Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ YYH DS 4: A Conversation over Dinner ❯ One-Shot

HieiWannabe: I don't really know much time Yusuke & Co. spent in Maze Castle, but, considering the size of the thing, how far they had to walk to get there, how late in the day it was when they started, and how much the sitch in Ningenkai deteriorated while they were at it, I'm betting they spent at least one night there. If you don't think they did, don't yell at me; write your own darn story!

Wynne: Whoa! Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the tree branch. >snicker< >snicker<

HieiWannabe: >_<

Wynne: Okay, why don't you go try some relaxation exercises, while I finish up here? Okay. HW doesn't own YuYu Hakusho or anything else, and we should all be very, very happy about that. Also, this fic contains mild swearing (She doesn't seem able to curse like the former trooper she is, does she?) and hints of shonen ai. At least, we hope it does. It takes place between Kuwabara's 2nd fight with Byakko and Hiei's fight with Seiryu.

HieiWannabe: *leans over Wynne to type* One more thing! Just because I'm a rabid Hiei fan doesn't mean I dislike Kuwa-chan! Actually, I like him a lot for reasons that are too detailed to go into here. I promise not to bash the carrot-top any more than I do anyone else!

Wynne: *pushes authoress away* On with the story!

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YYH Deleted Scenes Part 4

A Conversation over Dinner

Yusuke yawned hugely, not even bothering to hide it. Instead, he folded his arms behind his head as he walked.

"Man, I'm tired! Hey, anybody know what time it is?"

The spirit detective's lazy query received a variety of responses, ranging from ignoring it(Hiei) to "My watch was in my jacket, but that got disintegrated,"(Kuwabara) to "It has been several hours since we arrived, but Makai days are shorter than Ningenkai days,"(Kurama).

"Aw, man," Yusuke whined. "They weren't kidding when they called this place `Maze Castle'! And I didn't even eat dinner before we left. I bet it's about time for breakfast."

"Oi, shut up, Urameshi! You got nothin' to complain about. You haven't even fought yet, while I had to go through two long fights," Kuwabara griped.

Yusuke yawned again, pointedly unbothered by the big redhead's words. "Yeah, well, don't forget I offered to take your place, Kuwabara. So you've got nothing to complain about, either."

While the two humans had been arguing, Kurama noticed Hiei pull something from his cloak. The spiky-haired demon ended the argument by throwing two small objects at the youths. "Here, eat these and quit complaining," he ordered.

While Yusuke happily tore open what he rightly guessed to be some sort of food bar, Kuwabara watched his new rival suspiciously until he saw Hiei remove two more small packages from his cloak. The youkai handed one to Kurama and kept the other for himself. Then the burly teen turned his attention to his own meal.

After Yusuke had stuffed the last crumb into his mouth he grinned at his newest ally and said, "Thanks a bunch, Hiei! I was about to keel over from hunger! Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a nice, fluffy, pillow in that cloak, too, wouldja?" The leader of the Tantei laughed.

Choosing to ignore that last comment, Hiei replied, "I'm glad you enjoyed it, since that was probably the only food you'll get here."

Three pairs of hungry eyes turned to the little fire youkai. Kuwabara asked, "You mean you don't have any more?" A nod. "No way, man! That was just a snack!"

A smirk accompanied Hiei's response, "Didn't you win your first fight because your opponent ate too much? Maybe you should take a lesson from that."

Kuwabara decided to ignore that remark. Instead, he and Yusuke turned to each other.

"We gotta find something else to eat," Kazuma whined.

"I'd be happy with a place to sleep," countered Yusuke.

Meanwhile, Kurama had finished eating his food. As he listened to the two `bad boys' pick up their whining where they had left off, he pondered the consequences of taking a break. Finally coming to a conclusion, the redhaired fox spirit spoke up. "I don't think a few hours will make too much of a difference in the situation, Yusuke. If you really want to take a nap, I believe we have the time. Perhaps we may even find a storeroom. Considering how many youkai must live in and around this castle, the Beasts probably store quite a lot of food here."

Unsurprisingly, no one had any objections to Kurama's idea.

* * *

Less than three hours later found the newly-convened Reikai Tantei inside a storeroom in the castle. It had taken Kurama two hours to sniff out the Four Beasts' supplies, and now Yusuke and Kuwabara were checking through some of the boxes piled high along the walls of the large room while Kurama checked for traps and Hiei started a fire and began boiling water.

It took the renowned thief only a few minutes to ensure that their refuge was safe, and he returned to the makeshift campsite long before the other two. As he walked toward Hiei, Kurama reflected upon the changes that were coming over his friend. The boyish demon seemed much calmer than the last time they had seen each other, as if he had come to some important conclusion. Not only that, but he had actually thought to bring food for not just himself, but his new teammates!

In fact, Kurama found himself feeling jealous that Yusuke had been able to cause such a profound change in the surly demon.

Not that he *really* cared[1].

In part to distract himself from what was becoming a disturbing line of thought, Kurama sat down beside Hiei. "A penny for your thoughts[2]," he joked.

"Don't waste your money," Hiei riposted.

Kurama could not help smiling at that remark. `He really has changed,' he thought. The fox-human looked around the rectangular room for his human allies. Yusuke and Kuwabara were currently about 15 meters away, tearing open some boxes that they thought looked promising. The two boys had already collected a sizable mound of foodstuffs, and had placed it on the ground beside them. Since it appeared that they would be engrossed in their activities for a few more minutes, Kurama took the opportunity to attempt to unearth his demon ally's motives. "I was not surprised when you agreed to help Yusuke with his cases. After all, there was very little you could do for Yukina from prison, was there?"

If he was expecting Hiei to take the hint, he should have known better. The fire demon merely grunted in a non-committal fashion and reached forward to test the temperature of the water. Kurama smirked at the sight. They had been lucky in finding some pots and bowls amid the supplies in the room, but had found nothing suitable for starting a campfire. However, while that might have been a problem for humans who had never had any wilderness survival training, it was something less than a problem for a flame manipulator. "The water's ready," Hiei commented.

But Hiei should have known better than to expect Kurama to accept a change of subject. "Have you considered getting Yusuke to help?"

`Damn fox is worse than a dog with a bone,' Hiei grimaced. But, since the sentiment was very true, he realized that he would have to give his foxy partner an answer. "I don't want anyone to know of our relationship. You know that."

"But I know you trust Yusuke." Silence. Kurama tried a different tack. "Or do you still want to fight him again?"

Hiei waited so long to answer that Kurama feared the conversation was over. Finally, however, he spoke, but in a voice so small and uncertain that Kurama could barely hear him. "Even if I fought him again, I think I'd still lose…"

Kurama was surprised at Hiei's tone of voice, even moreso than at his words. "Why?"

Again, Hiei waited a long time before answering, "I wasn't mad at you for helping Yusuke for very long, Kurama. What you did wasn't fair, but complaining about that won't change the fact that I still lost. I've been thinking a lot about why you betrayed me, though, instead of helping me. He wouldn't have beaten me if you hadn't done that. I can win against practically anyone in a one-on-one fight, but I'm not so foolish as too believe I'll win just as easily against a group.

"There's something about Yusuke that attracts people. I don't know what it is, but I know it's something I don't have. Without that, every time I go up against him, I'll be fighting alone. And even if Yusuke also fights alone, his desire to protect his friends gives him enough power to make it seem as if I'm facing an army. There are many kinds of strength, after all. And Yusuke's ability to make allies out of enemies may be the greatest strength of all."

Kurama was flabbergasted at these words. It was not as if he had never had the same feeling, no, quite the contrary. He had just never expected Hiei to say such things out loud. But after he finished, Kurama saw that the little demon seemed to pull into himself, as if trying to hide from the truths he had just voiced.

`It is good that Hiei thinks that,' Kurama mused. `But it is not good that he feels crushed by his insight.' Deciding to get back to the original subject, Kurama shot a look toward the youth in question, and responded, "He does not have to know. I could tell him if you're worried. After all, if Spirit World wants to foster peace between the three worlds, nothing could be worse than ignoring a request for help in locating a missing, innocent, demon."

Hiei, who had been sitting hunched over and pensive, seemed rather relieved at the return to the earlier argument. "You'd better not tell them anything," was his unequivocal reply.

Leaf-green eyes narrowed in alarm at the quiet statement, and Kurama was glad Hiei was not looking at him. Since the conversation was beginning to steer into dangerous waters, the tall ningen-youko finally acceded to Hiei's unspoken desire for a change of subject.

Kurama sighed in what he hoped was a defeated manner. "Well, have you thought of what you will do with your newly-acquired freedom once we've completed this assignment?" he asked.

"Hn."

"I know! Why don't you go out to dinner with me? A new Italian restaurant just opened a few blocks from my house and I've been wanting to try it."

Hiei turned suspicious red eyes on his friend. "Why are you asking me?"

This time Kurama did not need to fake his sigh. "Ever heard of a thing called `friendship'?" he teased.

A glare was added to the suspicious look at the fox's choice of words. "I have. You're my `friend', after all, and that's why I know you never do anything without an ulterior motive," Hiei pressed.

`I guess distracting him for a while after our return will be harder than I thought,' Kurama worried. But he was spared from having to think of a defense by the sudden return of the rest of their team.

"Whoa, never thought I'd see you two arguing! What's up?" Yusuke laughed.

Hiei did not respond, but merely took the food Kuwabara offered him and began cutting the meat and vegetables into stew-size pieces. Kurama smiled sadly and said, "Nothing, Yusuke…"

* * *

After dinner the four boys began to settle down for a nap. It was too dangerous for them all to sleep, and they wanted to be on their way again as soon as possible, so they agreed to each take a two-hour watch. Yusuke would go first, then Kurama, Kuwabara, and finally Hiei.

As Yusuke got comfortable with his back against a medium-sized box and Hiei dimmed the fire so Yusuke could see beyond it into the otherwise dark, windowless room, Kurama and Kuwabara tried to find a comfortable position against the cold stone floor.

Unfortunately for the largest Tantei, there was nothing he could do about the fact that there was nothing between his chest and the broken tiles. "Brrr! I'm freezing," he complained.

Hiei had removed his cloak and rolled it into a makeshift pillow. Although this left him shirtless as well, his demonic heritage kept him from feeling the cold. With this thought in mind, the fire demon turned his face towards the large human on his right. Hiei felt momentarily torn between worrying that the human might die of hypothermia, and worrying that someone would think he cared about the human dying of hypothermia. Finally deciding that Kuwabara was worth more to the team alive than dead, and knowing that he could do something to help the boy without any extra effort, Hiei called out, "If you're cold, come lay by me."

Kuwabara, however, came up with a rather different interpretation of the offer than the one Hiei intended. "Eeww! I don't like you at all, let alone THAT way!"

That his offer would be so rudely refused angered Hiei greatly and he growled at the teenager. Kurama, fortunately, realized what the little demon meant and stepped in, "You misunderstand, Kuwabara. It is very easy for fire demons to raise the air temperature around themselves by a few degrees. If you sleep close to Hiei, it will be like taking a nap on a warm summer afternoon."

"Oh, uh… Well, I guess that wouldn't be so bad," the boy hesitantly reasoned.

Hiei, however, had exhausted his reserves of kindness and understanding for the day. "No. If he doesn't want to, then he won't." And with that, Hiei curled into a ball on his right side, giving his back to the human.

Kurama sighed again and shrugged at the shivering lad. Then they both laid down again and tried to get as comfortable as they could.

Within a few minutes, Kuwabara was shivering uncontrollably. However, he noticed that his back was quite a bit warmer than his front. Sure enough, looking over his right shoulder confirmed his suspicions; Hiei was laying only a meter away. Looking closer, the burly Tantei could see that his most irritating ally was fast asleep. Quickly coming to a decision, Kuwabara scooted up closer to Hiei so the two boys laid almost back-to-back. As blessed warmth curled around his frame, the orange-haired ningen let out a sigh of relief and fell asleep.

The noise he made while moving had not gone unnoticed by either Yusuke or Kurama. After smiling at the heart-warming scene for a moment, Kurama came to his own decision, and moved closer to Hiei's other side. After settling in, the youko looked at his new leader's raised eyebrow and smirked. "Portable heater," he whispered.

Yusuke snickered quietly at the comment.

* * *

Some time later Hiei was roused from his slumber by a strange, tickly feeling on his face. A lifetime of sleeping by himself in the wilds of Makai had taught him to take stock of his surroundings immediately upon waking, and before making any movement that might alert an enemy.

Paying close attention to the information he gained from hearing, scent, and touch helped him remember where he was: In Maze Castle, with three others, and it was not his turn to watch.

The itching sensation grew worse, and Hiei opened his eyes to see Kurama lying close beside him with his back turned to him, and a strand of his long, crimson hair was irritating his nose. Surprised, Hiei twitched his nose to rid it of the lock of hair and carefully looked around. He was lying between Kurama and Kuwabara. The two larger boys were both facing away from Hiei, almost as if they were protecting him. A sudden movement in the corner of his left eye directed his attention to Yusuke. The Spirit Detective was still awake, watching over his sleeping comrades. Apparently, he had heard something, because the boy had raised his right hand, index finger extended in his signature `Rei-Gan' pose, and was looking carefully around. After a few moments of not finding anything amiss, the raven-haired street-fighter relaxed his guard a bit and lowered his hand.

Suddenly embarassed by the scene, Hiei closed his eyes before Yusuke saw that he was awake. This was the first time anyone had ever guarded Hiei's sleep. It felt strange, but not in an unpleasant way. He had always dreaded sleep before, never knowing what horrible fate he might awaken to. But this time, as he drifted back into unawareness, the little outcast youkai smiled contentedly.

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[1] Yes, Kurama was indicating that he had a slight attraction to Hiei. However, I'm not going to be making this real shonen ai for a long time, if ever. This is because I really hate it when fic-writers throw non-canon couples together without any romantic build-up at all, and I don't want to fall into this trap. Hiei and Kurama are definitely my favorite non-canon couple, but I don't want to pair them up too soon. It's important to savor the thrill of uncertainty that comes from a just-budding romance, y'know? ^__^

[2] I have no idea if the Japanese have a saying like this. However, changing it to `A yen for your thoughts,' sounds hopelessly derivative.

HieiWannabe: This fic was inspired by a poem I read about Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama watching over Hiei as he slept. Unfortunately, I can't remember who wrote it so I can't give proper credit! If the poet is reading this, tell me in a review or something and I'll put your name on this fic.

I've been sitting on this for a while, waiting for my beta to finish with it. After weeks of nothing, I've about given up on her. *sigh* When Tikia Thundaren reviewed my other posts I decided to go ahead and put this up. It *has* been betaed, but that was my Mom. She's a good writer and reads a lot of books, so she knows what she's doing, but she's my Mom, and I'm always worried she's not as hard on my stories as I need someone to be.

Well, thanks to everyone who read my other stories, including 'Drivin' Through a Flood'. And lots of love to Tikia Thundaren, M. E., Yamistar, and Fanilia.

Tikia: Now I don't feel so bad about leaving mile-long reviews! I think you put me to shame. ^_~ I hope this one didn't have Hiei OOC. It was a hard scene to do. He does have some wordy, emotional moments in the anime, but it's so hard to match my idea about the conversation with his character. So, I just decided to have it end as quickly as possible. Tell me if it worked, or if he's hopelessly sappy, onegai? So, you liked 'Desires' the best, eh? I'm pretty proud of that one. It took me a long time to come up with believable reasons for Hiei to never use the sword and not fight Yusuke with all his strength. And I really love the telepathic conversation with Botan. I made him sound *so* evil, mwa ha ha. I think people hate Funimation because it altered so much of the dialogue. I've got DVD's with Japanese subtitles, and, believe me, it's very different in some places. Ones with obscure cultural references I can understand, but they actually cut out a lot of explanations about the three worlds and people's powers. And I whole-heartedly agree with you about putting Koenma and George in as comic relief. I *do* think they're funny, but sometimes their true purposes and characters get lost amid the jokes. About your story, I'm happy that you won't make it about your own characters. I've read most of the stories on Sandy Youko's site, and I liked them, but once she got away from Hiei and Kurama and focused on her OC's, I just couldn't keep interested. I didn't want that to happen again.