Chapter 9: Is this real or have I lost it?
"Hiei…it is really you." Kurama whispered, holding the small figure.
"Hn…you can let go now." Hiei grunted, feeling a bit strange by the fox's action.
Kurama let go with a soft. "Sorry." And went to turn on the light, saying. "Why are you here, has something happened with Mukuro?"
"No." Hiei said and then asked about the blood he had smell when he was being hugged, but didn't see until the light was on. "Are you hurt…that's not your blood I smell, but?" He noticed Kurama's white shirt had faded blotches on it and then noticed the tunic he had in his hands.
Kurama shook his head, reassuringly. "No…no…it is not mine….we were dealing with a powerful demon tonight and he ended up landing on me after Yusuke shot him." He said walking over to throw the tunic in the hamper before opening a drawer and pulling out sweats and a t-shirt. "If you do not mind, I would like to take a shower before we get into talking about why you're here. You can go down and help yourself to some food if you like." With that said, he then walked out the room and into the bathroom, closing the door.
Hiei stood there for a moment wondering what was up with the fox, noting how low his ki was and wondering if it was due to the fight. Deciding to ask the fox when he got done with his shower, he went down to get something to eat. He was hungry and Kurama always had good food around.
When the red head made it downstairs, he saw Hiei sitting on the couch with his feet up on the trunk. He had taken off is cloak and was eating out of a left over container. Kurama's hair was still dripping and he was using a towel to dry it as he came over to the other end of the couch to sit down.
"Your ki is low, are you sure you're not hurt?" Hiei asked, not looking up from the container and taking another bite.
"Yes…I'm fine. We had to deal with a demon the other day. The brother of the one we fought tonight and I was poisoned with his claws. With Genkai's help, I was able to fight it, but it did take a lot out of me. I will be fine in a few days." Kurama reassured as he finished drying his hair and threw the towel over the back of the couch. "Now, what are you doing here?" He asked.
Hiei shrugged. "Is it a crime for me to be here?" He said placing the now empty container on the trunk and turning to face the red head.
"No, but how did you know I had moved?" Kurama wanted to know.
"I have my sources." Hiei said, not wanting to tell Kurama that he had went to his old place and had wasted a day waiting on him to come back. Also the thought he had about the nursery that was there now. "And if you must know." He said as an after thought. "I got permission to come and check on Yukina." That too was a lie, but he couldn't tell the fox the reason he came back was to see if he was alright and that he had missed the red head.
"Well." Kurama started, trying to control his emotions. "Yukina is still staying with Genkai. If you went there first then she would have told you that I was here. Are you going to go see Yusuke too before going back?"
Hiei had not been there first. "No." He stammered. "And I'm not going back for awhile." He saw an eyebrow go up, so he said. "It was boring being on patrol and I convinced Mukuro that I would do better for her working on this end, dealing with the demons trying to get here into the Ningenkai."
Kurama's heart was fluttering in his chest as he heard the news and he asked. "Does Koenma know you are back?" But thinking. 'There maybe a chance for me to tell him how I feel.' But then he thought of Yomi and he inwardly sighed.
Hiei was trying to read the red head's mind, but was getting nowhere, so he said. "Mukuro has sent him a message, so I'm sure he knows by now."
"Did you get my message about Yomi and the death threat?" The red head flat out asked it, needing to know if the fire demon knew the risk he was putting himself in, in being near him.
Hiei smirked. "Yes and no one has seen him since he and that kid of his went off at the end of the tournament."
'Maybe Yomi gave up.' Kurama thought, biting his lower lip in thought of what Yomi maybe up to. After all, Yomi still had his men watching him and would know by now that Hiei was here.
"Kurama…" Hiei said making sure the red head looked at him before continuing. "He won't hurt me or you. He can't do much here in this world."
"I would not be so sure about that." Kurama said, more to himself.
"Why, what do you know?" Hiei asked, sitting up.
"Nothing." Kurama said, trying to brush it off. "It is getting late. Koenma wants me and the others in his office in the morning. Will you be staying at Genkai's?" He had grabbed the towel and was heading to the door to show the fire demon out.
Hiei looked down shyly, but Kurama wasn't paying attention. "Um." He tried to say. "I was hoping to stay here…if that's okay." He wanted to be near the fox to see if his feelings were true and he would never admit it openly, but he'd missed the comfort of the red head next to him at night, even though nothing ever happened.
Kurama paused and looked at him. "Um…sure, go on up…I want to get something to drink." He said coming back over to grab the empty container off the trunk before heading towards the kitchen.
Hiei left his cloak and headed upstairs. Making it to the bedroom, he undressed, leaving his underwear on and climbed into bed. He had noticed all the new furniture, but didn't say anything. He must have been more tired then he thought because the next thing he remembered was waking up and seeing the clock. It was 4 am and he noticed that Kurama was not in bed. Getting up, he made his way out of the room and downstairs, where he spotted the red head on the couch, asleep. The red head was muttering and sweating while curled up hugging a pillow. 'Is he alright…he might still be fighting that poison.' He thought and decided to try and read the fox's mind, but as soon as he tried, he was slammed out like a door shutting in his face.
Kurama bolted upright on the couch, looking to the shadow standing there. "What are you doing?" He growled.
Hiei was taken aback. "I…I wanted to make sure you were alright…I….." He was cut off.
"You have no right to read my mind anymore…you lost that right when you decided to stay in the Makai." Kurama hissed standing up, he then went right up to the fire demon, staring at him as best as he could in the dark.
"Sorry." He muttered, not liking the look he was getting. "We have always been able to read each other and I just assumed we still could." He could now feel the anger rolling off the red head.
"Do not assume." Kurama hissed. "You can have the couch. I want 'my' bed back." He then pivoted and walked up the stairs. Hiei heard the door slam and sighed.
'What in the hell was that about?' He thought as he went over to the couch and flopped down, thinking some things over.
'Okay.' He thought. First, back to the last time he had seen the fox. 'That was when we said our goodbyes because I told him I was staying to be Mukuro's heir. Then I gave him the necklace and he said something about friendship and not liking me in that way. Does that mean he doesn't want a relationship with me? He did say it was a joke. Arg…I'm so confused. Okay…I can see why he is mad at me for not staying and he would have been having headaches without me here to keep the mental link open. Damn…I should have thought of that before I left. I should have closed it. Is that why he is mad, but the hug, what was that about, he literally grabbed me, hugging me, but then let go and walked away like nothing happened.'
He pondered about many things until the sun came up. Around 7 Kurama came down already dressed.
"Hiei…." Kurama started after seeing he was up and sitting on the couch. "I want to apologize for last night. I was tired and not thinking." He made his way over to sit beside the smaller demon.
"No need" Hiei said. "I should have gave you notice that I would be stopping by instead of just showing up at your window. It has been a year." He watched for the red head's reaction.
Kurama didn't show any, just nodded. "Yes and in that year our mental connection closed and I could not sense you." He ended up looking at the floor and biting his lower lip again. "We should have closed the connection from the time we parted. The headaches were not too bad, but they did interfere with work some." He admitted.
Hiei felt bad. "I am sorry about that. We should have closed it before we parted." He said softly, watching as the red head lowered his head with a nod. "Kurama…" He waited until the fox looked at him. "Kurama, I want to tell you the truth and…this is hard…I didn't go to see Yukina first…I came straight to see you. I went to your old house and noticed your room had been turned into a nursery and I was a little surprised and mad."
"Nursery." Green eyes blinked. "Why would that make you mad?" Kurama asked, watching the koorime fumble with his words.
"I did think at first that your mother had had another child…that's not what made me mad but…then I thought that you had had a child with someone and…that's what…" Hiei stopped, not knowing how to go on.
Kurama was getting mad now. "Why would you get mad or even care if I had a child with someone. It is not like you and I were together." He said harshly.
"That's not what I mean…I." Hiei fumbled for words.
Kurama took a deep breath before saying. "Listen Hiei, I am glad you are back and I have missed your friendship…you have known for a long time that you were the only one I could talk to, not even Yusuke has taken that place. You are going to have to give me time to adjust to the fact that you are back. And I know that you are going to get bored here and just leave again so let us just leave our mental link closed." He closed his eyes, taking another deep breath before saying softly. "It will just make it easier when you leave."
Hiei was about to say something when Kurama got up and walked to the door. "I need to go and see Koenma now. You can stay here if you wish. I left the window to the bedroom unlocked if you go out. I do not know how long I will be." And with that, he turned and walked out the door, leaving a still very confused fire demon on the couch.
a)a)a)a
Kurama was sitting with Yusuke and Kuwabara in Koenma's office. "Now gentlemen, I don't approve of what you did yesterday. Mikai is really taking it hard and the paperwork is a nightmare." Koenma said, in his toddler form, going through the ever present stacks of paper. "I will however, let this one slid." He looked up at Yusuke. "Don't even say a word."
Yusuke let his chair hit the floor and put a finger to his chest, getting a 'what, me' look on his face.
"Now, onto some other news, the rules and regulations were updated again and are getting better everyday. We also have a new border guard, Mukuro sent Hiei." Koenma said and looked up to see how Kurama was going to take this news. He knew the two had been close friends, which was rare for demons.
Yusuke and Kuwabara also looked to Kurama and he said. "I know he is back, he has already made contact." He didn't let any emotion show in his face or voice.
"Well, he will also being doing missions in addition to border guard. Do you know where he will be staying and can you get in contact with him when I need him?" The demi-god asked still trying to get a reaction out of the fox and the other two were waiting as well for the answer.
"No, I do not…now that you have managed to drag him back. I suggest you give him a communicator and contact him yourself. I think now that Hiei is back, you do not need my assistance anymore and I have a life to live." With that said, Kurama got up and walked out, leaving the others with their mouths hanging open.
a)a)a)a
In the two months since Hiei had been back, he had not seen much of Kurama. He was staying at Genkai's and would hear that the fox had come to visit, only after getting back from border patrol. He had heard that Kurama had started back to work part time, but it was still taking a lot of his life. Out of only a half a dozen missions in those two months he had been back, he had only seen the red head half of that. The fox usually showed up only after having had Botan drag him, or by telling him Yusuke had requested his assistance. Then the fox would fight and after it was over, leave before anyone could talk. Hiei had talk to Yusuke once and got the answer he knew was coming. The raven haired had not seen Kurama since that morning in Koenma's office and that phone calls were going unanswered. The red head was only seen at Genkai's when the fire demon was on patrol.
Two months to the day of his return, Botan came to his border post, saying Koenma needed to see him and the others in his office immediately. The fire demon knew he couldn't wait any longer and was determined to figure out what was going on with the fox and that most importantly. He needed to know his own feeling towards the spirit yoko.
What the fire demon didn't know was that the next mission he would go on would bring his feelings for the fox to the surface.
End Chapter 9
The End
Continues in: King Enma's Kishi