Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Fire and Ice ❯ Plans Take Shape ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: Plans Take Shape

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Disclaimer: I've told you already.

Warnings: Angst.

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Insistent nudging dragged Kurama from his peaceful slumber. He moaned in protest and buried his face deeper into Hiei's soft, fur-like hair. The nudging began again as Kurama started to fall back to sleep.

"K'rama," Hiei muttered, his voice thick with sleep, and nudging his partner. "Some-un's at door." Kurama groaned. Why was it that every time he actually got the chance to hold Hiei in his arms, someone had to interrupt? Damn them.

"I suppose you want me to answer it," Kurama sighed softly, not opening his eyes.

"If you would be so kind," Hiei mumbled as he rolled in Kurama's embrace to where his back faced the youko.

"I see how you are." Kurama grumbled under his breath as he got out of bed and went to the door. Ready to kill whoever was on the other side, Kurama was pleasantly surprised to find a Fey wheeling a cart full of food.

"Miss Keket said that you and your friends might want breakfast brought to you instead of going to the dinning hall." Kurama smiled at the young female. Keket was very correct in her assumption, at least on his part. He wanted to spend more time with the little fire demon and find out just how Hiei felt about the pretty little Fey princess, and maybe figure out what the nightmare was about. Kurama thanked the servant and took the cart from her.

"Hungry?" Kurama asked as he re-entered the room. Hiei slowly sat up, causing the covers to pool around his waist, and stretched as he yawned. His fangs poked out and he rubbed one eye with his fist. `How cute,' Kurama thought to himself as he watched the little youkai yawn and stretch like a kitten. Hiei's hair was even wilder than usual Kurama noticed and the demon scratched his head.

"Hn." Kurama finally received his answer. He uncovered the food and started preparing himself a plate.

"Well, you better come and fix yourself a plate before it gets cold." Kurama laughed at the dirty glare from his roommate. "You didn't expect me to serve you, did you?"

"That could prove to be interesting," Hiei teased as he practically melted from the bed.

"Inari! HIEI put some clothes on!" Kurama shouted at the sleepy demon. Hiei was naked as the day he was born and was prancing around like was nothing. `Above the waist, above the waist…that looks tasty…above the waist,' Kurama chanted in his mind as he closed his eyes briefly. He opened them to find Hiei wrapped up in a blanket.

"You didn't seem to care much when you crawled into bed with me last night. You've lived in the Ningenkai too long." Hiei shook his head as he set forth fixing himself a plate of food.

"We need to invest in some boxer shorts for you, maybe black silk." Kurama pictured Hiei lying across a bed in nothing but a pair of black silk boxers, and fought the urge to drool.

"What are boxer shorts?" Hiei's innocent question broke Kurama out of his naughty thoughts.

"You are so clueless at times Hiei. Boxers are a form of ningen underwear." Kurama sighed again at the thought of Hiei in boxers.

"Ningen undergarments are a waste of time," Hiei snorted. Kurama just rolled his eyes.

"It's a matter of decency, not convenience." Kurama pointed out.

"Modesty is a ningen trait. I'm sure that when you were a demon, you never thought twice about undergarments," Hiei reminded Kurama. He then walked over to the bed that still smelled like roses…like Kurama.

"Can I ask you a personal question, Hiei?" Kurama asked suddenly, catching the smaller one by surprise.

"You can ask, but it doesn't mean I'll answer." Hiei studied Kurama carefully. Why would anyone, especially Kurama, want to know anything about him? It wasn't normal. He was the Forbidden Child, no one was supposed to care.

"Do you love her?" Hiei choked on his food. That one was definitely unexpected. Hiei could do nothing but cough for several moments. He stared at Kurama like the fox had lost his ever-loving mind.

"What the hell? What kind of question is that? Love who?" Hiei felt so overwhelmed. That just wasn't a question one asked.

"Hiei, I really need to know if you love Keket," Kurama said softly. Hiei blinked at him in confusion what did it matter?

"I…feel for her. She saved my life, so I guess I feel something for her." Kurama felt his heart breaking. "I consider her to be much like Yukina to me now." Hiei was still confused. Why did Kurama want to know so badly? Why did he answer Kurama in the first place? Why did that kitsune no baka look relieved all of a sudden?

"Thank you Hiei. I really needed to know." Hiei gave Kurama a skeptical look. "We've known each other for a while now and I know very little about you. I want to know you Hiei."

"Why?" The question was simple enough; however, the answer was very complicated. How could Kurama that without either offending Hiei or revealing too much?

"Because you are my friend." Kurama knew it was an answer they both could live with.

"Are you sure about that?" Kurama nodded. "You weren't so sure last night," Hiei mumbled under his breath.

"You took me by surprise last night. I wasn't expecting any of it. I'm very sorry I question your motive my little youkai." Kurama watched as Hiei seemed to consider his response.

"Hn." (Which is Hiei for you are forgiven.) Hiei laid his plate on the floor and yawned. He gathered the blanket tighter around him, laid back down, and curled up into a ball. Within seconds, Hiei was sleeping. Kurama shook his head; Hiei could be so lazy at times. Although he had to admit that the smaller demon had a great idea.

Kurama gently laid down his own plate and sat down on the edge of Hiei's bed. The kitsune lightly ran his fingers through Hiei's hair. The youkai tensed slightly at first, but soon calmed at Kurama's unthreatening gentleness. A deep, rumbling purr started to resound from the fire demon's chest and the youko grinned. Did Hiei know how sexy that was? Probably not. Kurama quietly and softly laid down beside the purring demon, trying not to get too close so Hiei would not feel trapped.

Hiei was so young compared to Kurama, and being curled up in a blanket made the demon look his young age. The slender neck, small shoulders, and the smooth face…Hiei was an old man trapped in a young body. `We are the sum of our experiences,' Kurama recalled the quote and noticed how well it suited the temperamental youkai. So many bad experiences shaped Hiei's gruff attitude and made the youngster grow-up hard and fast. Kurama silently damned all those who had made Hiei's life a living hell. (Not sure whether or not he was damning himself.) Hiei whimpered slightly in his sleep and snuggled close to Kurama. The redhead gathered Hiei in his arms and buried the youkai's head in the crook of his neck.

Hiei sighed in contentment and went back to purring. The combination of Hiei's warm, moist breath and the purring caused emerald eyes to feel heavy and shut of their own violation. `Maybe a nap wouldn't hurt,' Kurama thought to himself as he joined Hiei in slumber.

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"Why have you brought us here?" The black youko asked, flipping his long hair behind his shoulder.

"I have a proposition for you." The deep, scratchy voice came out as a hiss.

"What could you possibly want from us?" The red youko growled.

"An arrangement that helps me and allows you to get revenge." The three youkos looked at each other in confusion.

"Spit it out already. Who do we know, mutually, to where this arrangement could help to benefit both of us?" The white kitsune snorts.

"Youko Kurama." The three youkos look at the serpentine creature in front of them with a wicked gleam in their eyes. Yes, that youko would pay.

*******

"I have an idea!" Yusuke shouted as he walks through the door. The faces of the war council looked at the human in confusion. Keket bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing at the boy. Humans were so strange.

"Where are the others?" Dante asked.

"I'm assuming that they are still asleep," Yusuke muttered. "I, on the other hand, was up all night, wracking my brain for a solution. And damn if I didn't come up with a great one!" Keket and Dante looked at each other with doubt.

"What exactly is this great plan?" One member of the council spoke up.

"We take Keket out of the Makai and into the Ningenkai," Yusuke exclaimed proudly.

"How, prey tell, is that supposed to help?" Keket had never been outside the Daione Sidhe, let alone the Makai.

"Snake-boy won't be able to get to you there. We'll put you up at Genkai's and maybe bring pretty boy with us. It will give us time to figure out how to beat ol' ugly." Yusuke looked so excited.

"I know he is trying to talk to us, but I really can't understand a word he is saying," Dante muttered.

"You know, this might actually work." Keket beamed as she straightened in her chair.

"Gee, thanks for all your faith guys," Yusuke mumbled.

"When do we go and who do we need to talk to?" Keket looked almost excited.

"Well, I'll tell both of you now, where she goes I go." Dante informed, leaving no room for argument.

"That was part of my plan. Let's say that we will leave tomorrow. Today, I want to sight-see." Yusuke grinned as he started out of the room, hands in pockets.

"What about Koenma?" Keket shouted out to the retreating boy.

"Leave Koenma to me," Yusuke shouted back as he disappeared down the hall. Keket looked at Dante and shrugged.

"I guess we better get our affairs in order before our indeterminate leave of absence." Keket just nodded in response to Dante's observation.

*******

"Are we just going to lie in bed all day?" Kurama asked as he absently scratched his stomach.

"I was thinking about it," Hiei muttered in response. "We don't always have to be doing something, fox. Sometimes it's nice just to relax, and bed is about the only place where you can't find anything to do but relax."

"Not so my dear pyromaniac. There is plenty you can do in bed." Naughty, naughty thoughts entered the youko's mind.

"I really don't see how. What could you possibly do lying in bed?" Hiei yawned again and Kurama follow suit.

"Trust me Hiei; there is so much fun to be had in a bed." Kurama's imagination started running away with him and, this time, boxer shorts were not involved. No, in this particular daydream, Hiei was blissfully naked…much like he was now.

"Hn. Whatever, but you're starting to drool." Kurama blushed as he was brought back to reality by Hiei's deep voice.

"Gomen." Kurama said softly.

"Do you apologize for everything? I bet if your arm got chopped off, you would apologize for being in the way. Kitsune no baka."

"That's not true and you know it," Kurama replied defensively. Hiei opened his eyes and looked at his teammate with sarcasm.

"Keep telling yourself that." Hiei mumbled as he closed his eyes.

"At least I don't have an attitude," Kurama retorted.

"Do you think I care that I have an attitude?" Kurama thought about this question at length.

"No. In fact, I think that you need to have the attitude," Kurama explained much like a teacher.

"Well, Kurama Sensei, I hate to inform you that you're wrong. I don't need to do anything." Hiei was starting to become annoyed. If Kurama wanted to be smart, he would quit now. Unfortunately, he didn't feel like being smart right now.

"That's where you are wrong, Hiei. You hide behind your attitude so no one can get close."

"You're wrong!" Hiei growled, but Kurama pressed on.

"Face it, if you let someone get close, you'll let yourself feel something for them." Kurama couldn't help himself.

"Shut up!" Hiei shouted.

"Allowing yourself to feel means you leave yourself open to hurt." He just couldn't stop himself.

"I'm warning you kitsune." Hiei was positively livid.

"In leaving yourself open, there's a chance someone else will throw you away just like the Koorime." Kurama knew it was cruel. He wanted Hiei to hurt, that way he received an emotion other than anger from the small fire demon.

"Damn you, you bastard. What the hell do you know? How dare you assume that you know a fucking thing about me?" Hiei's voice was absolutely venomous.

"I bet I know you better than you know yourself," Kurama said smugly. Yes, he wanted the youkai to hurt, just the way he was hurting.

"And you are fooling yourself. You don't know what shaped me to be the way that I am." The fire demon's eyes were open now and burning with cold fire, a fire of something dead and aching inside, a fire that wanted to spread its pain.

"If I don't know, why don't you tell me?" Kurama laid a hand of Hiei's shoulder, but the youkai jerked away.

"You don't want to know, because that would mean that you would have to take a long, hard look at yourself." With a flash, both Hiei and his clothing were gone. Kurama let out a frustrated sigh. That did not go well at all. What exactly did the youkai's parting statement mean? Kurama needed to study himself? What had he done? Cold fingers of fear clenched his heart. Had he hurt Hiei in the past? Was he one of the many? Kurama suddenly felt violently ill. He needed to know, but was unaware about how to find out. Had he lost Hiei forever?

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It's a short chapter, but I wanted to leave a cliffhanger. Sorry guys. Please take the time to review. *big puppy dog eyes* I would be ever so grateful.

Kurama: There you go again, making me the bad guy. Now Hiei hates me.

Yusuke: No wonder after the way you talked to him. I would hate you too.

Kurama: You're not helping matters. Besides, *pointing at siren* she put words into my mouth.

siren: It's just a story. Hiei doesn't hate you. Do you Hiei-kun?

Hiei: Hn.

Kurama: That tells me a lot.

Yusuke: Quit pouting…come on, we'll go get drunk instead.

Kurama: You just want to take advantage of me.

Yusuke: Um…no.

Anyway, please review.