Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho © Yoshihiro Togashi

Sketch Me

By Zelia Theb

Act III: Colloquy

Kuwabara had not been surprised, once again, when Yusuke appeared at his door. However, he was surprised to see that this time Kurama accompanied him, and that their ally was clad in skin-tight pants. It had been the last straw for him; he had to know why Urameshi was constantly coming over to his house. At the least, he knew that Kurama probably wouldn't stay, as he had a home of his own; although it was curious to the tall boy as to why a demon had followed the other teen these last two times. Something that required a demon's protection, perhaps? Had it something to do with the yakuza that he had seen at Urameshi's home once or twice?

He left the two boys in his bedroom as he retrieved snacks and tea from the kitchen. Kuwabara wasn't all that unrefined, and was quite the hospitable host. His sister on the other hand…well, she was laughing it up with Yusuke while ogling at Kurama. She didn't have a thing for either of them, really. They were far too young if even it were only a few years. She had always enjoyed Yusuke's personality; because it so often mirrored her own; although mainly she maintained the bleak outlook of Hiei. Kurama was just attractive; eye candy.

"Well, you boys can stay here as long as you want," Shizuru offered, exhaling a cloud of smoke from her cigarette, "I'll bring up the extra futons for ya at about nine or so."

"I'm afraid I won't be staying, but thank you," Kurama said from his seat on Kuwabara's bed, "I was just spending some time with Yusuke and will have to head home before then so that my mother will not worry."

"'Kay kid," Shizuru remarked with a wave, "I'll be downstairs if you guys need anything, though I guess my baby bro is already getting you some snacks."

"Thanks, Shizuru," Yusuke called out. The girl returned a welcoming smile, and then shut the door behind her as she left.

The second they knew that the footsteps would not return unexpectedly, their gazes shifted to each other, communicating that they had but a moment alone for some intimacy; even if the kiss would be a rude walk-in for their host. Kurama stood, pacing slowly over to his object of affection, and noted, "It's amusing, Yusuke. Normally you say exactly what is on your mind, but right now you are rather silent." The come-on was strong. The redhead stopped inches before Yusuke's chest, and took hold of the boy at his hips, and pulled their pelvises together.

Forgetting the tears that had transpired only thirty minutes earlier, Yusuke smirked, and inquired, "Do I really have to say what I want right now?" Kurama shook his head ever so slightly to and fro, indicating that he had only really asked as a means to get closer. They kissed once more, much deeper than the one they had shared at the arcade, melding their bodies together in order to let their tongues penetrate deeper. The soft plodding of ascending feet pulled them apart; they had not wished to vocalize their affection to Kuwabara.

"Okay, Urameshi!" Kuwabara exclaimed loudly, a contrast to the way that he gently set the tray of snacks and green tea down upon a night table, "It's high time ya told me why you come over here all the time! And I ain't takin' no lame excuses, got it?"

Facial muscles twitched within the Spirit Detective then. How dare Kuwabara speak to him like that! Although, it was about time that he gave some sort of explanation for crashing his house all the time.

"Fine!" Yusuke shouted back, beginning another one of their lavishly loud discussions, "It's because my mom wants to have all her little gang buddies over and I need to repress the urge to smack the shit out of them!"

"Well, gee, Urameshi!" Kuwabara roared in return, "It'd be nice if ya said something once in a while! Ya know we all got probs that we gotta take care of, but sometimes ya gotta tell your friends and let 'em help ya!" Sometimes, Yusuke really pissed him off. He could be selfish, egotistical, and cocky at times, but overall, he hardly ever thought of his own well-being and constantly was taking care of others; even if it annoyed the stuff out of him.

"I don't need help, Kuwabara!"

Kurama had begun laughing at this point. At times he often wondered; as so many have before; if the two friends were married in a previous lifetime. Plus, it was plainly obvious that Yusuke was currently being aided by the psychic teen.

"Gah!" Kuwabara let out in aggravation, pouncing upon the brown-eyed boy in an attempt to wrestle their frustrations out. All three of them knew that Yusuke was lying, and the fighters, along with their single spectator, had eventually burst into laughter, and collapsed upon the ground until they settled down.

Wiping tears of laughter that had squeezed out from the overuse of his facial muscles, Kuwabara eventually settled down, and calmly asked Yusuke, "So why haven't you gone to Keiko's? I mean, I'm happy that we can hang out and all, but she's kinda like your caretaker, ya know?"

"We got in a fight," Yusuke exhaled, trying to regain his breath from their giggle-fest. He let his back fall upon the sides of Kuwabara's mattress, having collapsed only inches away from Kurama.

"You guys are always fightin'," Kuwabara noted, resting on his palms, "What about this time? Ditch her again?"

"Kinda," Yusuke explained, "I guess she thought I was going to meet her at some stupid foreign art film, which was kinda lame because it was like charging me for a side of mushrooms I never asked for." Kurama listened intently; as he needed to decide how long he would be able to wallow within Yusuke's skin before he eventually returned to Keiko. The fox knew that it was just a phase for the boy; so he had to enjoy it while he could. Perhaps there was even a possibility that he could let Yusuke forget the brunette and be exclusive to him.

"Yeah, she kinda does that a lot," his classmate agreed, rubbing his chin before resting upon his hand again, "No offense or anythin', Urameshi. It's just somethin' I noticed with you guys in school."

"Yeah, well," Yusuke went on with the story, "So she busted into my house, and then started yelling at me. I expected it and all, but I was getting pretty pissed off because I was in the middle of something and she just thought that I would drop everything for her like always." His two friends nodded, indicating that they were paying attention; "So I kinda lost it and told her to fuck off because she was a prissy bitch."

"That mouth of yours is seriously getting you into some deep stuff, man," said Kuwabara. Kurama could not help but smile in agreement; because he had taken the statement as a double-entendre. Kuwabara had taken the gesture as a sign that Kurama too had thought that Yusuke had quite the smart-mouth, and he went on to offer advice to Yusuke, suggesting, "Well, maybe you should ask her if she wants to go on a picnic or somethin'."

"That's just it, Kuwabara," Yusuke interjected, "If she wants to go on a picnic. I'll prolly do that…" The words stung Kurama like a poisonous insect; "…But I might just ask her to do something that I wanna do instead and see how she likes it."

"Well, whatever," Kuwabara sighed, "Just throwin' it out there."

"Speakin' of throwin' stuff out," Yusuke mused, the thought of Youko Kurama's days perking in his head, "Kurama? What did you do with all the stuff you took as Youko? Is it all stashed away in some hoard that no one knows about?"

"Yeah, Kurama! That'd be kinda cool!" Kuwabara declared excitedly, "You'd be like that pirate who had some hidden death island that only one person had the map to! People would look for his gold for years and years but they'd never find it even though they knew it was there somewhere."

Kurama held to fingers to his lips as he chuckled. He had never thought of his legend in such a childlike and innocent manner. He replied, "I suppose that I would be the only map to my hoard, yes. Who knows if some demon has already stumbled upon it by accident. Surely the hunter who bested me back then would be capable of such."

"Oh yeah!" Yusuke remarked very audibly, propping himself upon his knees from his rear, "That guy's gotta be pretty wicked strong if he was able to catch you, Kurama. Maybe he found all your stuff and is sitting on a throne of gold coins with barely dressed belly dancing servants."

They all laughed at the whimsical idea, although only Kurama could recall the face of the hunter. He stated, "Perhaps, though I suspect that he would have sold it for a high price. He was a bounty hunter, after all. I wonder what he would do if he discovered that I was still alive? Would he fear that I would seek revenge or just try and get me again?"

Uneasiness blanketed the other two. Revenge? Kurama picked up on the tension, and put their minds at ease by assuring them with a wave of his hand, "Oh, don't worry. I am not that ruthless. Had it not been for him, I suppose I would have never met my mother or all of you. Well, perhaps we might have crossed paths on opposite sides."

"You're too morbid, Kurama," stated Yusuke flatly. Kuwabara nodded with a huff and crossed arms.

"Oh, don't be so harsh!" the demon grinned, "I would gladly offer him those riches in payment for leading me to all of you. There aren't enough treasures in any of the worlds that could fully repair the debt." The silence maintained itself for a moment, broken by the sudden stranglehold that Yusuke had placed upon his shoulders.

"Oh, you're as mushy as miso paste!" Yusuke joked as he embraced him. Kurama's cheeks became painted with a rosy blush, both from the affectionate embrace, embarrassment, and the lack of breath. He protested for the boy to let him go, and then informed the room that he would have to take leave and return home to Shiori. The boys sighed, as it was an end to what seemed to develop into a very normal teenage hang-out session, and walked him down the stairs to Kuwabara's front door.

It was rather peculiar to Kuwabara, who had become quite perceptive from the influence of both Shizuru and Kurama, the way in which Yusuke said farewell to the redhead. The manner in which the detective's hand lay upon Kurama's broad shoulder was entirely normal and friendly, however, the slight and seemingly unnoticeable folds in the fabric of Kurama's shirt suggested that Yusuke's fingers were performing much more than just a casual caress. It was…weird, but Kuwabara felt no need to mention it. He preferred to sit back and stay out of this one. Maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him anyway.

Yusuke had spent most of his time at school on the roof, as usual. Keiko still wasn't speaking to him, so he had no worries about sketching alone. He was rather proud of his latest pencil masterpiece; it was neither crude nor explicit, and it fulfilled none of his personal desires at all, whatsoever. It had taken him a full four days to work on it, not counting the time that he spent at Kuwabara's since he did not wish to be harassed by him to look at it, nor reveal the content of the picture.

It was relatively quiet back as his apartment. Removing his shoes, he found yet more loving letters from his mother upon the surface of the kitchen table, held down by a paperweight; otherwise known as an empty liquor bottle. The first read:

"Yusuke. You better be home to read this! I'm out at Juniper's with friends for the night. You better be here when I get back! And you better go to school! Love, Mom."

It was comforting to know she was mildly worried. The second read:

"Yusuke. Where the hell are you? Keiko was looking for you. There's dinner in the fridge. Be back tonight. You better be home! Love, Mom."

"Oh, Mom," Yusuke pondered aloud, "Where the hell are you, and why did you hide the cigarettes?" He sighed, trudging on toward his bedroom. It was shaded; there was no sunlight; only a grayscale comic book tone in the room. The deep rumble of distant thunder penetrated his ears. He sighed again in anticipation of the gloomy day, and began putting his bookbag and sketch book away. He stopped though, remembering to remove his latest work from the pad, and then continued, leaving the single paper upon the blankets of his bed.

He noticed that the light had gotten much dimmer, like something was blocking the window. Sure enough, as to his suspicion, Hiei was waiting there impatiently, his black cloak flapping from the rough winds of the impending storm. Yusuke quickly unlocked the window and let him in, then shut it to prevent the wind from tearing his work from the bed.

"Tell me why, Detective!" asked Hiei the moment he set foot upon the floor.

"Why what?" Yusuke asked with a high tone, his voice nearly cracking. He should have listened to himself; his actions would forever change the dynamic of the team.

"Hn. Don't be coy with me. You know what I am asking. I demand to know!" Hiei was threatening, angry, and confused. This was his first time having tread such dangerous and unknown deep waters; and he felt himself drowning.

"If you mean what I think you do," Yusuke growled, "Then I believe we already talked about that."

"No. Why me when you have her."

"Fine, I'll compare you two if you really want," Yusuke concurred scathingly, "Let's see…oh no, wait, I don't even have to think about this. Number one. Keiko's family is perfect. They own a restaurant. If we got married, I'd be a Yukimura. Damn, how nice."

"Had I slain you then I wouldn't have to listen to this," the demon recalled. It wasn't unlike him to get to the point, only to get agitated when the point was aimed straight for his chest.

"I'm not saying you aren't perfect, Hiei…" the detective said regretfully.

"You don't have to, Detective."

"Ooh. Pulling out all of the 'Detectives' now. Big deal." Yusuke reached for Hiei's wrist, nearly wrenching it when Hiei tried pulling away. Lush eyelashes fluttered, and Yusuke could no longer tread the waters with Hiei; his ankles were being pulled by the undertow.

"Because I like you," Yusuke breathed in confession, "I don't know where I am going right now, and I don't-"

"Save it," came the harsh interruption, "I don't need to hear about how I am just an experiment for you. You could be seeing that oaf or even the fox for all I know."

Yusuke let out a pang of guilt; "You don't." In his literal heat, he had become selfish and obsessed with acting out his fantasies. He took the fact that both Hiei and Kurama were attracted to him for granted; but he crushed those petals beneath his feet like grass. In his silent thoughts, he unconsciously continued his lead-on by pulling the captured wrist into the embrace of caressing fingers.

"Will you ever explain why me?" Yusuke suddenly queried. The bantam muscled hem of Hiei's arm flinched. Whether it was from the sudden burst of rain wreaking havoc on his window panes or the question was the mystery.

"I don't like you, Yusuke," he denied.

"That just isn't true," was the reply. Yusuke could not resist the temptation to console Hiei; to hold him; to kiss him. He could deal with the consequences at a later point in time. The spark to ignite something deep; something both emotionally and physically satisfying; was flayed off of the rocky turbulence of their meeting. Lithe forms met and forgiving velvet lips gently graced each other. It could have been more; it could have been a marvel of a meeting; however…

There was always a however when it came to Hiei.

The demon pulled away in hopes to properly forgive the boy when he took note of the drawing that lay open on the bed. It was anything but ugly, yet simultaneously it was the epitome of anxiety; the personification of sadness.

"How…could you…" Hiei uttered, snatching the work from the bed and examining it. He had never cried, so would not know how to stop himself if the feeling to emerged. He noticed something…something which echoed in his heart and threatened to suffocate him if he refused to breath. Something that crushed his throat without remorse; something that let him taste the broken bones in his trachea. His eyes hurt; and if he breathed…oh if he had taken just one breath…he might have known the feeling.

Yukina…she was a precious porcelain treasure. A gem among dirt. He often thought of how unusual it was to find someone so kind and endearing among demons; even the callous race of Ice Maidens. It was only natural that he were the exact opposite; that he balance out the equation. So in light of that, Hiei was constantly trying to maintain the negative. Fighting any inkling inside that said, "You are her brother. You are the same."

Yusuke…how dare he reiterate those statements. Yukina did not deserve such a false brotherly embrace from he. He did not deserve the smile bestowed upon him from the lights of heaven; the divine care and love of a sibling.

"How could you do this!" Hiei yelled at Yusuke, displaying the sketch to the artist before rolling it up into a scroll over the other works he had mistakenly left behind in the room. Yusuke did not respond; he didn't understand how he had offended Hiei. All he knew was that Hiei was gone; having concealed the works under his cloak to protect them from the storm. The only thing Yusuke was left with was a few missing pages and a wet windowsill.

When night fell and he could not longer stand the rain, Hiei fled to the Minamino residence; tracking his boots up the beige earth of the home's outer wall and taking grip onto the ledge of the window sill. His fingertips nearly slipped had they not been caught by the friendly outstretched gesture of Kurama. No later was he pulled; dripping with rain water; into the redhead's lightless human bedroom.

"You seek shelter here?" Kurama asked him, "But why?" He was inferring as to why he would not stay with Yusuke; with full knowledge that his affection may be involved with the demon. However, Hiei did not know of Yusuke's affair with the fox, and merely stated that he could not stand the annoyance of Kuwabara.

Hiei unloaded the contents of his cloak and set the works on Kurama's desk before migrating back to the moistened edge of the windowsill. He closed his eyes without words and let his head rest upon the cold pane of glass, listening to the raindrops and clashes of thunder. It was difficult to fall into a slumber there; and Kurama noticed it; mostly because Hiei was desperately trying to balance himself on the small ledge.

"It's too small," Kurama finally pointed out, knowing that Hiei would become aggravated, "We will have to share the bed."

An annoyed grunt was uttered from the narrow ledge, and Hiei removed himself from his chilled rest to Kurama's bed; waiting impatiently like a child would for its mother for him to command him to lay down.

"You're annoying, Kurama," Hiei remarked coldly.

"Take that wet cloak off and lay down," the redhead directed him, "If you wanted to sleep in puddles, you would have stayed outside, yes?" They stared each other down; but eventually Kurama won him over, and Hiei obediently removed the over-dampened cloak and handed it to Kurama, then occupied nearly most of the bed in an attempt to further disturb his friend.

Kurama draped the wet apparel over the back of the neatly tucked chair beneath his desk, and his fox-like curiosity gained the best of him as he unraveled Hiei's scrolls. Never before had he seen such talent with pencil and paper; and a school of questions swam into Kurama's mind. Most of them were answered when he noticed the signature in the corner; Urameshi.

"You were with Yusuke," he stated as he set them back down. He wanted to know for sure if Hiei's scent on the detective's skin was just an illusion, or if there was a light to dissipate the fog of the 'what if'.

As Kurama nudged next to him; tucking both of them in properly; Hiei riposted with, "You can assume that if you want."

"It isn't an assumption," Kurama rolled over to face Hiei, "He signed the pictures; which are beautifully drawn, might I add."

"Whatever." Hiei turned his back to his ally; conforming with the small space and curling his legs up to his stomach.

"Did you leave because you love Yukina?" Silence. If only the fox would shut up, then perhaps he might be able to sleep the events of the day away.

"Don't you love your sister, Hiei?" Kurama prodded on, poking Hiei's shoulder in a near suicidal attempt to gain his attention. Hiei reacted with a violent retraction of his arm, hoping to but not succeeding in smacking Kurama with his shoulder blade.

"I'll take that as a yes, it is usually what your silence means," said the fox. Hiei rolled over and glared at him, further affirming it.

Hiei sneered, "You already knew that, idiot," before quickly shutting his eyes again.

The colloquy of two comrades; the conversation was simply brilliant.

"Yusuke upset you, didn't he?" Kurama continued with his incessant questions. It wasn't jealously nor rivalry that instigated them; no. It was guilt. If Hiei was indeed involved with Yusuke…then Kurama would have to step down. Hiei had acquired the boy's attention first, and Hiei was most in need of the affection.

"We aren't talking about this," Hiei muttered.

"Do you love him?" The question escaped his lips before he could have time to conquer it with his own answer; he was unprepared for the response.

The silent reopening of Hiei's eyes and stale movement of Hiei's mouth was the reply. Nothing.

"I am a terrible friend," Kurama whispered as he closed his own eyes. Hiei's ears perked up on the declaration. Between the detective's unassuring answer of experimentation earlier, and Kurama's insinuation, his thoughts were tossed into a maelstrom of chaos.

"Kurama," Hiei said in the same whisper. He pressed a finger into his friend's chest and asked, "Why?"

Slowly Kurama looked at Hiei, and smiled, stating, "So you do think of me as a friend." Hiei glanced away quickly in embarrassment, but returned the gaze as Kurama explained, "I just am. Please do not allow me to annoy you with my concerns, but I would like to know why."

"Hn. I don't know." The question of whether or not this was some foul joke played on the triad by Koenma entered his mind; but Hiei could not come up with the proper hallucinogen in his mental Demon World catalogue. On that notion, he added, "He does things to me."

"Naughty things?" the fox giggled.

"Not yet," Hiei half-chuckled, becoming more comfortable than he cared to be, "You saw them." 'Them' referring to the drawings.

"He conveys the truth, Hiei," Kurama murmured, "That is how you are. You shouldn't be angry with him." Him. He was so intoxicated by him. Even now, the fragrance of the boy still stained Hiei's skin, despite the storm's vain efforts to cleanse it from him.

"The girl-"

"Stop, Hiei," Kurama interjected, "Keiko should be of no concern. I know that we have both seen several instances of his loyalty to her, but you have to consider that perhaps there are other opportunities." Kurama sighed; emotion heavy on his chest; "Do not deny yourself this chance." In an incredibly demonic motion, the fox finished with, "We will surely outlive her. With Yusuke's seeming immortality and deep connection to the Spirit World, I can not imagine Koenma allowing him to die and rest eternally once his human life is over."

"He's not like you," Hiei answered, "You have a demon body to return to."

"You never know with Yusuke, Hiei."

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

If you view this website with Unicode character encoding, then please view my argument of why Hiei is not a koorime by clicking my bio. Then, proceed to spread the word. Because I am growing rather weary of general abuses and misuses of other cultures and languages. Thank you!

Aside from that sort of pompous and negative note, thank you for your continued support of this work. Please do me a favor and don't leave one-liners in the reviews!

I hope this cleared up the confusion of the pairings…(actually, I hope it added to it! -evil grin-). Please patiently await the next installment of Sketch Me. I probably won't update this story again until after my birthday (May 25th…today is the 8th).

ズィリア