2. Ofcourse I'm Alright
Hiei sat in the park, merely passing time. He knew Kurama would wake soon, then they could travel to Genkai's temple to continue their training. He had been acting strangely lately, and Hiei was determined to get to the bottom of it. Usually, he wouldn't care. It wasn't his business, it didn't affect him, so why get involved? When it came to Kurama, he couldn't help it. From the branch he stood on, through the darkness he could see light coming over the horizon. 'He'll be up soon, I'll make my way over there' He thought. Instead of his usual speed which made him almost invisible to the untrained eye, he took his time as he walked towards Kurama's apartment. Kurama had moved out of his mother's house, though it barely seemed like it. Whenever he was there, she was bound to show up at one point to make sure everything was alright with him. "They truly love each other" Hiei thought outloud, "a mother and son. Not even a real son, but she loves him regardless…how strange."
Kurama had left out most of the details ofcourse, but he had informed his mother of his true identity. He had told her about being a demon, and escaping to the human world in order to survive. Much to everyone's surprise, she loved him just the same. With his Jagan, he could see it was not just an act either, she truly loved her son, regardless of the fact he was truly a demon.
When he arrived, he noticed the light in the apartment was already on. 'strange' Hiei thought, 'I guess he's up already. I'll let myself in then' and so he did. He entered through the window, as Kurama kept the door locked but not the window. Upon landing, he looked up at Kurama, who was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking exhausted. He slowly turned his head to look at Hiei, gold eyes shining in the dimly lit room.
"Any demon could enter through that window you know. You should be more careful" Hiei said, hands in his pocket, looking down.
"I knew it was you" Kurama said softly. Hiei knew this already, he knew Kurama knew his energy print and his scent, that wasn't his point. It was him entering the window today, but what about tomorrow? Kurama looked half dead, he barely seemed to notice when Hiei entered at all. He was just worried about his fox.
"Hn" was all he could manage. Kurama smiled weakly at him, and went to pick out todays clothes. "Are you alright?" Hiei asked without thinking. What a stupid thing to say. He already knew what the response would be, true or not.
"Ofcourse I'm alright Hiei" Yup. Why ask questions when he already knew the response? But he knew he was lying.
"Shut up. You look half dead. What's on your mind?" He tried again, wording his question a bit better this time.
"Nothing. I'm just tired." Kurama answered, as he laid out his usual fighting clothes on the bed.
"You haven't been sleeping. Why not?" Hiei asked, turning so his back was to Kurama so he could change in a bit more privacy.
"Because I'm human now Hiei. It happens to us sometimes. It's normal." Kurama answered shortly as he tied the tie around his waist.
"Your body is human, but your mind is not. You can't lie to me, or my Jagan Kurama. I know something is on your mind." Hiei replied.
"Stay out of my mind Hiei." Kurama warned.
"Stupid fox, I just said your mind is not human. You have strong mental barriers up, I would have to hurt you to break them if I wanted into your head. And I'd rather you tell me yourself." He added. Kurama let out a sigh. He looked into the hand mirror again. His eyes were slowly turning back to green.
"I've just been having odd dreams that are causing a lack of sleep. It's not a big deal." He said. Not a big deal. How could it be? It's all in the past now. Hiei looked at him suspiciously, but let it go. He'll open up when he's ready, if that ever happens.
"Alright. Let's go." He said as the two left the apartment and headed to Genkai's temple.
Once there, the two began to spar. Kurama couldn't think clearly, his mind was clouded. He could still hear the 7 voices taunting, and every blow he took from Hiei felt as though it was coming from them. Hiei was holding back as much as he could, but he was still beating his poor friend to a pulp. He didn't dare draw his sword or use any demon energy out of fear of killing the fox. Kurama had his rose whip out, but he was swinging it like a child playing with a ribbon. Easily dodging Kurama's rose whip, with a punch to the stomach, Kurama was on his knees.
The rose whip fell from his hand, instantly changing back into a regular rose. Kurama stayed knelt on the ground, clutching his stomach. Hiei was frozen, he didn't think he hit him that hard. After the fights he's been in, a light sparring match shouldn't do this to him. Hiei just stood there, frozen. Arm still extended from the last punch, eyes wide in shock. Kurama stayed on the ground, frozen as well. He was curled up in a ball, like a small child. Yukina rushed out of the temple, shooting her brother an evil look for hurting Kurama so.
"Kurama? Are you ok?" she asked softly, putting her arms around him. He looked up, his eyes were gold again. It was like a wave hit Hiei the moment Kurama looked up at him. This was not normal. His eyes were always sharp, and had a cold, hardened feeling to them whether they be gold or green, but now they were clouded. From his knees, dirty and bruised, looking up at Hiei, he looked like he was asking for help. A wave of Kurama's thoughts entered Hiei's head through his Jagan. This was not Hiei's doing, it was Kurama's subconscious forcing these thoughts into Hiei. Hiei didn't know what to make of it, it was just voices mixing together, he couldn't understand what they were saying, but he understood the hurt. And though He and Kurama were staring right at each other, Hiei could see what Kurama saw. A tree's shadow, with 7 large branches coming off the trunk and one nub.
Then the onslaught of Kurama's thoughts and emotions stopped pouring into Hiei's head. Hiei looked at his sparring partner, as he slowly rose, gently leaving Yukina's caring arms.
"Please excuse me" was all he said as he disappeared into the woods.
"Brother? What happened?" Yukina asked, still kneeling on the ground from holding Kurama.
"Something's troubling him" Hiei answered, staring off in the direction the redhead turned silver had run. "He needs help. He was subconsciously projecting his thoughts into my head through my Jagan."
"What can we do? Should we go after him?" Yukina asked, voice filled with worry.
"I will, you will stay here." Hiei answered shortly.
"But he's hurt! He needs my help" she cried, she cared too deeply for her friends.
"His wounds from me were not what brought him down. The way I was hitting him wouldn't even take down a normal human. His body isn't injured, his mind is." He explained to his sister. "Besides, he's reverted to his fox form to run away faster. You wouldn't be able to keep up, and I'm the only one who can find him using my Jagan. Stay here incase he comes back." And with that, Hiei disappeared after him.