Talent for Love

Chapter 3

Two weeks came and went slowly and painfully for Hiei since his one hundredth birthday. Every morning since, he'd been rushing to the bathroom to empty the contents of his stomach violently into the toilet. Kurama was often woken by the jostling in the bed and proceeded to follow his little fire demon and sooth his back while he wretched. Often, the kitsune would advise that Hiei seek medical attention.

"I...can't." Hiei panted one morning after a rather violent bout of nausea. "I'm a demon, Kurama!"

"Then we'll travel to the Makai," Kurama suggested. "We can find someone there who'll know what's wrong."

"I'm fine." Hiei insisted. "It's just...just a bug."

Kurama grew increasingly worried over the next week. Hiei's strength seemed to be sapped by something. He spent most of the day in bed, resting. Then, when he wasn't asleep, the fire demon spent his left over time eating. This wasn't any kind of normal eating either, no, Hiei had taken to eating nearly everything in sight. Within three days, he'd emptied the entire contents of the fridge and then complained that Kurama didn't go shopping often enough. Kurama, of course, restocked the fridge and lectured Hiei on eating only what he needed to fill his stomach. This naturally didn't work, for the demon continued his ravenous habits right after his lecture.

One morning, nearly a month after Hiei's birthday, Kurama stood in the kitchen making breakfast when he was interrupted by a disgruntled shout. Nearly dropping the plate he was holding, the kitsune dashed up the stairs to find Hiei in their bedroom, glaring down at his pants which lay on the floor.

"Hiei," Kurama gave a confused look. "What's wrong?" He approached the angry fire demon and picked up the clothing on the floor.

Hiei's face turned bright red and he turned away from his fox. He muttered something very incoherent.

"What?"

Hiei looked down at the floor, his face only becoming more red as he repeated his mumbling.

"I can't understand you. You have to speak louder."

"I said I can't get them on!" the fire demon snapped.

Kurama looked down at the pants he held, then back at Hiei. "Try once more."

Snatching up the pants, Hiei again tried to pull them on. He managed to get them over his hips, but they just didn't seem to want to button. While Hiei struggled with this, Kurama tried his hardest not to laugh. "Why won't they fit, fox?" Hiei turned huge confused eyes on his lover.

Kurama bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't know how to break this to you, love. But it seems you've gained weight."

"No, I haven't." Hiei protested, his eyes slanting to a glare.

"Hiei, you've been eating us nearly out of house and home. You didn't expect to get away with it carefree, did you?" Kurama asked.

Hiei stared down at the ground again. "I don't know why, but I've been really hungry lately..."

"And that's alright, it probably has something to do with you throwing up every morning," Kurama explained, putting his hand on Hiei's shoulder. "You just need to eat a little less."

Hiei looked up into his fox's emerald eyes. "Okay."

"Until then, you can wear a pair of my jeans. I'll cut them for you."

So life went on as it normally did for another week. Hiei was now wearing a pair of Kurama's old jeans which had been cut to fit him properly. He still continued to eat everything in sight, seeming a bit upset about his increased appetite. Some days he'd go into the bathroom and stare at the scale, as if wanting to step on it and weigh himself to see just how much he'd gained, but he never did.

Kurama had noticed over the course of the week that Hiei was giving off an odd scent. Being a kitsune, Kurama's sense of smell was nearly ten times greater than that of an average human, so he could easily sniff out this new fragrance that was coming off his lover. The problem was, he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. It was something he'd never smelled before in his life, something very new, and it thrilled him. He had taken to smelling Hiei nearly every chance he got, and was becoming infatuated with the smell he was giving off. The kitsune simply couldn't keep away, it was as if the smell was drawing him in; an intoxicating lust potion.

Hiei lay curled up on the couch one afternoon after lunch and Kurama sat in the kitchen sorting out the bills. The redhead just couldn't concentrate, that smell was getting to him again. He balled his fists and grit his teeth, it was taking nearly every ounce of his being not to pounce on his fire demon right then and there. Finally, after nearly ten minutes of staring at the gorgeous being on the couch, Kurama ran from his seat and straddled his demon.

Hiei stirred, furrowing his eyebrows and moaning in his sleep, trying to get away. "Fox...not now."

Kurama threw the blanket from the couch and had already started taking off the fire demon's clothes. "I need you," he whispered harshly. "You're driving me insane." With this, he crushed his lips against that of the smaller demon's.

Hiei's eyes shot wide open, staring shockingly at the look of desire on his mate's face. Kurama was nearly drooling as he reached to unbutton Hiei's pants. "What's gotten into you?"

Kurama seemed not to hear him as he slid down Hiei's body, leaving a trail of lustful kisses. He reached his mate's member, licking its tip, looking devilishly up at Hiei to see him let out a sharp gasp.

It wasn't that he was complaining, no, this felt more than wonderful to Hiei. He was just curious as to why Kurama was acting so sexual all of the sudden. Usually, he was the one who would randomly get horny, and Kurama would have to take care of him, but now the roles were reversed. As Kurama took his member into his mouth, Hiei wondered what exactly he was doing that was "driving Kurama insane."

The fox ran his tongue up and down the length of the member in his mouth, taking in its taste and smooth texture. Eventually, he started to swirl it around, causing Hiei to arch his back and start moaning. Grinning, Kurama ran his teeth along Hiei's penis, earning a very loud moan from his mate.

"K-Kurama..." Hiei's knuckles were turning white as he gripped onto the sides of the couch. He was arching his pelvis into Kurama's mouth, wanting more. If it were up to him, he'd like to have his whole body inside of Kurama's mouth. His head was thrown back as Kurama slipped two fingers into his entrance. He gritted his teeth together to keep from screaming. With no preparation this could be quite painful, but Kurama never hurt Hiei.

Exploring inside, Kurama struck Hiei's prostate, sending him quivering and moaning. The fire demon was shaking underneath his mate, unable to be silenced. A few more strokes sent Hiei over the edge. He spilled his seed inside of Kurama's mouth.

Kurama let the member slip out as he swallowed the seed of his lover, savoring every last bit of it. He still had a devilish look of lust plastered over his usually calm face.

Hiei was panting when Kurama came back up to his face, locking their lips. "T-Take me..."

That, it seemed, would have to wait until another time, for the second Hiei said it, there was a knock at the door. Kurama was instantly snapped out of his trance, hopping off the smaller demon. "Get your clothes on!" he whispered hurriedly.

Hiei struggled to get dressed as Kurama walked to the door, looking out the window. "It's Yukina." he called. Hiei finished getting clothed and fixed his hair up a bit before Kurama opened the front door, putting on a mask to cover what had just happened.

"Yukina, hello!"

"Hello, Kurama-san," Yukina greeted, giving her usual sweet smile. "May I come in?"

"Of course." Kurama replied, stepping aside and letting the ice maiden into the home he shared with her brother.

Yukina's face lit up the second she spotted her brother sitting awkwardly on the couch. "Nii-san!" she crossed the room and threw her arms around him, giving him a great big hug. "I haven't seen you since our birthday! How have you been?"

A blush crossed Hiei's face. No matter how many times Yukina embraced him, he felt he'd never get used to it. Being a big brother was still very new to him, and he still had no idea how to act or what to do half of the time. "F-Fine..."

Yukina released him and sat beside him, smiling brilliantly as usual. "That's great!"

Kurama, having watched this little display of sibling love from the threshold, closed the door and walked over to his large leather chair. He sat down, smiling and observing the twins, wishing he didn't have to relieve the tension Hiei was feeling. "So, Yukina, what brings you all the way out here?"

The ice maiden turned her eyes toward the kitsune, her smile dimming slightly. "Well, actually, it's about the baby I'm supposedly carrying..."

Kurama furrowed his brows as he watched her play with the bottom of her sweater nervously. He sensed something was wrong, Yukina seemed upset.

The koorime lifted her head, staring back at Kurama again. "I've been unable to sense it."

Kurama gave a confused look. "That's...odd..."

Yukina nodded slightly, looking down at the floor once again. "It should be far enough along to have its own ki. It shouldn't be this difficult to sense, that's why I fear something is wrong." She paused and looked over at Hiei. "That's why I came to see you, Nii-san. Your gifted eye must be able to sense it. Please, can you check and make sure everything is alright?"

Hiei stared back into the eyes that were an exact replica of his own, and gave a nod. "Of course." He then reached up and began untying the headband from his forehead. "Just remain as relaxed as possible, it'll be easier for me to distinguish between the baby's ki and your ki that way." The cloth slipped away to reveal a lidded eye directly centered on Hiei's forehead. Upon closing his two normal eyes, the large purple Jagan opened and gazed around the room for a moment before focusing on Yukina. Through the eye, Hiei could distinctly make out the glowing blue ki that was flowing through Yukina's body. He scanned over her figure, focusing everything on her abdomen, hoping to find what he was looking for.

During this time, Yukina sat as still as possible, her demonic heart rate a bit abnormal. Kurama had come to stand by her side and hold her hand to relieve some of her stress and worry, but it didn't seem to be doing much good. The kitsune looked on with a worried expression; it was taking Hiei much longer than it should have.

Ten full minutes passed before the Jagan closed and Hiei's crimson eyes opened again. The room seemed to spin for a moment and the fire demon had to blink several times before everything came back into focus.

"Well?" Kurama asked.

"D-Did you sense it, Nii-san?"

Hiei looked down and bit his lip. Yukina's heart seemed to stop as he shook his head. "I...I don't know why, but I couldn't pick up anything. I could only sense your ki and nothing else. I-I'm sorry, Yukina..."

Yukina turned sad eyes on the floor once again and she gave a sniffle. "I-It's alright, Nii-san. T-Thank you..."

Hiei looked on as a Hiruseki stone fell onto the floor with a small clank. Kurama was the first to embrace the tiny crying ice maiden, his heart going out to her.

"I-I don't understand!" Yukina cried, hugging onto her brother after Kurama had done all he could in trying to calm her down. "N-None of it makes any sense!"

- - -

It took hours to calm Yukina down and about fifteen minutes to find and pick up all of the fallen Hiruseki stones, but at least when the koorime left she was stable once again. She said she had to go home and rest for a while, that she wasn't feeling that well. Neither Kurama nor Hiei could blame her. They had both gone back to their usual activities once the ice maiden had left.

Hiei lay on the couch once more, trying to continue his nap. His crimson eyes were attempting to bore a hole into the ceiling. He was so confused, so frustrated and angry, yet so upset. He knew how much that child meant to his sister, how much she must be hurting right now. He couldn't bare to see her in pain, yet when she was right in front of him crying her heart out, he could do nothing but hold her in his arms. He'd never know that kind of pain, what it must be like to lose a child.

"You're worried about her, aren't you?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, the fire demon's eyes came down from the ceiling to rest on Kurama, who stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable. The red haired man walked forward and sat down on the couch by Hiei's feet. His gentle green eyes stared lovingly at the demon in front of him. "I'm here if you need to talk, Hiei."

Talk? Hiei almost never needed to talk. Especially about his feelings, that was something he kept bolted up inside, locked away in the deepest depths of his heart. Yet, this time was different. He did need to talk, and before he could stop himself, it all came pouring out. "I just don't understand! A new Koorime baby is only born every one hundred years! On their one hundredth birthday, a Koorime becomes pregnant and is destined to give birth to a girl child! Then why didn't it work out that way for Yukina?! Why?!"

Tears were beginning to weld up in his eyes. It was pointless to keep them in now, they were clearly visible, he couldn't hide them from Kurama, and so he let them fall. "She wanted that child...She would have been a great mother! It just isn't fair! It doesn't make sense! Why her?! Why Yukina?!"

Before he had the chance to continue his ranting, Kurama leaned forward and pulled him to his chest, holding him tightly in his arms. He rocked him back and forth, soothing his back and Hiei cried almost uncontrollably.

"I know it hurts," Kurama said, tears streaming down his porcelain cheeks. "But it'll be alright...She'll get over this, Hiei, she will. She just needs some help. You'll be able to give her the help she needs when Kuwabara can't comfort her. You can do that, can't you?"

The small half-koorime nodded, his violent sobs having ended a minute before. He sniffled and tried to catch his breath as the last of his Hiruseki fell from his eyes.

Kurama smiled and ran a gentle hand through Hiei's soft black hair. "You're a wonderful brother, Koi..."

- - -

Long after the sun had set, they received an urgent call from Yusuke who said that Koenma had a new mission for him. The four had agreed to meet up at the park so that Yusuke could tell Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara the details. Before the two left, Kurama made sure Hiei was perfectly alright, and that he wouldn't accidently let the Yukina incident leak out. Kurama had said that Yukina needed to be the one to tell Kuwabara or anyone else what had happened. Once Hiei had promised not to say a word, the two took off.

The demons arrived as quickly as they could, finding Yusuke and Kuwabara sitting on a park bench when they got there.

"Alright, so here's the deal," Yusuke began. "Koenma said some lowlife demon got through the barrier. He said it isn't that big a deal, since the demon isn't that powerful, but the bastard attacked a ningen child this afternoon and apparently killed her. He's asking us to get rid of him before he causes any more trouble."

"Should be simple enough." Kurama replied, smiling casually.

"I can take him on by myself! Just point out the way!" Kuwabara boasted, leaping to his feet.

Yusuke rose to his feet as well, patting his orange-haired friend on the shoulder. "That's the catch. Pacifier breath said that this demon has a unique ability to almost completely mask his ki. We won't be able to sense him with our powers alone." Yusuke looked over at Hiei and Kurama. "That's why I asked you two to come. If I had the Jagan, I could have done this by myself!"

Hiei crossed his arms and glared up at the raven-haired human. "Hn, is that all I'm good for lately?"

"Yes." Kuwabara quickly answered.

"Don't make me kill you."

"Is that a threat, shrimp?!"

"Hn, if you weren't so dumb, you could have figured that out yourself."

"That's it, bring it on! I'll clobber you!"

Yusuke quickly jumped between the two before a fight broke out. "Gentlemen, I believe I called you here for us to track a demon, not so I could watch Hiei beat the crap out of you, Kuwabara."

"HEY!"

Kurama stifled a laugh behind his hand. His friend were certainly entertaining, and it seemed Hiei was back to his usual self. Maybe a little fresh air was all he needed to feel better. "Hiei,"

"I'm on it." The half-koorime closed his eyes and the Jagan opened for the second time that day. Every sound of the Ningenkai was silenced as the eye searched the town for a demon presence. Hiei was so concentrated, he couldn't hear Kuwabara yelling at him.

"I swear, shrimp! One of these days I'm gonna deck ya so hard you'll never make funna me again!"

"Kuwabara, forget about it, man!" Yusuke laughed, dropping back down onto the bench and waiting.

"But why's he always gotta do that?!" Kuwabara asked, looking down at the spirit detective.

Yusuke gave a shrug. "You started it."

"I did not!"

"Did too."

"Did not! Right, Kurama?"

Kurama stopped his laughing and put on a serious face. "I'm afraid this time you did, Kuwabara."

Kuwabara crossed his arms and glared at nothing in particular. "Well, it doesn't matter. The shrimp was way outta line."

Kurama gave Kuwabara a smile before turning around to face Hiei again and check on the progress of tracking this demon. "Hiei, have you found him ye–"

Suddenly, Hiei's small form began to fall forward, but Kurama was there before it even hit the ground. "HIEI! HIEI!"

Yusuke and Kuwabara snapped out of their argument and rushed over to their fallen comrade. "What happened?!" Yusuke asked, bending down as Kurama set Hiei down on the ground.

"I-I don't know..." Kurama replied, clearly very worried. "He just fainted..."

Hiei's face was pale, his breathing irregular. Something was wrong; the Jagan never drained him this much before. The fact that he used it twice in one day shouldn't have effected him this much either. He had had it opened for much longer periods of time. Kurama thought about all of this as he watched Hiei's eyelids slowly begin to flutter open.

"Hiei," Kurama was holding his hand and looking down worriedly at him. "Hiei, are you alright?"

Hiei blinked several times, wondering how he got on the ground. "What...happened?"

"You fainted." Yusuke bluntly replied.

"Maybe because of that Jagan thingy." Kuwabara put in.

Kurama shook his head and slowly helped Hiei to sit up. "He's used it for much longer periods than he has today...Something is wrong with you, I told you you should have seen a doctor."

"I won't." Hiei replied with as tough a voice as he could muster in his current condition. The world was still spinning before him as Kurama held him sitting up.

"Has he been sick or somethin'?" Yusuke asked, bending down to look at Hiei more closely. The fire demon simply glared.

"He's been throwing up quite a lot lately, especially in the morning. He's also been sleeping a lot, much more than usual. He seems to have no energy." Kurama explained as Yusuke retreated several steps back upon hearing Hiei growl at him.

Kuwabara gave out a laugh. "Sounds like a pregnant woman!"

At this, Yusuke burst into laughter as well. "HAHAHA! Have anything to tell us, Hiei?! HA!"

Kurama helped Hiei to his feet and gave a stern look to his friends. "Please, don't pester him. He isn't feeling well."

Yusuke's laughter died down as he wiped the tears from his eyes and sighed. "Alright, alright. Can ya at least tell us where the demon is? You two can go home, Kuwabara and I can handle this."

"Three miles south of here." Hiei replied as he leaned on Kurama.

Yusuke nodded. "Great! We'll take care of that then. Feel better!" He gave a wave before running off.

"Yeah, feel better, shrimp!" Kuwabara said as he took off after Yusuke.

Kurama watched them for a moment before looking down at Hiei. He knew instantly that the little fire demon didn't have enough strength to walk all the way home, so he gently scooped his mate up into his arms. "Just hang on, I'll get you home as quickly as I can."

Hiei wrapped his arms around Kurama's neck and nuzzled into the fox's chest, giving a nod. As soon as he was comfortable, Kurama took off back to their home.

- - -

Author's Corner

-stretches and sighs- Wow...this chapter took forever to write. I'm VERY sorry that it's taken so long...I've been busy with college lately, and anime club...Not to mention the fact that one of my cats landed on my laptop and shut it with such force that the screen cracked!!! So, I've hooked up my poor laptop to a monitor, and I'm currently using that as a very "ghetto" computer.

As I said before, I've planned out the next chapter of this already, so hopefully it won't take as long for me to write it. I hope you'll all still be eager to read it once it's out!!!

Thanks so much for the reviews and support! I'll finish this story even if it means the death of me! MUAHAHA!!!

-Colie

Oh yeah, and if you'd like to read some really great HieixKurama fics, check out my friend's stories. Her name is CandidIshida. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, YAMI-CHANNN!!! -waves frantically-