Dislcaimer: See prologue.

Notes: Er... nothing today. Thanks to those who bothered to review. I do appreciate that. Although I am now puzzled over what OHCK means...

Onward!

Chapter 5

I had a plan. It was not the master of all plans. It was not the type of thing that was certain to lead to an ending that read, 'and they lived happily ever after.' It seemed impossible that either Hiei or I would survive a happily ever after. Neither of us was made for that kind of lifestyle. That would be like stating Yusuke would go on to become the top student at Tokyo U and then the CEO of the leading electronics corporation. It just was not natural let alone plausible.

I had to settle for satisfied. I could live with Hiei as a romantic interest. Given a little time, I might even be able to pair 'Hiei' and 'love' in the same sentence.

It was a curious sensation. The more I considered it, the more the idea appealed to me. Let's just step aside from the reality of all the crap I'd receive for being in a, well as the book put it, a Same Sex Relationship. I did like Hiei. I knew him. He knew me. Plus, we worked well together. That was a must in any youkai relationship. All I had to do was get Hiei to come back. And I had a plan for that, too.

"Shuichi?" Shiori knocked on the door. "Are you okay?"

She had been worried ever since the abrupt end to our last conversation.

"Fine, Mom," I said sincerely.

"Okay…" she sounded dubious. "Well, what are you doing?"

That one was a little difficult to answer. I looked down at the book on my desk. It was a mess of bold-print notes.

"Reading," I said.

"Okay." That seemed to satisfy her. "Well, dinner will be ready soon."

"I'll be down in a bit."

Plus, I would have to tell Shiori. From what I could tell, she would be accepting of it. Still, it was never easy to tell your mother how you were planning to date another boy. Oh, and might I mention that boy is a demon? He's older than you, Mom. I would leave that part out.

Same Sex Relationships and How to Make Them Work went back to Yusuke, just as I had promised. (Yes, I am aware I never actually said I would return it, but with the use of the word 'borrow' that is implied.) Yusuke took it back with a good-natured grin.

"Hiei came back for this the other day, you know," he said when I handed him the book. "I had a heck of a time figuring out a way to tell him I didn't have it on me."

"Did you tell him I had it?" That seemed the logical thing to do, but then Yusuke defied all logic.

"Er… no," Yusuke scratched his cheek nervously. "I told him Kuwabara was borrowing it."

Well. I had nothing to say to that.

"Hiei thought it was funny," Yusuke offered.

Of course Hiei thought it was funny. He probably could not wait to tell Yukina. Poor Kuwabara. With Yukina's naiveté, that might set him back a little.I could see where Hiei would take immense pleasure in that.

"Yes, I imagine he would," I said aloud.

"Uh, Kurama?" Yusuke squinted at the book in his hands. "This feels a little light. Is—"

"It's exactly how it should be," I assured him. He closed his mouth and nodded. "Thank you, Yusuke. I appreciate you doing this."

"No problem," he grinned awkwardly. "But, um… just so we're clear… and so Kuwabara will get off my back about it… You're not… you're not a guy chaser, are you?"

That one was laugh-worthy. I smirked at him.

"Why, Yusuke," I murmured. "Do I make you uncomfortable?"

"What? No!" Yes. "I mean, I don't care if you and Hiei are… you know… just so you're not…"

"Trying to woo you?" I offered. He choked on a mix of various disgusted noises. I did laugh then. "Yusuke, I'm not remotely interested in you that way. Or Kuwabara. I'm still not sure I can handle the concept of liking Hiei, so rest assured—"

"Got it, got it!" Yusuke waved off the rest of my explanation. "Hey, I had to ask Hiei, too."

"Was that the day you had that limp?" I inquired curiously, trying not to laugh again. Asking another guy that kind of question was dangerous at best. Asking Hiei…

"I never pegged Hiei as the shin-kicking type," Yusuke grimaced.

Neither had I, for that matter. When I tried to bring forth that image, all I got was a cartoonish little Hiei scowling and kicking an equally cartoonish Yusuke in the knee. The tiny Yusuke then hopped around wildly, and little censors blocked out his curses. Well that was just wrong.

"He kicked you?" I asked blankly.

"Right in the bookstore."

"Oh." That would explain Hiei's restraint. Had they been in a less public setting, Yusuke would probably be missing a limb. The detective had better luck than anyone I knew. "Well. I have to go now. Shiori wants me to take Shuichi shopping for school supplies."

"Aren't you just the good big brother!" Yusuke immediately latched onto that, no doubt eager to forget his embarrassment over being kicked by Hiei. "But isn't Shuichi old enough to do that himself?"

"Old enough to shop for himself, maybe, but not responsible enough to hold his dad's credit card," I retorted with a grin. Of course I would not go spending like crazy, but it was a tempting idea. I could fantasize a little. There were plenty of things out there I would not have minded owning.

"See you around, Kurama."

I nodded and turned to leave. Then, thinking of something rather disturbing, I hesitated and looked back.

"You are planning to see Hiei again, aren't you?"

"Even if I wasn't, I could always drop this off at Genkai's," Yusuke smiled suggestively. "He's always stopping in to check up on Yu-ki-na."

While Yusuke's contact with Hiei was convenient at the moment, it was also somewhat aggravating. Unfair, really. But that was none of my business, so I held my tongue. I would not turn into a jealous boyfriend.

Assuming that ever happened. I mean, boyfriend was not the term for it. Close companion was probably better. Or temporary allies who just might have something of a physical attraction to each other.

But not boyfriend.

The summer passed, and I did not see Hiei again. There were two possible explanations for this: either Hiei was very busy in the Demon World, or I had chased him away.

The two very different possibilities made for a tense situation. I despised not knowing. That, more than anything else, nearly drove me mad that summer. If I could just pick the right one, then I could choose an appropriate response. If Hiei was being kept busy with his duties, then I could expect that he would make an appearance. I could prepare for confrontation. But if Hiei was never coming back, then I would be able to forget about this whole convoluted mess and move on. I could prepare for an independent lifestyle. The hope of a lasting friendship would be dropped because I did not like the feeling of abandonment anymore than the next person.

Since I could not pick just one for the risk of the other one occurring, I compromised. I considered every possible angle to every possible scenario should he return and simply expected that he never would. It sounds screwy and just slightly impossible, but I managed. At least, I tried to tell myself that. It was hard to keep lying to myself when every little tap against the window made me jump, and every time Shuichi burst into my room with last-minute homework questions I about hit the ceiling. Anxious to see Hiei? Me? Naaaaahhhh.

So the remaining weeks of summer went by at a painfully slow crawl. To pass the time I went to the park a lot and read every book I could locate. My classmates caught wind of my regular presence in public and decided to torment me by invading my privacy at every opportunity. I learned more about half the girls and boys in my class that summer than I had the two years I spent going to Meiou High previously.

To save my sanity, I started hanging out on rooftops instead. It was not as nice as the park, but at least it was quiet. No one suspected perfect Minamino of being a skulker.

It figured that Hiei, for all his usual predictability, chose the most unlikely time to return. Two weeks into the school year he made his appearance. Not only that, but he chose to do it in the middle of the night, on a school night.

There I was, sleeping peacefully, when I sensed some youki not my own getting uncomfortably close. I didn't typically sleep on a hair-trigger—I never did in Shiori's house—but neither was I a heavy sleeper. I had to be exhausted or in a forced slumber to remain unconscious when other demons were around, even when that other demon was Hiei.

And poor Hiei did not seem to know this because, for the second time, he snuck up on me while I was asleep. Since there was no tree in my bedroom, he ended up with a face full of carpet. I was on his back and shoving his head hard against the floor before I realized he was not an enemy.

"Hiei!"

Somehow I had the sense to keep my voice down. After all, Shiori, Hatanaka, and Shuichi were all in the house and sleeping. It would have been a miracle if none of them had heard the sound of us hitting the floor. The last thing I wanted was for them to think I was under attack.

I rolled to the side so Hiei could rise.

"What are you doing!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" he hissed back at me. Thankfully, he kept his voice lowered as well. "Aside from getting rug burn!"

"So you thought sneaking up on me while I was sleeping was a good ide—"

"Shuichi?" Whoops. It seemed that the noise had woken someone. It was Hatanaka knocking on my door. Frantic, I pointed at the closet.

"In!" I whispered.

"What?"

"Now!" I gave him a shove. Just as he disappeared into the closet and I tipped my book bag over, Hatanaka poked his head in. I quickly set about picking up the books I had just dumped.

"Shuichi, are you okay?"

Thank nature for darkness because my smile had to be so completely false at that moment that even Hatanaka would not have fallen for it.

"Yes, sir," I said quickly. "I just tripped over my bag on my way to the bathroom." Which meant I was going to have to make a quick run to the bathroom. "Sorry to have worried you."

"Not at all," Hatanaka chuckled, then yawned. "I just wanted to be sure you were safe." Don't I just have the greatest stepdad in the world? Not only did Hatanaka have money, but he was nice. I had half expected the other shoe to drop when Shiori married him. For awhile I had waited for his abusive side to show, but it never did. Plus, Shiori was happy. You just can't buy that kind of life. "Be careful where you put your books from now on."

"Yes, sir, I will. Good night."

"Good night, Shuichi."

I finished picking up my books, hurried to the bathroom, flushed the toilet and made my way back to Hiei. Closing the door tight behind me, I found he had already made himself at home sitting on my bed.

"To what do I owe this midnight visit?" I asked finally. "Or do you just enjoy scaring the heck out of me while I'm sleeping?"

"I never knew you to be so jumpy," he replied sarcastically.

"You must admit, the past couple of times were under rather shocking circumstances," I countered. Finding my desk chair, I reclined back to let my heart finally settle into its normal rate. "What can I do for you, Hiei?"

He reached into his cloak, pulled out something, and threw it at me. I heard the rustle of pages and recognized the object before I snatched it out of the air.

"You mutilated my book," Hiei said bluntly.

"Yusuke paid for it," I retorted. "Doesn't that make it his book?

He was quiet for awhile. It was an expected silence. The situation was pretty awkward after all. But he did eventually speak.

"I would ask how you've been, but the notes said not to," he murmured. That was a copout if I ever heard one. He was avoiding the issue. Well, I could also do that.

"I'd tell you how I've been if I thought you wanted to know," I said.

"I do." Huh. Didn't expect that one.

"I've been a little stressed. You know how it is."

"I think I know less than I thought I did."

Damn. This was not going how it was supposed to go. That's the problem with running most likely scenarios through your head. People were way too unpredictable. Even Hiei surprised me. Not to mention he confused me a bit with that backwards statement.

"That's fair enough since I've been informed that I'm clueless as well." Yes, and that remembered comment still stung. I was letting the conversation run in circles. The point of it was to get Hiei to take some responsibility in it, but he was resisting.

"You are, but that's not really the issue."

"Flattery tends to work better than insults in these situations, Hiei."

"You don't like it when I flatter you." Damn. He had me there.

"Fair enough," I allowed. "Stop beating around the bush, Hiei. Say what you came to say."

"You're a cold son-of-a-bitch who doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself," he announced. If that was meant to sting, he needed to try harder.

"That's great, Hiei." He was not telling me anything I had not already heard. I would be very disappointed if he pulled the old brokenhearted ex-lover (who never attained status of lover in the first place) routine. "Anything else you'd like to share?"

"Nothing I say will make you understand what I… what I feel," he continued. He faltered when mentioning feelings, but that was normal for Hiei. This was probably not an easy conversation for him. And pulling that kind of stunt made me smile. He was getting cold feet.

"Are you sure?" I asked mildly. "I'm a rational creature, Hiei. I'm certain I could figure it out."

"It has nothing to do with rationality, idiot," Hiei growled, growing irritated. That was good. We were back on familiar grounds. A surly Hiei worked better for my methods. "You think you can just write a few notes in a book and say that's how it's going to work, but you don't want any of this crap."

Ah, my rewriting of his book. Yes, I spent several hours poking through what had caught his interest and revising it. It was more difficult that it seemed at first, and for the very reason Hiei just stated.

"You think I want anything that author wrote?" I challenged. "You're accusing me of being too rational, but you're following directions from a book written by a human. Hypocrite."

Hiei snarled at me for that one. If there was one thing he hated it was hypocrisy, so to accuse him of it was not a light matter. But he always let me get away with these things, and he had no excuse now because I had a point—a good one. Kurama: three. Hiei: one.

"What the hell do you want from me?" he blurted suddenly. "What do I have to do? Or should I just quit while I'm ahead?"

"Oh, don't quit now, Hiei." I glared at him for that last comment. That was sinking to rejected lover, and that had not happened yet. "You actually have to be ahead to do that. And you're way behind."

"Then what do you want!" he demanded, voice lifting to dangerous volumes. People were going to hear us.

"I want you to lower your voice," I cautioned. His mouth snapped shut, and he stood in blatant aggravation. That was my sign to pick up the pace. This was going to be ruined if he left. I was a good tracker, but Hiei was faster. Even if I caught up with him, I would have to catch him unawares or lose him forever. I'd survive, but I really did not want that. "Look, Hiei. I'm usually pretty straightforward when it comes to dating. I just want to know what you want."

"What I want," he echoed incredulously. Why he sounded so surprised baffled me. It was a simple question. But it seemed that he was going to make me explain. Sighing impatiently, I leaned back in my chair and gestured toward him vaguely.

"If you're just looking for a fling, you don't need all the foreplay. I can accommodate," I said. "We'll just lay down some terms now and find a slightly more private place than my bedroom while my parents sleep down the hall.." He had the oddest expression on his face. I resisted rolling my eyes. Hiei had been alive long enough to know how this worked. Surely this was not so shocking to him. "You game?"

"You think I would go through all that embarrassment if I just wanted to sleep with you?" He was back to growling, but his cheeks were red.

"Well why not, Hiei? You wouldn't be the first person to make a fool of himself for a little tail. Not even the first for mine." Not even the first in the Human World, if I really wanted to push it. Of course, none of those girls had ever tried to throw me over a bench.

Hiei laughed then. It was brief, a low bark of amusement. I frowned. Of the two of us, I was relatively certain he was not the one who should be laughing. He maintained this confidence when he moved back into the room.

It was a challenge. He stalked right over to my chair and stood over me, smirking when I leaned back to hold his gaze. But he did not stop there. No, not Hiei. He probably realized I would not be impressed by that, so he upped the intimidation factor a bit. Reaching past me, he leaned against the desk, bringing us almost literally nose-to-nose.

"This is nice, Hiei," I murmured, eyeing his arms warily. Yes, I was feeling just a little closed in. He probably would not make any further move against me, but it was difficult to get past the anti-cage instinct. "Cozy."

"Let's get a few things straight, Kurama," he said bluntly.

"Oh good," I smiled. "Finally down to business."

My good humor flew out the open window the instant he grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back. So shocked was I that I forgot to stifle my shout. Fortunately—or not so fortunately, however one looked at it—Hiei had anticipated this, because he did it for me. The pained cry was muffled by his palm.

"If I just wanted some tail, this is how easily I could take yours, you stupid fox," he hissed. Son. Of. A. Bitch. I was going to seriously hurt him for this. As soon as he let me go. As it happened, my struggles were nothing to him. I should have known that. Let it never be said that Hiei is weak. Because he's not. Physically speaking, he's got enough power in him to put Kuwabara out for a week with one punch. And I believe we've already established that I didn't have that. But I did have some success. He was going to have to repair his cloak. "Don't ask me why because I hate you. You're as irritating as a fox can get, and believe me I've met a few."

At the moment, I despised him as well. I would have hated anyone had they decided to make an attempt at yanking half of my hair from my scalp. Not only did he have a strong punch, but he had a grip strong enough to make my eyes water. Maybe I had gone a little overboard with the teasing, but this was completely unwarranted.

"Don't like that, do you fox?" The little bastard was taunting me. "I know you'd hate me if I just took what I wanted."

Do it and die, you son of a bitch! The words came mostly muffled, but he understood well enough. He smirked at me and nodded.

"Maybe I should," he said. Dear god. He wouldn't. No, it went against everything Hiei ever believed in. Still, it never hurt to try to escape when someone said something like that to you. "Afraid now? This is what I knew would happen."

I snarled at him, beyond furious. If he was smart he'd keep a good grip, because if he gave me an opening I was going to do more than just injure him. I was going to make sure he regretted ever threatening me in this manner.

"Do you understand now, Kurama?" he asked. I understood he was still just as psychotic as ever. I told him that in so many curses. "When I want something, I take it. That's how I operate. It's got nothing to do with rationality."

That I knew. Hiei had always been a kill first, ask questions later kind of guy. Impulsive. Not usually this impulsive. Something I said must have really set him off.

"But you." And just in case I did not know who he meant when he said 'you' he shook me roughly. Yes, it hurt. "You're all about rationality. Everything you ever do has purpose. You don't know how to act on impulse."

He let go. Abruptly, he released me and backed well out of arm's reach. If I had been capable of doing much more than holding my head and panting for breath, I might have found some amusement in that action.

"You say I'm a hypocrite for buying a book made for rational minds," he continued. My head was starting to pound, and I glared at him. For once, he met my eyes, his own gaze confident and defiant. "If that's what I needed to understand how you work, I found nothing wrong with trying it."

What? Now that made no sense at all. Still rubbing the back of my skull, I stared at him uneasily. He had thrown off my entire sense of balance by attacking me, and it left me a little behind in this whole 'love' conversation. It could have been wishful thinking, but I was under the impression that these kinds of arguments were less violent.

"Wh-what?"

"You're doing this wrong, Kurama," he said frankly. "I already know what I want."

Which was what I had been asking before… right?

"What's that?" I mumbled, growing irritable. This was not fair. He was not supposed to be able to turn the tables on me. I had been perfectly in control until he returned to the primitive physical.

"You."

"Right…" I guess I already knew that. It was kind of interesting to hear it said aloud, though. "And this Stone Age, drag-your-mate-around-by­-the-hair bit is your way of showing affection."

"It got your attention."

He had a point there. I did not fully approve, but he had a point.

"So what now, Hiei?" I was asking the same basic question I had induced him to ask not so long ago.

"What do you want, Kurama?" he asked.

"What do I—?"

"You keep throwing out options, as if you don't care what happens." Hiei was not inherently taciturn, but he was being very talkative here. Interesting how that was working against me. "And if you don't care, then there's no point in taking this any further. So what do you want?"

And to that, I had no good answer. Hiei watched me flounder, no doubt taking great pleasure in my inability to produce a response. After awhile he was less amused. Time passed quickly, but it must have been longer than I thought because Hiei was growing impatient. He shook his head and turned to leave.

That was good. I did not need someone who would brutalize me every time he wanted to make a point. Had I not had that conversation with Shiori? She was worried I was seeking abusive relationships. This was for the best.

Telling myself that did little to ease the intense pain which settled into my gut when he left. I stared at the window—empty—barely able to breathe.

"Hiei…?"

This was not okay. I was not sure why, but I did not want him to leave. That was completely unacceptable. I would not allow it to happen.

"Hiei!" Shouting out the window was not going to get me anywhere. Hiei would be well out of earshot by now. But what the hell, I shouted again anyway. "Hiei!"

Cursing under my breath, I doubled back to my door. Ironically, I tripped over the bag I had moved earlier, spilling the books and hurting my foot in the process.

"Damn it!" Kicking the books out of my way, I finally made it to my door. Time was moving too swiftly for me. For every moment I took to get to the front door Hiei was getting that much further away. And, of course—of course—I slammed into another barrier in the hallway.

"Shuichi!" It was Hatanaka again. "Hold up, son. Where's the fire?"

"It's running away!" I blurted, pushing past him. But he grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "Let go!" I contemplated tearing free, but then I saw Shiori's pale face, peering at me from behind my stepfather.

"Shuichi!" she was equally startled by my behavior. Probably because I had never thrown such a fit in her presence before. At least, not since I was a small boy. "What's wrong?"

"He's leaving!" I was yelling, but she did not seem fazed. She just blinked, and then I said, "Hiei!" and she gasped.

"Let him go, Kazuya," she said quietly. I had no words to thank her for that instantaneous understanding. She just smiled. Somehow, no matter how well I hid from her, she always knew what exactly was going on.

"Shiori—!"

"It's okay," she touched his arm, and he released me.

I did not stay to hear the rest of what she told him. I was down the stairs, into my shoes, and out the door. Flying down the sidewalk, shouting his name, I made a real nuisance of myself. We did live in a nice neighborhood, and I doubt anyone appreciated the noise I made. But at the moment I hardly cared. I called his name again and followed his youki trail until I lost him.

TBC...

Notes: Still nothing to say... Um... Review please?

Next chapter: Kitagawa is dead. But the case is not quite over...