Anime: Yu Yu Hakusho
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.
Cookie!
"Thank you so much for doing this, Kurama. You don't know how much we needed a break." Hina sighed as she dropped the bag from her shoulder onto the floor.
"It's no trouble at all, Mrs. Jaganshi." Kurama smiled and knelt in front of the tiny toddler clutching onto the woman's leg. "I love spending time with little Hiei." The carrot-toped girl next to Hiei huffed and Kurama turned his attention to her. "And Mukuro." He added, kneeling down and trying to pat her head. She pushed his hand away stubornly. Kurama sweatdropped and withdrew his hand.
"A few rules; Hiei can't have any ice cream today and Mukuro can't have cookies."
Kurama blinked up at Hina. "Why not?"
"Just don't give her any cookies if you know what's good for you."
"Alright..." Kurama stood up straight and wiped invisable dust from his jeans.
Hina began shuffling through her purse. "Here you are, Kurama," she exclaimed, finally pulled her hand out with a smile then handed him a ten-dollar bill. "Your ten before and when I come back you'll get the rest.
Kurama nodded. "Like always. Thank you, Mrs. Jaganshi." He bowed respectfully.
"I really hope that it's alright for you to watch both Hiei and Mukuro. Hiei himself can be quite a handful." Hina replied, biting her lip. "Which reminds me." She handed Kurama another ten and the red-head blinked at it. "Since you're babysitting both for twice the amount of time as usual you get twice as much." The woman explained.
"Really, Mrs. Jaganshi, twenty was far too much to begin with." Kurama tried to hand back the ten he had just recieved but Hina waved it off.
"No, no. Keep it."
"But Mrs. Jaganshi-!" Kurama began to protest but she had already kissed Hiei's forehead and made her way tward the door.
"I'll be back in a few hours to pick them up!" She called. "Good luck, Kurama. Be good, Hiei! You too, Mukuro!"
Hiei waved a small, chubby hand. "Bye, Mommy." Mukuro meerly plopped down and began playing with a toy truck she had nicked from Hiei's toy bag.
Kurama sighed as the door slammed and he shoved the two tens into his jean pocket. "Alright... But this hardly seems right." He said more to himself now that Hina was gone.
The red-head turned back to the two children on the floor. Hiei had taken a brown stuffed bear from his bag. The bear looked like it had been dragged across two continents. But, with the way the Jaganshi's traveled, Kurama wouldn't have been surprised if it had been.
"Alright, who wants lunch?" Kurama asked, bending down a bit so he was almost eye-level with the toddlers.
"Cookie?" Mukuro asked, hopefully.
Kurama smiled and sweatdropped, shaking his head. "Sorry, sweetie, Mrs. Jaganshi said no cookies."
Mukuro glared as Kurama stood up straight and started to walk away. The tiny girl reached over to Hiei and grabbed the stuffed bear from his arms. Hiei's red eyes widdened and he gaped at her. "Give cookie or teddy bear gets it!" She cried, grasping onto the bear's neck.
Kurama swirled around and blinked. "D-don't do that to Hiei's teddy bear! That's mean!" He started to go back over to her but stopped when she tugged on the bear's already abused neck rather roughly.
"Then give cookie NOW!"
Kurama's eye twitched. 'What a little tyrant! Just like her mother!' He thought with a sad sigh.
Hiei seemed to catch on. "Sweet snow!"
"No, Hiei, no sweet snow."
"Sweet snow NOW or bear gets it!"
"Kami-sama..." Kurama put a hand on his forehead and rubbed between his eyes. He was already begining to get a headache.
"Sweet snow!"
"Cookie!"
Kurama stared at them. "Alright, I'll make a deal with you." He began but was cut off as he heard a ripping sound.
Mukuro glared at him with such intensity he almost felt like he wanted to run from the room. Almost. He remembered she was only a toddler, nothing scary about a toddler... right?
"No deal. Cookie. NOW." She growled.
Kurama sighed. "Let me finish." He insisted and waited as the pair glanced at eachother then nodded, sitting back to listen to Kurama's deal. "If you both eat ALL of your lunch then take a nap I'll call Mrs. Jaganshi and see if I can give you your cookie and Hiei his sweet snow. But you both have to be extra good. And if I can't get you sweet snow and cookies then we'll go to the store and get some cupcakes, okay?"
Hiei seemed to be thinking about it but Mukuro didn't look pleased. "What kind cupcake?" She finally asked.
Kurama blinked then thought for a moment. "Any kind you want."
Mukuro and Hiei glanced at eachother and seemed to be concidering Kurama's deal. Kurama waited patiently but he was starting to get a little freaked out because they looked like they were talking through their minds. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Kurama shuddered but didn't interupt them.
Finally, they looked back at him. "Okay. Eat lunch, nap, then cupcakes." They said, simultaniously.
Kurama sighed in relief. "Good. Now, I'm going to make lunch and then you two can take your nap."
Hiei stood up. "Watch?"
Kurama thought for a moment then smiled and nodded. "Yes, you can watch."
Hiei seemed content with this and he hurried to follow Kurama into the kitchen.
Kurama began pulling pans from the cabinet. 'This is unusual...' He thought. 'Normally Hiei likes to play with his toys before he eats lunch. Maybe Hina has been letting Hiei watch her make lunch lately?' The red-head dismissed Hiei's strange behavior after a few moments of pondering, though, and took the pans over to the counter.
A few minutes later, Kurama had made Hiei and Mukuro chicken nuggets with macaroni and cheese and, much to Hiei's discust, green beans.
"Come on, Hiei, they're really good." Kurama insisted, trying to get Hiei to eat the veggitables. "Mukuro ate all of hers." He motioned to the girl who was half-asleep in her high chair. "Please eat them?"
Hiei glared at Kurama for a moment before deciding on something. "You eat first."
"Me?" Kurama blinked. He sighed then nodded, getting himself some green beans so he wouldn't have to eat all of Hiei's. Hiei had managed to get him to do that once before and it had made him feel very foolish. "Here, I have my own-" Hiei cut him off.
"Get chicken and cheese too!" He insisted.
"What?" Kurama asked, blinking more.
"Chicken and cheese!"
"Fine..." Kurama took his plate back to the stove, making sure to keep an eye on Hiei as he went. Hiei didn't do anything that seemed less then innocent so Kurama decided he wasn't planning anything. He could be a very minipulative child when he wanted to. The red-head came back and sat at the table. "Here, I have my own plate."
"Eat!"
Kurama smiled a bit. "Here, I'll eat a little of my food but you have to eat some of your green beans, okay?"
Hiei sighed then nodded. He seemed to like Kurama's deals, most of the time. That was how Kurama managed to get through babysitting the child alive. He would make deals and gambles. It was odd but, in a strange way, fun.
As Kurama ate his own food Hiei took a few bites of green beans for every little bit of food Kurama ate. Eventually, they both finished their whole plates.
"Alright, nap time." Kurama announced.
Both toddlers got up and made their way into Kurama's room which already had two mats set out for Hiei and Mukuro. They curled up on the mats and yawned, snuggling against their pillows and blankets.
"Do you want Teddy?" Kurama asked Hiei. Normally, Hiei demanded to sleep with the bear right away.
Hiei glared at Kurama as if to say, 'shut up' and rested his head against the pillow again.
Kurama sweatdropped then nodded, leaving the room.
"He gone?" Mukuro asked a little while after Kurama left. Hiei smirked, sat up, and nodded. "Sweet snow and cookie."
Mukuro reached under the bed and pulled out a stash of cookies and a container of chocolete ice cream. She tossed Hiei a spoon and he took the container of ice cream. Mukuro herself opened the box of cookies and began eating.
"Like taking candy from baby!"
Hiei smirked and nodded as he began to eat.