When he reached the door, Hiei began to run. He didn't live far from the master's territory. Something he'd have to remedy when his lease came up, but for now it was convenient. He ran as fast as he could and got his body back under control by the time he was climbing the stairs to his apartment. When he turned the corner, his girlfriend, Keiko Yukimura, was waiting for him. Shit, he swore mentally. He was supposed to have had dinner with her. This was the third time this week he'd stood her up. He didn't have a good excuse. He didn't even have a bad excuse.

"Hiei, is there any reason?" she asked, her voice too calm.

His hand clenched around the keys in his fist, "No." He wouldn't lie. It wouldn't spare anyone anything.

Keiko nodded, her eyes glistening, "Then, good-bye." All he could do was nod. He wasn't truly upset. He felt almost nothing, really. As she walked past him to go down the stairs, she murmured, "Enjoy your master."

He turned to glare at her but she didn't look back. It was then he saw the redheaded vampire had followed him. "What the fuck do you want?" his voice was harsher than he'd intended. Maybe he was upset.

"I was told to make sure you read that," Kurama said softly, pointing at the packet. "I'm sorry if I…"

"It wasn't you," Hiei cut him off, not understanding why he was even attempting to comfort the monster. Maybe it was his voice, sounding so uncertain, as if he were truly sorry. "This has been coming. I just didn't expect it tonight."

"If I hadn't…"

"Playing 'what if' won't help anything. You know that, I know that. I still have to go to work. I don't have time to read until after that."

"I can't go back until I see you read it," Kurama murmured. "Those were my orders."

Hiei walked to his door. "Fine. I'll be out after I call my boss and change." He wondered if this night could get any worse as he let himself in, leaving the vampire standing in the hall.

"Jaganshi, do you still want to have a job?" his boss, Genkai Shihan, demanded of him when he called.

"You found someone better?" he asked. One of the things that kept him employed was that he was the best. Genkai knew that, too. It didn't help her temper, though.

A growl emerged from the phone. "Where have you been?"

"Found a corpse. Had to answer questions. Or would you rather I didn't talk to the police?" He was on retainer with the police. He was their expert and took care of vampire killings when needed.

Genkai growled again, without words, this time.

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"See that you are!" The phone was slammed down.

Hiei sighed wearily as he pulled clothes out of his closet. Genkai didn't like him wearing black at work, so he pulled on a navy blue pair of dress slacks and a deep crimson shirt. They irritated Genkai, but they weren't black and unless she was willing to ban all colors, he would continue to wear them. He put on his shoulder holster and gun and strapped a knife to his wrist, hidden under his shirtsleeve. With a sigh, he pulled a comb through his hair, always wild, standing up from his head no matter what he did. In the front, he had an odd shaped white streak that remained from the first time he'd deliberately called his power. It'd overwhelmed him and when he woke, he had a couple of zombies and a white streak. The zombies had been put to rest, but the streak remained. He'd been 12 at the time. He'd never dyed it, though. It's not like one more thing to tease him about had made a difference, anyway. He pulled on the jacket that matched his pants. No point scaring the clients with the sight of a gun.

When he stepped out into the hall, Kurama was talking to his neighbor, Yukina Koorime. She was one of the few true innocents left in the world. She was sweet to everyone and just couldn't see evil, even if it stood right in front of her. She had a little kitten on her shoulder that had its back arched, fluffed out, as it glared at Kurama. Great. The cat could pick out the bad guy, but Yukina wouldn't listen.

"…just a business associate, ma'am," Kurama's voice was smoother than the silk shirt he wore.

Yukina laughed like she didn't quite believe him. "You two have a god night, then." Her tone was laced with suggestion. Hiei almost growled. Yukina probably figured Kurama was a girl.

"I'm sure we will, ma'am."

"Hiei, I like him better than the girl."

Hiei's eyes went wide. "What?"

"He's nicer than Keiko. She growled at me earlier like I knew where you'd gone. I'm glad you came back with him instead of her."

Before Hiei could stammer out anything, Kurama repeated the statement he'd been making when Hiei walked out, "We're just business associates, ma'am. He does some work for my boss and I'm here to discuss details. That's all."

Yukina laughed and wiggled her fingers over her shoulder as she took the still hissing cat into her apartment. "You could have made her believe you," Hiei groused.

"And you'd forgive me that? You'd listen to anything I had to say, to anything the master had to say, after that?"

Hiei hated to admit it, but the redhead had a point. "Fine," he groused, locking the door, "Let's go." He had his zombie kit with him, the envelope in it. He'd read it between raisings. He had only three tonight. Shouldn't take more than four hours or so. But, with the way his night was going, there was no way to be sure.

He led the redhead silently to his car, opening the trunk first to toss in his kit before going to the passenger's door and opening it. He had to toss a few books and fast food bags over the back of the seat, but for the most part, the car was decent. He stalked to his side and opened the door. Kurama was still staring that the vehicle. "Do you need an invitation?" Hiei asked sharply.

"No, it's just not what I'd expected you to drive," the redhead answered smoothly as he entered the car. It was a bit odd a car, a bright green late model Volkswagon bug. Not one you would expect a professional vampire slayer and zombie raiser to have, but Hiei liked it.

After they were on their way, Kurama's seat belt fastened after Hiei glared at him and refused to start the car, Hiei said, "I have three appointments tonight. I'm already late to the first one."

"Three? That's a lot for one night, isn't it?" Kurama asked, his soft voice impressed.

Hiei shrugged, "I guess." He didn't add that the other zombie raisers he knew only did two a night and generally felt wiped. He only felt a little tired after three, but there was no sense in pointing that out to Genkai unless he wanted even more work. He'd skip that, thank you. "I won't have a chance to read that packet until after that, though."

"I could read it to you," the redhead offered.

"I'd rather read it," Hiei countered.

"Time is of the essence. Where is it?"

"In the trunk." He glanced out of the corner of his eye and could see Kurama preparing to say something. "We're almost to the first appointment. I have a half hour drive between this and the next one. You can read to me then."

"How long do your appointments take?" Kurama asked, his eyes on Hiei.

"Usually about an hour each. Tonight should take four hours, start to finish, barring any ridiculous complications." Hiei continued, his tone bitter, "Though, with the way tonight is going, I'm not sure I'd bar those." He sighed, "What can you tell me about what's in the packet?"

"My master is being challenged for his position in this city."

"And I fit in how?"

"As he told you, he needs to present himself to the council with a human servant. The council will then take charge of the challenges and settle them."

"And the alternative?" Hiei almost hated himself for asking.

"More attacks, more frequently. More corpses, Hiei."

Hiei tried to shake the chill the redhead's voice caused. "This is blackmail," he accused as he pulled into the cemetery.

"No, it is the truth." Hiei looked over to the vampire. Kurama actually looked worried.

"What happens to you if Yusuke is overthrown?"

Kurama's green eyes grew wide. "You're concerned for me? What of him?"

"I know what will happen to him. He will be killed. It's the only way to overthrow him. What will happen to you?" Hiei didn't know why he had to know, but he did.

"They will not just kill him, Hiei. They will torture him. I will be forced to watch, and if I am lucky, meet the same fate."

"If you are unlucky?"

"I will be slave."

"Aren't you one now?"

"No, I am a servant now. I serve my master freely, of my own will. If I am unlucky, I will be forced to do what I do willingly now."

Hiei tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He had to get out soon, had to start working, but he needed to know one more thing. "When does this all start?"

"It already has. My master has already been challenged. If you are unwilling to help us, then we will not have the strength to win."

"And with me?"

"We may overcome."

"May?"

"Nothing is certain. You know this."

Without another word, Hiei got out of his car, gathered his kit, tossing the envelope into the car and began working. He was glad that raising zombies didn't take his entire concentration. There was no way he could have given it tonight. Not with what he'd just heard. When did he start caring about the monsters, anyway? It wasn't just the redhead he was concerned about. He didn't want Yusuke tortured, either. Shit, he swore, the word almost making its way out of his mouth as he returned to the car. When had he started to care about the arrogant SOB who'd tormented him for years now? Why did he care if the bastard was tortured and killed? This was definitely not his night. He sighed as he returned his kit to the trunk of the car and slid back behind the steering wheel.

Kurama looked at him expectantly. "I hate you," was all Hiei could think of to say. He met the redhead's gaze.

Kurama's face was unreadable. "Not as much as you'd like to," he answered, his voice distant, sounding of secrets not yet told.

Hiei growled and threw the car into gear. There was no point in arguing with a monster. It'd only make the monsters more human. His mind flashed on an image of the redhead, tousled, looking up with need on every line of his face, wanton. His body could feel the press of another behind him and he knew it would be Yusuke. Snarling, he cleared his mind, "Don't do that!"

"I didn't do anything," Kurama answered smoothly, pulling the papers out of the envelope. "Don't blame me for you rampant imagination."

"You didn't do it?" Hiei asked, liking the implications of that even less that if the vampire had done it.

"No, I didn't. I'd need eye contact and you weren't looking at me. Besides, I'm not powerful enough to do that to you." The redhead made it a statement of fact. Hiei already knew it, too. He knew the redhead couldn't make him see things, couldn't make him want things.

"Just fucking great. Could this night get any better?" As if in answer, he came upon an accident that blocked the entire road and he was already pinned in by the time he realized it. He glared at the roof of his car, "I love you, too." He then rested his forehead on his hands.

"It seems we have time," Kurama's voice was soft, calming, "why don't I read to you, then?" Hiei made a helpless noise high in his throat that Kurama took as affirmative. While the accident was cleared, the redhead read the information in the packet The short version was another master had entered the city and the corpses were a challenge to Yusuke's authority. By the time the road was cleared, Kurama had finished the entire packet and Hiei felt he had fewer options than he'd ever had when dealing with the master of the city.

"I need an answer, Hiei," the redhead's voice was soft as they reached the next cemetery.

"I don't have one," he answered. Well, he did, but he didn't like it.

"You're lying."

Hiei growled. Never try to lie to a vampire. They always knew it. "I don't like the answer. I have no choice. I have to help. I don't want to be his servant."

Before Kurama could say anything else, Hiei was out of the car. He was already in a foul mood and it looked like the sky was planning on joining in. Add to that, his clients were pissed. He tried to explain about traffic, and they wouldn't hear it. He offered to leave and let them find another person to raise their beloved departed and they changed their tune. It may have done with the tone of his voice. He made quick work of the job and was actually finished in half an hour. As he slid back into the driver's seat, the sky unleashed its fury in a near tidal wave of rain.

His pager went off, and when he looked at it, he sighed, "There is a god, it seems."

Kurama looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"My next appointment is canceled for tonight."

"Then you will return to the café and talk with my master?"

"Why don't you call him Yusuke?"

"He is my master."

Hiei sighed, "Fine, we'll go back to the café." He'd been hoping for more time to try and come up with a reason not to help Yusuke, but the more he thought about it, the fewer options he had for denying the master his request. If Yusuke though Hiei would call him master, though, he had another thing coming.

Yusuke was at a table in the café watching the entertainment. Live didn't quite apply, though, since it was a local band made entirely of vampires. Their music was folksy and a bit twangier than Hiei cared for. He hoped either he wouldn't have to stay long or they were almost finished. Kurama maneuvered them so that Hiei ended up sitting between him and Yusuke, all three facing the stage around the small table. Hiei was close enough to feel the borrowed warmth of Yusuke's body on one side and Kurama's on the other. He didn't like it. It raised images in his mind that he could have done without. The fantasy in the car came back, not as strong, thankfully, but he could still see, in his mind, the redhead spread before him and could still feel Yusuke at his back. He shook his head, trying to clear it.

Yusuke looked over at him, his expression bland, but his eyes too knowing, "Is something wrong?"

Hiei growled, "I don't want to discuss my problems. Kurama read me the information. I don't see that I have many options, Yusuke."

"Neither do we," Yusuke replied, his elbows going to the table, his eyes focused between his clasped hands. "I didn't want to coerce you, Hiei. I want you to come to me willingly."

"That's not going to happen."

"I can feel your need, Hiei. I know you want it. Why do you deny yourself what you crave so badly?" His eyes were dark, almost black as he looked at the necromancer.

Hiei shifted uncomfortably, "I'm not a monster."

"There are those who'd disagree. You're a necromancer, a vampire slayer. You raise the dead and kill them again. You kill us. Why is it you are not a monster and we are?"

Hiei struggled to find an answer. He didn't have one and he didn't want to admit it. He hated that Yusuke always seemed to have the advantage of him. It wasn't right. "Give me the name, Yusuke, so I can track down the other master and take care of him."

"Without a warrant?" Yusuke asked, his voice amused.

"I need the name for a warrant, Yusuke."

Yusuke leaned back in his chair. "The matter has been brought before the council. We are…invited to go tomorrow night."

"There's a catch, isn't there?"

"You need to be my servant, Hiei." Yusuke's eyes were calm, almost pleading as he looked at the shorter man. "I need to mark you, Hiei. They will know if we are not truly bonded to each other."

"Fucking bastard!" Hiei's voice carried over the café, the music having stopped just as he started speaking. He didn't care, though. He pushed himself away from the table and stalked out into the pouring rain. Yusuke flicked his eyes and Kurama and the redhead quickly followed, grabbing an umbrella on his way.

Hiei was standing just outside the café, his body trembling, but not from cold. Kurama put the umbrella over his head and Hiei spoke softly, "Why? Why do things have to be so complicated?"

Kurama stood silently for a moment before answering, his voice just as soft, "I don't know, Hiei."

Hiei's reddish eyes came up to meet the green ones that watched him. They were full of angry, frustrated tears that refused to spill, "I thought…I thought I understood." The words were almost a question.

"I don't know, Hiei. I don't have the answers you need."

Hiei gave a bitter laugh, "But, you're a vampire."

"That doesn't mean I know everything, or even most of it."

Hiei looked down at the ground, "You're right. I know that. I don't like it, though."

"Yusuke really doesn't like forcing your hand, either. He would really rather you came to us willingly." The redhead watched as Hiei continued to stare at the ground silently. "I know you don't fully believe that Hiei, but it is the truth."

Sighing, "I know it is. He's had his chances to take me unwillingly and he never did." Strangely, this didn't comfort him. It made the monster more human. It made it seem the monster cared.

"Go home, rest, think. There will be no more attacks on humans until we go to the council."

Hiei looked at the redhead, "You're sure of that?"

"If there are, we won't need to go before the council. They will take care of matters for us."

"I could almost wish that would happen."

"Almost?"

"If it didn't mean another human death, I could wish for it." Though, he almost had doubts about that.

Kurama smiled enigmatically. "I'll walk you to your car." In silence, the two crossed the parking lot. When they stood by the nearly neon green car, Kurama murmured, "Are we really that bad, Hiei?"

His key in the door, Hiei paused. "I don't know any more." Without another word, he opened the door and slid in. He didn't look at the redhead as he pulled away. His mind was in too much turmoil to cope with anymore at the moment.

A/N Whee...I just finished chapter 3 so here is chapter 2 for you. I didn't mean to get a chapter ahead, but I was mostly finished with this chapter or just started 3 when I went back to find chapter breaks. So, I'm going to stay a chapter ahead of myself. Leads to awfully wonderful (depending on your point of view) teasers on my livejournal (if you really want to read the insanity: http// hcolleen. livejournal. com remove spaces). What fun this is... I also realized that I called Kurama "fox" in the first chapter and shouldn't have. I should fix it, shouldn't I? But, then, what would I say here?