Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Sengoku Otogizoushi - InuYasha or Yuu Yuu Hakusho. InuYasha belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Viz Media, ShoPro Entertainment, and Shounen; while Yuu Yuu Hakusho belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro, Shueisha, Viz Media, and Shounen. No profit or money of any kind is made from this fan-created crossover.
Prompt: "You must be joking"
Written For: The Deadliest Sin community ( http : / / thedeadliestsin . proboards33 . com )
Summary: It had been their secret for a while now, and it had almost been revealed due to one little slip-up...

Kuwabara choked on the drink he had just taken. She couldn't have said what he just thought she did. It just didn't make any sense! On the best of days, they traded quips and teased each other, and on the worst days, they... well, what happened between them was never pretty on those days. So how did any of it happen?

His choking coughs were the only sound in the room as everyone else was in varying states of shock. Kuwabara had a feeling that if he was able to look up and around at everyone, he would see Yuusuke with his jaw about to hit the floor, Kurama with widened eyes, and Yukina frozen in shock. If those two were going for a shock-and-shock (since awe was out of the question), they nailed it.

And all that was going through all of their minds was how did it even happen? What changed?

Kagome covered her mouth and wished she could burrow into the nearest hole. What had started out as good-natured teasing toward Hiei by Yuusuke and Kuwabara became something more when she jumped in. The verbal jabs were traded so fast that before she knew it, the one thing she never meant to say came flying out of her mouth in an attempt to save his dignity that had never been in jeopardy! She closed her eyes and hung her head. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! Hiei's a big... Argh, he's capable of handling himself! What were you thinking, idiot!' Those thoughts ran through her head and only increased her feelings of self-depreciation.

And if looks could kill, Kagome was sure that the glare Hiei was directing at her would have done the job a bit too well.

Because, after all, who wanted their life as the focal point of any discussion?

As Kuwabara recovered from his near suffocation by soda, the rest of them began to gather their wits. That was the point she was dreading, and she was sure Hiei was dreading it too, since once the shock wore off, the one thing that would replace it was curiosity. While she was all for arguing the good points of having an active sense of curiosity, this was not among those good points. If she could label moments, she would have no issues labeling the coming one as pure hell.

The one and only criteria she had to distinguish a moment going from unbearably bad to pure hell was Yuusuke's proximity to the moment. Unfortunately, for both her and Hiei, he was involved in it; in fact, he was one of the creators of it. Now with his unabashed perverseness, she could already see how much worse it was going to get.

Yet, it was Kuwabara who said the first thing and broke the uneasy silence.

"You must be joking!" he shouted, his arms flailing in an attempt to make the situation clearer.

Kagome sighed in relief when Hiei's glare was directed at Kuwabara. "Unfortunately, she's not."

"OK." Yuusuke smacked Kuwabara upside his head to get him to calm down. "What I wanna know is when the hell did this happen?"

Kurama held up his hand before Yuusuke could ask more questions. "Yes, I believe that's the question we all would like to know the answer to."

Then again, Kagome forgot about Kurama's presence. Perhaps the whole situation she now found herself in with Hiei wouldn't be the pure hell she first thought it would be. If anyone could keep Yuusuke in line -- aside from Hiei, of course -- it was Kurama.

When Hiei made no indication to answer Yuusuke's question, Kagome nervously twiddled with the hem of her shirt. "It happened about two months ago," she blurted out, unable to have a question go unanswered. It just wasn't nice! Or so she would argue.

Aside from Hiei's glare, everyone else was looking at her in veiled astonishment. Two months!? They had managed to keep something like that from them for two whole months before Kagome slipped up. Had they somehow missed all the little signs that pointed towards that? In a matter of two minutes, Kagome's casual remark had made them all feel a little bit dumber. Especially Kurama -- he was supposed to be the brains of the group!

"You mean," Kuwabara said, looking between the two of them, "that you two have been..."

"Yes," Hiei cut him off with a clipped reply. "It's not our fault you all are too stupid and blind to see what's been in front of you for so long."

Yuusuke whistled softly. "Damn... Two whole months and we never suspected a damn thing. How did'ya manage to keep up the whole tease-hate thing?"

Kagome gave him a strange look. "Why wouldn't we? He is a mean jerk."

"Don't flatter yourself. You're a stubborn idiot," Hiei countered.

"Better that than a jerk!"

"We get the idea." Kurama sighed. He had to stop it there, or, as they knew from experience, they would continue their argument for hours. Literally. "I have to say I am surprised as well that you both were able to keep it a secret for two months." He paused and looked at Kagome, who pouted.

"Why does everyone say that and look at me!"

"Because your mouth's as big as the detective's," Hiei answered when everyone else looked away, guilt covering their faces.

She glared at them all before turning her back to them. "I take it back. Hiei's not the only mean jerk, you all are!"

"So," Kuwabara interjected, "how did it happen?"

Hiei glared at Kuwabara, if there was one question that he could have gone his whole life never hearing, it was that one.

Kagome shrugged her shoulders, her earlier anger forgotten. "He needed a place to stay."

There was something not adding up about her words, Yuusuke noticed and narrowed his eyes at her back. He knew for a fact that she wasn't that easy as he had tried multiple times to get with her only to be shot down every time. There was no way she had her eyes on the Jaganshi from the very beginning as they loathed each other back then. Something else was up, and Yuusuke was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"So you just opened up your door and let him in to do whatever?"

That had her turning back to face her three interrogators. Confusion was all they could see on her face. "What are you talking about Yuusuke?"

Kuwabara blushed and started talking before Yuusuke could reveal his complete lack of morals. "He means, uh... That when... you know, two people, or well... In your case, a human and a youkai like each other like that, they..." Kuwabara's blush had started out as a light tint to his cheeks, but by the time he trailed off, it was a full-blown, deep red blush covering his entire face.

Kurama watched as Yuusuke punched Kuwabara in the head, missing the look that passed between Kagome and Hiei.

"You're such a dumb ass, Kuwabara! What the hell are ya getting so embarrassed over?! It's not like they haven't done it already!"

Kagome's confusion only grew as to what Yuusuke and Kuwabara were talking about. What 'it' had her and Hiei done? "Yuusuke," she shouted, hoping her words would reach him in his tirade, "I've no idea as to what you're talking about!"

"She's not some damn virgin, and I'm sure they've said worse things to each while screw-..." Yuusuke stopped mid-rant as his mind processed what Kagome said. He looked over at her with a stupefied expression and she looked back just as confused. "Wait... What?"

"What?"

Silence fell over them for yet another time as everyone tried to sort out the situation they thought they knew.

"OK, back-up," Yuusuke said calmly, "what were you talking about?"

Her confused expression never changed as she asked, "What were you talking about?"

Hiei's chuckles were colored with a dark humor. "The idiots were discussing your 'purity'."

Realization sunk in and Kagome blushed as red as Kuwabara had been. The only warning Yuusuke received was the whooshing sound of air before her hand connected with his cheek. "You pervert!"

Kurama took stock of the situation and tried his best to diffuse it. "It seems as if we were misunderstanding each other. Kagome, since it seems like you know what we were discussing, what were you discussing exactly?"

Her blush had yet to fade, and she couldn't look any of them in the eyes. It was mortifying to think of what they had been implying and between her and Hiei no less! "I was only talking about how Hiei has been staying at the shrine overnight for the past two months because he didn't have a place to stay..."

"Why couldn't you both have said that in the first place!" Kuwabara shouted.

"Just because you all are perverts doesn't mean everyone thinks on the same level as you, idiot."

Kagome sighed heavily as the conversation awkwardly began to turn to other subjects. If they had figured it all out, things would have gotten interesting. Thankfully, after all the embarrassment most of them had suffered, they didn't press harder or they would have found out more than they ever bargained for. Who know that "Hiei does too look peaceful when he sleeps!" could cause so much trouble and have certain other meanings?

She shot a discreet look over at Hiei to find him already looking at her. She knew just what that look meant, and she was secure in her knowledge that no one else would figure it out. Though Yuusuke may be a pervert, he wasn't always wrong.

Kagome's smile was secretive as she looked away. Staying overnight, indeed.

Word Count: 1630