Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Hypocrite Hunter ❯ The Bloodgiving Incident ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: Neither of the authors own or make any claim whatsoever upon Yu Yu Hakusho and the events and characters of the aforementioned series. This is a non-profit endeavor and is in no way, shape, or form associated with or endorsed by the copyright holders. Additionally, we do not own (or claim to own) the organization(s) mentioned in this story. If we did own it we would make sure that policies were non-discriminatory. Chapter Two
Hiei scowled. "Why are we here again?"

Kurama smiled patiently. "Yuusuke, Kuwabara, and I are going to give blood."

"For what?"

Yuusuke grinned slightly. "There's a blood shortage in the 'States, apparently, and the Red Cross set up a special thing so we can give blood."

Hiei looked perplexed. "Why? Do Americans drink blood or something?" Yuusuke dissolved in giggles at the statement, annoying the fire demon.

Kuwabara ended up answering. "No. They use it for operations and stuff when humans get hurt."

"And why are you dragging me along?"

Yuusuke snickered again. "For Kurama's emotional support." He yelped as the redhead whacked him.

"Quiet, or I'll sic Keiko on you." The fox grinned at his diminutive lover. "Besides, we're all going out for a decent meal afterwards, and you wouldn't want to miss that, would you?"

"Hn. I might."

Kurama just grinned. "Too bad."

"Hn." There was a slight inflection in Hiei's voice that let Kurama know he didn't really mind.

They walked up to the first table, and the petite American woman that was sitting there smiled at them. "I take it you want to give blood?" Kurama opened his mouth as if to reply, but the woman didn't wait for an answer, shoving paperwork in their hands. "Just fill out the paperwork and we'll be right with you. Make sure to read the requirements."

"Anou . . ." Kurama took the papers the woman had shoved at Hiei. "He's not giving blood."

The woman gave them a fierce look that would have frightened them had they not been used to them. "And why is that?"

Kurama glanced at the sheet with requirements, noticing one right off the bat that fit Hiei. "He doesn't meet the minimum weight requirement [1]." The woman nodded curtly and took the paperwork back.

The Tantei headed toward a cluster of seats. Yuusuke scowled. "That old bat was persistent."

Kurama shrugged. "They want blood."

"I've met gaki [2] that were more polite," Hiei muttered.

Yuusuke giggled again and put on a false petulant voice. "Excuse me, little one, would you mind if I sucked your blood for a while? No? Well then, would you object to me eating your soul? Hey, put that sword do--" Hiei backhanded Yuusuke in the solar plexus and glared at Kuwabara, who was chortling helplessly.

Kurama smiled at the boys' antics and put a calming hand on Hiei's shoulder. "Let's just fill out this paperwork so we can get this over with." They sat in a small cluster of chairs, pulling them slightly away from the other people filling out paperwork.

Hiei took the page of requirements and read it over as the others began to fill out the paperwork. The fire demon's eyes widened slightly as he read, then re-read a line. "Kurama . . . It says here that you can't donate blood," he said softly. The others looked up, surprised.

"What? Show me." Kurama leaned over to look at the line Hiei was pointing at. "'Volunteers with the following conditions cannot donate blood:' . . . 'A man who has had sex with another man since 1977.' [3]" The fox's green eyes widened. "What the . . .?"

Kuwabara flipped through the form he was filling out, his own eyes widening as well. "'Have you had sex with another male, even once, since 1977?' [4]" He frowned. "I wonder why . . ."

Yuusuke scowled, reading the requirements page over Hiei's shoulder. "I bet they consider it a form of 'Participation in high-risk activity for AIDS.'" He glared at the page. "They screen the blood anyway, so what does it matter?!"

Kurama sighed softly. "And it's not even valid anymore. I've heard that the new high-risk group for AIDS is heterosexual women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one [5]. They're using outdated information--from 1989 [6]."

Hiei looked slightly confused. "What the hell is AIDS?"

"It's a disease that ruins the immune system. There's no cure. It's mostly transmitted sexually." Kurama seemed shocked.

The fire demon frowned. "But you don't have any sort of disease. So what's the problem?"

Kuwabara scowled. "There's only one problem: homophobia. This whole AIDS scare bull shit is just a cover-up for discrimination." Kurama got up and walked to the table, followed by the others, handing the woman the partially-finished forms.

She frowned. "You didn't finish filling the forms out, ma'am."

Kurama's eyes narrowed. "First of all, I am male. And I didn't complete the forms because it'd be a waste of my time, considering that I'm not allowed to give blood according to your requirement that donors not be gay." The woman's eyes widened slightly. "Apparently, my blood's not good enough for you."

Yuusuke tossed his form on the table as well. "And I don't give blood to people who discriminate against others just because of sexuality."

Kuwabara followed suit, giving the woman a scolding look. "Nor do I. Che! Americans . . . What, do you think you'll turn gay if you get a transfusion of blood from a homosexual?"

The woman looked flustered. "It's FDA policy! [7]"

Hiei scowled at her. "A stupid policy. You people need to grow up." He grabbed Kurama's arm and pulled him toward the door, Yuusuke and Kuwabara following. None of them looked back.

They remained silent until after they had reached the restaurant and been seated. None of them spoke until they ordered. Finally, Hiei broke the ice that had settled upon the group. "I hate ningens. Even most youkai don't discriminate that much."

Kurama winced inwardly at most. "I know, Hiei. It's annoying."

Kuwabara scowled deeply. "It's pure stupidity. They pretend that they're doing stuff for the good of everyone, but they're really doing it to oppress the minority."

"Certainly sends a clear negative message out," Yuusuke muttered.

Hiei sighed. "I wonder if they'll ever change it."

Yuusuke snorted. "Fat chance. America's really ruled by the Christian Coalition, which is run by a bunch of bigots that can't see any further than their own noses."

Kuwabara scowled. "Yeah, they use religion to make themselves feel higher than everyone else, and that's messed up."

Kurama sighed, stirring his tea absently. "Yeah, but try telling them that. They won't listen and they don't care about the feelings of 'sinners.'"

"I hate that," Hiei growled. "Like they have the right to judge others! Just like . . ." He trailed off, saved by the arrival of their meal.

Kurama gently squeezed Hiei's hand under the table and shot him a look that went unnoticed by the other two, who were taking their food from the cheerful waitress. Kurama passed Hiei his plate and took his own, thanking the waitress and waiting for her to leave before addressing his friends. "Don't worry about it. Let's just forget about it and have a good time."

Yuusuke smiled. "Yeah. After all, if we let it interfere with our lives, they win."

"Yeah," Kuwabara mumbled around a bite of hamburger. He swallowed and continued. "Besides, they're the ones suffering for it. Let them have a blood shortage. If they're going to turn away potential donors, the blame for the shortage can only be placed on them."

The friends were silent for a while, preoccupied with eating. Finally Yuusuke looked up. "Hey, you guys, did you hear about that new arcade?"

Kuwabara face lit up. "The one that has an entire room of DDR? Yeah!"

Yuusuke grinned. "How about we head there after this for some fun?"

Kuwabara laughed. "Sure! Then we can introduce Hiei to DDR and have some fun!" Yuusuke joined him in laughing, and they missed the amused look that passed between Kurama and Hiei.

Kurama smiled. "It should be fun. Want to try it out, Hiei?"

Hiei maintained a neutral expression as he shrugged. "Fine with me, Fox."

---

[1] You must be 110 pounds to give blood, and I somehow doubt that Hiei could weigh that much and stand at the top of trees.

[2] A gaki is a vampire.

[3] This is actually in a list of requirements.

[4] A gay friend of Rose's was turned away from donating blood despite the blood shortage because he answered 'yes' to this question.

[5] CDC statistic from 2001.

[6] CDC statistic from 1989.

[7] It really is an FDA regulation.

Authors' notes: The views and opinions expressed within this story are a reflection of the authors'. We are in no way saying that our personal opinions are right, but we are saying that everyone has a right to express their own opinions without fear of being censored. We do not agree with a number of policies that the mentioned organizations have, and we are using this as a means of making our disagreement with them known. Also, we would like to thank anyone who has taken the time to read this story and listen to our opinions.