To my old readers and my new ones, thank you so much for your feedback and interest in the story.
Still looking for any prompts or chapter ideas and would love to hear from you!
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"A firefighter, huh?" Shizuru asked in her usual dull tone.
Kuwabara had recovered from his ordeal fairly quickly once Yukina felt free to use her healing powers at the hospital after she met Ryuu, when the doctors and nurses were not in the room, she split her energy between the two men just enough to where they were improved quicker, but not quick enough to raise suspicion. Now he was back to his old, loud self and was annoying Shizuru as she tried to teach Yukina how to make ramen.
"Yep!" Kuwabara puffed out his chest and grinned, "I'm gonna go to the firehouse after school and ask them how to get started once I graduate next month."
"Well, that's good to hear, little bro," Shizuru said as she tasted the broth Yukina had prepared, "Oh, god, Yukina...that's horrible."
Kuwabara valiantly stepped forward and took a taste himself, opening his mouth to loudly voice his approval of her cooking in her defense...but he clamped his jaws shut quickly and gave Yukina a "sorry, she's right" shrug. Yukina sighed sadly and examined the recipe again to see what she did wrong, she then dumped the broth out and started again, determined to get it right.
"Really, Kazu, I am really glad to hear that you have a plan," Shizuru said, leaning on the counter with her arms crossed, her attention focused on her brother. "Remember though, you have to graduate. Get your ass upstairs and study, Yukina will come get you when dinner is ready."
"Ok," Kuwabara mumbled, grudgingly making his way upstairs.
Yukina had brought home all the homework his teachers had handed out the five days he had spent in the hospital and the pile of papers on his desk made his heart sink. This was going to take forever to catch up on! He didn't even look through the pile, he just grabbed the first group of papers on top: Geography.
Pouring over the text book, trying to memorize all the tiny countries in Europe, the time passed quickly and Kuwabara was so grateful to hear Yukina's footsteps coming up the steps. He answered the very last homework question and set the paper aside with a sigh. Five day's worth of one subject down, so many more to go...
"Kazuma," Yukina's voice from the doorway made him smile, "Dinner is ready? Did you get much done?"
Kuwabara stood up and joined her in the hallway and they made their way down the stairs.
"Not a lot, just Geography so far," he admitted, "I really don't feel like doing any homework right now to be honest."
"What do you feel like doing?" Yukina asked, hoping she could help in some way to make his first day back from the hospital the best it could be.
"First of all, I want to eat your wonderful cooking," Kuwabara said, although he wasn't sure if he meant it once the smells from the kitchen assaulted his nose. "Then, I don't know, anything but homework."
They walked into the kitchen and Shizuru was already sitting and waiting, Yukina ushered Kuwabara over to sit across from his sister and insisted that she would be getting everything to the table. That being settled, she left the siblings at the table to go get the food.
"If you end up marrying her you better be prepared to cook your own meals or lose a lot of weight," Shizuru whispered when Yukina was out of earshot, "I'd feel pretty sorry for you considering how much you love to eat."
Kuwabara cocked an eyebrow at his sister but remained silent because Yukina returned, carrying a pot. She set it on the table and held her hands out for everyone's bowls and filled them with the ramen she'd made.
Kuwabara eyed the contents of the bowl warily, but the expectant look on Yukina's face told him she was waiting eagerly for his reaction to her cooking efforts so he took a deep breath and started eating...and immediately regretted it. It was horrible.
"How is it?" Yukina asked, her hands were clasped in front of her nervously as she waited for his reply.
Kuwabara looked up at her, his cheeks full of the terrible concoction, and attempted an approving smile..but he settled for a nod instead as he forced the terrible mix down his throat.
"It's great," he croaked.
"Oh, Kazuma, is your throat hurting again?" Yukina asked, surprised by his choked voice.
Shizuru was eyeing the bowl in front of her and she looked at her brother with a look that clearly said "I am going to get you for this" since Yukina had demanded to cook this for him as a welcome home thing.
"You owe me big time for having to put up with this," Kuwabara heard his sister's voice in his head and he looked up in surprise, she usually didn't use her abilities this noticeably.
"I'm not really having a great time over here myself, sis!" he replied mentally, his lip twitched up in a sneer.
Shizuru was about to shoot back a reply but Kuwabara lost interest in his sister's complaining when he heard a sound he recognized with a lurch deep in his stomach, a soft clink, clink from his right; he looked over and saw Yukina setting her bowl down, her eyes fixed on the table, tiny tear gems lay next to her chopstcks and more were forming on her cheeks.
"Oh...it's terrible," she said sadly, pushing her bowl away, she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her kimono, "I'm so sorry."
Kuwabara felt his heart squeeze uncomfortably at the sight of her tears, he hated to see her cry and he suddenly felt terrible for not being a better faker when she had asked how the food was. He reached over and pulled her into a tight hug, her face buried in his chest and she started shaking with silent sobs.
"Hey, now," he comforted her, "Don't cry, Yukina! It was really nice of you to try and cook. You'll get better, this is your first try cooking human food."
"Any food," Shizuru corrected, "She told me she's never cooked anything at all."
"See?" he continued, tilting Yukina's chin up so she wasn't hiding her face anymore, "You'll get better, I know you will."
Yukina sniffed and then smiled as she looked up at him.
"You're so sweet, Kazuma," she said softly, "You always make me feel better than I think I am."
Shizuru sighed and continued eating, even if it sucked it was all they had for dinner.
"Well, suck it up, you two. At least it's edible."
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After dinner, Shizuru insisted that Kuwabara finish at least one more entire subject of his homework before he did anything else so he made his way back to his room while the girls cleaned up the dishes and table. Sighing, he grabbed his science homework and sat down with a huff and tucked his pencil behind his ear as he leaned back and kicked his feet up on the desk to read the assigned chapters.
"We need to talk."
Kuwabara nearly jumped out of his skin at the unexpected sound of the all too familiar voice. He kicked away from the desk and spun his chair around, his eyes wide and frightened. Hiei stood in the center of the room, his eyes squinted angrily.
"Ah! Hiei!" Kuwabara squeaked, "What are you doing here? Are you still mad about that kiss? Are you really going to kill me this time?"
"Shut up, you idiot," Hiei shook his head in annoyance and gritted his teeth angrily, "I am not here to kill you. Not yet at least."
Kuwabara felt his shoulders relax a bit and he released the breath he was holding, but now he was very curious and he cocked his head slightly as Hiei continued to glare at him.
"You're mad about something..." he began to comment.
"Did you run into a burning building to save a complete stranger?" Hiei interrupted firmly, crossing his arms over his chest.
Kuwabara just stared for a moment, confused, but then he nodded.
"That was a foolish thing to do," Hiei continued, "Why would you put yourself at risk like that? You could have died for someone you don't even know."
"Of course I would," Kuwabara snapped back, uncomfortable with the odd concern the demon was expressing, "And why do you care anyway? You don't even like me!"
"You're right, I don't," Hiei hissed, but then his face took on a look of unhappy acceptance, "But, for some reason that my mind cannot comprehend, my sister does."
Kuwabara fell silent, suddenly understanding where this was going.
"You are not to do anything as dumb as that ever again," Hiei ordered, his hand flashed out so quick that Kuwabara didn't even see him move until his finger was directly in front of him, jabbing into his chest, "You are going to start eating healthy, you are going to take up running and regular exercise, you are not going to put yourself in any more dangerous situations like that. Ever."
"You can't tell me how to live my life!" Kuwabara growled, "I'm perfectly healthy and it's none of your business anyway!"
"It is my business," Hiei insisted, "If you want to be with my sister, it is my business."
"Hiei..." Kuwabara sighed heavily, "Why are you so worried about me being healthy all of the sudden?"
Hiei squinted his eyes and Kuwabara got the feeling what he was about to say wasn't going to be pleasant.
"Because your lifespan is already pitiable and insignificant," Hiei replied grimly, "My foolish sister has chosen to love a human, but she doesn't realize how small of a piece of her entire life her realtionship with you will be."
Kuwabara felt those words cut him to the bone.
"Thanks a lot for the reminder," he grunted, swallowing his anger at knowing Hiei was right, "Once again you like to throw my humanity in my face. You think I don't think about that nearly every day? You think I don't know how unevenly matched we are?"
"If you truly knew then you wouldn't be so selfish to make her go through this," Hiei said darkly, his red eyes didn't flinch a bit at Kuwabara's angry retort, "When you die, your tiny life is going to effect the rest of her entire existence. I don't understand what she sees in you, but she has told me she loves you...and for an ice maiden, that is no small thing. She could live for thousands of years after you are gone but she will always be thinking about you and what she lost."
"I..." Kuwabara didn't know what to say. Sure, he always knew she would outlive him by a lot and that he would have to deal with aging while she stayed young and beautiful...but what Hiei was pointing out was something he had always tried to push to the back of him mind.
"You're selfish," Hiei snapped, cutting off his weak attempt to reply, "But if you two insist on remaining together, then you have a responsibility to live as long as possible. With your spirit energy, you have t potential to live a lot longer than a normal human, but it's still nothing in comparison to a demon's lifespan."
"Ok, Hiei, I get it," Kuwabara sighed unhappily, he felt his shoulder slump forward despite his effort to maintain confidence, "Do you think I don't know this stuff? It bothers me every day...I know I don't deserve her and I know you'll never think I'm good enough for her and I absolutely know I'm gonna die way before the rest of you."
"I didn't come here to make you feel more pitiful than you already are," Hiei grumbled, "I came here to tell you, if you insist on being with my sister, you had better not be taking any more dumb risks because I will be the one who has to pick up the pieces if you happened to get your stupid self killed."
Kuwabara remained silent with his hands clasped against his forehead as he leaned over, feeling defeated by Hiei's words.
"And I also came to tell you..." Hiei seemed to be forcing the words out between his teeth, as if he really didn't want to say them, "That...since my sister seems to think she wants you over anyone else...I...am giving you my permission to be with her."
Kuwabara's head shot up and he looked at Hiei in shock. Had he really heard that correctly?
"You...do you mean that?" he asked, my brow furrowed and he wondered if this was a trick.
"Yes," Hiei said grudgingly, "There is obviously nothing I can do or say to convince either of you this is wrong. Of anyone she could have had, why she chose you is a complete mystery...but she did and I cannot fight that anymore."
"She could have chosen worse, you know?" Kuwabara tried to convince the demon, "You know I'll always treat her right. You know me, Hiei, I would never hurt her."
"You may have my permission to continue your relationship," Hiei ignored his comment, "But you do not have my permission to mate with her."
"Whoa now," Kuwabara held up his hands defensively, "THAT really is none of your business."
Hiei was across the room in a split second, his face so close to Kuwabara's that their noses almost touched. His red eyes burned with anger and his fangs were bared threateningly.
"If you get any ideas about it, I will deprive you of your ability to mate altogether," he threatened, his hand settling on his sword hilt to prove his point.
"I promise I will not force her to do anything," Kuwabara forced himself to remain as calm as possible under the terribly frightening gaze of the fire demon, "But she can make her own choices, you know. I won't refuse if she chooses that."
For a moment, Kuwabara regretted his words because Hiei's face went stone cold like it did right before he effortlessly slit someone in half during a battle...a look Kuwabara had seen many times before. But then the demon stepped back and fixed him in a thoughtful stare.
"I have no fear of that happening," he commented, "She would never want that."
Kuwabara felt his ego deflate and he glared at Hiei.
"Well, then that's up to her," he said quietly.
Hiei nodded quickly and hopped onto the sill of the bedroom window, preparing to leap out and be on his way.
"Hey, Hiei," Kuwabara called out before he could go, Hiei looked over his shoulder and went a little tense when he found the oaf smiling at him, "Thanks, man...for giving me your permission. It really means a lot."
Hiei felt something strange happen inside of him, a feeling of...affection? No, that wasn't possible, he felt nothing but distaste towards the oversized human. Didn't he?
"You're right," he said quietly as he bunched his muscles to jump, "She could have chosen worse."
Kuwabara stood in his suddenly empty room, completely frozen in shock at Hiei's parting words. Had he heard it right?
"Kazuma, I'm here to study with you," Yukina's voice brought him out of his shocked state and he vaguely wondered how long he'd stood there staring at the window. Turning to look at his girl with a smile, he had a feeling everything was going to be perfect.
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I really liked this chapter, I haven't had much Hiei in the story yet and he is very fun to write! There will be more Hiei in the future and obviously a lot more of everyone else as well.
Stay tuned and please shoot your ideas or prompts my way! Input makes my life!