Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ I'll Die Before I Say, "I Love You" ❯ Fights, Pearls, and Heists ( Chapter 2 )

CK: Okay, reviewer thanks time!

 

Kawaii-KeKe-Chan: Thank you! I'm really glad you liked it. I had some doubts about how good it would be.

OrlandosLover09: Thanks!

 

^^

 

Well, here's chapter two. Keep reviewing it makes me feel appreciated! XD

 

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Three weeks and six days, that's how long her had been here and during that time Hiei had established a routine. Wake up, exercise, eat, bathe, and then sleep. He didn't share the same love of books that Kurama did, but the books he was reading were interesting to say the least. At the moment, Hiei didn't feel liker reading so he was wandering around again.

 

He wasn't sure why: he had covered every inch of the place within a couple of days. Hiei was just about to turn a corner to walk past the gardens when a door materialized on the wall. Hiei paused to look at it, wondering where it led. He thought he knew everything about the place, but he had been proven wrong before with Kurama's library. He eventually shrugged and opened the door, watching as it revealed a new hallway.

 

Hiei walked inside and down the hallway. At least the door didn't close behind him. Unlike the other hallways, this one was devoid of windows, but it did seem to be getting brighter at the end of the hallway. `The light at the end of the tunnel?' Hiei thought, almost snorting. He finally made it to the end of the hallway. The light was because there were windows everywhere, making splashes of sunlight on the ground. Hiei looked around to see that the room was fairly large and that wasn't anything important that could be broken in here, unlike his room.

 

He walked out into the center of the room and looked around again. There didn't appear to be anyone else here, but someone could be hiding behind one of the columns since they were tall enough. After a few more moments Hiei shrugged and started to train. With all the sunlight in the room, it didn't take long for Hiei to start sweating. He waited until he had done another before pulling his shirt off.

And that was when he heard a whistle. Hiei would have rolled his eyes, but that wasn't a Hiei-thing to do, so he looked over in the general direction the whistle had come from. “I never said I wanted an audience.” Hiei said. There were the sounds of footsteps and Kuronue walked out from behind a column. He leaned against it and his hat tipped down a little, showing a pointed ear and one purple orb. “Sorry, I got a little curious. For a little guy, you're really cute when the clothes come off. Explains why Kurama's so interested in you,” Kuronue replied, smirking.

 

He wasn't wearing his normal clothes: while they were still that same shade of black, the pants were now more like shorts and the shirt stopped before it even reached his navel. “What do you want?” Hiei asked. Kuro was starting to annoy him and he wanted to finish his training for today. “A fight. Well, more like a spar really. Kurama won't spar with me anymore since that time I made a few new skylights in the base. That and I accidentally burned one of his books. And training alone only works for so long. So what do you say?” Kuronue asked. Hiei didn't even have to think about it. “If you lose your head it's not my fault.” Hiei answered

 

Kuronue smiled and pushed away from column, landing in front of Hiei. “Funny. I was going to say the exact same thing.” Kuronue said. One second later he was blocking a kick to the head and Hiei blocking a punch to his ribs. Hiei smirked and disappeared for a moment to appear to the left of Kuronue and using his leg to sweep Kuro's feet out from under him. Kuro went down but shot with his left leg, causing Hiei to bend backwards and lose a few strands of hair in the process. Whether they knew it or not, an amused pair of golden eyes watched them as they continued to spar. `It appears Kuronue had found a new sparring partner.' Hiei back flipped to dodge a punch from Kuronue, which caused the bat to the ground instead, creating a large crater.

 

Kuronue straightened back up and cracked his knuckled. “What's the matter? Scared my punches might hurt?” Kuro asked. “Hardly.” Hiei replied. They then ran at the other, arms pulled back for a punch. In the middle of the room they met and their fists connected, Hiei's fist hitting Kuronue in the jaw and Kuronue's the exact same place there was an audible crack-although they weren't sure whose jaw it was- and they both flew backwards to hit the wall. All Hiei could hear was a loud ringing in his ears and something went trickling down the side of his face he swiped at it his fingers came back bloody.

He got up and saw that Kuronue was in the same state he was, if not worse. He certainly had more blood running down his face that was for sure. Kuronue climbed out of his crater and Hiei wasn't too far behind him. “Give up yet?” Kuronue asked. “No.” Hiei said. Kuro wiped away the blood that was near his eye and smirked. “Just what I wanted to hear.” He said. The next few minutes involved Hiei and Kuro trading off punches and kicks.

 

There wasn't even any blocking involved, it was just who could make a better hit. Hiei aimed a kick to Kuronue's stomach only for it to be caught. Kuro spun Hiei around by his leg and let him go, causing him to fly towards a column. Hiei landed on it feet first and pushed off it to fly back at Kuro with a punch. Kuro took the hit and flipped Hiei over his shoulder, sending him to land on his back three feet away. Hiei blinked a few times before rolling over to the left, narrowly missing the boot intended for his head. He flipped back up onto his feet. Kuronue took off his hat and set it on the ground so that he could pull of his shirt. “Well this shirt is ruined. “ Kuro said, looking at the sweat and blood stains.

 

He put his hat back on and grinned, "What do say we finish this with one more attack?” Kuro asked. "Sounds fine to me.” Hiei answered. Both fighters disappeared for a moment and it went deadly quiet. The next moment Hiei had kicked Kuronue in the side of his neck and Kuronue had punched Hiei in the throat. They stared each other down ad they remained high above the ground foe a more seconds. They then both feel and made an even bigger crater than the first time. Hiei rolled over onto his side and coughed a few times, turning the ground red. His throat ached something awful and it hurt to breathe a little.

 

Hiei sat up and looked over in the other crater to see if Kuronue had gotten up yet. The bat was trying, but it looked like his equilibrium was thrown off and he was rubbing his neck. Kuro got to this feet, but it seemed he moved too fast because he wobbled and fell over. Hiei got a little slower and while his legs shook, he stayed upright. It took a little while to walk over to Kuro and he noticed with some annoyance that he saw darkness in his peripheral vision.

 

Kuronue was sitting in his crater, twirling his hart with a cocky grin on his face. “You almost broke my neck with that kick. I'll have to wait a while before I'm able to move without falling over. I never did like hand-to-hand combat anyway.” Kuronue said. Hiei chuckled and smirked. “Next time we can do something you're good at. You'll still lose.” Hiei replied. “Y'know, I just now realized I never told you who I was. Name's Kuronue.” Kuro said. Hiei stuck his hands in his pockets and walked off, saying, “Hiei.”

 

Kuronue chuckled once Hiei had left and put his hat back on his head. “Hiei huh? Kurama got a good one.” Hiei had made it outside his room when he remembered had left his shirt in the room. He shrugged and decided he would get it later. Right now a bath and sleeping were in order. Hiei opened the door and stepped inside, the room brightening some as he did so.

 

His eyes landed on the bed where he saw a very familiar-looking sword with a purple ribbon it. He walked over to it and pulled off the ribbon, leaving it on the bed. He pulled the sword from the sheath and smirked at the way it shined brightly. Hiei put it back in its sheath and turned it around, trying to find anything different. He finally found it at the base of the sheath: a tiny red rose. Hiei's smirk grew a little bigger and he set his sword next to the bed.

 

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Kuronue yawned loudly and he would have fallen face-first into his breakfast if Kurama hadn't nudged him. “It's too early Kurama. My brain isn't even awake.” Kuronue complained. “No it's not, so stop whining.” Kurama said, taking a bite out of his meal. “I don't see the point in this. If this demon requires your services, then shouldn't he be the one offering food?” Hiei asked. “Yeah, but there's always a chance the food could be drugged. Besides Kurama likes to show off.” Kuronue said, earning another nudge from Kurama. “I do not.” Kurama replied.

 

“Why am I here then?” Hiei asked. He didn't the point in attending the meeting if he wasn't directly involved in it. “I wanted you to be here Hiei.” Kurama said. The door then opened and a small blue lizard demon walked through. He twitched and looked around before spotting Kurama.

 

“Presenting Lord Tarukane.” The little demon said. It scurried out the door the same time Tarukane walked in. He wore a grayish-blue suit with a dark gray tie and he had several earrings on each ear, each one sporting a different gem. Tarukane had a very large and very round head with neck fat bulging from the top of his suit. There were rings crammed onto every single one of his fingers and several bracelets were on his wrists.

He walked over to the empty chair meant for him and sat down, making the chair creak. “So we finally get to meet. You must be Kurama, and I take it you're Kuronue.” Tarukane said. Kurama and Kuro nodded. Tarukane then looked at Hiei, saying, “Hmm, I don't remember my messenger mentioning you. What's your name?” “Hn.” Hiei replied. “Don't mind him. He's not one for conversation.” Kurama said. “Whatever. Now let's get down to business shall we? I need you guys to get somethin' for me. It's called the Cosmic Pearl, ever heard of it.” Tarukane asked.

 

“We've heard of it. Legend has it that centuries ago a demon used it to amass an army of demons No one knows what the pearl's power is exactly and or where it's currently hidden.” Kurama said. “But I take it you have a map of some sort.” Kuronue said. Tarukane nodded. “My boys got this from some stiff lying halfway in quicksand. Take a look.” He pulled out a weathered piece of paper and carefully unrolled it, handing it to Kurama. On the map were a few sketches of trees and the surrounding area.

 

In the top left corner of the map was a black dot with an `X' below it. “So how much is this going to cost me? I don't have that much on me at the moment.” Tarukane said. Kuro looked at the map for a moment before Kurama handed it back. “How much were you thinking of paying us?” Kuro asked. Tarukane reached down and brought up a chest, setting it on the table. He opened it up and revealed gold and glittering jewels. “How's this?” Tarukane asked. Both Kurama and Hiei were eating so Kurama answered instead. “This much is fine for now. We'll need twice as much after we return with the Pearl.”

 

Tarukane began to sweat some and he closed the chest. At least it was partially covering his face so they couldn't see him trying to think of his options. A few seconds later a smirk formed on Tarukane's face, but it faded as quickly as it came. “All right. But that Pearl better not be damaged or it's coming out of your pay.” Tarukane said. He pushed the chest away from him and stood up, the little blue demon reappearing. Kurama and Kuronue nodded and Tarukane left.

 

“Well that was fun.” Kuronue said, sarcasm dripping off every word. He took the meat off Kurama's plate and ate it noisily. Kurama made a disgusted face and pushed the rest of his food towards his friend. “You have horrible table manners.” He said. Kuronue laughed. “I only do it to annoy you. Speaking of annoyances, where's Shrimp-ei?” Kuro asked. Kurama looked over at Hiei's seat to find it empty and his plate devoid of food. He got up and moved to leave the room, flicking Kuro on the ear in the process. “I'm going to go looking for him.” Kurama said. The last thing he heard from Kuronue before leaving the room was kissing noises.

 

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Hiei's eyes quickly moved back and forth while he read the page. Honestly, he wasn't even sure he was even reading it, but it kept him from punching something. He wasn't exactly sure why he was angry, just that the meeting had bothered him to no end. There was something about the fat, sweaty Tarukane that he did not like, aside from the demon's apparent greed. His fingers tightened on one page before he realized what he was doing and let go. There was no point in him getting angry anyway, it wasn't like he was going with Kurama on the damn heist anyway.

 

Although, the thought of him going along did make his anger lessen. Hiei heard the door open, but he didn't turn around. He already knew who it was. “I thought I might find you here.” Kurama said. He walked over to Hiei and looked at what the koorime was reading. “Few people survive getting the Jagan Eye implanted Hiei.” Kurama said. “I will.” Hiei replied. The fox chuckled and sat down in the chair next to Hiei. The koorime was so damn obstinate. “I take it you're angry at me?” Kurama asked. “Hn.” Hiei replied.

 

“Care to talk about it?” Kurama prodded. “Tarukane is a fool and fools can never be trusted.” Hiei said. Kurama waited for the rest of what Hiei had to say. “I know you know that he has no intention of paying you past has already given, so why bother retrieving the Pearl at all?” Hiei asked. “I do know and I'm certain Tarukane realizes that as well, but if we back out now, then Tarukane could easily get someone else to do it. The job's easier when less people know what you're after. Besides…I'm curious as to what Tarukane's going to use the Pearl for. If it doesn't interfere with our plans in any way, then we'll leave him to his own devices. If it does then we'll kill him.” Kurama said. “It would be easier to just kill him now without all the mind games.” Hiei replied. Kurama smiled. “I suppose, but I like the mind games.” He said.

 

Kurama was suddenly reminded of something and he sighed softly. “What?” Hiei asked. “It's been four weeks. I said you could leave after a month had passed remember?” Kurama said, surprisingly with a sullen tone. Hiei thought about this for a moment while he looked at the book. Did he really want to leave? That was a stupid question; of course he wanted to leave. He didn't belong here, not really. He was used to being alone and finding his own food. Being here where he had a nice bed and food every day would only spoil him. Hiei would leave, it was as simple as that and he wouldn't think about Kuronue or Kurama even once. He especially wouldn't think about Kurama. “After the heist.” Hiei found himself saying. “Huh?” Kurama asked. “I'll decide whether I want to leave or not after the heist.” Hiei said.

 

Kurama blinked before smiling. “That's fine. If you come along, then try not to kill too many people, since it attracts attention. Kuro will be a little miffed but he can deal with it.” Kurama said. “I know that.” Hiei retorted. He stood up and faced Kurama, staring at him for a moment. Kurama raised a brow in question and Hiei smirked in response. Hiei put his hands in his pockets and walked off, leaving Kurama to wonder just what that was about. He eventually smiled and got up as well. He closed the book Hiei was reading, but not before putting a bookmark to save the other's place.

 

On his way back to his own room Kurama chuckled. `I wonder if that's what he figured out' He thought. He opened his door and stepped inside, the door closing behind him Kurama walked over to a table covered in plants and looked around for his water pitcher. He eventually found it upside-down underneath some newly grown moss. “It looks like I'll need to move this farther away...” Kurama mumbled to himself. He checked on a different plant to see that it had turned a dark blue while he was gone.

 

“I wasn't gone that long.” Kurama murmured to the plant, lightly stroking its petals. The flower grew a lighter shade until it settled on a white color. “Much better.” Kurama said. He checked on the rest of his plans and picked up any seeds they had dropped, putting them into his hair. Kurama turned towards his bed to find a purple ribbon lying on his bed on a perfect bow shape. `Look like you found my room Hiei.' He thought. Kurama walked over to the bed and picked up the ribbon. He chuckled when he saw a little black flame in the middle of the ribbon.

 

Kurama looked back at the flowers to see that the white flower had changed colors again. It was now a light pink and it had a very suspicious-looking black dot on it. “Stop that. I'm just in a good mood.” Kurama said. The plant seemed to disagree and turned a lovely shade of red with black lines on it. Kurama shook his head and went into the bathroom. There wasn't any point arguing with a stubborn flower. He looked at the ribbon while he soaked in the water and he smiled again. Hiei flashed in his mind's eye for a moment before fading. While he would be bothered if Hiei left, he wouldn't force the other to stay. He had already done that enough and he wanted Hiei to stay by choice. Kurama sighed and sank deeper in the water. He would find out whether Hiei would choose to stay or go soon enough. For once in his life, Kurama felt impatient.

 

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There was enough fog in the air that you couldn't see anyone if they were far enough away from you, not to mention that it was drizzling rain. It was perfect weather for stealing. It turned out that the map was only slightly off; the actual location of the Pearl was ten meters to the right of the `X' and was in a castle. Thanks to Kuronue's scouting they knew that there were at least ten guards on each wall, totaling forty. There was only one way in and the guards had said that the Pearl was supposed to be in the center tower. Hiei leaned against a tree to try to avoid the drizzle.

 

He still hadn't gotten over his dislike of water. “Hiei, you're going to get drizzled once we get moving so come out.” Kurama said. His hair was already damp and slightly sticking to his face. Kuronue's hat kept most of the water off him, but a few strands of hair kept clinging to his neck. Hiei looked at Kurama for a few more moments before stepping out into the drizzle. He shot him a look that basically said, `Happy now?' and Kurama chuckled. “We all remember what to do?” he asked. The other two nodded. Then the three went off in separate directions, each having a different job to do.

 

Meanwhile Bob the Guard was standing out on his post, grumbling to himself that it suck to have the `dark-as-hell shift'. “I'm startin' to think the boss don't like me. I'm always gettin' this shift and I always gotta be the one who sharpens the weapons.” Bob grumbled. He looked carefully from left to right before producing a brown bottle from his pocket. This was one of the few perks of the job: all the booze he wanted as long he didn't get drunk.

 

Since Bob was currently guzzling from the bottle, it wasn't a surprise that he didn't see the swordsman until it was too late and his head was rolling on the ground. Hiei looked at the demon with disgust before crushing the bottle with his boot. He looked around for more guards and the fog cleared enough to reveal another guard demon, this one drinking heavily. Hiei scowled; were all these demons drunkards? He killed the demon with the same ease as the first.

 

A charm appeared on the ground in front of him, followed by Kuronue flipping over the wall. “Don't touch those unless you wanna lose a limb.” Kuro said, pointing to the charm. “As if I would be that stupid.” Hiei replied. Kuronue shrugged. “All the other guards or either dead or they'll be unconscious for three days. Kurama's already inside and I need to do my part. Try not to get lost.” Kuro said, running on ahead. Hiei looked around as he decided which way he wanted to go.

 

A second later Hiei ran off and went through a doorway, going through the hallway. He was no in the center of the building and looked up at the tower. Hiei noticed that all the guards had plants sticking out of them and that there were charms on the tower. He ran towards the tower. He ran towards the tower door and opened it, rushing up the stairs until he reached a crossroad. One path went left and the other went right. Hiei could tell both Kurama and Kuronue had gone left as evidence by the rose on the corner of one of the charms. That was fine by him: they would go left, and he would go right. It would be a good idea to scout out this way anyway; it may end up as their escape route.

 

Hiei walked down the hallway, alert and ready for any demons lurking in the shadows. But it seemed that there weren't any demons this way, just dust and the occasional spider. The hallway finally ended with a doorway and Hiei looked behind him for a moment to see how far he had gone. From where he stood, Hiei could barely see his starting point. He turned back around and slowly opened the door, his sword ready to slice anything that may attack. The door opened the rest of the way by itself to reveal tubes and wires.

 

Hiei's eyes narrowed as he heard the distinct clinking of bottles. He stepped through the door and tried to locate just where the noise was coming from. He finally found that the noise was coming from a corner in the room and he could see someone putting bottles in a box. “I was wondering when I'd get out of here. You three took your sweet time getting up here.” The person said, putting a lid on his box of bottles. “Who the hell are you?” Hiei asked.

 

“You get right to the point, don't you? I'm Shigure, a demon surgeon.” Shigure answered, turning around to face Hiei. `I'm especially good at implanting the Jagan Eye.” Shigure said. “If I said I was interested, how much would it cost to get it implanted?” Hiei asked. Shigure seemed to rub his chin in thought. “Let's see…my price would probably be that…you have to tell me an interesting story.” Shigure replied. “That's it?” “That's it. Once I get out of here, come find me when you have your story. I doubt I'll be welcome in this area any longer once they find out that I poisoned the owner of this castle.” Shigure said. “The next time we meet I'll have a story.” Hiei replied, turning around and leaving. Shigure laughed, but it sounded suspiciously like a cackle.

 

Surprisingly enough, it didn't take Hiei too long to make it back to the marker. He went left this time and began to wonder just which door Kurama gone into. He didn't have to wait too long as Kuronue came around the corner and almost ran into Hiei. “Where the hell were you? We were starting to think something ate you!” Kuro yelled, looking miffed. “Hn.” Hiei replied. “Ugh, nevermind. We got the Pearl, but we ended up triggering a trap. There was no way around it and now there's a poisonous gas filling up the tower. Kurama's comin' but he told me to go find you.” Kuro said. “Are we leaving or not?” Hiei asked.

 

“Yeah, I told him we'd meet back up outside.” Kuro said. There was a slight hissing noise and Kuro blanched a little. “That's probably the gas.” He said. Both he and Hiei began to run, using the first window they saw as their exit way. They landed with ease and it was a little odd not to se any guards before they both remembered all the guards were dead, or close to it. Hiei had just made it over the castle wall when Kuronue smacked his palm against one of his charms. It began to light up and red lines began to form on the stone. Once the lines reached the next charm it lit up and did the same as the first. “And what exactly does this charm do?” Hiei asked.

 

The only thing Kuronue had said was that he'd lose a limb if he touched it. “To make it short, it blows stuff up.” Kuronue answered. He looked at the top of the wall, but still no sign if Kurama. `If he doesn't hurry up, he's going to be a dead fox.' He thought. “Won't that attract more attention? It seems to defeat the purpose of stealth.” Hiei said. “Yeah, but we'll be long gone by then. And Kurama thought it'd be best if we destroyed any traces of this place.” Kuro replied.

 

Hiei looked up at the wall as well and this time he could see Kurama making his way to the ledge to jump off. Tucked under his was a large orb that must have been the Pearl. One moment it looked like a light pink and the next it turned into a deep sea-blue. When Hiei blinked, the Pearl became a reddish color and he stopped looking. Kurama used his hand to push himself off the ledge just as the center tower exploded. He only looked at Hiei and Kuronue for a moment before heading into the forest; Hiei and Kuronue following soon after.

 

The rest of the castle exploded just as they made it behind a row of trees, sending stone and body parts flying every which way. A blast of air from the explosion whooshed past them and left a lot of dust in its wake. Hiei covered his mouth while Kuronue coughed and muttered about breathing in dead people dust. Hiei looked over at Kurama and saw that the fox was breathing just fine. He had some sort of plant over his mouth with a headband hat seemed to hold it in place.

 

Hiei hadn't even noticed most of the fog was gone and the drizzle had stopped until he realized he wasn't damp anymore. He raised an eyebrow in question at the plant-mask and Kurama took it off to talk. “It neutralizes the poison in the gas. Not completely, but it was enough to make the effects less severe.” Kurama said, smiling. His smile faltered for a moment when he teetered on his feet and had to use the tree for support. “The only problem is that now I'm dizzy and my vision is somewhat blurry.” Kurama said.

 

Kuronue walked over to Kurama and plopped his hat on the fox's head. “No biggie. I can just carry you and Hiei can carry the Pearl. Or we could just do it the other way around.” Kuronue replied. The bat thought about that for a moment and then started laughing. “I wonder if he can still laugh if I cut out his tongue.” Hiei said to Kurama. “The imagery! It's too funny!' Kuro said, still laughing. Kurama took off Kuro's hat and shoved it onto his friend's head. “Shut up Kuro, you're giving me a headache.” Kurama said. “Fine.” Kuro replied, his laughter stopping.

 

Then there was a thunderclap and it began to rain. Hiei moved himself closer to the tree and it looked like he was trying to merge with it. Kurama and Kuronue looked at the sky before glancing at each other “we should be getting back. You gonna be okay?” Kuronue asked. “As long as I don't overexert myself, I'll be fine.” Kurama answered. He then turned to look at Hiei and grinned. “Hiei, I'm sure if you run fast enough you'll go between the drops.” Kurama said. It only earned him a glare from Hiei and a chuckle from Kuronue.

 

“Aww look guys: the little fire demon is scared of the water.” A new voice said. It was hard to pinpoint its location due to both the rain and the dense foliage. “Maybe he'll melt if he gets wet brother.” A different voice replied, this one sounded like a cheese grater in a blender. There was laughter from a third voice and it said, “I would love to see that brother.” “Then why don't you come out so you can have a better look?” Hiei said, stepping out into the rain with his hand already resting on his sword hilt.

 

The leaves rustled and three demons appeared on a tree branch, all dressed in battle armor. There were only two main differences between the three: one wore green clothes and had a Mohawk, the second one wore blue clothes and had a ponytail, and the third were red clothes and had a short haircut that barely reached his ears. “Looks like the carnival is missing its freaks.” Kuronue said with a smirk. “It appears the fat man does not trust us with our task.” Hiei said. “Of course Tarukane doesn't trust you. Who would trust a fox, a bat, and a shrimp?” The one in red clothing said. “We are the Kan Brothers, one of the greatest demon fighting groups in all of Makai. I am Yu Kan, my brother in the red is Hu Kan, and the green one is Wei Kan.” Yu said.

 

“'One of the greatest'? Not `the' greatest?” Kurama asked, his tone mocking. “That's because we're the greatest Kurama.” Kuronue said. Hu's eyes narrowed and a hammer twice his size appeared in his hand. “You would be wise not to mock us.” He said. Wei and Yu materialized their own weapons: a chain scythe and two scimitars, respectively. “No more talking brother, now is the time to fight!” Wei said with a crazed tone. “My sentiments exactly.” Kuronue replied, pulling out his weapon. Hiei smirked and pulled his sword of its sheath.

 

“Don't think you're leaving me with the weak one.” Hiei said. “You mean the dude with the hammer? Nah, I was going to let Kurama have that one.” Kuronue replied. Kurama flicked his hair back with his hand and a white rose appeared. “Nonsense. I would hate to deprive you of a worthy opponent Kuro.” Kurama said. During their discussion, Hu had been getting angrier and angrier. He jumped down from the tree branch causing the earth to crack under his feet and making the three stop talking. “Are you three insinuating that I am weak?” Hu asked, gripping the handle of his hammer tightly.

“Who's insinuating?” Kuro asked. He back flipped just as Hu swung at him and the hammer hit the tree instead, knocking it over with a crash. “Finally, we fight!” Wei shouted, jumping down from the branch and trying to slash at Kurama when he landed.

 

“So I get the shrimp? Figures.” Yu said, appearing in front of Hiei. “At least try to make it interesting.” He added, twirling his swords. Hiei responded by slashing at Yu's head, cutting off his entire ponytail. “That interesting enough?” Hiei asked from behind Yu, looking over his shoulder at him. “You little bitch!” Yu snarled, slashing at Hiei with his swords.

 

Kurama lashed at Wei with his whip, leaving a red welt on the demon's face. Wei paused for a moment to touch his face and grinned when he found he was bleeding. “I knew this was going to be fun!” He threw his scythe at Kurama and the fox dodged, but it did manage to cut his arm. Wei gave a demented laugh and continued his assault, causing Kurama to either dodge or deflect it back with his white rose whip.

 

Kuronue kicked Hu in the face and flipped left, using his blades to slice at the other's hammer arm. Hu swung at him with his free hand and then tried to attack with his hammer. Kuro dodged the first but somehow his hat got crushed under the hammer.

 

Hu chuckled after he lifted his weapon and Kuro stared at his crushed hat. “Is the baby bat gonna cry about his crushed hat?” Hu asked in a patronizing tone. Kuronue looked at him and such was the intensity of his gaze that the demon took a step back in fear. “You punk-ass motherfucker! Your ass is grass you shit-eating bastard!” Kuronue yelled. He began to attack Hu at a break-neck speed and Hu couldn't avoid them all.

 

Yu twisted to avoid a thrust from Hiei and retaliated with a thrust of his own, hitting both of the koorime's arms. Hiei dodged Yu's next attack and quickly sliced up the other's leg, making blood pour out. Despite his injury Yu still charged at Hiei and tried to chop his head off. Hiei grabbed both swords with one hand, even though it cut into his skin. He didn't wince at all and gripped the swords until they broke.

 

Yu was frozen for a split second as he watched the pieces of his most prized possession flutter to the ground. That split second was all Hiei needed to pierce Yu's chest with his sword. Yu's eyes widened in shock as his life slowly faded away and Hiei pulled hi sword out of Yu's body, watching as the dead demon fell.

 

Kuro walked over to Hiei and glanced down at Yu for a moment. “You got blood on your face.” Kuro said, pointing at Hiei. Hiei touched the right side of his face and found it bloody; then he shrugged. “You have a severed hand on your shoulder.” Hiei replied. Kuro grabbed the hand and tossed it behind him. “Fucker didn't want to let go.” Kuro said. They both turned to watch Kurama's fight.

 

Kurama stepped out of the way of a pitiful attempt from Wei. “Why not give up? It must be hard fighting with one arm left.” Kurama said. Wei only laughed and tried to attack again. “Why would I stop? I'm having so much fun!” He said, leaping towards Kurama with his scythe. Kurama paused for a moment before slicing Wei in half, one half flying by either side of him. His whip returned back into a regular rose and Kurama walked a little ways off to a tree, sitting down. “I'm gonna do a little scouting to make sure there aren't any more surprises out there. Why don't you keep an eye on him?” Kuronue asked.

 

He nudged Hiei in Kurama's direction before heading off into the rain and forest. With the battle over, Hiei was aware of both the rain and that he was muddy. He hated being wet and he hated being muddy. Two hates combined into one. Ugh. Hiei tried to not look like he was running as he made his way over to Kurama. But you could tell he was feeling a little better when the rain lessened as he got under the tree with Kurama. Kurama had his eyes closed but opened them when Hiei sat down in front of him. “You're not using the rose you normally do.” Hiei said.

 

“This rose is affected by different emotions, some make it grow and other shrink. I wanted to see how well I would be able to fight with it and if I'm capable of keeping my emotions in check.” Kurama replied. There was silence between them and the rain continued to fall. “What did you decide?” Kurama asked suddenly. “I haven't decided.” Hiei replied. “Oh.” Kurama said.

 

Kurama was a very confusing person to be with in Hiei's mind. Just when the thought the fox was one way, he turned out to be another way or there was a new twist to him that wasn't there before. Part of Hiei wanted to find out just who Kurama was, but the other part just wanted to leave Kurama alone and go back to the way things were. The way things were…did he really want that? Hiei thought about everything that had happened in the past month and then reviewed the rest of his life. The month he spent with Kurama and Kuronue-even though he didn't want to be there at first-, was notably somewhat better than any other event in his life and that's not counting the food or his room, or even the books. There was something else there, something that made more and more of Hiei want to stay. He racked his mind for a memory that was similar to this.

 

The only one that came close was a memory that seemed more like a dream than real. He had been standing on a tree branch watching a girl with bluish-green hair play with some animals in the snow. He had hidden when she looked in his direction but the feeling he had felt then was the same as he felt now: family. Knowing that there was a place where he belonged with people that could possibly care about him. In some fucked-up kind of way, Hiei thought of the two thieves as his family.

 

A tug on his arm brought Hiei back to the present and he looked at Kurama who had a slightly concerned look on his face. “You had been staring out in space for ten minutes.” Kurama explained. “Hiei?” Kurama asked when the other had moved closer to him. He had to admit that it was a little odd having Hiei staring at him like that. Hiei smirked and Kurama was suddenly reminded of when they had talked in the library. “Care to tell me why you're smirking?” Kurama asked. Hiei didn't reply and if anything his smirk grew.

 

Kurama then put his hand behind Hiei's head and pushed him forward, kissing him roughly. Hiei didn't seem to mind and a few moments later responded with a bite to Kurama's lower lip. Kurama's tongue snaked to slide against Hiei's and there was a slight for dominance of the other's mouth before Hiei won. Eventually they parted and Hiei's smirk had turned a little smug.

 

“I wonder why I didn't try to do this while we were in the library.” Kurama said, mostly to himself. But at the time he hadn't been sure if Hiei would push him away or worse, try to kill him. Hiei looked at Kurama for a second before kissing him in a way that Kurama could almost call shyly. But `shy' wasn't in the Hiei dictionary, so Kurama didn't mention it.

 

“I'll stay.” Hiei said. Kurama smiled and turned Hiei around, pulling him up against his chest. “I thought you would.” Kurama replied. He glanced down to look at Hiei's face to see that the koorime was pouting again. Kurama chuckled and kissed the top of Hiei's head. “You know Hiei-` “I wasn't.” Hiei said, cutting Kurama off. “You weren't what?” Kurama asked. “What you thought I was doing. I wasn't.” Hiei answered. “Okay. But if you were doing what I thought you were doing-which you said you weren't doing- I think it's cute.” Kurama said. “Hn.” Hiei replied.

 

“Aww, ain't that cute? The fox and the squirt are bein' all cuddly.” Kurama and Hiei's heads turned to see Tarukane. He had a wicked grin on his face and a gatling gun held with both hands. “I gotta hand it to ya: the Kan Brothers were really strong and you defeated them pretty easily. What do you say you join my organization? You could have riches you only dream of!” Tarukane said. “And what is your organization?” Kurama asked. “Well, it's small at the moment it'll get bigger with my help. It's called the Black Black Club.” Tarukane replied.

 

“I'm not interested. Just give us the money you owe.” Kurama said. “Only if you give me the Pearl.” Tarukane answered. “If we say no, are you going to try and kill us with that pathetic gun of yours?” Hiei questioned. “Just give me the Pearl and then we'll talk about the money.” Tarukane said irritably. “Unfortunately for you Tarukane, we can't allow you to have the Pearl. I believe I know what you really intend to do with the Pearl and it's not to help your organization. Which then means that you've become somewhat of a pest. And all pests should be exterminated.” Kurama said, eyes flashing.

 

Tarukane began to sweat and his gun shook in his hands. `There's no way that fox is killing me! I'm not the pest, he is!' “I'm not dyin' here!” Tarukane screamed, firing his gun. Yoko and Hiei went off in different directions but both landed on a tree branch. “Not so pathetic now huh?!” Tarukane yelled, firing at Hiei. Hiei dodged the attack and pulled out his sword, ready to slice Tarukane's gun in half. Hiei dodged left when Tarukane fired and glanced behind him for a moment to see Kurama narrowly dodge. Kurama made it to a different branch but had to hold onto the tree tightly so as not to fall off.

 

“The poison on my clothes must have gotten into my bloodstream…” Kurama muttered to himself. Tarukane knew an easy target when he saw one and turned his gun towards Yoko and fired. Yoko didn't bother to dodge this time and deflected the bullets with his whip. He then used the whip to attack Tarukane, who nimbly (surprisingly with all that fat) jumped backwards. “How the hell can you get me from all the way up there?!” Tarukane challenged. “Open your eyes fool, I'm right here.” Tarukane turned with his gun in time to see Hiei about to attack. `I ain't going out like this!' he thought. “Grruuha!” Tarukane yelled, firing at Hiei point-blank. There was a tremendous explosion causing smoke and flying debris. Yoko shielded his face with his arm and waited for the dirt clouds to settle. His ears twitched as he heard a dripping noise and immediately smelled blood.

 

Then he heard an ear-splitting shriek. Hiei pulled his sword out of Tarukane's face, not caring that blood splashed onto his clothes. Tarukane now had a bloody gash going from his hairline, close to his eye, and then ending above his lip. Tarukane screamed again as he clutched at his face, blood oozing out between his fingers. “My face! The hell did you do?!” “Stop screaming. You'll live…for the moment.” Hiei said. “You should be dead right now! Dead you hear me? My gun shoulda killed you!” Tarukane yelled. “Had you taken the time to stop and think, you would have realized my whip was only a distraction. While you dodged the first attack, I threw seeds in to the chamber of your gun and the result was that explosion.” Kurama said.

 

Tarukane's face twisted in rage and he pulled a pistol out of his pocket, aiming it at Hiei. “I'll be damned if I die by the likes of you!” He shouted. Hiei knocked Tarukane's gun away and broke his wrist. He punched the ugly man in the nose and sent him flying into a large tree. Tarukane's eyes rolled into the back of his head and it was obvious he was dead.

 

Hiei hopped up onto the tree branch where Yoko was; Yoko was now resting against the tree. “You're not going to die.” Hiei said bluntly. Yoko chuckled as he stood back up. “And here I was thinking that you'd ask if I was okay. You're right, I'll live.” Yoko said. There was a rumble of thunder and Yoko looked at the forest. “I wonder what's keeping Kuro…” He mumbled. His ears picked up a soft rustle and he quickly turned to attack, but it seemed he wasn't fast enough.

 

A painful slash to his right side and blood splashed onto the bark of the tree. A demon landed three tree branches away from then with the dead Tarukane slung over his shoulder. “The death of my leader shall be avenged!” The demon yelled before feeling. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but Yoko had closed his eyes after the slash and now reopened them.

 

He felt Hiei's hands on his sides and saw that Hiei's cloak was tattered in one place. Yoko had still gotten wounded, but he had taken the brunt of the attack. “Hiei…” Yoko said softly. Hiei let go of Kurama and stepped back some. “I don't need more things to carry.” Hiei replied.

 

There was another rustle and Kuronue appeared. “Damn! What happened to you two?” Kuro asked. “You got distracted by a woman didn't you?” Yoko asked. It was really more of a statement than a question though. “No…okay yeah. But she was soooooo hot! She was like, covered in these vines and naked underneath. Red hair…. damn. Sucks she got away.” Kuro answered. “She was a decoy you fool.” Hiei said. “But a sexy decoy.” Kuro replied. “Let's just go home now, okay? I'm dirty, bleeding, and the rain isn't helping.” Yoko said. The sky rumbled again and a cluster of leaves parted to drop water on Hiei. Yoko and Kuro looked like they were going to laugh, but Hiei's glare made them do it mentally.

 

Yoko and Hiei made a makeshift bandage for their wounds by using strips of their clothes. The rain looked it was finally starting to slow again and the lightning was now just upper atmosphere. “I can't believe I missed you guys whooping Tarukane's ass. Damn enchantress.” Kuronue said. Then Kuronue remembered something that he wanted to ask Kurama. “Hey Kurama, what happened to the Pearl?” Kuro asked. The three of them had just set off for home and Kurama thought about it for a moment. He moved his hand to his right side where he had hidden it only to feel his bandage. Yoko looked at Kuro and said, “Damn.”

 

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CK: Okay, between volunteering, groundings, annoying cousins, angry mothers, and other crap you don't care about, I got this typed up. Two reviews…oh well, better than none. Please keep reviewing you two! ^^

 

And all you other people reading this should review too. I know people look at this, so come on, and review! Or I'll send Zombie Tarukane© after you.

 

And yes, there are hints about things in both my sequel and the actual YYH show in here if ya look.