Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Goodbye, Lady Luck ❯ Triple or Nothing ( Chapter 4 )

Standard Disclaimer: See third chapter.

Warning: This fiction was posted by a hentai adult only be enjoyed by other hentai adults. Has shounen ai and will contain yaoi and mature themes. So all you youngsters need to scram. Shooo. *waves hands*

SB* I bet you all want to kill me now don'cha? *grins cheekily* I'm a college student to for gawd's sakes and I do have a life. *pauses* Er…not really.

Finals have kinda taken it away.

Actually, last semester grades have come in and apparently, I am retarded.

-_-*sweat drop*

So writing chapters for this fic has become a lower priority.

To make up for it, I've made this chapter over twice as long and guarantee to everyone that I have no plans to abandon it.

But anyway, I do apologize and hope that everyone enjoys the fourth installment.

Please read the author stuff at the end, because I will need some readers' input.

SB* "Anywho! On with the fic!"^_^

Chapter Four: Triple or Nothing

Hiei ran until he reached the threshold of his stamina, accelerating into a horizontal plummet that had his eyes crossing into tunnel vision. His nostrils flared with the scent of fear, exhaustion, sweat and most prominent of all, blood. Someone he held dear was hurt and by the reports relayed from century-honed olfactory senses, they were hurt badly. He ran faster.

Mentally charged and infused with demonic adrenaline, he prepared to launch himself into a grisly affair, complete with snarling enemies that had just bought themselves a one way ticket to the Underworld. No one messed with the Jaganshi's loved ones and lived to tell about it. Of course, he may torture them a little first, just to feel the satisfaction of blood spray amidst screams of fear and pain. The Jaganshi was one who firmly believed in the whole 'revenge is sweet' motto, to which many a foe could attest. Thinking about all the wonderful torments he would gleefully inflict within the next encounter, his eyes gleamed with a steady malevolence that would have sent The Idiot whimpering home to his momma.

Nearly giddy with anticipation, Hiei came upon the scene--tense and battle-ready with his katana drawn and glinting in his hand. As befitting a warrior of his years, his first instinct was to scan the area for threats or danger--of which the clearing was frustratingly bereft. Not even a twitch of a leaf, a whisper of a reed, or any other movement caused even the slightest stir in his line of sight. Hiei deflated, almost pouting. And he had been so wondrously pumped up for a royal ass whooping too.

Finally turning his attention to his teammates, he found them crossways from him, hunched over a log. Kurama's back was turned to him so that he couldn't make out either one's condition. Worried and highly annoyed, he made his way over, surprised that the normally alert fox hadn't noticed his presence yet. In fact, the fox didn't seem to be noticing much of anything Hiei realized, eyes bulging out of his sockets as he drew closer. Apparently, his lover was too concerned with plundering their team leader's mouth to pay attention to something so paltry as his lover's mounting ki signature. Not that Hiei could have blamed him mind you. He considered the possibility of jumping in.

Ohhh…the images…

Immediately, the Koorime re-inflated with a completely different type of adrenaline--one that made all the blood in his body part and rush like mad rabbits to certain polar ends of his being. Times like these, Hiei wished he didn't wear so many damn belts.

Hiei could have stood there forever, drooling over the tantalizing show if he hadn't spotted the facts as they appeared--one, Yusuke was unconscious, two, Yusuke was drenched in crimson fluids, and three, he was just about to rouse and Kurama showed no signs of letting up.

Frowning, Hiei decided right then and there to put a stop to whatever was going on before it got out of hand, and, being the tactful demon that he was, (all sniggering parties ignored) he said the first smart-ass comment his frazzled brain could come up with.

And watched, astonished, as Kurama just about jumped out of his skin and came crashing down flat at his feet. After a moment he peered up at the towering presence of the Jaganshi and meekly greeted him, mortified beyond belief. Hiei was dying inside from amusement and it was all he could do to grunt in reply, reminding himself that he had a two-person audience now. The cold, aloof prick status must be upheld at all costs. After all, he rather enjoyed playing the part of the snide bastard on occasion.

But back to business. The thick headiness of blood continued to permeate his senses and Hiei had a truckload of questions that demanded answers. Most running along the lines of What? When? Who? How? He settled on asking the one person who didn't look completely plastered.

"What the hell is going on, Fox?" Summing it up nicely, he thought.

Kurama sat up and winced as the separation between the muddy ground and his back made a nice, shallow suction noise, then he turned to Hiei with his brows drawn together as if some sort of deep thought. As if he could pretend he wasn't about to keel over from embarrassment.

"First aid?" Kurama said innocently as he could, trying to read Hiei to see if he was really as stern as he looked.

Hiei snorted and lifted his hand for the fox to grab so he could lift him to his feet. Kurama could feel gentle warmth ghosting over his clothes and drying the mud clinging to his back so he could dust himself off. He tried his best to avoid meeting the eyes of both Yusuke and Hiei. However, Hiei was growing impatient.

"If I'm not mistaken, I believe humans call that molesting." The Koorime's tone was not exactly condemning, but it wasn't warm and fuzzy either.

Kurama flinched as if he had just been sucker-punched and his arms fell to his side. His shoulders trembled in shame. Still not looking at either his lover or leader, he whispered sorrowfully.

"I'm so sorry. I had no right. I didn't reali--"

"Stop it Kurama. Just look at the boy. He's completely out of it."

Kurama obeyed and carefully inspected Yusuke, searching for any signs of disgust, fear, or anger. Instead he found a fairly inebriated youth with glassy, hooded eyes whose head was lying crookedly on the log behind him. Worried, he started forward, flinging all thoughts of ramifications away as he touched Yusuke's pasty skin. Burning to the touch! Hiei knelt beside him, his face twisting in concern, having already put his sword back into the folds of cloak. He grasped the human's shoulders to sit him up. Yusuke's head flopped listlessly to the side and it startled him.

"Goddess, Kurama! What happened? What did you give him?"

Kurama's hands fluttered about as he tried to access Yusuke's vitals. Prying the boy's eyelids, he explained distractedly.

"We were investigating the easternmost flatlands without any success until we encountered a swamp borog. Yusuke defended himself but was cut deeply across his shoulder. He still managed to defeat it though." Kurama omitted the exact details of the encounter, feeling Yusuke would appreciate it later. "Underestimating the extent of the injury, I simply wrapped it up with a section of my tunic and then we attempted to head to the rendezvous point. Although he couldn't walk unassisted and I had to help support him."

The fox unwrapped the makeshift bandage and watched as Hiei paled at the sight. Though not bleeding anymore, it was still a messy gash only an inch from the neck. His thoughts raced with 'what ifs.'

Kurama took a deep breath before continuing, running his fingertips over the wound. "He began to weaken from the loss of blood as I had no way to stitch it up and the traveling kept it from closing. While we settled here to wait for you and Kuwabara, I applied a seed root called Gamalake. It has antibiotic and antiseptic properties. I thought it would have killed off the infection by now."

Hiei stared fixedly at him for a moment, now positive that the injured human was too distant to worry about beating around the bush. "That still does not explain why you were shoving your tongue down his throat."

With a small cough, Kurama continued to fuss over Yusuke. He sure as hell did not enjoy this conversation.

"Yusuke fell asleep but soon started to thrash around as if in pain. The only painkillers I have at the moment are best when ingested orally, and I don't have anything else I could use so…" He trailed off as he was pretty sure Hiei was bright enough to fill in the blanks.

Hiei sighed. "Youko?"

Kurama nodded and blushed slightly. Hiei grinned. "It's too bad. I would have liked to see Yusuke's reaction if he had been awake to enjoy it." A pause. "Maybe we could show him again when he is well?"

The fox's lips twisted wistfully. "I don't know if we should chance it. He appears to really care for that girl, Keiko, and I don't think I could stand losing his friendship if it all turns out to be a mistake."

Yusuke moaned and his head lifted slightly as if were about to fully awake. The two demons froze, and then finally relaxed as the boy mumbled adorably under his breath before succumbing once again to slumber. Hiei smiled fondly, a rare expression even for Kurama, and brushed the bangs hanging over Yusuke's forehead tenderly.

"Then we're just going to have to bide our time, Fox. I'm sure that between the two of us, we can win him over eventually. Sooner or later, I want to finish what you started."

************************************************************

The corridors of the Spirit World transit offices were peacefully thrumming with activity. The workers, consultants, and bus-ogres completely and contently focused on the job at hand and, on occasion, called out greetings or waved to George as he passed their cubicles, pushing a cart loaded with files and records destined for the security archives.

The burly guards at the archive vault dutifully greeted the godling's assistant and proceeded to enter several key codes into the partially concealed number pad to the side of the door. After leaning forward for the required retinal, handprint, and voice scan, the great heavy metal doors slid to the side followed by a bar fence, a two-foot slab of steel, a grated wall, and finally, at least three ranks of motion sensors.

Pushing his cart forward, George advanced into the ominous interior. From the outside, one would expect to find a fairly sized utility closet, but the Spirit World had a few surprises going for it. The room, in one word, was vast. Rectangular to a fault, it expanded to well over three dozen soccer fields and was at least one field's length from floor to ceiling. Lines of cabinets and shelves petitioned the space as far as the eye could see and the walls were painted an obnoxious lime green. George had to hurry about his business before a headache set in. Not for the first time, he thought about finding whoever had decorated this place and stringing them up by their toenails, after shoving a Martha Stewart's magazine down their throat of course.

Traveling down the aisles, depositing and plucking red or blue folders as he went, he finally came to a halt at the restricted section. This part of the archives was off-jurisdiction for the Prince of Death and his associates. The records therein belonged solely to King Enma and were of the parched vanilla variety sealed with gold trimmings. King Enma's personal archives constituted about an tenth of those belonging to Prince Koenma, which clearly illustrated the poor brat's immense workload. Gods knew what King Enma did all day.

In fact, Koenma was so harried lately and his famous Reikai Tantei, less formally known as 'The Loudmouth', was pestering him for an assignment so often that the toddler prince randomly picked a file from the top of a pile and threw it in his face. Said file had to do with some suspicious estate in the Makai, which the team was currently investigating. Koenma had hardly glanced at it.

George snickered to himself at the memory. He knew the Prince was genuinely fond of his detective, but as soon as Yusuke and the others had left, he practically melted in relief. Shortly after, he and Botan had retreated to his rooms for a bit of 'relaxation'. Snicker.

Loaded down with another batch of files to be updated, George left the vault and guards behind and headed towards Koenma's abandoned office to drop them off. Tip-toeing past the prince's quarters on the way.

Whistling out of tune, he nudged the heavy doors open and entered the room pulling the files. Turning to the desk, the blue ogre's jaw dropped and his eyes popped.

A tall figure shrouded in blackest of black robes leaned nonchalantly against the far wall, flipping the pages of a gold-embossed vanilla file.

George sputtered pitifully, remembered where he was, and then got pissed. "Who are you and what are doing in Lord Koenma's office?" he demanded, proud that his voice sounded so intimidating and regal.

The intruder barely glanced from his reading to pierce George with a disdainful, golden glance before returning to the file, flipping another page. George was non-plussed and practically beside himself.

Stepping forward menacingly, he was shocked to the core when the stranger spoke in a dark, husky baritone.

"I will see Koenma immediately. We have much to discuss."

George stiffened. How dare he! "Lord Koenma has not informed me of any appointed meetings and has asked not to be disturbed. I am afraid you will have to come back another time. Perhaps I could escort you-"

George moved forward again to offer his 'assistance,' then to his surprise, found his feet no longer touched the ground. Actually, nothing touched the ground seeing as how he was suddenly suspended in mid air. He shrieked and backpedaled with his arms-wind milling to keep himself upright. Looking at the black-clad figure again, George was infuriated to find him staring and smirking. He took a closer look and visibly paled. The stranger was in fact extremely tall and devastatingly good-looking, possessing a pair of black fox ears and a sensuous tail curled over his elbow.

George started to shake.

"I am certain the toddler can find the time to converse with an old friend such as I. Tell him Youko Outta has come." With that he raised his hand and George flopped to the floor with a thud. Then ogre then fled out the door in the direction of Koenma's quarters, trying his best to retain dignity and not to run.

SB* "Hiya ya'll! Listen up, the next chapter will be serving a healthy dose of violence and suggestive stuff, so if you have any reservations against yaoi, slash, shounen ai, then you need to skip the next chapter. *blinks* What are you doing here anyway?"

"Also, I need to know if anyone thinks that I should make this into a really complicated and drawn-out, but totally ass-kickin story. If not, then I'll stop writing at the end of next chapter."

"There! Done for chappie four!"

Babymuse* glare*

SB* "Stop glaring at me."

Babymuse* "You do know that it has been almost four months since your last update, don't you?"

SB* "Sweatdrop* yeah…

Babymuse* smacks SB upside head with soft coffeepot*