HPX 8

Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday dear Raye, Kat, Sarah, Tony, Jessica, Anah, and Teri. Happy birthday to all of us. And a merry unbirthday to all of you. Yes, it is my birthday, and everyone else on that list has a birthday within a week from today on either side in chronological order. I'll let you all guess which one is me. Anyway, I figured you would get a present today too. My first ever BIRTHDAY POST! Here are some review responses and then the fic.

Kaaera: (where does that name come from, anyway?) you are not flaming. Actually, a beta reader would be nice. My friends here just make fun of me. That 'roll/role' thing is just 'cause I'm stupid and can't spell. Someone did mention me getting sloppy in my other stories too. I guess it's harder than I thought. These might be a bit more sloppy until we get our key board fixed. It kind of died, do I'm typing this on a sticky one, but you didn't need to know that. I would love a beta reader. (I was supposed to have one at one point, but she loses comp privileges so much that I can't really do anything.) How 'bout if I e-mail you my next chap? Hiei playing 'mommy' wasn't really meant to be funny, but I noticed how stupid it was so I kind of added a bit of humor to it. And don't beat yourself up over the Kuronue thing, I told you I didn't want people thinking about it. As for what happened to Kuro, even he doesn't know that so you'll just have to wait. And, yeah, he isn't in the show much (if at all) I think the only place he shows up is in the movie. If you were one of my friends here I'd lend it to you. I think it's pretty good. But yeah, he's one of my faves too. Anyways, thanks for the long review. I better move aon so people don't get mad at me and so you can read the story. (p.s. I have school next week. It's quite stressful. I don't want to go back.)

CHL: you're in luck. I figured it would be nice for a b-day update, so here's the next chap already. And, finally, here's Kuronue. Enjoy, and sorry for keeping you in suspense.

Jadewolf: your outraged consoling is most appreciated. As are your praises for my work. I hope this is soon enough for your liking (don't come to expect it). Thanks. Keep reviewing, and I will keep writing.

Pan Jaganshi: Yay, Kuronue! Yeah, some other people noticed some things like that. I now have a beta reader, so that should fix a lot. I have updated, so here you are. Enjoy.

FrozenBlueRose: blue roses, cool. Someone pointed out to me that blue is the only color that isn't grown. Isn't that a neat little bit of nothing that you never wanted to know? Anyway, here's more. Yes, I love Kuro. The saying is no longer 'Sirius lives,' but 'Kuronue lives.'

Anorethunbound: (how does one pronounce that?) Bad reviews are also accepted; it says so in my bio. Thank you for your consideration.

FYI: non-yaoi, non-shonen-ai, non-romance for that matter (see bio). I'm all into the fraternal relationships, so it might seem weird, but it's not meant that way. Take it as you list, but it isn't there. (once again, see bio.)

Additional FYI: 'kay, like I said, very fraternal. In this story in particular, Kuro and Kura are, well, like brothers. Kuro's older (600) than Kura (400). Umm… yeah, I thought that was going to be longer. Oh well, on with the fic.

"You're dead!"

"I got better."

--from A Modest Destiny, squidi. net (which is going down +tear+)

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A knock at the door.

"Come in." The voice didn't feel like his own. As the door opened, he got up and set down his still half full tea cup. The door closed and he finally looked on the man.

It was indeed Kuronue.

"Jaganshi said you wanted a word." Kuronue spoke in a low voice as if it hurt to speak any louder.

Kurama brought himself to look into his ex-partner's eyes. He flared his energy slightly. "Do you know who I am?"

A pause. "I believe so." The same soft voice. Kuronue cocked half a smirk; not of triumph like usual, but one of near relief. "Kurama," he breathed, "So the rumors are true."

"Yes," Kurama affirmed.

Suddenly, Kurama found himself in a rib-crushing hug. Kuronue, forgetting his own strength, lifted his friend a full foot from the ground.

"Gods Kurama, it's been forever." Kuronue said, probably more to himself than to the Fox. Gently, he set his friend back on the ground and stopped crushing him. Kurama was silent.

"It's really you," Kuronue yammered on, "I knew you couldn't be gotten rid of that easily. I've heard all about you. You've got an awesome rep, even now. Is it true you're living with humans? Kami! You smell, must be. What's it like? How did you manage it? You clever fox… what's wrong?" He looked down at the Fox and sobered immediately.

Kurama's head was hung, face hidden by angle and bangs. He trembled slightly but said nothing.

"Kurama?" Kuronue put a hand on the red-head's shoulder and bent slightly so he could see his friend's face. Kurama looked strait into his eyes, his own filled with tears.

"I thought you were dead." he said quietly but almost accusingly.

Kuronue smiled disarmingly and shrugged. "I got better." /Let him hit me. It'll make his day./ he thought, but blow came.

Kurama stared at him, apparently hurt by his choice of time to joke. Kuronue leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms.

"I s'pose I owe you a proper explanation. Y'know, something a little more descriptive than 'I got better.'" He'd only been half kidding. "Don't ask me how, but somehow I got out of that mess. After that, long story short, I got better. ((that was SOOO much more descriptive)) I tried to find you, but after a few years, I figured you'd probably started over. If I came back, it'd probably screw that up. 'Sides, I kinda liked this 'bein' dead' thing. You weren't the only one fooled. So I decided to start over. I settled down and became 'Levi, the blacksmith.' A little thieving on the side, but just for fun and far from 'home.' Then Koenma found me. He came to me with this stuff about wizards and what-not. Said if I helped him, no one else would find out what he knew about me so long as I behaved. I liked my new life, so I came. And here I am."

Silence.

"Don't tell me that this whole time you blamed yourself for my 'death.'"

"I ran away. I left you."

"You did what I told you to. I'd 've murdered you myself if you'd done anything else."

"You're not angry?"

"No." Kuronue threw an arm around Kurama's shoulders and pulled him close. "I'm just glad you're OK—through everything."

Kurama pressed his face into Kuronue's chest and sobbed. He sank to the ground. Kuronue slid down the wall, following him. He wrapped his other arm around his friend and let the Fox cry against him.

"Geeze, Kid. If I had known that's what you thought all this time, I'd 've found you for sure. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

There was a period of silence broken only by the occasional sniffle from Kurama.

"Kurama," Kuronue said when the Fox had calmed down a bit, "I'm really sorry. Can you forgive me for leaving you like that?"

Kurama looked up at him with shock. But only for a moment. He got over it and smiled. "Only if you can forgive me."

"Done."

Kuronue expected his friend to to get up, but Kurama just laid his head back on his chest. /He didn't even do this when he was a kid. He's gone uber soft. But, then again, he is a human, now. Humans are different. Maybe more than his body's become human./ It didn't seem to bother him though. He held Kurama tighter.

"You know? To be honest, I really didn't know you'd be here. What's it like to be the toddler's lackey?"

When no answer came, he looked down to find Kurama fast asleep. A small hint of a smile played on his face while his last tear glistened and dried on his cheek. The Fox didn't want it to be a dream anymore.

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come to think of it, that was a little mellow for a birthday post, but what are ya gonna do?

OK, people have been a li'l ooc lately. It's done now. Away with the sappy stuff. It's gone. Bye bye. Now that that all is over we can get to the Malfoy bashing and all around ass kicking. That'll pick things up a bit. Bye now.

Liebe sie von,

Doomschneider

08-18-05