.
"Hiei, is it?" Karasu asked.
"Hn. Karasu." Hiei replied.
Karasu was mildly shocked that Hiei knew who he was. Karasu's smile faded when he saw the jagan on Hiei's forehead. That would be an obstacle. Hiei could easily see his bombs. Hiei took a step back and started to remove his bandages.
'Undressing' Karasu thought hopefully. His mood changed when he saw that Hiei was only unmasking his power. The Forbidden Child is as powerful as the rumors say. Karasu slowly moved his floating bombs towards the jaganshi. However, before Karasu ordered them to, they exploded. Karasu lost concentration for just a second, but it was all Hiei needed to disappear and reappear right before him and land a punch on his face. Karasu gathered his wits after the first punch and swiftly moved away from Hiei. After a few minutes, Karasu gained a safe distance away from Hiei. How did his bombs...?
As Karasu pondered, Hiei approached him again. Karasu was ready this time and moved his bombs in Hiei's way. Hiei easily dodged them and headed for Karasu once again. The crow barely dodged Hiei's fists and once again managed to get away from him. Karasu knew his bombs were useless against Hiei. He was too fast. Karasu moved the remaining bombs by Hiei but once again, they all exploded before he even commanded him to. However this time, Karasu saw the little wave of youki Hiei sent out that set the bombs off. 'That's how he's disabling them? By making them explode before they reach him?' Karasu mused.
"A smart one. But let's see how well you do if you can't see my bombs," Karasu said. Hiei didn't understand, but decided to head for Karasu anyway. Without his sword, Karasu had a slight advantage. He didn't want to release the dragon. His body was still adjusting to having the dragon devour him the last time.
As Hiei headed for Karasu, his body sensed danger, and he leapt off the ground. Just as he did, a huge explosion followed. He landed fifty feet away from where he jumped, but he felt danger again and had to jump off the ground. 'That's what he meant. Mines.' Hiei constantly jumped around the place, trying to avoid getting a limb blown off. Karasu was cackling as he implanted more and more bombs into the ground. He enjoyed watching Hiei's tense face as he tried to avoid the mines.
"You can't avoid them all. There's too many and there's less and less room for you to stand!" Karasu boomed. Just as he said this, Hiei stepped on a mine, jumped, and collided with a bomb waiting for him in midair. He fell to the ground, where another mine awaited him and his body was launched a hundred feet into the air. Karasu laughed like a maniac.
Hiei cursed, and landed on a nearby tree. Karasu walked toward him, creating more bombs as he approached. Hiei was in no mood to play. He focused his jagan and every bomb Karasu created exploded at the same time. A huge crater was formed in the ground and smoke filled the air. Hiei shielded his eyes from the smoke while Karasu was pushed back several yards from the explosions. Karasu brushed himself off as the smoke cleared. It seemed the jaganshi no longer wanted to play. Too bad. Karasu was enjoying himself immensely. It seemed the time to fight seriously had come too soon. Karasu reached to remove his mask, but a voice stopped him.
"Karasu!" Toguro said. Both parties looked in the direction of the new presence. 'When did he get here?' Hiei thought to himself.
"I thought I was told to finish him off, Toguro, " Karasu told .
"We have new orders, from Sakyo," Toguro said pointedly.
Karasu pouted at his comrade and sighed. It seemed like Toguro was ruining his fun again. The raven-clad demon removed himself from the battlefield to join Toguro by his side.
"Let me guess, we have to go now?" Karasu asked sarcastically.
"Sakyo wants you to keep an eye on Tarukane and his... source of income," Toguro said. Karasu glanced at Hiei. The fire demon kept his guard up.
"And what do we do about him?" Karasu asked.
"I'll take care of him. Go." Toguro said. Karasu left dejectedly, going to spy on Tarukane as ordered. Toguro took in Hiei's presence.
"80 percent," Toguro said. Hiei didn't understand, but decided to attack him anyway. As Hiei ran toward the new demon, he was blown back by the immense battle aura. By the time Hiei looked at Toguro again, he looked completely different. His muscles were bulging out of his arms and chest. Hiei knew instantly that this was the kind of demon he was looking for. He gathered black flames of the Makai into his fists and charged at the powerful demon.
Toguro let Hiei hit him, punch after punch after punch. Hiei stopped for a split second when he realized his punches were having no effect on the over-sized, over-pumped muscles. That was all it took for Toguro to slam his fist into Hiei's face. The fire demon barely had enough time to block the attack, sending him flying back. When he finally stopped rolling along the ground, Hiei assessed his wounds, estimating a few cracked bones.
Toguro slowly approached the injured demon, surprised that he was not dead yet. He raised his massive arm, ready to finish the demon once and for all. However, Hiei jumped aside before Toguro could finish the blow. The over-pumped demon did manage to leave a big crater in the earth though.
Hiei thought he could avoid the other demon's attacks with his speed. He couldn't possibly be as fast him with those muscles in the way. Hiei was wrong. The next second, Toguro was by his side and smashed Hiei's ribs with a chop to the chest.
Hiei flew from the attack again, but he got back up quickly knowing that Toguro could kill him if he didn't. The jaganshi could feel his energy draining. 'Just two blows?' Hiei thought. He was already wheezing and his arms were almost crushed by the first attack. He needed to retreat now if he wanted to live long enough to find his sister. He hated to withdraw from a fight, especially when his pride made it so hard, but finding Yukina was more important than winning this fight.
Swallowing his pride, the jaganshi turned from Toguro and fled. His speed would only take him so far since the other demon was quick as well. However, he was sure he could keep up this pace for miles. He only hoped Toguro didn't have his endurance.
After Hiei fled, Toguro remained rooted to his spot. His body returned to its normal state. 'Is the forbidden child a coward?' Toguro wondered. He didn't chase him because he couldn't keep up with Hiei if they decided to have a long distance run. 'No, it must be strategy. He's one of the smart ones to not let his pride be the end of him.' Toguro concluded.
X X X X
Shuichi was having yet another wet dream. He was twisting between the sheets and he was moaning. His hair was sprawled all over the pillow and his shirt was halfway up his torso. This was the scene Hiei saw when he returned to the hotel room. He forgot about his wounds for a second to enjoy Shuichi in such a state.
The human's dream was interrupted when he sensed Hiei entering the room. He woke up to see Hiei smirking at him. 'That's strange, I was just dreaming about him...' Shuichi thought. 'Oh no...' he thought and promptly turned red. He kept his eyes on the bed and was trying to figure a way out of this embarrassing situation when he heard a thud on the floor.
Hiei had collapsed from the blood loss. He spent an hour running in different directions, trying to throw Toguro off. He didn't want him to know that he was returning to the inn.
A day later, Hiei woke up in a bed. For a moment, he couldn't figure out where he was or why he was in a bed in the first place. However, a sharp pain in his chest reminded him of his broken ribs and his fight with Toguro. He looked down to find his wounds bandaged. Hiei looked for Shuichi but didn't see him. That was fine, he didn't want him to be here when he woke up anyway.
Hiei collected his thoughts and analyzed his fight with Toguro. He never imagined he would encounter such a strong fighter outside the Makai. Who was he? All he knew was that his name was Toguro and that he worked with Karasu. But then who did they work for? He remembered that Karasu said he was ordered to kill him, but then Toguro said they had new orders from... Sakyo. Hiei remembered his meeting with Sakyo. He was a human with an average build. He had long black hair and was well groomed. Why would Toguro take orders from him? The Ningenkai was a strange place.
As he replayed his meeting in his head, he remembered that someone named Tarukane held the koorimes captive. What was going on? Did Sakyo or Tarukane really have his sister? Are they working together? No, when Toguro was talking to Karasu, it seemed like they followed Sakyo's orders over Tarukane's. But then why would Toguro listen to this Tarukane if he was that strong? Why wouldn't he just kill him and take the jewels if that was what they were after? Unless... Tarukane was a stronger demon or the jewels aren't their objective in the first place. Hiei had a lot to think about, but nothing that happened so far gave him any lead as to his sister's whereabouts. Hiei also had another problem. How was he going to beat Toguro? After their battle, Hiei knew that he was obviously not as strong as him. He needed to train.
Just as was thinking of training methods, Shuichi walked in. He was surprised that Hiei was up with his injuries. He hoped Hiei didn't remember anything...
"Shuichi," Hiei called. Wow, Hiei using his name? This was either serious... or he was going to tease him.
"How long was I out for?" he asked. Shuichi mentally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, about a day," he said casually. Hiei seemed to take this in and thought for a while. Shuichi thought he was in the clear when...
"You know, I saw somethi-"
"You must have been dreaming. You lost a lot of blood you know," Shuichi cut him off. But Hiei was smirking at him like he knew everything that happened. Shuichi couldn't look at him in the face, so he turned around.
"I'll get you some food," he said quickly before closing the door.
After he left, Shuichi was mentally cursing himself. How could he have let that happen? It was bad enough feeling aroused in his sleep, but having Hiei see him? And to dream of Hiei of all people? 'Oh no, he can read minds too. Dammit, dammit, dammit!' he thought.
Shuichi was bothered that he would dream of him in the first place. Why would he dream of him like that? Sure, he could see Hiei murdering and torturing him in a dream but... sex with him? 'It must be because I've been spending too much time around him,' he concluded.
He went outside to get the promised food. Shuichi had the feeling that Hiei hasn't had a proper meal that composed of meat, grains, veggies, and fruit. 'He probably only eats meat.' Shuichi thought. He knew that a demon's diet only needed meat to survive, but that didn't mean Hiei couldn't enjoy some gastronomical pleasures.
Shuichi went to a produce store and bought the vegetables, fruit, and spices/herbs. He headed to a bakery to buy some bread. However, unknown to him, he was being watched by golden eyes. The human bought fresh baked bread and headed to the butcher to get Hiei's favorite food group, meat. He was about to enter the store when he felt a familiar presence behind him. He tensed, not knowing what to do.
"Shuichi," the youko beckoned.
The human slowly turned around and saw the silver demon behind him. His arms were crossed across his chest and his hair was blowing gently in the light breeze. He looked so magnificent and beautiful.
"K-Kurama," Shuichi said. He realized that he'd been standing in front of the store for a couple of seconds.
"Um, let's talk somewhere else," Shuichi said.
"Lead the way," Kurama said. Shuichi led them to a grassy plain just outside of the city. They stood facing each other but neither said anything. Kurama was looking cross and waited for Shuichi to say something.
"What brings you all the way out here?" Shuichi said. Kurama's eyes narrowed.
"Why haven't you come back to me yet? You know I was worried about you!" Kurama said. 'Worried about me like a lover or like a parent?' Shuichi wondered. Right now, with the angry look on the demon's face and the way his tail was swishing, Kurama looked like an angry father.
"I just needed to get away. It was kind of getting stuffy in that cave, you know?" Shuichi lied. Kurama walked over to him and grabbed him roughly by the arms causing Shuichi to drop his bag. Kurama noticed that there was enough groceries in there for two.
"I didn't know you liked to eat so much," Kurama said.
"Well, I'm a growing boy," Shuichi said bitterly. Kurama released him and looked hurt. Kurama knew Shuichi was traveling with someone else, another demon in fact.
'What's this? He's jealous now?' Shuichi thought.
"Why did you do this? Was it Karasu? The fact that I left you for him on your birthday?" Kurama asked. Bitter resentment arose in Shuichi.
"Shuichi, you should know that he was just a one night stand, like all the rest," Kurama said admonishingly. Suddenly, Shuichi saw red.
"A one night stand, huh? Then you should know that your one time lover almost raped and killed me while you probably had another slut in your bed!" Shuichi said. Tears were suddenly falling from his eyes while he futilely tried to hold them back.
"Where were you? I screamed for you. You said you'd always protect me," Shuichi cried. He slumped to the ground, trying to hold himself together. This sounded familiar to Kurama. Was Shuichi what Karasu was bragging about? Kurama's aura flared when he realized he should have killed Karasu in that bar earlier. He forgot his anger when he saw Shuichi on the ground. He could kill Karasu later.
Kurama walked over to where Shuichi was on the ground and held him in his arms. Shuichi screamed at him and wanted him to let him go. Kurama easily captured his arms so Shuichi couldn't escape from him. Shuichi tried to get away but knew it was pointless. When he calmed down a little, Kurama placed kisses all over his tear stained face.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Kurama whispered in between kisses.
'Stop it. Stop being so nice to me when you don't even care. You don't even love me.' Shuichi thought painfully. Shuichi finally calmed down and let Kurama hold him. Kurama kissed the trail of tears from Shuichi's eyes to his chin. His kisses started to move back up from his chin as he neared his way to Shuichi's mouth. When Kurama finally got to his lips, he placed a gentle kiss there, but then nipped softly at his lower lip. Kurama pulled Shuichi's body closer and slipped his tongue in his mouth. Shuichi didn't respond at first, but soon he put his arms around Kurama and moved his tongue along Kurama's. Kurama slid his hand up Shuichi's shirt and he tiny twinge of pain as Kurama pinched his skin. Shuichi squirmed a little, trying to get away from Kurama's groping hand. He enjoyed the kiss deeply, but the human's mind told him to stop.
'No. Stop it. Stop kissing me because you're sorry.' Shuichi thought. He pulled away from the kiss and his grasp. Nothing can change what happened.
"Shuichi?" Kurama asked.
"No, this isn't what I want," Shuichi said. Yes, the kiss was good and he wanted nothing more than to continue, but in the end, where will they end up? Kurama was only giving him what he wanted because he felt sorry.
"Nothing happened. He left before he could do anything," Shuichi revealed. 'So you don't have to sleep with me to make yourself feel better.' he thought. Kurama breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good but, why did he leave?" Kurama asked. That was the wrong thing to say as Shuichi got up angrily.
"Why did he stop? I don't care why! Did you want him to rape me!" Shuichi screamed.
"Of course not. I just wanted to - nevermind," Kurama said as he tried to hold the youth again. Shuichi avoided his grasp.
"Fine. All that matters is that you're safe. Now come on, let's go back," Kurama said.
"No," Shuichi said. He didn't want to go back. He would only be confused by Kurama's actions.
"What was that?" Kurama asked. There was no way he would leave Shuichi alone after he heard what happened. Then Shuichi's eyes fell upon the bag of groceries on the ground.
"I'm already with somebody. In fact, he's my boyfriend," Shuichi lied.
"Oh? Is he another demon?" Kurama asked. He forgot that Shuichi was traveling with a demon companion.
"Yeah. He's really strong. He's the one who saved me from Karasu," Shuichi said. That wasn't a complete lie, but Hiei did save his life.
"I thought you said you don't know why he left," Kurama asked. Shuichi remained silent.
"Well, I don't know if he did chase Karasu away. I passed out but when I woke up, he bandaged my wounds," Shuichi said.
"Who is he? I want to meet him,"Kurama said. Shuichi couldn't take him to Hiei now. He was injured. Kurama would say that Hiei was too weak to protect him.
"He's out on an errand right now. I was going to make him a romantic meal when he got back."
"What would happen if a demon attacked you now?"
"What is he supposed to do? Never leave my side? You're always either too protective or not there at all," Shuichi said. That comment hurt Kurama more than he was going to admit.
"Hm. And if I were to take you back right now? What would he do?"
"He would track you down and take me back of course. Then you could see how strong he is," Shuichi said smugly. He hoped Kurama couldn't catch his lies.
"At least you could tell me his name."
"He's the love of my life. That's all you need to know."
"I just hope it's a long life," Kurama said. Seeing that Shuichi was too stubborn to change his mind, Kurama wanted to take him back by force. Shuichi seemed to read his thoughts.
"Even if you were to force me to go with you, I'll never be happy," Shuichi said. There was such a sad tone in his voice. Kurama moved closer to him again and ran his fingers through his silky locks. Kurama missed him so much. He looked him in the eyes.
"Is being with me really going to bed that bad?" Kurama said in his gentlest voice. There was such tenderness in his eyes that Shuichi thought was impossible to find in the demon. The human didn't want to answer, knowing that if he lied, his voice would crack and that he would fall into Kurama's arms again.
"Can you please just trust me?" Shuichi begged. Kurama smiled sadly.
"Fine, if this is what you really want. But remember, if there's anything wrong, you can always come back to me." He handed Shuichi a plant. It was infused with Kurama's youki.
"Just send your energy into this plant and I'll come at once," Kurama said. Shuichi nodded. Kurama kissed him on the forehead and then stepped back.
"I guess this is goodbye then," Kurama said. Shuichi looked at the ground. He really didn't want Kurama to leave. He couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Have a good life with your boyfriend," Kurama said. Within a couple of seconds, Kurama could no longer be seen. Shuichi looked at the plant in his hand and placed it in his pocket. As he went to pick up the grocery bag, tears started rolling down his cheeks. The person who he centered his life around was no longer going to be caring for him. He couldn't stop himself so he just let the tears roll. 'I'm such a child. No wonder Kurama never wanted me.'
X X X X
After Shuichi stopped crying, he cleaned himself up and went to the butcher shop. He got the meat and then returned to the inn. As soon as Shuichi entered, Hiei knew something had happened. For one thing, Shuichi took a lot of time to just buy food. The human's eyes were also a little puffy and he had the scent of another demon on him. Shuichi's mood had also changed. There was such a depressed aura around him. Hiei didn't pry because it wasn't his nature.
"Sorry I took so long. There was a commotion in the streets," Shuichi said. He looked around and realized there was no kitchen.
"Oh right, the kitchen's downstairs,"he said and then prepared the food downstairs.
When he returned, Hiei was sitting up and thinking again. Shuichi handed him the food. Hiei looked at it strangely.
"What did you do to the meat?" Hiei asked.
"I cooked it, after I put herbs and spices on it."
"Why? It's better raw."
"If you don't want to eat it, you can catch your own meat," Shuichi said. Hiei looked at the meat again and picked it up with hand. He chewed on it.
"It's tough," Hiei said. Shuichi looked over to see Hiei eating with his hands.
"What? You're eating with your hands? Use a knife and fork!" Shuichi said. Hiei looked at the knife. He knew how to use that. What was with this other strange tool? Shuichi sighed and walked over. He cut up the meat into smaller pieces and stabbed the meat with the fork and put it in front of Hiei's mouth.
"I can do that myself," Hiei said as he took the fork from Shuichi's hand. "I don't see why you had to cook it. The meat isn't so tough when it's fresh. And this meat doesn't have any blood," Hiei complained.
"It tastes better, doesn't it?" Shuichi asked. Hiei put the meat in his mouth and tasted it. It did taste better, but he wouldn't admit it. Shuichi knew he was right when he didn't hear any other complaints.
"And the veggies?" Shuichi said as he pointed at the untouched vegetables. He spent so much time preparing, Hiei better eat it all!
"I don't need it," Hiei said.
"It's good for you." There was silence as Shuichi held the fork with vegetables in front of Hiei. Hiei has eaten plants before, but they all tasted bitter and didn't taste as good as meat. But these were cooked vegetables, maybe they tasted better. Reluctantly, Hiei opened his mouth and ate the broccoli. It didn't taste as good as the meat, but it was okay. Hiei finished the rest of the meal at Shuichi's prodding.
"It was okay," was all Hiei said after they both finished their meals. Shuichi brought the dishes back downstairs. When he came back up, Hiei was waiting for him.
"What?" Shuichi asked.
"I need... a favor," Hiei asked. Shuichi was reluctant at first. What if Hiei asked him to do something impossible, like kill the demon that attacked him? No, Hiei would want to take his own revenge.
"What do you want me to do?"
"I need to train, but I also need some information. Since I won't have time to train you, you can look for some information on hiruiseki or koorimes," Hiei said. He hoped the human knew what they were. Shuichi thought for a bit. Where had he heard that before? His eyes happened to fall upon the jewel in Hiei's hand. That's when he remembered that Kurama told him all about them.
"The ice maidens and the tears they produce? Well, I have an idea where to start," Shuichi said.
"How do you know wh-" Hiei stopped himself when he saw the look on Shuichi's face. It probably had something to do with what happened earlier. A mutual understanding passed between them. Hiei won't ask how Shuichi knew about the jewels if Shuichi didn't ask why Hiei needed to find the koorimes.
Later, when both of them were in their beds, they couldn't help but wonder what happened to the other on this day. They both also realized that they couldn't live without each other. Shuichi needed Hiei's protection and Hiei didn't realize it yet, but his heart was starting to finally let someone in.
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A/N: I've started on the next chapter but I won't make any promises since I can't seem to keep them.