A/N: Yes, I am aware that my chapters are getting shorter. I desperately need a beta. However, I plan to be updating more frequently to make up for that. This is my second within...a week? Or something. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it!

Reviewers have, as always, my gratitude. You are the reason this story gets written.

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Hiei, back in his newly locked room, sat in the windowsill staring out at the rain that was pouring down in buckets. The sky was a rather gloomy looking grey color, devoid of any light, save the brief flashes that accompanied the lightning.

He had somewhat of an idea now about what he was going to do. To escape, that is. Force had proved futile, but there was another way. Words weren't his strong suit, but he would have to try to trust him enough. Prove to them that he didn't want trouble, wasn't going to annoy, and then get out as quick as possible.

He was currently engaging in step one: staying away from trouble. He hadn't made a move toward the door in three days. He thanked the man who brought him dinner—unsurprisingly, Boton hadn't been back since the day he got out, though whether for her safety or to keep him in control he couldn't tell. It didn't matter either way. At least he could begin his "reform" with a clean slate.

It was rather boring, being good. Not something he did on a regular basis. At least, he consoled himself, it was only for a little while. Not a permanent change. He heard voices outside his door, and glanced over in time to see it creak open to admit two people.

One he recognized as the orange haired, rather slow man who brought food. Only, this time he was empty handed. The other was a tall, heavily muscled, blue haired man carrying a bottle. Hiei wrinkled his nose. He could smell the tequila.

"Well then, I see Kurama's kept his promise." The blue haired man observed in a heavy Australian accent. "Cheers to 'im" He tilted his head back and took a swig of the alcohol.

The other human shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so. But Kurama always keeps his promises. He's noble like that."

"Awright, Kuwabara mate. You gonna help me get this fella downstairs or what?" The Australian grinned, eying Hiei eagerly.

Hiei was confused. He didn't let it show.

"Kurama says he won't give any trouble once we explain it to him," Kuwabara, as Hiei now knew, said. He turned to Hiei, "Kurama thinks we should give you a chance to get some exercise." His expression showed just how much he agreed with that idea.

The big man spoke again, "We should have some fun with it. But first you've got to cooperate with us."

Kuwabara nodded, "Training room's downstairs."

And it all clicked into place. Hiei stood up, obligingly, and waited. Kuwabara looked rather surprised. The Australian looked merely amused, and led the way out the door. Hiei felt confident he could overpower the two of them and make a run for it…but then he remembered the last episode with the plants. Besides, he was curious. Excluding the mistake with Kurama, it had been a while since he'd had a good fight.

So he let them lead him out the room and down the stairs. He let them pull him into the training room and toss a set of new, loose clothes at him. He even humored the men by wearing them. And then they showed him the arena.

The room he had first been taken to was nothing special. It was an ordinary weight room, complete with all the machines you would see in an average gym. The only thing that didn't belong was the vast metal door that covered the far wall. When it began to slide noisily open, he realized he had underestimated the power of money yet again.

Inside stood four or five people, each one entirely unique. The first one he saw was a young brown haired boy, who leapt up eagerly to greet Hiei's companions.

"Hey Chu! You got him!" the little boy enthused, grinning from ear to ear as he fiddled around with a child's toy—a yo-yo, Hiei decided. Chu must have been the Australian, because he was the one to answer.

"Right you are mate. Didn't I tell you he wouldn't be no trouble?"

"Any trouble," a woman corrected, flipping a strand of brown hair over her shoulder. She took a puff on the cigarette held loosely between her fingers and blew out smoke, "The least you can do to make up for that accent is to use proper English."

The dark haired man next to her smiled fondly at the woman before shifting his cold eyes back to Hiei. Their gazes locked, and Hiei found himself caught in a staring contest. He won, as expected, and his eyes drifted to the straight scar on the man's cheek. It looked old.

Then there was, of course, Kurama. Hiei himself wasn't sure why he had avoided looking at that one—Kurama was the first person he noticed upon entering the room. He looked up, forcing himself to meet the green eyes squarely. Kurama smiled slightly, but it was genuine. Hiei's stomach dropped. He blamed it on lack of food. Feelings were for fools.

"Enough picking on my grammar sweetheart. Let's get this party started," Chu directed the last part at Hiei. Hiei smirked, more than willing to comply. If the fool thought he had an easy victory coming up, he was dead wrong.

Hiei walked deliberately up to the circular ring drawn in the center of the room, and caught the wooden sword that was tossed to him. He hefted it; the balance was off, but it would do. He felt a brief pang of longing for his katana, probably locked up somewhere in one of Kurama's closets.

He shook it off and faced his opponent. Chu had entered the ring as well, unarmed and still carrying his bottle of liquor. Odd. He seriously intended to fight with only his fists and his drink. Perhaps the alcohol would ease the pain he would feel once Hiei was through with him. Hiei wasn't one to grudge him his release.

They stood motionless, facing each other. Kurama eyed the two fighters intently. He knew what the outcome of the fight would be, naturally, but he was curious to see exactly how it would play out.

Hiei's curiosity was almost palpable as everyone silently watched Chu take the last swig of his drink and toss the bottle aside, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and belching loudly.

"There, then." He said, shifting into a fighting stance, "Now I'm ready for you."

Hiei needed no further invitation. He sprang immediately, and the fight began. Kurama watched, carefully considering each move and its result. He already knew all there was to know about Chu's technique. It was Hiei's he was interested in now.

Kurama drew his first conclusion after watching Chu pull out his Drunken Fist attack. Hiei, for all his supernatural speed, wasn't able to dodge fully and came away bleeding from the torso. After that, the fight finished in five minutes with Hiei's hands locked around Chu's neck until the man was blue in the face. Apparently he didn't react well to new developments, but adapted fairly quickly after the initial surprise.

"That's enough, Hiei," Kurama called after a minute. Hiei's hands loosened and he sat back on his heels, watching Chu massage his throat and gasp for air.

"Well, damn" he wheezed, "if that wasn't a good one. Li'l bit short for my taste though."

Hiei didn't respond. He dropped the wooden weapon and stood, staring off at nothing in particular. Kurama's curiosity was aroused. He dismissed the others quickly, beckoning for Hiei to follow him.

Shizuru paused as she passed, touching Kurama's arm lightly. "Watch what you say around him," she said, "One careless comment might just put him out of reach forever."

Kurama opened his mouth to demand clarification, and then closed it. She was gone. Besides, she probably wasn't quite sure what she meant herself. He had more pressing matters to attend to. Such as the small fire demon standing before him.

"If that was your idea of exercise, I'm disappointed." Hiei remarked.

Kurama chose to ignore that, eyeing the still bleeding wound on Hiei's torso. "I can take care of that, if you'd like. Come with me."

He turned and left, not bothering to check and see if Hiei was following. He didn't need to. They walked together up to Kurama's bedroom, and Hiei took a chair. Kurama closed the door quietly, noticing with amusement how his companion went rigid.

"Calm down. I won't bite you," he smirked, rummaging around in a drawer for some antiseptic and a bandage.

Hiei grunted in response, but his eyes continued to follow Kurama's every move. The redhead found what he was looking for, and approached Hiei's chair.

"You'll need to remove your shirt." He said, clearly amused. Hiei growled and jerked the shirt up over his head, displaying the pale skin of his chest and stomach. Kurama's pulse quickened, but he forced himself to calm down. It wouldn't do to spring a move here, at this time.

To distract himself he focused on the other man's wound. It was a shallow gash, but burned very badly in the area. With steady hands he applied salve to the injuries and tore off strips of bandage to wind around. Hiei remained still as a statue throughout the entire ministration, not meeting Kurama's eyes.

"There." Kurama announced, taping the end of the fabric securely into place, "You're done. It should be healing even as we speak."

Hiei made a noncommittal noise, and Kurama hid a smile, realizing that was all the thanks he was liable to get.

Instead Hiei rose fluidly, seemingly ignoring his wound, and gazed around the room. "This is your room?"

"It is," Kurama confirmed, staring hard at Hiei.

Hiei noticed, and glared back. He still couldn't shake off the feeling that there had been more motives involved in that fight than concern for his muscle tone.

"Who was the girl?" He asked simply to break the uncomfortable silence, not because he was really interested. Interestingly enough, silence was a tactic he used often—but wasn't one he was accustomed to having turned against him. He had been softened by all the time spent around talkative Yusuke, and forgotten what it was to deal with someone who had a sharper edge.

"Shizuru? She's the cook. She also has an uncanny knack for predicting events and seeing through lies." He smiled again, but it didn't touch his eyes this time, "She's not one to cross."

Hiei snorted, unconvinced. He decided to stop beating about the bush and ask the man straight out, "What was that all about? And don't feed me some nonsense about entertainment."

Kurama's eyes sparked mischievously, "But it was entertaining. Especially the expression on your face when Chu finally landed a hit."

Hiei's expression darkened. His jaw tightened, and he strode toward the door, fully intending to make his exit. Kurama reached it a moment before he did, and pressed his back against it. Hiei skidded to a stop, just barely managing to keep his forehead from smacking into Kuramas. Their faces were very close. Hiei could hear his heart beat once. Twice. He meant to pull away, but found himself mesmerized by those clear green eyes, so deep he could feel himself falling, falling…

He stumbled back a step, scowling at Kurama. There was an unfamiliar, almost wild expression in the redhead's eyes. He closed them briefly, and when they opened again he was back in control.

"Maybe it's best you leave now," he said quietly. "Do you need a guide back to your room?"

"No." Although, Hiei was sure he had no idea where to go. Anywhere was better than in that room, with him. Kurama stepped away from the door to let him pass, and Hiei walked slowly, head held high, until he heard the door close behind him. Then he broke into a run.

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Sooo...any good? I really can't seem to stay away from the fighting, can I? Please leave questions, comments, concerns, anything in the form of a review.

Love, Heartbeat101