Chapter Nine

"OW!!"

Hiei looked ready to take his head off. "If you had ducked, it wouldn't have hurt."

"Well how the hell was I supposed to know that?!"

"Because I told you what to do before we started!" Correction; now Hiei looked ready to take his head off. Yusuke could swear he was inflating--kind of like one of those little lizards with ruffles around their necks.

Yusuke glanced uneasily at Kurama, hoping for support. Kurama was watching with an expression suggesting that Yusuke was underperforming even his worst expectations. Yusuke had demanded a break from sparring against Kurama, convinced that nothing could be worse. Now he knew better.

Kurama didn't seem inclined to take Yusuke's glance as a request to intervene, so Yusuke turned and faced the inflatable lizard again. "Well, you could make yourself a little clearer, you know. I didn't get what you were saying."

"If you didn't understand, you should have said so." Hiei was speaking in a careful, measured tone that let Yusuke know how hard he was working to maintain control. "If I was using my katana you would be dead."

"Yeah, but you're not."

"Yusuke!"

His name rang in his ears, shouted from both sides. He glanced sheepishly back and forth between them. "Okay, I'm sorry. But I don't get it."

"Kurama. If you have any pity." Hiei was gesturing for Kurama to stand--Yusuke wondered which of them he wanted Kurama to take pity on. "Show him what he's supposed to do before I take his head off. On accident, of course."

Kurama stood dutifully and came to take Yusuke's place--Yusuke stepped back reluctantly, wondering if having Hiei face Kurama with weapon in hand was such a good idea. Even if the weapon was only a tree branch. But neither of them showed any hesitation--and a moment later, Yusuke was blinking and Hiei was saying, "There. That's what you're supposed to do."

Yusuke hadn't seen anything but a blur. "Great. Now all I need is instant reply. Don't suppose you can do that in slow motion?"

He had been joking--they had to know that from his tone of voice--but they glanced at each other, and then they did it in slow motion. Halting themselves at four or five crucial points for him to study, Kurama explaining out loud as they went. Yusuke made them do it twice more, just because it was fun to watch, before conceding that he understood and taking Kurama's place.

Fun. This was the first real fun he'd had in ten years. On snow, there was only a sliding scale between bliss and agony, depending on how much he'd had and when. Without it, there was no bliss and plenty of agony--the physical pain of training was a blessing compared to the continued pangs of withdrawal, to the memories that nothing could now shield him from. But there were also moments like this, where he could pretend it was long ago and they were training on the lawn at Genkai's. It was almost--

"OW!! Fuck, Hiei!"

"Kurama! You have to do this. I'm through. And stop laughing, goddammit!"

"I'm sorry... but really, your expression..."

"Fuck, Hiei, I can't see straight!"

"Well if you would DUCK like you--"

"Shut up! I think you really are trying to kill me!"

Well... at least there were moments.

Yusuke could feel Kurama's hands steadying him, directing him over to one of the cave's walls. "Probably should sit down for a minute."

"Yeah? You're a real genius," Yusuke muttered, holding his head and watching his four feet march along underneath him. Or were there six? He closed his eyes.

After sitting for a few minutes he tried opening them again and found everything back to its original quantities, only a little blurry along the edges. When he tried to get back up, however, both Hiei and Kurama sent him glares that had him sitting back down before he had really managed to stand. "Guys, I'm fine."

"You need to rest longer after a hit like that," Kurama said in a tone that allowed for no argument. "We're not trying to destroy your brain."

"What's left of it," Hiei muttered.

Yusuke chose to ignore the remark. "I'm fine," he repeated. "Let's keep going."

"You can't," Kurama insisted. "Another blow could cause serious damage. And since you don't seem to have mastered the art of ducking--"

"Oh, shut up." He would have really liked to wipe the smirk off Hiei's face when Kurama said that, but grumbling was the most he was up to. "Just because you know how to do it in slow mo--" An idea hit him suddenly. "Hey, show me again."

Two expressions of disbelief. "Again?"

"Not the ducking thing. I mean, just keep going--just spar and I'll watch. That way I won't get hit but I can still keep training, sort of. And you guys can quit holding back."

He could swear Hiei's ears perked at quit holding back. "I'm in," Hiei said immediately, turning to Kurama.

Kurama looked him over for a minute. "Only if you don't insult me by using that twig," he finally replied.

Hiei smiled--a predator's smile. He tossed aside the branch he'd been using against Yusuke and had his katana in his hand before Yusuke saw him reach for it. "Better?"

Kurama, too, had come up with his weapon without Yusuke seeing him. "Much."

It was on the tip of Yusuke's tongue to warn them to keep it cool--suddenly wondering, again, if having them face each other like this was a good idea--but then they were off, and Yusuke was speechless. Because he had never seen them fight each other before.

It was seamless in a way he had never seen. Like watching someone play chess with himself--the pieces moved like there were two sides at war, but only one thought controlled them all. They were both five steps ahead of each other and their bodies were just trailing sluggishly after them, going through the motions and unable to keep up with their minds. So much so that sometimes one of them would skip all the steps entirely, move to something new--and each time that happened, there was a moment where the other almost smiled, almost laughed, before following. And then a new series of movements would build up, predicted and countered and left behind and somewhere along the line, Yusuke realized this wasn't for his benefit. They were playing to see who get farther ahead of the other, and they couldn't care less if he learned or not.

Not that it mattered to him, because he was learning. So he sat and watched silently until it ended. Because, of course, it was too good to last long.

It ended when Hiei suddenly halted, looking back over his shoulder at Kurama with a bewildered expression. Kurama also halted, unwilling as ever to create a strategy without knowing his opponent's. Hiei's expression--bewildered, yes, but something dark was gradually growing in it. Dark, and angry, and when he stalked forward Yusuke didn't blame Kurama for backing away. Nor for blocking Hiei when Hiei grabbed for him. Hiei reached impatiently again, aiming at his head, but Kurama reacted to the change in his energy and pushed him away with a viciousness that hadn't been there before. Hiei's anger grew, and his sword--

Stop. Yusuke wanted to say it, but the word was stuck in his throat. Stop. Kurama blocked again and again, his expression confused and angry and the slightest bit fearful, and then he finally went on the attack, trying to force Hiei away. Hiei fought back intensely, trying again and again and again to slip through Kurama's defense--it was only moments, brief moments, and yet they attacked and parried dozens of times before Hiei suddenly stopped again, allowing Kurama to put the length of the cave between them before saying in exasperation, "Fox, stand down a moment."

Kurama's stance lost none of its defensiveness. "No."

Hiei inhaled as though he were going to yell, or attack; then he exhaled heavily and put his katana in its sheath, his shoulders losing tension. "Stand down," he repeated quietly.

Kurama hesitated for a long moment--a moment in which Hiei didn't move and Yusuke didn't breathe. Then he slowly lowered his arms from in front of him, adopting a more neutral stance. He nodded warily for Hiei to approach.

Hiei crossed the cave, slowing down slightly as he got near Kurama. Yusuke could see Kurama fighting the impulse to back away--he actually leaned backwards slightly, but otherwise did not move even though he was clearly ready to jump out of his skin.

Yusuke wasn't sure what he expected to happen when Hiei was finally standing in front of Kurama--but it wasn't for Hiei to reach out and grab a lock of his hair, lifting it to his nose and sniffing. Kurama did move at that, stumbling back with an expression that was both bewildered and disturbed, and Hiei made no move to follow him. His expression had turned icy. "So you still keep secrets from me."

"What?"

"And you still let him touch you, as well."

Now it was Kurama's expression that suddenly hardened. It took him several moments to form words, apparently too incensed to express it verbally. "He came by," Kurama finally said, his voice tight with controlled anger, "to see if he could be of any help. And the reason I didn't mention it is because of how you are acting right now."

"He came to see you."

"He wisely timed his visit for when you weren't present."

"What did you say to him?" Both of their voices were escalating, their anger bubbling to the surface. Yusuke wanted to intervene, but he didn't understand what they were saying.

"I told him that I wouldn't stop you if you tried to kill him. And that he should leave because you would act like a petulant child if you knew he was here."

"Oh, of course. You always have such good reasons for not telling me things." Hiei's voice was pure venom.

"Yes. I forgot." Kurama's voice was shaking with anger. "Total honesty is your posture. For everyone. And everything. Regardless of what they desire."

Hiei was silent for a long, charged moment. Then, quietly, so quietly that Yusuke could barely hear him: "I did not mean for that to happen."

Whatever that meant, it was the breaking point. Kurama's energy flared so strongly that Yusuke felt it like a blow, actually stumbled; he didn't know what to expect after that but Kurama, once again, managed to contain himself. "Liar," he said simply, his voice cold and hard and full of all the hatred in the world. And then he walked away.

Or tried to. He hadn't taken his second step before Hiei's arm shot out to stop him, the tip of the katana he still held embedding itself in the wall. If Kurama had moved another half an inch, he would have been cut. With a solid barrier preventing Kurama from motion, Hiei spoke. "I have no reason to lie to you."

Kurama didn't seem to know what to say to that. Before he could form a response, Yusuke stood up and announced loudly, "I'm going for a walk."

Both of them looked completely disoriented when they turned to him, as he had suspected. They had forgotten he was there. "No need," Kurama said coolly. "I was just leaving."

"No, really, I'll go. You stay." Yusuke had suddenly realized that this had to happen. If he was ever going to get these two back onto good terms, they had to fight it out first. "Seriously, guys. I don't care if you kill each other or become friends again or whatever happens, but at least have the decency to say whatever it is you need to say to each other. I know you hate each other; I don't know why. But at least show enough respect for the friend that you used to have to get it out in the open and done with. I won't be far."

And with that he shoved his hands in his pockets and strolled out of the cave, determinedly casual and praying with all his might that he had done the right thing.