The Fifteenth Day

(A Lunar New Year tradition)

With a sigh, she looked down at the orange in her hand, the orange that she had been lucky enough to pick up off the sidewalk after it had fallen out of another girl's grocery bag, the girl hadn't turned around at her shouting. She envied girls like that, girls who were running to catch up with their friends, not running to get to places faster, running to make more time to study…running away from monsters.

Kagome Higurashi did not have time for friends. Kagome Higurashi could not afford to waste time simply "hanging out" in the park, or WacDonald's, or anyone's house. Kagome Higurashi had no time for love. Kagome Higurashi did not have time to work. Kagome Higurashi barely had time to sleep. All Kagome Higurashi had time for was to study, study, study. All Kagome Higurashi had time for was to fight, fight, fight. All Kagome Higurashi had time for was to pray, pray, pray that all her studying paid off, that she lived through each battle.

This time of year, girls usually gave chocolate to their love interests, and to their friends and family. She'd absently noticed the chocolate mania last time she'd gone shopping to restock her bag of supplies. But those girls who didn't have anyone special in mind had another tradition. If she hadn't alienated her friends so long ago, she imagined she'd have been standing here with them, giggling. If they had been here earlier tonight, she didn't know. She had arrived here later than most others, out of breath from running, just in time to borrow a marker from one of the remaining groups of girls.

She looked down at the orange in her hands, then tossed it into the lazy river.

Apparently, Kagome Higurashi had time for a moment of whimsy.

The men usually arrived a little later than the women, as the oranges took a while to travel downstream to the usual spot. The group of spirit detectives arrived later than most because Hiei was…well, being Hiei. Judging by the glare, he certainly didn't appreciate being bound and gagged by Kurama's most fire-resistant youkai plants.

His foul mood didn't stop the others from cheering as the last of the oranges bobbed in the slow current of the river and were retrieved by the few men remaining. Kuwabara, the most spirited by the event, rushed into the river to retrieve an orange, followed by Yusuke, while Kurama waited patiently by the bank for his. By the time they'd all gotten theirs, the riverbank was empty, as was the river.

Yusuke looked around. "Man, I don't know why we brought Hiei. Even if there had been another one, it's not like he would have cared. Would've been more for us."

"That's no way to treat a lady, Urameshi!"

"Whatever."

"Don't make assumptions so quickly, you two," Kurama interrupted. He pointed upriver, where a single orange was floating towards them. He reached into his hair for a seed to form his vine whip, using it to catch the orange fruit. He held it for a moment before placing it by Hiei, still bound and gagged and ignoring them all.

Kurama looked pointedly at his other two teammates, who shrugged, and guided them away from the riverbank.

When Hiei sensed they were at least a couple miles away, he felt the vines loosen. Given the choice between dealing with them all again and continuing to ignore them all, he chose the latter.

He looked at the orange Kurama had left to him. It was just like the others, a fruit with a series of numbers written in black ink on it, but when he picked it up, he felt a tingle of energy. Like a caress and a homing beacon all in one, it was more useful to him than a phone number. Not one to let anything go to waste, he peeled the fruit and bit into it.

It was sweet.

AN: Inspired by a tradition from Malaysia and Singapore. Takes place on the fifteenth day of Lunar New Year. According to Wikipedia: "The taste is an indication of their possible love: sweet represents a good fate while sour represents a bad fate."