Part Twenty: Of Protective Younger Brothers and Annoying Friends

It was obvious that everything had changed after their conversation.

Both Ani and Kuwabara know that they have chosen to take a journey with each other that could lead anywhere and could cause both of them a lot of pain in the process but they both also know deep down, that it will be worth it. They sit in companionable silence as both don't feel it is the right time to speak. The silence is only broken by the others' arrivals into the living room. "Ah, you're awake," Yoko murmurs.

"Yes, I have been up for sometime. I know that I am turning into a demon," Kuwabara answers.

"Yes, so it would seem. Did you by any chance discover a reason for this?"

"No, Koenma wasn't able to figure out why this is happening to me."

"That is most perplexing."

"Well, I am not too worried about it at this point. There is no use worrying over something that you can't help."

"You sure are taking this well, Kuwabara."

"Someone has to."

Yoko chuckles. It was good to see Kuwabara's good humor return. The youth had been rather distraught after that "talk" with Yusuke. Though something had changed between the two. He looks between them to see if anything seemed out of sorts but nothing did…physically anyway. 'What are you two hiding?' he wonders. This was a puzzle indeed and he would solve it.

Kuwabara's seen the intent look on Yoko's face too many times and knows that the fox-demon has realized that something is different between them. 'You keep guessing, Yoko,' he thinks, 'I wonder how long it will take you to figure out the truth.' "What are your plans for tonight?" Ani asks him suddenly. Kuwabara looks at him and out of the corner of his eye sees Yoko looking slightly confused. He smiles.

"Nothing, why? You want to go somewhere? You have been awfully cooped up since you were kidnapped," he answers.

"There's a restaurant in the Makai that's rather quiet. I am not too fond of being around a lot of people."

"I can understand that with the way your hormones have decided to act up. It sounds like a date," the carrot top says his grin widening at the looks on Oto and Yoko's faces. It was obvious that they had no idea what was going on.

"Did we miss something?" the burly demon finally asks looking at both of them. Kuwabara chuckles seeing Ani blush slightly.

"Well, yeah, you did," Kuwabara answers.

"What did we miss?"

"Ani and I agreed to get to know each other better."

"You WHAT!" Yoko, Karasu, and Oto all chorus. Kuronue looks distinctly interested in how the conversation is going. Ani turns a brighter shade of red and mumbles something unintelligible and hides his face in his hands.

"Simply put, we're dating," Kuwabara tells them knowing that this will cause even more reactions from the three demons. A shocked silence fills the room for a few moments before Yoko gets his mouth to work.

"You and Ani are…dating?" he asks. Kuwabara nods grinning wider. From beside him on the back of the couch, Ani lets out what can only be described as a muffled whimper as he's expecting a very bad reaction from his brother.

"When did this happen?" Karasu asks before Oto can open his mouth and say anything.

"We were talking about two hours ago. It just kind of came up," Kuwabara admits. He looks at Ani wondering just what it is he's afraid of and then notices Oto's expression. He finds himself stiffening at the look he's being given. "I will tell you this once, Toguro; you had better watch the next words that come from you because I will not hesitate to hurt you if you upset him." He has no idea where the hell those words came from or why the hell he growls it at Oto but it has its intended affect and Oto keeps quiet. Ani looks up at him in shock. It's now Kuwabara's turn to blush furiously.

"How did you…what was THAT?" the smaller demon asks as he straightens up.

"When I figure that out, I will be glad to tell you," Kuwabara answers rather startled.

"It's probably your demon side," Yoko remarks.

"Wonderful, I growl," Kuwabara grumbles.

"Most people do when they think those that they care about are in trouble." The Kitsune smiles at him. Kuwabara scowls. "Well, it's true. Yusuke's been known to do that when Keiko's in trouble."

"There is growling and then there is growling, Yoko."

"What's the difference?"

"Normal growling sounds natural, what I did sounds…well, evil and threatening."

Yoko chuckles before saying, "That's why I am sure it's your demon side. We have a tendency to sound very evil and aggressive when we think someone we care for is threatened."

"Well, be that as it may, I can't believe he would actually do that to Oto," Karasu comments.

"He was about to say something incredibly stupid to Ani and I was warning him that I wouldn't tolerate it," Kuwabara tells him.

"How could you tell?"

"The look on his face. He has the same expressions Yusuke has and I read him easily. I know what that that expression meant." He feels Ani move on the couch and looks back. The small demon slips off of the couch and disappears out the door. "Poor thing is ill again."

"It's all your fault, you know," Oto comments looking at him. Kuwabara scowls before he realizes that Oto was just teasing him. The burly demon smirks watching the emotions flit across his face.

"Bastard," he grumbles. Oto laughs at that.

"Yes, well, it seems that you might end up related to me so I would get used to it if I were you," the demon chuckles.

"I could endure that…for Ani," he says without thinking. He sees Oto somber quickly and look at him. He stares back.

"Just what is it that you feel for my brother?" the demon asks quietly.

"Why do you want to know?" he returns his own question.

"He's my brother, that's why. I will not allow someone to hurt him…especially someone like you."

"Someone like me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Someone he holds in high regard. He trusts you, Kuwabara. If you hurt him I swear there will be nothing in this or any other world that will protect you from me."

"Oh, and since when do you care about his well-being, Oto? From having watched you two, it never seemed like you really cared about him at all."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, demon!"

Yoko watches in shock as Kuwabara stands up facing Oto who had to be at least four feet taller than him and much, much more muscular. He has no idea what has possessed Kuwabara to do this and he only hopes that the carrot-top doesn't end up dead for it. He looks over at Kuronue and motions for the door. Kuronue takes the hint and slips out in the direction of the room with their children. Yoko slips beside Karasu. "You might want to go keep Ani from coming in here. I don't think he needs to be in the middle of this," he tells the violet-eyed demon. Karasu nods and wordlessly leaves. Yoko moves to the doorway and watches the events unfold.

"What is your issue tonight, Kuwabara?" Oto asks.

"You're the one threatening to hurt me if I do something to Ani. Have you ever thought that you were the reason he was so angry and vengeful throughout the whole damn Dark Tournament? Did you ever listen to him when he was talking to me during our fight? He was angry that you basically ignored him! Gods, the universe doesn't revolve around you, Oto!" Kuwabara snarls back his fists clench and his spirit energy begins to spark around him.

Oto almost looks on the verge of smiling. "Really now, since when does my brother's emotional well-being have anything to do with you?"

"Since I love him, you pretentious bastard!" Kuwabara snaps.

Oto finally gives into the urge and smiles. "Good. That's what I wanted to know."

Kuwabara stares at him for a moment in complete and utter shock. "What the hell just happened?" he asks him. Oto chuckles.

"You passed a test…probably one of the few you have ever managed to," the bulky demon responds. Kuwabara blinks and it takes him a few minutes to realize what the demon is talking about.

"You were deliberately making me angry with you!" he accuses.

"Of course I was. I am not going to let anyone near my brother if I think that they are a danger to him. I wanted to know if you were sincere about this."

"I don't say things I don't mean, Oto!"

"I know, but this is Ani and I don't want anything to happen to him. I might act like an ass sometimes but dammit, I do care about my older brother. He practically raised me on his own."

"Oh."

"He's never had a lover, Kuwabara."

The carrot-top's eyes widen. "What?" he asks faintly.

"He's never had a lover," Oto repeats. Kuwabara takes a moment to digest this information and that's when the truth hits him.

"You mean I was the first to…oh my god," he whispers realizing just what that meant, "I never realized…holy shit!"

"You had better be careful with him because I will make your death painful if you break his heart or endanger his children."

"I won't…gods, I would never live with myself if I did," Kuwabara says softly.

"Are you two arguing?" Ani demands storming in there.

"No," Kuwabara tells him, "Oto was just being a concerned sibling is all."

Ani looks at him closely as if checking to see that he's telling the truth and soon has a satisfied expression. "Good. I wouldn't have been happy with either of you if you were arguing."

Kuwabara changes the subject. "So are you feeling better?" he inquires.

"Yes. At least it seems that I am throwing up less and less," the smaller demon answers.

"Yes, well your increased hormones will more than make up for that, Kuronue says appearing again. This time he has the three little ones.

"I am trying not to think about that, thank you very much," Ani tells him. Kuronue gives him an innocent smile.

"I was just being honest."

"I know you were. I still don't want to think about it. The mood swings I have had have been bad enough."

"Well, you're entitled to them because you are pregnant. I doubt anyone really cares about that."

"Kuronue, I care about that! I hate being so incapable of dealing with anything."

"Hey, it's okay, Ani. None of us mind…well, except Bui but he's an ass and doesn't count," Karasu tells him immediately. Kuwabara chuckles.

"He's more than an ass but we won't get into that conversation, but Karasu is right. We don't mind so much. You are pregnant. We can deal, Ani, honest," the carrot-top tells him.

"Anyone who uses this to blackmail me in the future will face a cruel death by my hands, understand?" the golden-eyed demon demands.

The ones in the room quickly agree, "You had better make sure

Bui understands this."

"He will," Kuwabara assures him. Ani nods looking rather satisfied with the conversation. Kuwabara smiles slightly. How had he not noticed that Ani was rather adorable before? 'Maybe because he was always scowling when you saw him,' his mind answers. That would definitely explain it.

Evening comes and Kuwabara heads out with Ani. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asks.

"Yes. I don't want to spend another minute cooped up in that house with the others. I care for them dearly but there is only so much of them that I want to deal with before I need some fresh air. Plus, I wanted to talk to you privately, and privacy does not exist in that house."

"What exactly did you want to talk to me about?" Kuwabara inquires. Ani looks at him.

"You, of course." He sounds so matter-of-fact that Kuwabara can't help but chuckle.

"That will be a rather boring conversation."

"I don't think so."

"Well I do."

"Let me be the judge of that."

"Okay…I still think that it will be a boring conversation."

Ani chuckles. "I wonder what people will say when they see us sitting at a table together enjoying a meal."

"I only hope that you can keep it down."

"Let's not talk about that right now."

"Okay."

They arrive and the owner looks at them weirdly when they request a table for two in the corner. Ani gives the demon a cold look and he decides that he would rather wonder than get killed by the golden-eyed demon. Both sit across from each other. Kuwabara looks around. "Wow, it's nice in here."

"Yes, this establishment has little patience for really rowdy patrons,"

Ani tells him.

"How many times have you been here?"

"Two or three and mostly because Sakyo was rather fond of the wine they served."

"Interesting."

"Yes, he was a man of as he called it, refined tastes."

"You don't agree?"

"That man was as refined as the ashtray he used."

Kuwabara chuckles. "You really didn't like him did you?"

"No, not at all. I was always really tempted to skewer him but of course, I couldn't. He was a paying client after all."

"Of course. Get the money and THEN kill the idiot."

"That was definitely a thought, but enough about Sakyo. I personally don't want to talk about that pompous wind-bag."

"Okay. So, what do you want to know?"

Ani doesn't get a chance to answer as a very angry voice cuts in. "What the hell are you two doing?" Yusuke demands storming over. Ani looks up at him with a trace of irritancy.

"Having dinner. Do you have a problem with that, Yusuke?" he asks.

"You two are having dinner TOGETHER? I don't think so," the black-haired demon growls.

Kuwabara scowls at him. "Look, Yusuke, we have been over and over this. You have to get over yourself and your grudges because no one else cares. Go away and let us eat in peace," the carrot-top snarls. He is not in the mood to deal with demons and their overtly large egos.

Yusuke doesn't take the hint but the moment he goes to say another word, he's belted across the restaurant. Kuwabara stares at the figure standing there in shock. "What are you doing here, Bui?" he asks.

"Looking out for you two it would seem," the blue-haired axe-wielder answers looking in Yusuke's direction. The brown-eyed demon scowls.

"Since when do you protect him? I didn't think you liked the midget,"

Yusuke spits at him.

"You're confusing Ani with Oto. I might not be able to really stand Oto, but I have no quarrel with Ani. I also don't particularly care for you, either, detective," Bui answers.

The owner approaches. "Gentlemen, I am going to have to ask you both to take this outside," he says. Bui smirks before he moves with lightning speed and he picks Yusuke up by the back of his pants. He holds the demon up and calmly walks to the door before chucking him bodily from the restaurant. He turns around.

"Sorry, I just had to remove the trash," he says to the demon who just shakes his head and walks back to where he had been just moments before. Bui walks back over to the table with Kuwabara and Ani. "You two are going to have fun with that detective once he figures out why you would be sitting at a table for two. I would be very careful."

Ani reacts by hugging him tightly completely startling the axe-wielder and making Kuwabara snicker. Bui looks down at Ani. "Umm…you're welcome…now please, let go, you're scaring me." Kuwabara walks over and pulls him to him still chuckling. "Barking made, the lot of you," the axe-wielder mumbles as he walks to the door, "You two enjoy yourselves and don't do anything improper!"

"Go home, Bui!" Kuwabara calls back to him before pulling Ani into his lap. "You have the craziest teammates I have ever met. That one can't decide whether he likes or hates you."

"I think I prefer him hating me. Then I am not so tempted to hug him," Ani comments as he leans his head on Kuwabara's shoulder. "We are so going to have rumors spread around tomorrow for this."

"I don't mind all that much," Kuwabara answers, "I am not well-known in the Makai so I don't really care…unless of course it bothers you?"

"No, this is one reputation I wouldn't mind having. I just don't think I want them to now the rest of the story."

"They won't. I will make sure that does get out until we are all ready to deal with what that revelation will bring."

Ani looks up at him but doesn't say a word. His golden eyes are swimming with emotion so he just leans his head back down and hides his face against Kuwabara's shoulder. Some how he was going to figure out just what it was he was feeling for the carrot-top. He just wonders what will come of that realization. "Are you all right?" Kuwabara asks concerned.

"Fine," Ani says, his voice muffled from being against his shoulder.

Kuwabara smiles slightly and rests his head atop Ani's. He notices the looks on the other patrons' faces and knows that Ani is right about having rumors spread about the two of them. A wry smile crosses his lips and he wonders how Yusuke will take to figuring out that they were dating. 'Things are only going to get more interesting,' he thinks.