Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

            Yusuke hugged his knees to his chest and stared out at the rapidly darkening forest from his hiding spot in the rotted out hollow of an old, dead tree. Every time he took a breath, his ribs ached from the strain of it, but he refused to cough, or complain. Someone would come and find him soon enough. They always did. That didn't mean he had to make it easy for them, no matter how much they complained that the air was bad for him, and that he shouldn't be outside for too long, or be left on his own. Because he was weak, and small, and couldn't protect himself.

            Yusuke didn't care about any of that. He knew the air made his lungs hurt if he stayed outside for too long, but staying inside meant always being told what to do, or talked about, or fussed over, and he just wanted to be left alone. He was tired of always being reminded that he wasn't like everybody else, and that he had to be careful. So he'd run off, as usual, just to get away. Just to see how far he could go before his struggling lungs forced him to stop, and wait to be rescued. It was frustrating, but at least it meant he was alone, for a little while.

            There was something struggling to breathe, in that tree. Hiei could hear them. He hadn't seen them run in there, of course. He'd been trudging through the towering woods with his dagger-sword in his belt. It was starting to get cold. Hiei knew he was in bad trouble if he was getting cold. He hadn't eaten since that last leg of some dead creature he'd scrounged off its corpse; days ago? The wolves had already gotten to it.

            So when Hiei heard the breathing, he hid himself in the bushes opposite. His pupils were pinpricks in too-wide eyes, in his face; they stuck out from thin cheekbones. He gripped his dagger in his belt, but thought better of it. He didn't know what it was. But he was hungry. Hiei stared at the darkened hollow of the trunk, waiting for the sun to set. When it did, his night vision took over, and he abruptly ran at the opening. It couldn't be that big if it'd hidden in here.

            Hiei'd take his chances, and bite first.

            Yusuke heard a rustling noise, like the wind in the bushes only faster, coming right at him, and suddenly something was biting his arm. He could hardly make out what it was, in the darkness, but that didn't matter. If it was already biting him, then he knew exactly where it was.

            He didn't take the time to think about it, he simply pulled back his other arm, in the limited space he had, grit his teeth, and punched.

            Hiei made an unhappy, angry noise when it punched him, but didn't let go. This close, it smelled - human? Hiei was too close to really get a good look at it. He fisted a tiny hand and punched back, aiming for the closest spot on his opponent's body.

            What had Hiei bitten? If it was a human - an arm, or leg?

            When the thing punched back, Yusuke realized that, if it was a demon, it was a small one, and that only made him madder. He punched the thing again.

            "Get off me!"

            "Ow!" Hiei barked out; the second punch really hurt. His exclamation had made him let go, so he scrambled back out of the hollow of the tree. At a good distance from it - maybe a grown-up's height away - Hiei crouched with his hands out in front of him. Under his cloak, his feet were also poised for movement, eyes narrowing.

            If it came out, Hiei could catch it then. Maybe he should stab it after running it down? Nobody was faster than him. But those punches really did hurt...

            Yusuke startled when the thing spoke and suddenly backed off because... that almost sounded like... a kid?

            There were no other kids in papa's castle, though he'd heard plenty of adults talk about them. There was nobody else like him at all, back at home.

            But in the dark, Yusuke really couldn't be sure. So he scrambled to his feet anyway, holding his injured arm defensively against his chest, with the hollow of the tree still at his back. The sudden, demanding movement made his lungs burn, but he did his best to ignore it, even though he was starting to feel like he couldn't quite properly catch his breath every time he tried to breathe.

            "Wha d'you want? Why you bite me?"

            Why was it still talking to him? Hiei's brow furrowed. Prey didn't talk.

            Responding was risky, but Hiei hazarded it anyway.

            "You're humans! Humans get bit!" Hiei snapped back at the human defensively, bristling and still ready to pounce on it, if it moved away from the tree at its back. Hiei didn't want a face-ful of bark or to miss and tumble into the hollow itself, if it happened to dodge him. Then, after a beat of thought, and shoring up his voice as best he could, to sound scary: "Gonna eat you!"

            Yusuke fumed at the little demon's answer, and he screamed right back at it without thinking.

            "Am not a human! My papa 's a demon! The biggest! An' he will kill you if you try an' eat me!"

            Yusuke realized his mistake the moment he tried to take another breath. He felt dizzy. He shouldn't have screamed like that. Not when his lungs were already so full of poison. Remembering his lessons, Yusuke spread his feet a little wider and bent his knees, lowering his center of gravity to steady himself, just in case the dizziness didn't go away.

            Hiei flattened himself towards the ground when the thing yelled at him. At the comment, he immediately flicked his eyes around the clearing they were in, and checked for a skulking youki.

            ...Nothing. Nothing nearby, at any rate. And the human was probably lying, to try to get him to go away. Hiei sneered, lifting himself back into his crouch.

            "I don't feel no papa. An' you smells like humans, so's you are humans." Hiei put one hand forward, then the other; slowly advancing; eyes wide in desperation. He was hungry. If he could just avoid those punches - the little human looked shaky on its feet, too. Hiei remembered its breathing being weird, then. If Hiei just waited, maybe the sick little thing would keel over on its own?

            His stomach leapt in hope at the idea. An easy meal - ?

            Yusuke glared in the direction of the demon's voice, though he could barely make out more than the outline of a meaningless shadow in the dark.

            "You don' wanna feel papa."

            That Yusuke knew for sure. If you could feel papa coming, then it was already too late, and you were in big trouble. Yusuke felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and he took a hesitant half-step backwards. But there was nowhere to go. He couldn't run. He could only wait, and hope that papa or one of the monks got to him before this demon did.

            So Yusuke clenched his fist, and dug his heels into the dirt. And he waited.

            Hiei didn't like what it was saying. Rage welled up within him. Stupid lying human! He coiled his muscles up beneath him and pounced, mouth open with intent to bite the human again.

            "Papas are a lie!" Hiei didn't have a papa, so why did it make him so mad to hear this human lie about having one? He didn't know, and he didn't care. He just wanted dinner.

            Yusuke felt the thing coming this time, and panicked, swinging his fist at it as soon as he realized what was happening. He felt it connect with something, but then the dizziness was back, and Yusuke knew he wouldn't be able to recover in time to aim another punch before the demon came at him. He gasped desperately for air as the adrenaline took over and his vision began to dance with sparks of multi-colored light.

            And that's when he felt it. Papa. Papa was coming. Yusuke grinned, in spite of himself, still fighting to get the words out through panted breaths.

            "Told - you."

            A deep rumbling growl shook the ground, and Yusuke winced. He was definitely in trouble this time.

            "Better - run."

            Hiei yelped as, somehow, the human's punch connected with his lower jaw before he could bite. He growled, taking it personally, and punched the stupid human in its stomach. It was already teetering over anyway.

            That youki though. It rocketed all the way up Hiei's spine and he turned to gape in the direction he felt it, mind working quickly. He chanced a glance back at the human. There was... no way it had been telling the truth, right? It was just a coincidence. Humans were sneaky.

            Not willing to give up his first potential meal in days, Hiei decided quickly. Since the human was small, he grabbed it around its upper arm and, half-propping its body over his shoulder, tried to figure out where to go. Hiei just had to smother his youki, down to nothing, and they had to hide somewhere where that big-scary-youki wouldn't find them.

            His eyes fell on the hollow of the tree, and he dove in there, pulling his prize's feet in after him, so they weren't poking out. Breathing fast and hard - in panic, because that was a really big youki - Hiei clutched his potential meal to his chest and hoped... it would be enough.

            And he really hoped the human had been lying, the closer the rumbles came.

            Yusuke gagged and coughed when the demon punched him, and he still hadn't recovered by the time it grabbed him and shoved him back into the tree. Oh well. It wasn't biting him, so he didn't even try to resist. He just didn't have it in him to keep fighting anymore anyway.

            But it would be alright. Papa was coming.

            Yusuke wheezed a small sigh of relief when the ground went quiet and he felt papa's youki stop moving. He could hear the sound of papa's claws dragging against the bark of the tree above him as the eight and a half foot demon crouched down to peer into the hollow trunk.

            "Give me. My son."

            Yusuke winced at the harsh tone in papa's voice. The little demon was in trouble too. He should have run when he had the chance.

            Hiei was dead. He was dead. He was going to die. The little bastard hadn't been lying.

            Stunned speechless from fear, Hiei's fingers clutched tighter to the human's clothes from where their tiny bodies were pressed up together. His mind tried to jumpstart behind the terror, but all it could come up with was: the big demon couldn't kill Hiei through its son.

            Hiei was going to die the minute he let go. So he stayed frozenly staring at the demon's feet on the ground outside the trunk, eyes bugging disbelievingly out of his skull; silent and utterly pale. He was going to die.

            When the little demon didn't move at all in response to papa's demands, Yusuke nudged him. Ignoring papa was not a good idea.

            "Yusuke. Come here."

            Yusuke immediately began wiggling away from the little demon, towards papa's outstretched hands, even though the demon was still clinging to his shirt. As soon as he was within reach, papa grabbed his injured arm, to take a look.

            When his meal began to move, Hiei made an unhappy, panicked noise. Instead of pulling the human back, though, Hiei automatically followed behind him so they wouldn't be pulled apart. If Hiei was still holding on to... 'Yusuke'?... the big demon couldn't kill him. Yet. It was the only other thought in his head besides the fact he was going to die.

            "Can you breathe?"

            Yusuke nodded at papa's question, wheezing out an answer.

            "Yes."

            This didn't seem to satisfy papa however, and Yusuke watched him frown as he glanced at the little demon still clinging to him.

            "We need to get you home. You coming along for the ride, little bastard?"

            Ignoring the little demon, Yusuke reached up in an attempt to wrap his arms around papa's neck, so he could be carried home, like usual.

            Hiei jerked slightly, at being addressed, and blinked wide eyes up at the towering tree-tall demon squatted down far enough for the little human to wrap its arms around his neck. Hiei stared into the larger demon's face. His hold on Yusuke had reverted to a single, stubborn fist in the back of the human's shirt.

            "Why don't you eat him. He's humans." Hiei blurted out, panic and hunger having frizzled his brain down to one inane question. The adrenaline was starting to ebb. Both the stress and the exertion from his fight with Yusuke had taken the last of Hiei's energy. The big demon's face was starting to... rotate, upside-down? Hiei wondered fuzzily at it, blinking a few times to try to reorient his sight. It didn't work.

            Yusuke felt his papa chuckle as he tucked his face in against papa's chest.

            "He's my son. And I don't eat humans, little demon."

            So he'd eat Hiei, then? After he passed out? Hiei thought it was much more likely the big demon would eat Hiei, then eat Yusuke when he got hungry enough. Hiei gave that demon a terrible grin, teeth tiny and sharp, as his fingers uncurled from Yusuke's shirt. Time to die, then.

            "Papas are lies." He said - as a warning to Yusuke? - just before blacking out completely and toppling over onto his back. A cloud of dust billowed, from Hiei's impact in the dirt.

Chapter Text

            No longer in any real danger, Yusuke managed to fall asleep during the short trip back home. But he was not happy to wake up and discover even more people fussing over him than usual. The bite mark on his arm didn't heal fast enough for anyone's liking, but especially not his, since it meant he was monitored constantly until the injury had faded to nothing more than a few white marks on his skin.

            It was also a constant reminder of the demon who had bit him, and the more Yusuke thought about it, the more he was convinced that the little demon was a kid. He wanted to go out there and check for himself. That is, if papa hadn't scared him away for good. Yusuke really hoped not.

            It was a frustratingly long time before he got the opportunity to slip away again, though. So when he finally got his chance, he booked it out of the castle and into the surrounding woods, headed in the direction he thought he'd encountered the little demon, last time.

            After waking up from that encounter, Hiei had managed to scrounge up something to stave off starvation. He immediately left the area once he was able, but soon discovered that there were fewer demons in the big demon's territory. He heard rumors of a name, but Hiei didn't care. So long as he tracked the plentiful game and didn't have to worry about other demons killing him, he could tolerate the one big one. At least Hiei knew what to look for, when he was coming.

            So Hiei'd know to run, next time.

            The days passed, some with him going to sleep hungry and some not, and Hiei tried not to think about the big-scary-demon and his human-son. It didn't make any sense, so he left it alone.

            What made even less sense, was one day seeing that same 'son' running like his life depended on it, past Hiei's chosen hiding spot for the day. He'd caught a sparrow with his dagger - flying through the air - and was munching on it, mouth bloody, when it happened. Hiei paused, not sure he had seen what he'd seen. Something inside of him spoke up, saying he should leave it alone and that the big demon would be coming after his 'son' soon enough.

            Ignoring that voice, Hiei shoved the rest of the dead bird in his mouth - to hold it there - as he crawled out of his hiding space. Not following directly after him, Hiei gnawed on his meal and kept to the brush on either side of the human's trail: noting the scuffled footsteps in the dirt, and the broken branches that told Hiei which direction he'd gone. So Hiei tracked him.

            Yusuke ran until he had to stop and catch his breath, panting hard as he stared determinedly out at the unfamiliar woods around him. He had no idea where he was, as usual. But at least it was still daylight, and would be for several hours.

            So he sat himself down on a mostly bare patch of ground, covered in pine needles, to wait for his breath to return. After that, he could pick a direction, and start walking. Hopefully he would find something interesting, even if the little demon wasn't still hanging around.

            Silently, having finished his bird, Hiei approached the human from behind. Hiei stood behind him, and stared at the back of his head; half-hidden behind a pine tree ringing the clearing that the human was sitting in. He didn't say anything. Hiei's eyes flicked to the arm he remembered biting. The wound was healed closed. He wondered if the human would notice him at all, or if his instincts were just that bad.

            Well, he was a human. Maybe he didn't have instincts.

            Not long after he'd sat down, Yusuke felt an uncomfortable prickly sensation at the back of his neck and he hunched his shoulders to try and get rid of it before he realized what it meant. Something was watching him. His discomfort quickly gave way to excitement as he whipped his head around, scanning the trees. Was the little demon here? He didn't even know what he was looking for, since he hadn't really seen the demon in the dark. But he looked anyway, just in case.

            Crouching down with his knees bent up to his shoulders and hands on the ground - immediately - as the human whipped around, the bushes Hiei was hiding in rustled as he moved. He made an angry noise of frustration at himself for not being quiet enough, but of course he still made it: perfectly audible.

            Yusuke's eyes immediately locked onto the sudden movement, and he stood up. He was still breathing slightly faster than he really should be, but if that was because he'd been running, or because he was excited, he couldn't really tell anymore.

            "That you?"

            Still frustrated, Hiei felt around in the dirt and grabbed a pebble. He chucked it out of his hiding place, at the human; intentionally giving his location away. And after he did that, Hiei zipped around the clearing in the brush surrounding it, intent on making an escape. He forgot that the sound of the bushes rustling would give away his path as he moved.

            Yusuke blinked down at the small rock that had been thrown at him, but when he heard the sound of the bushes all rustling like a very quick breeze had just zipped by, he laughed. That was the same sound he'd heard before the demon had bit him. He glanced around again for a moving bush, and thought he saw one still settling slightly.

            "You a kid? Or jus' small? I don't know no kids. Jus' me. And big dumb old people."

            Hiei poked his face through a bush, so he could glare at the stupid human.

            "'m not. Small." He growled, trying to sound menacing. What was that human even laughing about?

            Yusuke grinned when he finally caught sight of the demon's face sticking out of a bush. He didn't look like a grown-up.

            Yusuke was convinced. The little demon was a kid. Like him.

            "Wha's your name? I'm Yusuke!"

            Hiei squinted at him. He then pulled one eyelid down, and stuck out his tongue. Next he retracted his face back into the bush and zipped off to hide in another one; still around the clearing, though.

            Yusuke laughed again and turned, trying to follow the feel of the demon, more that what he could actually see. It was still difficult for him, trying to pinpoint smaller youki. Something as big as papa's youki was easy to feel. But a smaller demon meant Yusuke actually had to try in order to 'see' the youki. He squinted slightly as he did so, even though he knew that wouldn't help at all.

            "How come you run so fast? I only ever seen big demons run like that."

            "How come you talk so much." Hiei sniped back, quickly. He didn't bother to smother his youki. But Hiei kept hidden from view this time, watching and waiting until the human's eyes had settled on his location. Then he moved, just as fast, to a different spot. It was almost like... a contest.

            Yusuke paused for a moment to consider the question. He talked so much? That didn't seem right. He hardly talked at all compared to all the grown-ups. They seemed like they never shut up.

            "I don't talk so much. I talk a normal amount. Why don't you talk?"

            Well, that was easy. There was never anybody around worth talking to. But Hiei wasn't going to say that.

            "Don't wanna." That was as good a reason as any, he figured. He felt around in the dirt and tossed another pebble at Yusuke, since he didn't seem to be tracking where Hiei was, this time.

            Yusuke nodded. That made sense. He turned his head when he noticed the movement though, and grinned.

            "You like hiding? I like hiding. 'Cause then all the stupid grown-ups leave me alone. They always find me though."

            "'cause you breathe loud." Hiei told him, and skittered off to another spot. It was almost... fun?

            Yusuke huffed angrily, and he did follow the little demon's youki this time, glaring down at the bush it was hiding in, his hands bunched up into fists at his sides.

            So what if he 'breathed loud'? He already knew that. It wasn't his fault.

            But... he couldn't say anything about it without admitting that the little demon had been right, last time, and that the reason he breathed so loud was because he was human. A little bit.

            Frustrated, Yusuke scanned the bush, to see if he could actually spot the demon.

            "Why you still hiding?"

            He grinned suddenly as a thought struck him.

            "You scared?"

            Hiei scowled furiously, and before he knew it he was marching out into the clearing, baring his teeth and pointing in the human's face. The blood from his recent meal was still smeared all over his mouth, cheeks and hands.

            Of course, now it was obvious he was a head shorter, and his clothes were in varying shades of grey, his cloak black, and all in tatters: compared to the taller human and his nice clothes. His hair stuck up almost as high as Yusuke's eyebrows.

            "Not scared of you. You's humans." He puffed his tiny chest out, pointing at himself with his own thumb. "Demons eat humans." An unkind glint entered his eyes, and his mouth stretched into a horrifyingly large (for a child, anyway) evil grin. It showed off all his very-sharp teeth. "Mebbe I should eat you. Lot'sa meat." Hiei announced, taking a big, threatening step forward.

            Yusuke kept on grinning as the little demon emerged, completely unconcerned with his blood-covered appearance. But he stood up a little straighter and planted his fists on his hips, puffing up his chest in response to the demon's own challenging posture.

            "Not all demons. Papa don't eat humans. And you can't eat me."

            Hiei took another big, threatening step until he was right up against the human, still brandishing his teeth.

            "Bit you once. Coupl'a more bites and y'get eat." His eyes sneaked over to the neat crescent-shape of white scars he could still see, on Yusuke's arm. Hiei pointed at them; almost proud. "See ? Bit ya good."

            Yusuke stood his ground, staring right down at those too-sharp teeth. His teeth weren't like that. He instinctively looked over at his arm when the demon mentioned it, and turned it to get a better look at the pair of crescent-shaped marks on his skin before looking back over at the demon's teeth again.

            "So? One bite isn't eating."

            Or at least, that's what the monks told him, all the time.

            "Hn." Hiei huffed at him, then reached out, lightning-fast, and snagged the human's wrist. He dragged the tiny, chubby arm to his mouth, opening wide in a threat to follow through. "So gimme two, then. Eat you up." Hiei gnashed his teeth without scraping Yusuke's skin; play-acting what he was saying.

            Yusuke raised his free hand in a balled-up fist, aimed for the little demon's face, and calmly held it there.

            "No."

            If the little demon did bite him, he decided, he would just punch him in the eye. Or the nose. Most demons didn't like being punched there. Although this one didn't seem like an animal-type. So probably the eye.

            Hiei's eyes narrowed. He stopped gnashing, staring stolidly back. Then he flicked his eyes to the little fist. He remembered that fist had hurt.

            "Why y'punch. Humans ain't 'apposed to punch. They 'apposed to scream an' die." Hiei said, matter-of-factly: like it was an irrefutable law of the universe.

            Yusuke grinned menacingly.

            "Not a human. 'member?"

            "Yuh-huh." Hiei countered, stubbornly. He pointed a finger at Yusuke's face, and then shoved it into his mouth: to feel the edges of Yusuke's teeth; confirming. "Y'teeth 're flat. An' you smell like humans."

            Yusuke snapped his teeth down hard on the little demon's finger, not bothering to wait, or hold back. The little demon had already bitten him after all. It was only fair.

            "Ow!" Hiei yelped. Then he balled his other fist and punched Yusuke in the face, to get him off.

            Yusuke grinned even as he took the punch to the face, but let the other demon's finger go.

            "See? I can bite too. Stupid."

            "You's stupid." Hiei scowled at him, whipping his bitten finger in the air like that would heal it. He shoved Yusuke in his chest with both hands, then. "Stupid."

            Yusuke frowned when the other demon shoved him, and he immediately ground his heels into the dirt and shoved back.

            "Nuh-uh! You's stupid!"

            Hiei ducked into a squat - it wasn't hard, with how much shorter he was - and shoved Yusuke's shins out from under him, trying to make him fall.

            Yusuke's eyes went wide when the little demon ducked down, and he momentarily lost his balance before catching himself on the closest thing available... the little demon's shoulders. But then the little demon was kicking him, and Yusuke landed hard on his knees. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Yusuke gripped the tattered fabric of the little demon's clothes and yanked hard, pulling him down just as he forced one of his knees back up, in an attempt to make the demon's face, and his knee, connect.

            Blood erupted from Hiei's nose as he reared his head back and flung a hand up to it; trying to see if it was broken. He rolled away, to his feet, and pulled out the dagger so it was in front of him: blade parallel to the ground, held in his right hand with the pointy end facing his right shoulder.

            Glaring, sizing up Yusuke from this further distance, Hiei didn't pay any mind to the blood still dripping from his nose; joining the older, dried blood from the bird he'd had earlier. He started to bend his knees, like he'd seen the big demons do: right before they lunged. He didn't, yet, though.

            "Gonna eat y'for that." He growled, eyes glinting angry and hard as he dropped his bloodied left hand from his nose: wanting to focus on the battle.

            Yusuke scrambled to his feet and put his fists up in front of him, feet spread apart, one slightly forward and one slightly back like papa had taught him, before eyeing the little demon's knife critically. Then his gaze flicked to the demon's bloody face, and hand, and he grinned.

            "Better hurry, before papa smells you."

            Hiei narrowed his eyes at him, but didn't budge. The ground hadn't started moving, so Yusuke's papa wasn't on the way; there was still time.

            "You only not-dead yet 'cause your papa's scary." Hiei shot ruthlessly back at him, fingers tightening on the hilt of his dagger. "Bigger 'n me out there. Stay home where you don't get eat, humans."

            Yusuke's expression leveled out into a dead-eyed stare, his mouth pressed into a stubborn line across his face.

            "No."

            He knew the only reason he was still alive was because his papa and the monks always took care of him. He was constantly being reminded of that, and he didn't want to hear it from this little demon, too. So he clenched his fists a little tighter and bent his knees, waiting. He wasn't going anywhere. And nobody was going to eat him.

            Hiei bared his teeth at him, annoyed his advice had been ignored. So he did the next best thing: lunged. His speed let him cross the distance in a heartbeat, dagger flashing out towards the human's face.

            The move had worked well enough on him, so when Yusuke noticed the little demon disappear he immediately dropped, lifting one arm to block his face as the rest of him went down. He also shoved his other fist out in front of him, just for good measure, aiming about where the little demon's middle would be, if it was coming straight at him.

            Not expecting it, Hiei caught the punch right in his stomach. The dagger clattered to the ground as the force flung him a good distance away. He scrambled to get up, holding his stomach and making small grunts of pain. It was hard to get up: every time he tried his stomach hurt more.

            Hiei ended up vomiting up the bird, staring in disgust down at the half-digested bones, feathers and meat curdled with stomach juices. Hiei shot another glare over his shoulder at Yusuke, fingers curling into fists in the dirt. He hated being so weak. Even a human could defeat him! Tears of frustration gathered at the corners of his eyes; the pain didn't help those, either.

            "You punch too hard for a humans." Hiei snapped back at him, bristling defensively from where he was still lying, stomach-down, on the ground. At least until it stopped hurting so much.

            Yusuke clutched at his arm in dismay where the demon's knife had grazed him, as if that would stop the bleeding. He was gonna be in so much trouble for this. The little demon's retching caught his attention though, and Yusuke gagged as he looked away from the contents of what was obviously the demon's breakfast. He simply couldn't ignore the comment, however, and he turned back to glare at the little demon, displaying all of his flat little teeth in a feral grin.

            "Not a human."

            The sudden sound of bushes rustling in the distance startled Yusuke, and he glanced nervously in that direction. How long had that been happening?

            "Yusuke!? Yusuke, are you alright!?"

            At the sound of the monk's voice, Yusuke glanced down at his bleeding arm again.

            "Uh-oh..."

            He glanced over at the little demon on the ground, hesitating briefly before-

            "I gotta go..."

            And with that, he took off in the direction of the monk's voice. After all, he didn't want to get the little demon in trouble too. Then he might not be there, next time.

Chapter Text

            Eyes wide in shock when the human didn't take advantage of Hiei's momentary weakness to kill him, Hiei stared after him as he left. When he felt good enough to stand up, Hiei grabbed his dagger, resheathed it, and ran in the opposite direction.

            After that, he moved away from eating meat. The bird clearly hadn't been a good choice. It took some trial-and-error, but Hiei eventually started remembering which berries and nuts and tubers he could eat, and which made him sick for a few days. He was still always hungry, though. He didn't like being on the ground, either, but the trees were tall. Hiei couldn't climb them, so he tried to jump up into them: to grab a branch and stay out of harm's way like that.

            He also started to train with his dagger, when he wasn't too tired because of being hungry to move. It was one day, when he was training, that he heard the telltale obvious rustle of bushes being pushed aside. Only one creature sounded like that when it came through the forest: Yusuke.

            So Hiei dived into the brush, out of sight and out of Yusuke's direct path: to lay in wait.

            Yusuke tried to tell the monks that he had cut himself falling on a rock in the woods. Nobody believed him. He had forgotten about the blood on his pants, from where he'd smashed the little demon's face against his knee. But of course papa noticed it right away. Eventually he was forced to admit that he had come across the the little demon in the woods again, but he still tried to insist that he was fine, and that nothing had happened.

            Papa kept a curiously close watch on him after that, but as always, Yusuke was still able to slip away again, as soon as papa got distracted by some of the other adults.

            So Yusuke headed back out into the woods, just as determined as ever. This time, he decided, he was going to get the little demon's name.

            He walked this time though, instead of running, just in case he had to fight the demon again, and needed his breath. But he walked for a long time without noticing anything before he stopped, standing in the middle of (as far as he knew) nowhere with a frustrated huff.

            When Yusuke stopped, after a curiously long time, Hiei crouched and watched him from behind a rock. Yusuke still didn't notice when he was being followed. Was it because he was walking? Or thinking? Hiei resisted the urge to scoff to himself; it would give him away. Yusuke was loud in the forest. Hiei only noticed it because he was quiet.

            Maybe it was all the extra padding. Hiei eyed Yusuke's chubby limbs and then lifted his own arm, to confirm the difference. Hiei's was a lot paler, and skinnier. He noticed Yusuke had a rounded tummy that stuck slightly out, too. Hiei poked his own, under his shirt: it wasn't rounded. He scowled to himself.

            Yusuke's papa was powerful, so he was probably rich. Those kind of demons didn't starve in the woods, like Hiei. Even the bandits that'd fished him out of the river had barely spared Hiei enough food until he could move on his own: just enough to keep him alive.

            Hiei wondered what it was like, when somebody had enough food to think about other things. Stupid things. Like running into a forest when they were just a stupid little human who'd gotten lucky in their battle, last time.

            Yusuke folded his arms tightly across his chest and frowned at the greenery in front of him. There had to be a way to find the little demon.

            Ah!

            Of course! He was being a dummy. Last time the little demon had been watching him, and he'd only noticed after, but he should be able to find the demon's ki, if he looked hard enough. So Yusuke screwed up his face in concentration and looked. There was something behind him.

            Yusuke turned, and scanned the area. He didn't see anything with his eyes, but...

            "That you?"

            Instead of replying, Hiei felt around for a pebble on the ground. He chucked it at Yusuke's head from his sitting spot - as a reward? - and zipped off to find another spot in the bushes circling the clearing Yusuke was standing in.

            Yusuke grinned at the rock as it thudded lightly on the ground, and followed the flash of ki that zipped past, afterwards.

            "Tell me your name!"

            Annoyed, Hiei glared at him from behind the leaves half-obscuring his view of Yusuke. Instead, he stubbornly threw another pebble, and ran to a new hiding spot.

            Yusuke laughed, and turned again.

            "Tell me!"

            Grumbling to himself, Hiei threw a slightly larger rock, this time.

            "No!" He parroted, mocking Yusuke's stubborn response from their last encounter.

            Yusuke paused, slightly surprised by the size of the rock being thrown at him, but he quickly recovered.

            "Mmm... trade! What you want for it?"

            Hiei made a disgusted noise. Trade? That was just another word for trusting someone and getting ripped off.

            "Nuh-uh." Hiei said, stubbornly. "You don't got nothin' I want." He paused, briefly. "Unless y'gonna let me eat you 'dis time." Maybe that would scare Yusuke away: if Hiei kept to it.

            Yusuke stomped his foot on the ground.

            "Nuh-uh. Can't eat me. Trade me. You got mine for free. Wha d'you want?"

            "Y' gave it. Free's not free 'f y'want somethin' back for it." Hiei hmphed back at him, crossing his arms and leaning back against the tree behind him; still hidden in the bushes.

            Yusuke huffed and squinted at the bushes.

            "I'll call you a name..."

            Hiei rolled his eyes.

            "Oh yeah?" He baited, not buying for a second Yusuke had thought of anything. "Whassat."

            Yusuke hummed to himself and tapped his foot.

            "Gotta call you somethin'..."

            And 'little demon' probably wasn't going to make the demon happy, if he called him that. Besides, that wasn't really a name, anyway.

            "Gonna call you... Ko-kiri."

            Hiei squinted up at Yusuke. He debated throwing another rock.

            "Stupid name. Stupid. 's not even close."

            Yusuke grinned.

            "Then tell me!"

            Fed up, Hiei got to his feet and marched out into the clearing. He sized Yusuke up for a moment, then pulled down one eyelid and stuck his tongue out at him.

            "Nuh-uh." Hiei talked through his tongue still jutted out. "You's too stupid to tell it to. Y'just forget it."

            "Will not!"

            Yusuke frowned and stood up a little straighter, just to look down at the smaller demon, pretending to be very serious about it.

            Hiei folded his tiny, skinny arms over his chest again, peering scathingly up at Yusuke's very serious face.

            "Will too." He said; utterly convinced.

            "Nuh-uh!"

            He squinted down at the little demon.

            "You never said my name. But you didn' forge'. Jus' 'cause you wanna eat me."

            Yusuke spoke with the conviction of someone who doesn't even think to question whether they're right or not. He was sure the little demon knew his name, even if he thought he was 'just a human'.

            "So why would I forget?"

            For once, Hiei felt like maybe... he didn't know everything. His face reflected that conflict for a second or two, before he scowled, and pushed Yusuke away with both hands on his chest.

            "...'cause y' stupid." Hiei raised a hand, pointing in Yusuke's face: right at his nose. "And stupid humans get eat. So's why should I tell my name t'somethin' that's gonna get eat 'afore he grows up?"

            Yusuke grit his teeth and smacked the little demon's hand out of his face.

            "I ain't gonna get eat!"

            Papa would never let that happen. And besides, he would grow up to be big and strong like papa one day. He didn't care what everyone else said about him. He was going to be able to protect himself. He'd fought this demon by himself, after all. Hadn't he?

            "Oh yeah?!" Hiei snarled back at him, grabbing Yusuke's collar in his left fist and raising his other one. "Prove it!" And then Hiei punched him.

            Yusuke didn't even try to block the little demon's punch, he just drew back the fist down by his side and punched forwards, right into the little demon's stomach.

            Luckily Hiei hadn't had anything to eat today. Maybe he could change that though. Letting go of Yusuke's collar to grab his free wrist and stretch his arm out, Hiei bit down on it. He didn't spare the time to think if it was the one he'd bitten before, or not.

            Well if that's how it was going to be, then Yusuke wasn't going to hold back.

            He pulled back his free fist and punched as hard as he could, aiming for the little demon's eye this time.

            Hiei growled and shut his eyes tight, but didn't move. The force of the punch rang in his head, and Hiei tipped backwards, but didn't unlatch his teeth. He knew that eye'd be swelled up and black later, but he didn't give up. He brought out his claws with his right hand, and started scratching at any part of Yusuke he could, as they fell over and tussled in the dirt.

            Yusuke did his best to stay upright and on top as the little demon dragged him down, alternately slamming his knees into the body clinging to him even as he pulled his arm back to aim another punch. The bite on his arm hurt, but he was no stranger to pain, and not being able to breathe was a hell of a lot worse than the sharp pain of the demon's teeth tearing at the flesh on his arm. So he ignored it, and just kept on punching.

            Hiei stubbornly tried to hold on, but Yusuke's punches hurt too much. Eventually he had to spit out Yusuke's arm with a snarl, socking Yusuke in the jaw to get him away. Rolling away, left eye already swelled shut from the punch, Hiei reached blindly for his dagger as he got up on his hands and knees; brandishing it in front of him.

            He hated being weak. He hated his youki being so low he didn't dare use his fire. If he could, he would've won. But like this - was Hiei the stupid one? Fighting this stupid human kid when he should be spending his energy on food. Because it felt like there was never enough to eat.

            Hiei grit his teeth, and yelled fiercely at Yusuke.

            "Don' come here no more! Or 'm gonna eat y'next time!"

            Already panting, Yusuke scrambled to as feet as quickly as he could and stared at the little demon, calculating. He could feel the throbbing in his arm where he'd been bit, and all the little stings where he'd been scratched. But if he could just reach the demon.

            Yusuke relaxed for a beat or two, until he'd caught a good breath, then he tensed up all at once and lunged forward, aiming to grab the demon's hand. The one holding the knife.

            Hiei yelped, thrust himself back and swung his dagger out in front, in an arc, instinctively orienting the pointy end towards Yusuke to try to prevent it being taken away.

            "Ah!"

            Not fast enough. Yusuke jerked his hand back, curling it around the fresh cut on his palm, and stomped his foot on the ground, frowning.

            "Tell me your name!"

            "Nuh-uh!" Scrambling back until he felt a tree behind him, Hiei held his dagger out in front; for Yusuke to keep his distance. The tip was shaking a little, his one good eye too wide. "Gonna eat y' next time! Don' come back!" And then he turned and dove into the brush, the resulting rustle of wind through the leaves the only sign Hiei'd gone; and gone fast.

            Yusuke stomped his foot again and stepped forward, clearly intending to try and follow, when a rustling noise from behind him made him pause and turn. He immediately froze. When did papa get here?

            "I think that's quite enough for today, Yusuke. Now, let's go home and get you fixed up. Then I think you and I need to have a talk about your little friend there."

            All Yusuke could do was nod, cradling his own injuries as papa lifted him up and carried him home. How long had papa been standing there? Was he still in trouble? Was the little demon in trouble? Yusuke really wasn't sure anymore. 

Chapter Text

            As it turned out, Yusuke was still in trouble, and plenty of it. But he was also very excited about what came after.

            Yusuke already knew that everyone, especially papa, hated it when he ran off, away from the castle, but when papa asked him if the little demon came to stay here with him inside the castle, if he would promise not to run off anymore, Yusuke immediately agreed.

            Now all he had to do was tell the little demon about it. Papa had even agreed to let him do it all by himself. Yusuke wasn't that stupid though. He knew papa would still be watching him, from somewhere. But that didn't stop him from rushing out into the woods as soon as the last of his wounds had healed, to start looking.

            Sick of feeling cold, as the seasons changed and the air got chillier, Hiei finally caved in and visited a neighboring village. When no one was looking, he grabbed a handful of fire off one of the bigger fires, and then booked it back to the forest he was hiding in. It felt warm and alive in his hand, but Hiei resisted letting it absorb into his body. If he did, it would be gone.

            So he sat in the middle of a clearing, and - one-handed - made a little fire pit out of stones. He set the fire inside and fed it with wood and leaves and dry sticks until it was big enough, and then he stuck his hands in it: just his hands, so his clothes wouldn't burn up. It wasn't a meal, but absorbing a bit of the fire at a time, made Hiei feel a little warmer inside. So he started alternating between feeding the fire with wood, and then feeding himself the fire.

            Hiei was still hungry, but he felt a little less dead with his fire-ki back to crackling away under his skin. At least he was warm, finally. He knew the smoke would give away his location, but Hiei stubbornly decided to stay until he felt a threat approaching.

            Yusuke wasn't a threat, though. So Hiei didn't bother moving, even though he knew - if Yusuke decided to find him, this time - that Yusuke would emerge from the trees at Hiei's back.

            Yusuke could smell the smoke coming from somewhere, but he ended up circling around it aimlessly for a while before he actually got close enough to figure out where it was coming from exactly, and move in closer. It had to be the little demon, right? Yusuke had rarely ever seen anyone else out in these woods, and never anyone he didn't already know.

            When Yusuke finally did spot the little demon squatting by the fire, he paused, considering how to actually approach them. Or at least, he meant to consider it, until he saw that the little demon had their hands in the fire, and then he simply got too excited, and strode forward without thinking.

            "You're a fire demon? Cool!"

            Hiei jerked his hands out of the fire as Yusuke yelled at him, and spun around; standing at the edge of it, curled fists holding a single ball of flame in each of them. His eyes wide, he put them up in front of himself.

            "G-Gonna win this time! Gonna eat you!" Hiei yelled at him, but it was really hard to keep the flames contained to just his fists and talk while doing so. His brows furrowed, and he took a step forward: still holding his fists in front of himself.

            Yusuke laughed, his eyes riveted on the demon's flaming fists.

            "Wow! That's neat! How d'you do that?"

            Hiei blinked at him, caught off-guard by the laughing reaction. He dragged his eyes back to his hands, looking at one, then the other. The firelight flickered off his face - and from the big fire behind him, too. He scowled. It was too hard to focus with his attention split. So Hiei brought his hands together, and melded the two fireballs into a single bigger one, in his left palm, then held it up in front of Yusuke. It danced and flickered in a bit of wind, but Hiei held it fast, concentrating hard.

            "...Dunno. 't wriggles. Like a bug."

            Yusuke continued to watch, fascinated, as Hiei manipulated the fire.

            "Like... a bug?"

            That didn't really make any sense to him, but he'd never held fire before. He could barely even get close to it.

            "Uh... yeah." Feeling suddenly awkward about it, Hiei absorbed the fire back into his palm. Then he folded his arms over his front and pinned Yusuke with a wary look. "...said I'd eat y' next time. Why you here. Give up?"

            "Oh!"

            With the fire gone, and the obvious question asked, Yusuke remembered that he was here for a reason.

            "Yeah! Right. You should come home with me!"

            Hiei blinked at him. Then, when Yusuke's expression didn't change, Hiei's flattened.

            "Y'papa'll eat me." He said, frankly. Hiei vividly remembered Yusuke's papa. And he'd only met him that one time. It'd left an impression.

            Yusuke laughed again.

            "No he won't!"

            Hiei scowled at him, and shoved Yusuke's shoulder. For laughing at him.

            "Yuh-huh. Chomp, chomp." Hiei gnashed his teeth over his own index finger; to demonstrate. "Bye-bye Hiei."

            Yusuke dug his feet in, resisting the shove, and grinned triumphantly as he stared back at the little demon.

            "Hiei."

            Hiei stared at him. Then his face flushed with anger and shame, and he immediately pulled back a hand to punch at Yusuke's stupid, smug face.

            "S-Shu''up !!"

            "Will not!"

            Yusuke didn't even wait for the punch, when he saw Hiei pull back. He immediately dropped, sweeping a leg out in front of him to try and trip the demon off his feet and onto the ground.

            Hiei flailed, flopping off-balance and back into the fire; his impact sending embers and half-burned wood flying to land in the dirt around it. He stood up heatedly, the edges of his clothing smoldering as Hiei stormed towards Yusuke, eyes glowing red and fiery and hands fisted angrily by his sides.

            Yusuke panicked for half a second when he saw that Hiei had fallen back into the fire, but then he remembered, and stayed crouched, still watching with open fascination as the smouldering demon picked himself back up out of the coals.

            "...wow. Did that hurt?"

            "Not 's much 's I'm gonna hurt you." Hiei growled at him as he tried to stomp on Yusuke's face, too busy focused on getting vengeance than putting out his still-steadily-burning clothes.

            When it was clear that Hiei still wanted to fight, Yusuke quickly rolled out of the way, and stood back up, glancing around for options. He couldn't hit Hiei while he was burning like that. Not without hurting himself. Maybe in the face. But Hiei was fast, too. Yusuke hadn't forgotten that.

            His foot landing on the ground, Hiei made an annoyed noise, and tracked Yusuke with his eyes. The movement made him realize his clothing was still on fire, though, and he panicked. Abruptly, Hiei started patting the spots that were burning until he'd absorbed all the fire off them. That done, he scrambled to check his dagger, and that the cord holding his hiruiseki - hidden under his shirt - hadn't been burned through. Again.

            Drawing out the white cord - it was the single pristine thing on Hiei's person - with trepidation, paranoid it had frayed somewhere, he breathed a sigh of relief as he found the blue stone still dangling serenely at the end. Not lost, not burned. It'd been so long, Hiei'd forgotten that was the other reason he didn't use his fire a lot.

            The stone itself could withstand anything he threw at it, of course. Hiei'd tried to destroy it, early on. It was the extreme of his elemental opposite: unmeltable ice. But the cord was frail.

            Yusuke snickered when Hiei suddenly started slapping himself, to put out his clothes, but he stopped when he noticed that the demon seemed legitimately worried about something. And then he pulled out a gem. It looked kind of like a rurimaru stone, but obviously wasn't that.

            "Wha's'at?"

            Hiei jerked, immediately hiding the stone in his fisted left hand; having forgotten he had company, in his hurry. He fixed paranoid eyes on Yusuke. Anyone who'd ever seen it, had tried to take it from him.

            Hiei didn't want Yusuke to try to take it from him. He side-stepped half a pace away, still watching Yusuke's every move with wide eyes.

            "...'s secret. Not yours. You can't have it." He snapped, reflexively, holding the covered stone to his chest because it was his greatest treasure.

            "Don' want it. We gots lots of stones at home, and they're all boring. But you're not boring. So you should come an' live with me."

            Yusuke finished his statement with conviction, as if saying it harder would somehow convince Hiei more.

            Hiei narrowed his eyes at him. He didn't believe it for a second. Even if Yusuke hadn't been lying about his papa being scary, didn't mean he was telling the truth about this.

            "Y'gonna steal it when I go t' sleep." Hiei said, completely convinced. "Everybody wants it." A beat, then. "An' your papa'd still eat me."

            Yusuke thought about that one for a minute.

            "You didn't show nobody 'cept me. So if i's stolen, then you know'd it was me that did it. An' I'm not gonna steal it, so 's fine. An' if I do, than you can kill me."

            Hiei felt himself wavering, because that argument made too much sense. He hated that it made sense. It felt like a trick. He squinted at Yusuke, then walked over to him. His left hand was still tightly holding his hiruiseki.

            "Why you want me there." Hiei muttered at him, brows furrowing as he eyeballed Yusuke distrustfully. "Don't make sense to risk gettin' killed just so I'm there."

            Yusuke actually looked away at that question, shuffling awkwardly.

            "I'm... not 'upposed to be out here. Papa don't like it. 'Cause I can't breathe. But... there's only dumb 'noying grown-ups at home. There's nobody like me."

            He glanced back over at Hiei.

            "But you're like me. An' I like fighting with you."

            Hiei raised an eyebrow at him. Then he raised his right hand, and harmlessly smacked his palm over Yusuke's nose.

            "Tha'ssa stupid reason." Hiei deadpanned. "Not even fightin'." He puffed up a little, and pointed back at the fire with his right index finger. "Haven't even used fire on ya. Barely a fight without it. Just bein' fast and punchin' and bitin' and slicin'." He scoffed.

            Yusuke rubbed his nose, and frowned.

            "'s not stupid." He huffed. "I don' have fire or a knife, and I still beat you."

            Hiei glowered at him, and smacked Yusuke's right cheek lightly with the back of his right hand.

            "'m always hungry." He then poked at Yusuke's rounded tummy, staring down at it pointedly. "'nd you're not." Hiei pinned a flinty look back up on Yusuke, then. "Wouldn't lose s' much if I wasn't hungry."

            Yusuke smacked Hiei's hands away, irritated.

            "Then eat, stupid. We gots food. Lots of food. You can have mine. I don't like it anyways."

            Hiei's eyes got big, and round. Ridiculously big. His left hand loosened, just slightly, over his stone.

            "...Food?" He tried to reel himself in, but his whole face was lighting up, beyond his control. "Not poisoned neither?"

            Yusuke nodded, watching Hiei carefully. He had never seen the demon get excited about something before.

            "Not poisoned. And lots. All kinds of foods. But!" He corrected himself. "No humans."

            Hiei blinked owlishly at him. He tilted his head, ever so slightly; not quite understanding.

            "No humans? But you's a humans."

            "To eat. No eating humans. Only other kinds'a food."

            Yusuke tried to steer the conversation back in the direction of food, because that's what Hiei was interested in. And Yusuke had already told him he wasn't a human. He didn't want to argue about that right now.

            "Oh." Hiei thought about it for a minute, eyes going towards the sky. "OK." He nodded, putting out his right hand for Yusuke to shake. He'd seen the big demons do it, sometimes, when they agreed on something. "But." Hiei amended at the last minute, pinning a suspicious look on Yusuke. "If I don't like the food, or my hi'seki gets stolen, I'm leavin'."

            Yusuke grinned and grabbed Hiei's hand, shaking it with enthusiasm.

            "Yeah! Let's go now!"

            Without letting go of Hiei's hand, Yusuke turned to start walking, only to stop just as suddenly when he realized that he didn't know the way back.

            "Uhh..."

Chapter Text

            Hiei blinked as Yusuke grabbed his right hand. He rolled his eyes when he realized Yusuke had no idea where he was. Taking his left hand off his hiruiseki, Hiei pointed back the way Yusuke's smell - and the obviously broken branches - had come from.

            "That way. You always come from there." Hiei started walking in that direction, tugging at Yusuke behind him when he lagged. "C'mon."

            "Oh..." Yusuke grinned again. "Okay!"

            It was a good thing Hiei knew which way he'd come from, or else he'd have to wait for papa to come get him. And Hiei obviously didn't like papa very much. Papa was the biggest demon though, so Yusuke really couldn't blame him.

            Yusuke let Hiei tug him along until they got to a portion of the forest that he did recognize, somewhere close to the castle, and then he took over, dragging Hiei straight to the kitchens to demand the cooks give him whatever Hiei wanted.

            The closer they got to the castle, the more other demons Hiei started to smell. So it was just as well Yusuke took over when Hiei started to second-guess his decision. Overwhelmed by all the eyeballs trained on them, Hiei stuck to Yusuke's side like sap and didn't let go of his hand, lest they get separated.

            Hiei hid behind Yusuke's shoulder in front of all the towering grown-ups, and his throat felt like it sealed shut when the attention shifted to him and what he wanted.

            What Hiei wanted?! How would he know! He thought he was just going to get Yusuke's uneaten leftovers; his presence nothing worth making a fuss about. Feeling panic press in at the back of his brain, Hiei had to fight the urge to just run. These were Yusuke's people. They hadn't hurt Yusuke. So they wouldn't hurt Hiei, right? But there were just so many of them, and they were so tall, and it felt like they were all talking at once -

            Instead of saying anything, Hiei hid his face in the back of Yusuke's shoulder so he wouldn't have to see the grown-ups' expectant faces; holding tight to Yusuke's hand.

            When Yusuke felt Hiei's face pushing into the back of his shoulder, and the little demon's hand gripping deathly tight to his own, he glanced back briefly before frowning up at all the cooks' smiling faces. Everybody seemed to be smiling a lot since he got back. It was weird. Yusuke squinted suspiciously and tugged at Hiei's hand without looking away from the grown-ups in front of him.

            "C'mon. I'll show you my room. They'll bring us food when i's ready anyways."

            Yusuke jutted his chin out challengingly at the throng of staring adults and marched right back out of the room, with Hiei still in tow. When he got back to his own room, only to find the usual crowd of fussy monks waiting for him, he stomped his foot impatiently.

            "Outta my room!"

            "But young master Yusuke, your lungs-"

            "No! Get out! An' leave me alone!"

            Yusuke watched as the monks paused to look at one another before responding again.

            "I don't think your father would-"

            "Shut up! Don't bother me!"

            The monk who had addressed him sighed and turned to the other two to discuss something quietly before turning back around to give him a small bow.

            "We will delay your treatment for now, young master, but when your father returns, I expect he will insist on it."

            Yusuke didn't answer back, and simply glared at him until he and the other monks left, leaving him and Hiei alone in the large room.

            Since Tourin castle was built almost entirely out of a stone-like material, the living areas, like Yusuke's room, were made comfortable with the generous addition of various fabrics and furs. Yusuke's bed, an oversized cushion shoved to one side of the room, was piled high with them, with several more laid out over the otherwise bare floor. The room had two windows, but both were highly warded, and let in no air, despite not having any visible coverings.

            There were a few other objects strewn haphazardly about the room. Wooden replicas of various weapons, several small sized training dummies in varying states of disrepair, a bookshelf that was obviously rarely used, a few strategy games, the pieces of which were certainly not all contained within their designated storage, and a low table, with a few cushions scattered about, presumably for sitting on.

            Hiei tried to keep a map in his head past the sheer overwhelming nature of the place, but it was difficult. Everywhere Yusuke went, people were staring at them.

            And the grown-ups in the room were even taller than the cooking ones had been, but at least they weren't asking anything of Hiei. So he observed the interaction silently over Yusuke's shoulder: then listening when it went on, and flicking his eyes around the room. There were a lot of strange objects in here. At the mention of Yusuke's papa, Hiei felt the back of his neck prickle.

            That's right. It wasn't just Yusuke living here, was it? It was his papa, and all those other grown-ups, apparently. Yusuke'd certainly shouted at them like he was used to ordering them around.

            When they were gone, Hiei shook his hand out of Yusuke's, and took a half-step away from him. He was just here for food. Why did Yusuke bring him here instead? To show off his baubles and what were clearly grown-up servants? Hiei's eyes cast around the room on another lap, suspiciously squinting at the windows. They felt weird. They also looked too thick to break easily. Hiei didn't like it.

            He glared at Yusuke instead; suspicious. Was there a reason he'd brought Hiei here? Something about those 'lungs' of his - whatever those were - maybe?

            "T'eetmen'?"

            Yusuke felt his face flush at the question, but he stubbornly ignored it, glancing around the room for something else to do instead.

            "'S nothin'. Somthin' stupid papa makes me do. 'Cause I don't breathe right."

            Yusuke plopped himself down on one of the floor cushions near the low table with a huff.

            "I told you there was a lotta stupid grown-ups here."

            He paused for a moment, conflicted, before finally spitting it out.

            "Sorry..."

            Hiei's eyes narrowed, when Yusuke's face turned color. What was that about? He watched Yusuke seat himself at the table. After he did, Hiei's eyes flicked back to the door. Could he get past all those stupid tall people? Well, if he ran fast: maybe? And if they caught him, he'd bite them.

            No amount of food was worth being captured. Hiei'd seen captors' cages outside the bandits base. He'd seen what they did to them, and had no desire to be put in the same position.

            Yusuke saying 'sorry' to him jolted Hiei out of his thoughts, and he stared at Yusuke for it; blinking owlishly. Not thinking about it, he strode forward and punched Yusuke lightly, upside his head.

            "What's 'sorry' for. Stupid." Instead of sitting down, Hiei assessed the room a third time, and headed for the wooden rectangle, with its insides squished with many smaller rectangles. It was the closest thing to a tree, anyway, except it looked like it had rungs. Hiei stopped in front of it, considering; checking for footholds. Maybe Hiei could actually get to the top of this one. He didn't like being on the ground.

            Yusuke swatted at Hiei's arm and stuck out his tongue, for the punch, but didn't bother trying to dodge it at all.

            "For the grown-ups, stupid."

            Yusuke knew he didn't like being constantly bothered by the monks and everyone else in the castle, and he got the idea that Hiei didn't really like being around grown-ups either. That's why he lived outside, right? By himself? But the only place in the castle the grown-ups ever really left him alone was when he was in his room, and Yusuke hadn't thought of that until after. He felt kind of bad about it now, having dragged Hiei all over the place first when he obviously didn't like it. This was better. Somehow.

            Now all they had to do was wait for someone to bring them lunch.

            "Grown-ups is stupid. Nat'chully. An' don' call me stupid. You's stupid." Hiei said without turning around, already starting to pull a few rectangles off the rungs of the structure he'd chosen. The first one opened and fluttered to the floor - startling him - but Hiei glared at it when the crushed flock of paper just lay there, apparently harmless. Once he'd pulled off enough of the bound-things to make a foothold for himself on each rung, Hiei started to climb up it.

            He wanted to sit on top.

            Yusuke leaned slightly on the table as he watched Hiei throw books off the shelves so he could climb the bookcase. Why had he never thought of that?

            "Whatcha doin'?"

            "Climbin'." Hiei said without bothering to put more thought into it. As he got higher, he had to toss a few of the rectangles behind him onto the floor; because these rungs had been out of reach, when Hiei'd started. He could almost see the top, and grinned fiercely to himself when he managed to scramble up onto it. Satisfied with himself, Hiei turned around to sit, crossed his arms and legs, and leaned back against the wall. He was at least taller than Yusuke now, and had a good view of the room.

            Much better.

            Yusuke grinned up at Hiei when he got to the top, and settled himself there.

            "Hiei..."

            Yusuke said it mostly just to say it. Just because he could. Because he knew the little demon's name now, and the little demon was a fire demon, and he'd come home with him.

            Now Hiei was in his room, sitting on his bookshelf, and Yusuke couldn't really be any happier about it. Papa hadn't managed to scare him away, that first time. Just the opposite. Papa thought it would be better to have Hiei here. Which meant Hiei was going to stay, right?

            Upon hearing his name, Hiei shot a quizzical glance down to the weird grinny look on Yusuke's face. Yusuke also seemed to be... spacing out?

            "What."

            Yusuke laughed at Hiei's suspicious attitude.

            "I dunno. I jus' like it. Hiei." He flashed another grin. "You told me your name. And now you're here. And I don't gotta try an' find you no more."

            Hiei scowled at him.

            "Di'n't tell you. Just came out. An' I'm not stayin'." He said, stubbornly. The part of his brain that whispered 'it's a trap' to him, tensed. Hiei ignored it; just as stubbornly. "Just here for food."

            Yusuke pouted stubbornly up at him.

            "Why not?"

            Hiei stared him dead in the eye, his face bland from the obviousness of what he was saying; but still, utterly serious.

            "Strong demons don' get food. They 'unt it. Gonna be a strong demon. Gonna beat up ev'r'body who gets in m'way."

            Yusuke blinked at him.

            "But... papa is the strongest demon. He don't hunt. He don't even beat people up. But... he teaches me how to beat people up. He could teach you."

            Hiei grit his teeth in frustration, turning the conflicting information over in his head. He then bristled, at the very idea he needed help in beating people up.

            The memory of the bandits beating him up, before he'd finally left, flashed before his eyes. Hiei pushed it down, baring his teeth. But Yusuke had given him another way out:

            "Y'papa's gon' eat me. Gotta be gone 'fore he does. Can't stay." Hiei said again, hoping that'd be the end of it.

            Yusuke made a frustrated noise and thumped his fist on the table.

            "He's not gonna eat you! Papa don't eat demons! Or humans!"

            A sudden knock on the door startled him, and Yusuke jumped slightly, his head whipping around to stare at the door as it swung open. One of the monks was back already, but at least he'd brought food with him.

            "Master Yusuke, I've brought lunch for you and your... friend. But your father has requested to see you first."

            Yusuke huffed and got to his feet, waving at the table with one hand without saying anything. But he didn't argue either, when the monk came in to set the large tray down on the table. He shoved his hands into his pockets with a scowl, but followed the monk back out of the room when he left, leaving Hiei alone with the food while he went to go see what papa wanted.

            Hiei growled at Yusuke, for his response, but didn't get a chance to reply before the grown-up burst in. He stayed where he was, giving a default warning glare to the grown-up not to mess with him, but the man seemed content to pester Yusuke instead.

            When they both left the room, Hiei eyed the spread before him. He heard Yusuke's footsteps leave - they were lighter and quicker than the grown-up's, as he was trying to keep up. Dropping from the bookcase, Hiei immediately began wolfing down the types of food that would be hard to travel with. That done - in the space of about thirty seconds - he stuffed as much of the other type as he could into his many hidden pockets. Leaving the plates he'd decimated half-eaten because this was his chance - and the rest was for Yusuke, probably - Hiei stole out the door and smushed his youki down to nothing, keeping to the shadows and corners as he tried to remember the way back out.

            The first thing papa did was insist that Yusuke sit still long enough to have his lungs purged of poisonous air, which Yusuke had expected, but after that, all papa wanted to talk about was Hiei. He wanted to know what Yusuke thought about the little demon agreeing to come back to the castle, so Yusuke explained his frustrations. And papa listened to him. He listened to Yusuke complain about all the annoying grown-ups, and how Hiei thought papa was going to eat him, and how Hiei was always hungry, and thought people were going to steal from him, and when he was done papa simply nodded.

            Then he told Yusuke not to be upset. Because Hiei was already gone. But that couldn't be true. Because Hiei was here.

            Yusuke immediately ran back to his room, only to discover the demolished plates of food, and no demon. From there he ran to the nearest castle exit, but papa was already waiting for him out in the yard, and caught him easily before he could run off into the woods, promising that they would try to find Hiei again some other day.

            When papa finally let him go, Yusuke stormed back to his room with tears in his eyes and flipped the tray of food off the table, without eating any of it. Then he crawled into bed, and stayed there for the rest of the day.

            He made a few wrong turns - his nose seemed to almost make him head for the smell of cooking food, and the near-miss of being found out in the kitchens, a few times - but Hiei eventually escaped. It was some other exit, but it fed right into the woods.

            Once he was under the cover of them, something in Hiei's brain relaxed. Hidden from view, he glanced back over his shoulder, between the trees and bushes, at the castle. It was tall, the top of it out of view - this close - and its rooms were enclosed. He thought about Yusuke in his big fancy room, all sorts of pretty interesting things in it, but not a single person that wasn't tall.

            Then Hiei shook himself out of it, and vanished back into the forest. Now that he knew where it was, and how to get there, he'd be back. To steal more food. It definitely had tasted better than what he was used to eating. But Hiei'd have to keep his youki smushed low, and stay hidden, because there were a lot of grown-ups, all around. But then again, they were so tall, they probably never looked below their stomachs. Their stupid height worked in Hiei's favor.

            Every now and then, after stealing something, Hiei'd use the map in his head to find where Yusuke's windows should be. And he'd sit on the ground in the closest patch of forest to them, behind the bushes, and munch away while staring at those windows; and be angry the only 'tree' he'd been able to climb, had been the one in Yusuke's room. At least, Hiei figured that's what he was angry about.

Chapter Text

            Every day after Hiei had gone, Yusuke would stomp his way through the castle until he'd located papa to remind him that he'd promised that Yusuke could go out to look for Hiei again. And every day papa would tell him to wait, just a little bit longer. But Yusuke didn't want to wait. Waiting was stupid and he hated it.

            Eventually Yusuke's 'reminders' turned into screaming fits, and then when that didn't work, he simply attacked papa instead. But papa only laughed at him, and kept on telling him to wait.

            But then one day papa came to get him, shaking Yusuke out of bed early in the morning to tell him to get ready to go outside. Yusuke practically jumped out of bed to comply, and was ready almost before papa had gotten back down to the yard. But he didn't wait for papa. Yusuke just went, already racing into the woods, looking for that one youki. Hiei's youki.

            It was early one morning, that Hiei was trying to work out some pretend-practice slashes, with his dagger. He could envision the opponent - tall, stupid, grown-up - and tried to teach himself ways to use his strengths - chiefly speed and dexterity - to win. Yusuke saying he needed Raizen to teach Hiei, had made him mad. So Hiei'd teach himself. That'd show Yusuke. Maybe Hiei would eat him next time, if Hiei managed to beat him with his new skills.

            The thought was something that kept Hiei moving, anyway.

            He was considering going back to Yusuke's papa's castle to steal more food for lunch, when his head whipped around. The sound of someone - tiny but determined - bursting through the forest made him instinctively dive into the bushes and smush his ki, down, to hide. Testing the wind with a sniff, Hiei confirmed it was Yusuke. His eyes narrowed.

            Hiei was going to get yelled at for leaving, wasn't he? But he'd told Yusuke he was only there for the food. Yusuke should've known better than to leave it undefended.

            Yusuke skidded to a stop when he felt Hiei's ki vanish suddenly. He had to be close.

            "Where are you!"

            He squinted determinedly into the surrounding foliage. He would find the little demon. He would.

            Hiei narrowed his eyes at the yell. He considered running away flat, before Yusuke could ream him out. For whatever insane reason, Hiei decided against it. He found a pebble and tossed it at Yusuke from the bushes, then zipped off to another spot. They weren't in a circular clearing, this time, but the principle was the same. Hiei kept his ki hidden though; not wanting to give that much away.

            Yusuke ignored the pebble, and did his best to follow the movement of the foliage. It was difficult, without the flash of ki behind it, giving Hiei's path away. He glared at the greenery.

            "Why won't you stay with me?"

            Stay with him? Hiei frowned. Why was Yusuke still thinking about that.

            Since Yusuke didn't seem to be about to start screaming about Hiei stealing from him, he crossed his arms and soundlessly stepped out of the bushes behind Yusuke. Hiei watched him warily, for a moment. It'd be easy to win, with a blow to the back of Yusuke's head. But he didn't.

            "Not 'bout you. Don' stay anywheres." Hiei said, fully aware that speaking meant announcing his location.

            Yusuke tensed, and immediately spun around, locking eyes with the little demon. But when it didn't look like Hiei was going to bolt immediately, he relaxed.

            "...why not?"

            Hiei frowned deeper. His eyes flicked off to the left. He debated with himself. But Yusuke was just a stupid kid. Like him. So what did it matter if Hiei said it.

            "...Waitin'. 'cause she gon' find me. Can't stay nowheres a'fore she does."

            Yusuke blinked, his head tilting slightly to the side in obvious confusion.

            "...what?"

            Hiei scowled at him.

            "Mama. She gon' find me. Soon 's she gets away from 'dem." Hiei said, like the surety of his soul rested on the concept. Maybe it did. "Can't find me 'f I'm hid away with no sky." Hiei pointed up, like that clarified everything.

            Yusuke stared up at the tree canopy, thick enough overhead to block out most of the sky.

            "...oh."

            Yusuke didn't really get it but... Hiei had to stay outside? So his mama could find him? Yusuke frowned, and looked back down at Hiei.

            "But... we gots places like that at home. There's rooms with no tops, where you can see the sky, or places high up where you can sit outside and see everything."

            That made Hiei hesitate, and he puffed out his cheeks: glancing at Yusuke, then away.

            "Maybe I dun wanna." He said, bluntly. "What's so great 'bout you, anyways. You's bossy an' stupid an' got no ki an' stomp loud an' smell humans and breathe funny." And share food. Hiei added reluctantly to himself.

            Yusuke almost stomped his foot at that, but stopped himself just in time, turning his head away, his chin lifted stubbornly instead. If Hiei really didn't want to be there, then Yusuke didn't really want to admit that the only reason he had for asking him was because he wanted Hiei to be there. That just seemed silly.

            But then he remembered.

            "I beat you. I thought you wan'ed ta win, next time. Not gonna happen, 'less you stay."

            Hiei glared at him, uncrossing his arms. He put his right hand on the hilt of his dagger, and lifted his left to spark a ball of fire to life in it as he took an intimidating step forward. The fire was messy around the edges, burning a little wobbly and crazily, but Hiei held onto it. It was risky, using his ki - but he'd been eating well, lately. So it should be fine, right?

            "You only winnin' 'cause I was hungry. Beat you now, and I goes somewheres else for Mama t' find me eas'er." Hiei bragged, posturing as he took a second threatening step forward.

            Yusuke immediately brought his fists up, and shifted his feet into position, watching Hiei carefully as he called a fire on his own into his hand. But that didn't change anything. Hiei still hadn't won. Not yet.

            "Prove it."

            Yusuke didn't wait for Hiei to attack, however, and rushed in first, towards Hiei’s right side. But just as he got in range, he dropped, using his momentum to slide along the ground and swing his arm towards Hiei’s ankles, in an attempt to take the demon's legs out from under him.

            Not expecting Yusuke to start the fight - and for what? Hiei to stay? - Hiei's eyes widened. He'd meant it as a bluff, so Yusuke would finally leave him alone. Then Yusuke threw Hiei's words back at him, and he scowled. Quick, once Yusuke had dropped, Hiei palmed Yusuke's shoulders with his hands and vaulted himself over. The fire in his left caught on the fabric of Yusuke's right shoulder, and smoke rose from it as Hiei soared over Yusuke's head to a spare patch of ground.

            Landing a little unsteady, but managing it, Hiei turned quick and sucked the fire back in to himself: lest it eat up his youki, to keep it alive. His dagger didn't cost Hiei anything. So, he drew it with his right hand and held it parallel to the ground in front of himself, the tip towards his right shoulder. His knees bent into a ready stance. Hiei's eyes narrowed, as he hesitated.

            He could see at least three kill slices in the time it took Yusuke to stand and face him again. But. Hiei didn't want to kill him -

            Yusuke had to scramble not to slide into the bush behind Hiei when he leapt away, and by the time he'd found his feet again he could already feel the steady, sharp pain in his lungs every time he breathed in, from when he'd been running before. The minor scrapes on his arms and legs he'd already managed to acquire through his clothing barely registered, comparatively.

            The burn mark on his right shoulder from his slowly smoldering shirt was another story, however, and Yusuke quickly smacked the rest of the embers off him, shaking his stinging hand slightly afterwards.

            But once that was dealt with, he settled right back into a ready stance, and faced Hiei with determination. He wasn't going to give up on this.

            Yusuke didn't look like he was going to give up. Maybe Hiei should make it easy for him. Eyes narrowing, he phased out of sight and ran past Yusuke. He pivoted with the precious few seconds he had before Yusuke caught up to his movement. From behind, Hiei socked the back of Yusuke's right knee with the hilt of his dagger, and the back of Yusuke's left knee with his fist - as hard as he could - before jumping away and resuming his half-crouched dagger-at-the-ready stance.

            Stay down. Hiei said in his head, expression pinching a little. 'm not worth it.

            When Hiei disappeared suddenly from in front of him, Yusuke felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and he twisted, swinging his elbow back hard behind him, even as he felt the pain slam into the back of his right knee. He felt his arm whiff harmlessly past a tuft of hair, and another hit, to his left knee this time, and he grit his teeth as he went down, both knees hitting the ground hard. But he didn't allow himself to stay there, immediately leaning back to roll his weight onto his ankles, and back up into a squat, then a crouch, already turning around to face Hiei as he stood up completely, his fists still raised.

            Frustration burning at the back of his brain, Hiei felt the rage well up in his throat. He flung his dagger off to the side and burst his hands into flames, rushing Yusuke again and grabbing his fists, this time.

            "Lee'me 'lone!" Hiei screamed in Yusuke's face as the smell of singed flesh wafted up between them, fighting his youki tugging at him to let Hiei burst his own entire body into flames. "Y'got 'nough grown-ups doin' what'ver y'want! Why y'want me too?! Y' stupid!"

            Yusuke gasped, his eyes going wide as the pain registered, and he simply reacted, without even thinking about it, using Hiei's fiery grip on his hands for balance as he shifted his stance, raised one leg, and kicked the demon away from him, as hard as he could.

            Hiei coughed, flying off into the bushes, which immediately lit up from contact with his burning youki. He rolled out of them, hands fisting at his sides, clothing and spare twigs and leaves in his hair catching fire. His face was covered in scratches from the bush, one cheek smeared with mud. He sniffled loudly, pointing accusingly at Yusuke. The fire from Hiei's hands was starting to climb up his arms. At this rate, the fabric of his cloak, shirt and pants would be ashes in minutes.

            "Lee'me 'lone!" Tears sprung to the corners of his eyes, but Hiei ignored them. "Y'just stupid an' - an' -" Gonna get hurt. The liquid droplets trickled over his bare, dirty cheeks and solidified; getting lost somewhere in the ground underfoot. The bush behind him blazed higher, the fire on his arms now reaching Hiei's shoulders.

            Yusuke watched, unable to look away, as the forest around Hiei started to light up with flames. But when the demon stood back up and pointed at him, he snapped out of it, glancing down at his hands before quickly hiding them behind his back. They were still balled into fists, but he didn't dare open them. Not with the skin so red and raw. He didn't dare move them at all, if he could help it. So he just held them carefully out of sight, instead.

            "... you're wrong."

            Yusuke held his gaze steady, ignoring the growing flames, constantly flickering just out of focus.

            "Nobody does what I want. They on'y pretend. Because... they think I'm stupid. And weak. But... I don't wanna make you do what I want."

            Yusuke looked down at the ground instead, and shuffled his feet.

            "So... if you really don't wanna stay... then... don't... "

Chapter Text

            Hiei fell to his knees, bracing his fall with his hands in front of him and bowing his head. Like a candle being snuffed out, all the fire behind him vanished as Hiei sucked it back into himself. It left the areas that'd burned still vaguely smelling like char and ash, but it didn't spread any further. Where the forest had been roaring and ablaze, all was now dark and quiet. Screwing up his face, trying not to cry, the silent tears still came; littering the ground beneath him and pitch black. Hiei had his eyes clenched shut, so he didn't see: only felt them rolling over his hands.

            "G-Gotta wait for Mama." Hiei managed out, eventually; his throat tight and hoarse from yelling. Mama was the only one who wanted him. Hiei wanted her. He wanted to hear her when she wasn't screaming. There was another, vaguer memory of her voice, soft and sweet: Hiei wanted more of that. Yusuke couldn't give him what he wanted.

            But: would Mama want Hiei to wait for her, always almost dying? She'd wanted him not to die. Hiei swallowed what threatened to be a sob, at the thought. Living at Yusuke's meant not dying, because there was always food there. And Hiei always wanted food, too; it was a different want than seeing Mama again, but still just as potent.

            Yusuke blinked when the fire suddenly went out, his eyes adjusting to the unexpected darkness. It was uncomfortable, seeing Hiei on the ground like that. And it was uncomfortable, trying to ignore the throbbing pain slowly creeping up his arms. There was nothing fun about any of this. But there was still something bothering him.

            "... how's your mama supposed to know where t' find you, if you's not in the same place?"

            Rubbing at his face with his right forearm, his arms now bare all the way up to his shoulders, Hiei sniffled and still tried to stop the tears from coming. But they just wouldn't.

            "M-Mama c'n see. She lives in the sky. Jus' c'n't get 'way yet." Hiei at least remembered that much. The other ladies in his memory had been so mean. He knew she'd find him, though. Her voice had been so desperate -

            Yusuke looked up again, squinting at the bits of sky he could see through the thick canopy overhead.

            "Yeah, but... how's she 'pposed to know where to look? If you're always movin'?"

            He looked back down at Hiei.

            "My papa tells me, if I needs to be found, I should find a place to stay. That way the person lookin' can find me."

            Hiei lifted his head, moist tear tracks still creeping through the dirt on his cheeks. At least he'd stopped crying, though. His eyes were wobbly, trying to find the lie in Yusuke's words. The agenda.

            "Y'just sayin' that 'cause y' want me t' stay in one place." It was only after the words left his mouth that Hiei seemed to process them, and his eyes went wide: like he just realized it. Yusuke... wanted him to stay? Hiei replayed a few of Yusuke's words in his head: Yusuke didn't want to make Hiei do what Yusuke wanted? His brow furrowed. Wasn't that just a stupid way of saying Yusuke did want Hiei to stay, he just wasn't saying it? Because of some stupid reasoning Hiei didn't understand?

            Yusuke frowned, glancing back down to retort, only to look away again immediately without saying anything, suddenly remembering how uncomfortable this whole situation was. Hiei was so upset, and Yusuke didn't know how to fix it. So he just didn't say anything, and shuffled awkwardly on his feet instead.

            Now that he had had the thought, Hiei's brain just wouldn't let it go. He kept staring in silent shock at Yusuke, even as the human stayed quiet and didn't say anything. The silence dragged on.

            "Why you wan' me t'stay so bad y'don' wanna say y'want'it?" Hiei settled on: just letting the words out there. Then at least he'd know if his conclusion was wrong. Which it probably was. It always was. People only wanted him around once they knew Hiei had something valuable. But Yusuke hadn't brought Hiei's gem up, once, since he'd found out about it. Hiei wasn't foolish enough to think Yusuke'd forgotten. It could still be a long-range plan to steal it. But... all those people who did bad things to him, were grown-ups. Yusuke wasn't a grown-up. And maybe Hiei wanted to believe him... ?

            Yusuke actually met Hiei's gaze again, at the question, not expecting it.

            "What?"

            He frowned, trying to decipher what it was Hiei was trying to ask him.

            "'Cause... I'm the only one... everyone else is grown-ups. And I never get what I want."

            Hiei sat back, propping his bare arms behind him as he kept staring at Yusuke.

            "Y'want me t'stay 'cause grown-ups is stupid." Hiei said, matter-of-factly; still trying to suss it out. He didn't understand it. He pointed at Yusuke's hidden hands; knowing full well they were probably painful, raw and pink. "Burnt ya. Might do 't 'gain. Might steal your food 'gain too. Why y'want that." Hiei challenged him calmly, waiting for the bad news to drop. Because there had to be something, right? Some catch.

            Yusuke tensed when Hiei pointed at him again, and he lifted his throbbing hands up a little further behind his back, even though he knew Hiei couldn't see them anyway. It hurt, to do so, but he ignored the pain. This was more important.

            "Y-you didn' mean it. An' I told you. We got lots of food."

            Hiei narrowed his eyes at that, and pushed himself up off the ground so he could march over to Yusuke. He got right in his face, grabbing one of Yusuke's elbows that was hidden behind his back; well above the burns. Hiei didn't jerk it forward; he didn't need to.

            "So's it don' hurt s'much 'cause I di'n't mean it?" Hiei ignored the comment about food. His grip tightened on Yusuke's arm, but not quite enough to bruise.

            Yusuke grit his teeth and stared straight back into those huge red eyes, even as the throbbing pain in his arm began to shoot painfully up to his shoulder. His face was set in an expression of firm determination as he spoke through the pain.

            "You. Didn't. Mean. It."

            Yusuke knew he was right, because he'd recognized something in Hiei's expression, when the demon had grabbed him. It didn't register at the time, because of the pain, but Yusuke knew. He understood that feeling, of just wanting to be left alone.

            But this was different. Hiei was always alone. And Yusuke... wasn't. Even when it felt that way. And he really, really didn't want to feel that way anymore.

            He didn't feel that way when he was with Hiei. And that's why Hiei had to stay.

            Hiei squinted at him, a smidge impressed by the stubbornness, if nothing else. Then he turned, letting go of Yusuke to go retrieve his dagger on the ground nearby. Sheathing it in his belt, and checking to be sure his hiruiseki's cord was still intact, Hiei tucked the gem back under his now-sleeveless shirt. Hiei stared back at Yusuke from the edge of the clearing. With his hands injured, it'd probably be hard for Yusuke to make his way through the forest, to the castle. After a moment, Hiei walked back over, and made to grab Yusuke's elbows again, trying to wrangle his arms out from behind him.

            "C'mon." Hiei grumbled, frustrated and definitely not wanting to have to explain himself. Yusuke should just understand.

            Yusuke stayed where he was, tense and unmoving, as Hiei walked away and retrieved his weapon. But when Hiei came back, after, and held out his hands, Yusuke let out a slightly choked sigh of relief. He refused to give in to the urge to cry about the pain, however, as he let his arms drop and stepped forward to follow Hiei back to the castle.

            As they walked, Hiei figured Yusuke's papa would kill him once they arrived at the gates. It would serve Hiei right, anyway. But still, Hiei walked in silence, holding branches open for Yusuke without looking directly at him; and so Yusuke wouldn't have to. When they reached the part of the forest where the smells of the demons in the castle started to appear, Hiei braced himself.

            He'd be dead soon. For hurting Yusuke so badly. But Hiei could live with that. He'd hurt the only other person who'd ever tried to bear his fire, like that. Hiei'd deserve to die like this.

            And maybe Mama was never going to find him. Maybe she wasn't even looking.

            Yusuke cradled his hands protectively in front of him on the walk back to the castle, still carefully balled into fists. But when they got there, he frowned. He didn't see papa. Or sense him. Yusuke had thought papa would be waiting for him, when they got back.

            Oh well. He couldn't worry about that now.

            Yusuke only paused momentarily, to glance back at Hiei, before continuing on inside. A couple of the monks had already spotted him, and were rushing in his direction to fuss over him. He sighed. At least he wouldn't have to deal with the pain for very much longer.

            Hiei watched Yusuke walk ahead of him, but this feet had stopped just on the outer side of the open gate. Watching Yusuke continue inside, Hiei braced himself as the monks rushed over in his peripheral vision; fighting the urge to run and hide, that he'd ingrained into himself.

            It'd be done soon. Hiei didn't doubt their vengeance would be decisive and swift.

            The monks, seeing Yusuke's raw hands and damaged shirt, immediately shuttled him off to the infirmary to be treated, without even a second glance at Hiei, still standing by the gate.

            Instead, a little drawstring bag landed in the dirt by Hiei's feet. Tossed there from somewhere behind him. It sounded like it was full of little stones, and it was followed by a low, deep voice.

            "I believe these are yours, little thief."

            Hiei jumped a little, and glanced behind him, to the right, without turning his head. He wiped at his nose with his forearm, and looked off towards the dirt, at his left. He didn't know why Yusuke's papa was bothering to talk to him, because Hiei was going to die. Maybe it was part of being a strong demon. Hiei wouldn't know.

            "Nuh-uh." Expression dissolving into a scowl, Hiei kicked the bag over, not caring if any spilt. "Jus'trash."

            "Mmm, well it's certainly very interesting 'trash'. And I'm afraid I can't just leave it lying around."

            Raizen stepped forward far enough for Hiei to spot him, but kept himself off to one side, with enough distance between them to make it clear he wouldn't be able to simply reach out and touch the tiny demon, if he wanted to, though he was probably fast enough.

            "If you don't want it, then I will keep it for you. But it is yours. I have no need for such stones, interesting though they may be."

            Raizen held out his hand.

            "You never gave my son an answer, however. Are you staying, or are you leaving, little thief?"

            Hiei tensed up, glancing over instinctively as Yusuke's papa entered his peripheral vision. He then fisted his hands by his sides, and looked away again as the big demon held out his hand; gritting his teeth. There was a long pause, where Hiei struggled with himself on what he wanted to say. Eventually:

            "...'re there really places t'stay, where y'can see th' sky?" Or had Yusuke just been lying, to get Hiei to agree? Since Yusuke's papa could just as easily kill him as let Hiei stay, maybe he wouldn't care enough to lie.

            "Yes. There are. My son has no reason to lie to you."

            Raizen gestured up at the castle instead.

            "His desire to have you stay here with him is genuine. I would not have given my permission for him to ask you for such a thing, otherwise. If you do decide to stay, you will get everything you need here, though I cannot promise it will be everything that you want."

            Thrown by that last comment, Hiei actually looked up at him, his eyes young and wide. His hands had loosened along with it, but they tightened back into fists at his sides, as he ducked his head down.

            "'m jus'... stayin' here 'til Mama finds me. Then we leavin'." With that, Hiei began marching single-mindedly past the gate, intending to follow where Yusuke's smell had gone. Hiei tried to ignore the feeling of eyeballs crawling over his skin - as everybody probably looked at him as he did - though.

            Raizen smiled briefly, and waited until Hiei was out of sight before scooping the bag of hiruisekis off the ground and following him into the castle, keeping his distance as he, too, headed inside to check on his son.

            Yusuke had already choked down the vile potion the monks had given him for the pain, and sat through his usual treatment to remove the poisonous air from his lungs, but once the potion had had enough time to really take effect, his head was beginning to feel a little fuzzy, and the monks had finally turned their attention to his burns. They had just begun to wrap his hands when he spotted Hiei hovering near the infirmary door, and Yusuke grinned over at him, feeling a little giddy.

            "Hiei!"

            Hiei stopped short in the door, pinking a little and immediately turning his right cheek to face Yusuke, as he resumed walking into the room. Hiei pretended something off to his left was much more interesting. He flawlessly avoided making contact with the fussing grown-ups and sneaked in to Yusuke's side.

            Hiei gave Yusuke a light 'shut up' punch in his non-burned shoulder, muttering something under his breath. How was Yusuke so comfortable around all these people? Just talking away without a care. Hmph.

Chapter Text

            Yusuke continued smiling as he tracked Hiei around the room, grinning even wider when the little demon punched him.

            "They says I won' be able to punch nothin' for a whiles but i's okay."

            Yusuke was pretty sure the grown ups were just being fussy like usual. He wasn't worried about it anyway. Besides, Hiei was already here, so it wasn't like they were going to be fighting each other again. And this way Yusuke could even get out of training for a few weeks, and just do whatever the hell he wanted instead.

            Hiei winced a little at that, turning away. But he just silently dropped to a seat on the floor next to Yusuke's treatment-bed, crossed his arms, and settled in. At least until Yusuke left the room, anyway.

            Yusuke turned to the door again when he noticed more movement there, and had to readjust to direct his grin all the way up as Raizen leaned into the doorway.

            "Papa! Hiei is here!"

            Yusuke felt a comforting warmth settle in his chest when papa chuckled, and he relaxed back onto the incline of the bed behind him as the monks finished binding his hands. Hiei was here, and papa was here, and everything was great. Yusuke watched as one of the monks hurried over to papa for a hushed conversation, and he frowned slightly when papa frowned, but papa wasn't frowning for long, so Yusuke relaxed again.

            "Yusuke, you may let Hiei know that he can stay with you for as long as he likes. And once he decides where he would like to stay in the castle, please let Hokushin know."

            "Oh!" Yusuke nodded.

            That's right. Hiei wanted to stay somewhere where his mama could find him. Yusuke glanced down at Hiei on the floor next to him, and grinned.

            "We should go 'splorin'! Find a room with no top!"

            Hiei tilted his head back, and stared dead at Yusuke above him. Then he pulled down his left eyelid, and stuck out his tongue. It was as good a yes as any.

            Yusuke laughed at Hiei's rude expression before leaning back in the bed again. After a moment or two, the monks finally finished messing with his hands, and he let his arms drop to his sides with a sigh. He was... tired. But it was daytime. And daytime meant it was time for doing stuff. Besides, Hiei was here now too. Yusuke sighed again.

            "Yusuke."

            Yusuke startled. He had forgotten papa was still here.

            "Yes papa?"

            "Get some rest. Hiei will still be here after you're feeling better."

            "But..."

            Yusuke glanced back down at Hiei again, frowning slightly. He knew papa wouldn't accept no for an answer. If papa wanted him to rest, then papa expected him to rest, and that was that. Yusuke made a frustrated noise before carefully pushing himself to the side of the bed, and off it.

            "Fine. But I'm goin' back to my room firs'."

            Twisting to look under the bed, Hiei watched until he saw Yusuke's feet land on the ground. Then he got up, and skillfully navigated around the end of the bed - and the remaining grown-ups - to follow Yusuke silently out of the room, when he went. Hiei didn't even look up at Yusuke's papa as they passed him, though.

            Yusuke felt tired and his arms ached and the nasty drink the monks had given him made his head feel funny, but he refused to let any of it show on his face as he marched himself stubbornly, one step at a time, back to his room. He would have gotten there sooner if he wasn't so sure he'd make a fool of himself, tripping over his own feet tying to go faster.

            Finally back in his room, Yusuke face-planted down into his bed with a groan. He didn't want to rest. He rolled over and took a look around his room instead. There really wasn't much he could do while his hands were still hurting. And he was too tired to think about walking all over the castle right now.

            Yusuke huffed as he continued to lay there, half hanging off the end of his bed, annoyed by his lack of options.

            Hiei followed Yusuke inside. He stood in the middle of the room instead of follow Yusuke to the bed. Sparing a dubious glance towards the pair of weird-feeling windows, Hiei decided to ignore them. There were lots of strange things in here; just like last time. Hiei's eyes grazed over the wooden weapons and the beat-up scarecrows, as well as the tree he'd climbed to the top of, last time.

            Pausing before heading straight for it, Hiei resisted, looking down at his hands while Yusuke couldn't see them. Yusuke couldn't use his hands. Because of Hiei. Flaunting that Hiei could, seemed a little... wrong. So Hiei headed for a few of the colorful boards strewn about the floor, nudging at one with his toe.

            "Wha'ss'is." Presumably it was supposed to be more interesting than just flat, colorful garbage, right?

            "Mm?"

            Yusuke picked his head up to look at the board on the floor near Hiei's feet.

            "'s a game. Dunno where all tha pieces is though."

            He scooted himself a little further onto the bed so he could sit up properly and took another, closer look around the room. Most of his games had gotten scattered during the course of his many 'fights' with the useless training dummies, though he occasionally did make an attempt to pick them up and put them back together. He hadn't tried to do that in a while though.

            Hiei glanced around the room. There were quite a few small pieces of varying sizes and shapes scattered about. They sort of looked like they'd fit in the boxes on the colored board, though. First, he dragged the colored board over next to the big cushion Yusuke was sitting on. Hiei nudged a spot of floor next to it clear, and haphazardly dropped the board into the cleared spot. Then Hiei started to collect up a bunch of the pieces; not trying to match anything, just enough that looked like they could cover the board. Once his hands were full of them, Hiei walked back over and dumped the pieces in the middle of the board laid out beside Yusuke's cushion.

            Hiei plopped down to a cross-legged seat on the other side of the board, and stared up at Yusuke expectantly.

            "How you play? 'll move 'em."

            Yusuke snorted out a laugh when Hiei dumped the pile of game pieces next to his bed, and he slid himself down to the floor next to the mess. Leaning back against the bed, he made himself comfortable, and pointed out the few types of game pieces that actually belonged with the board, so Hiei could sort them from the rest. Once that was done, he did his best to explain how the game was supposed to be set up, and how it worked, without moving his arms too much.

            It was a lot harder than he thought it would be, not using his hands, but the look Hiei gave him when he forgot and tried to move the pieces himself was enough to make him hesitate, so he did his best. He still found himself yawning, halfway through the game, as he leaned up against his bed, but he didn't complain, and very stubbornly continued. This was fun, and he couldn't stop smiling about it, either.

            This was... a quiet game, Hiei realized. He was used to quiet: but usually that meant by himself. He kept his eyes on the board - except when Yusuke tried to be stupid about his hands - and listened attentively to the directions, and after that, Yusuke's moves.

            Hiei thought he was starting to get it. It was mostly just outsmarting the other person, right? That wasn't so hard. He was used to doing that, too: again, mostly to survive, but it seemed like the same principle.

            At some point, after Yusuke realized that Hiei pretty much understood how to play the game, he mostly stopped paying attention to the game itself, and started staring at Hiei instead. He'd already played this game a ton of times anyway. He didn't really matter to him if he won or not. But Hiei was way more interesting. And he looked... different now, somehow. Better.

            "You did that fire thing all by yourself this time..."

            Hiei flicked his eyes up to Yusuke, squinting at him. He moved his piece, before speaking, eyes dropping back to the board.

            "C'n do 't anytime. Jus' easier when 'm not hungry. Did it since I was li''le."

            Yusuke grinned.

            "... tha's so cool."

            He kept staring for another moment or two before he remembered to look at the board again, and call out his next move. And then he went right back to staring.

            Hiei blinked up at him, at the comment. 'Cool'? He looked down to dutifully move Yusuke's piece, then back up afterwards.

            "...'s not tho. 's hot." Hiei pointed at Yusuke's wrapped-up hands, brow furrowing. "Y'know's hot."

            Yusuke giggled.

            "No! Cool! Like..." He glanced upwards briefly, and hummed, thinking. "... like 'mpressive! It's neat!"

            Hiei huffed at him, not entirely believing Yusuke wasn't just messing with him. Testing Hiei's gullibility, maybe.

            "Jus' say that then. Why y'gotta make 't comp'i'tated."

            "I dunno."

            Yusuke moved on, not interested in arguing about it.

            "You can really do tha' all the time? Whenever you wan'?"

            Hiei moved his piece in the brief silence, then deadpanned up at Yusuke; for his relentless questioning.

            "Why? Y'wan' me t' burn y'castle down?" Hiei dared, his delivery utterly serious.

            Yusuke laughed himself to giggles at Hiei's answer, and clutched his stomach, until he was gasping slightly to catch his breath.

            Hiei rolled his eyes, at that. When Yusuke's ridiculous fit was done, he spoke over the lingering gasps.

            "Go 'lready." Hiei pointed at the board, clearly waiting for Yusuke's next narrated move.

            Yusuke rubbed his face on his undamaged shoulder to wipe his watery eyes before peering down at the board again and calling out a move. Then -

            "You can't burn the castle down."

            "Yuh-huh." Hiei immediately countered, moving Yusuke's piece and pulling his hand back. He studied the board for a few moments, clearly more distracted with that than replying. "C'n burn an'thin' down 'f 't burns."

            "'s a stone castle, dummy."

            And obviously Hiei wouldn't be able to burn that down. Yusuke was still grinning over at Hiei, studying the demon's serious expression. It didn't really matter if Hiei could do those things or not, Yusuke decided. He liked the fact that Hiei was so sure about it.

            Hiei scowled at Yusuke, for calling him a dummy.

            "You're dummy. Jus' gotta make 't hot 'nough." Hiei said, confidently. "Everythin' burns." He moved his piece and smiled triumphantly down at the board when the game rules he'd just learned, dictated Hiei now got to take one of Yusuke's pieces. Take that, Yusuke's stupid logic.

            Yusuke huffed at him.

            "Ain't never seen no rock burn."

            He'd seen some of the weapons papa had made for the monks glow, when they got broken and got real hot so they could be fixed, but that wasn't the same, right? It didn't look like fire, to him. So it wasn't the same. Obviously.

            Glancing down at the board, he called out his move, unconcerned with the loss of his piece. He hadn't lost the game yet, not that he really cared about winning. But he knew he still could win, if he tried, and if he got lucky. He just didn't care, and Hiei seemed like he liked winning anyway.

            "Then y'haven't seen 'nough burnin'." Hiei stuck out his tongue at Yusuke. He kept his eyes on the game though, moving Yusuke's piece and then, his own in turn.

            Yusuke hummed his agreement at that. With how eager papa and all the monks were to keep him away from anything they decided was too dangerous, Hiei was probably right. He hadn't seen a lot of 'burning'. Especially compared to a fire demon.

            Yusuke called out his own move, still considering Hiei's words.

            "You pro'ly burn' lotsa stuff, huh?"

            "Uh-huh." Hiei said automatically, moving Yusuke's piece and taking another few moments before he, very carefully, moved his own.

            Yusuke looked over Hiei's half-burnt clothing, and then glanced at the hole in his own shirt before looking back.

            "...'s it ever hurt?"

            Hiei shook his head. He kept his eyes on the game, ostensibly waiting for Yusuke to say his next move.

            "Mn-mn. Fire don' hurt. 's just... lettin' the inside out, wh'n I do 't." It didn't hurt Hiei, anyway. Maybe there was a fire that could hurt him? Hiei didn't know. He'd never had to think about it before. What other types of fire could there be, anyway? Wasn't there just the one?

            "Oh... tha's good."

            Yusuke glanced back down at the board then, and called out his next move, which took one of Hiei's pieces off the board.

            Hiei moved Yusuke's piece, then scowled when he realized he had to get rid of one of his own. Hiei removed the appropriate one, then hunched over the board, peering at the pieces intensely. His eyes darted here and there, debating the best move, before he rolled back to his previously-slouched position, and moved his next piece.

Chapter Text

            Yusuke grinned again, watching Hiei's serious expression as he focused on the game.

            He didn't interrupt again though, and ended up falling asleep in spite of himself, after the monks brought them lunch, so it wasn't until the next day that Yusuke got the chance to actually go exploring around the castle with Hiei. He already knew where everything was of course, but it was fun finally showing Hiei around, and by the end he was practically bouncing with excitement.

            "So? Whaddya think?"

            Hiei eyed Yusuke's bouncing, raising an eyebrow at him as they walked back towards Yusuke's room.

            "'s big." Hiei said, shoving the door open. He hadn't been able to sleep inside last night. He'd tried, but in the end he had run out to the forest and slept there, instead. There weren't the right noises inside. When he woke with the sun as usual, Hiei sneaked back inside, so nobody knew he'd been gone.

            Least of all Yusuke.

            "... yeah."

            Yusuke supposed that was true. Even he didn't see most of the castle, most of the time, because it was so big.

            "But if it wasn' so big then er'rybody would be all smooshed together. An' that'd be no fun."

            There were already too many people around, as far as Yusuke was concerned. And they all wanted him to stay inside. So the more room, the better.

            Hiei wrinkled his nose, not disagreeing with that.

            "'cause they'd all smell. Grown-ups stink." He deadpanned, already going to Yusuke's runged tree, and pulling the paper rectangles off in preparation for climbing up it again.

            Yusuke laughed.

            "They stink?"

            He knew some demons had a better sense of smell than others, but he hadn't thought that Hiei was that type of demon. He let himself fall backwards onto his bed as he watched Hiei climb the bookcase again.

            Once settled in his perch, Hiei put his back against the wall, then crossed his arms and legs and nodded solemnly.

            "Uh-huh. Sweaty 'nd gross grown-ups." He let his face show his utter distaste for that concept.

            Yusuke giggled.

            "They are gross."

            "Mm-hm." Hiei agreed, having nothing else to add. From his seat, Hiei looked out Yusuke's windows; first one, then the other. His eyes scanned the treeline a ways off, trying to find the perch he'd slept in last night.

            Yusuke lifted his bandaged hands up in front of him, flexing them slowly. They hurt less today, when he wasn't thinking about it, but they were harder to move, and when he did try to move them, they hurt worse. So after only a second or two, he put them down again, ignoring the warm, throbbing feeling that was pulsing up his arms now.

            "So... whadd'ya wanna do?"

            There was a knock on the door immediately after Yusuke asked the question, and he startled. He wasn't expecting anyone, so who-?

            When the door opened and papa was standing there, Yusuke sat up suddenly.

            "Papa?"

            "Training time."

            "But..." Yusuke held up his bandaged hands, but papa only smiled and shook his head, ever so slightly.

            "Not you. Him."

            Yusuke glanced over at Hiei, on top of the bookshelf.

            "Come on now. Both of you. Follow me."

            Yusuke actually hesitated for a moment before pushing himself off the bed and onto his feet, to do as he was told. But he did it. He wanted to know what kind of training papa was going to ask Hiei to do.

            Hiei's head swiveled around as the door opened, and he watched Yusuke's papa neutrally. His eyes narrowed when he felt Yusuke look over at him, but Hiei didn't dart a return look in that direction. He kept watching Yusuke's papa, and only moved his head when he noticed Yusuke shifting to get up.

            Expression pinching in displeasure, Hiei glared back at Yusuke's papa; for good measure. When that had no effect, he dropped off his perch, but made sure to follow behind Yusuke. Keeping Yusuke between them.

            It grated, some grown-up thinking he could tell Hiei what to do. But if Yusuke was going to go, Hiei'd follow him out there. He didn't have to do what Yusuke's papa said, once they were there, anyway. Wasn't his papa.

            Nervous for a reason he couldn't really name, Yusuke followed papa closely as he led them through the castle and out through the kitchens, outside, to the edge of a large open area filled with scraggly bushes and low growing plants. Where the wild, fang-toothed oxen were kept.

            Yusuke was never allowed out on this side of the castle, and he quite honestly didn't want to be. The beasts that roamed the field in this area were huge, and scary. So why had papa brought them here? Yusuke glanced up at him, but papa didn't seem worried. And he wasn't yelling. He simply looked down at the two of them and pointed out at the field.

            "If you can manage to kill one of them, then it's all yours to eat. Hm?"

            Yusuke glanced back. Hiei? Papa wanted Hiei to kill one of the beasts?

            From behind Yusuke's shoulder, Hiei looked down at the pen, then regarded Yusuke's papa silently; sizing up his motivations, and his request. Hiei then folded his arms over his chest, and kept right on staring.

            "...C'n get what I wan'. Don' need to. Nuh-uh." He said, jaw set and lifted up defiantly. Hiei was nobody's bribed killer. Especially not for animals that he didn't need to eat. Maybe if he'd been starving, out in the woods, and there was no other option. But here?

            Hiei also knew Yusuke wouldn't be happy, if Yusuke's papa refused to feed him. And barring that, Hiei could always just go back to stealing from the kitchens, as he had been.

            Yusuke sighed, slightly relieved that Hiei wasn't going to go in there and face one of those monstrous beasts. But then papa sighed too, and Yusuke looked up again, confused, as papa shrugged.

            "Ah, well. If you don't think you can do it then perhaps I can find a simpler challenge for you. But nobody stays in my castle without learning how to defend themselves. You will learn that soon enough, little thief, whether you want to or not."

            Hiei's gaze sharpened, fiery - at the insinuation he was scared of facing the animal - but he stood his ground; not budging.

            "C'n fight jus' fine." Hiei said stolidly. He pointed down at the oxen running around, briefly shifting his gaze down there. After a moment to identify the species in his head, then: "Dagger 'n the head'd take 'em down easy. Not gonna do 't when y'have plenty to eat 'lready." He snapped, getting a little heated.

            Yusuke was surprised to see a glimpse of something flicker across papa's face. Was that a smile? He blinked, and turned his head to look back down at Hiei. Papa had said this was 'training' but... this wasn't anything like his training. He didn't get it.

            "Fine. You're free to go then."

            Yusuke whipped his head back around.

            "Go?"

            "Yes, Yusuke. That's all for now."

            "Oh... okay..."

            Even though he was still clearly confused, Yusuke didn't waste any time heading back towards the kitchens. He didn't like being out by the ox fields anyway. So he quickly hurried himself back inside, only slowing down once he'd reached the safety of the castle interior.

            "That was... weird..."

            Disappointed that they'd been dragged out here just for this, Hiei rolled his eyes and pivoted on his foot; ready to head back inside. He waited until Yusuke started, though, and kept pace with him. He scoffed once they were inside, and shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked towards the smell of cooking food. Hiei tried to resist the urge to keep to the shadows and corners. He didn't need to sneak. At least, not right now. He was going there with Yusuke, after all.

            "Y'papa likes t' play games." Hiei muttered, only half-expecting to be heard. Crazy old fart.

            Not expecting the remark, Yusuke only caught the tail end of it. A game? Was that what Hiei thought? That this was some kind of game? Yusuke considered it.

            Papa did like to play games. And papa was always trying to get him to think about the game, while he was playing it. It was annoying sometimes, but was this like that? Yusuke glanced back at Hiei as he continued walking. Maybe, he decided.

            But why would papa want to play games with Hiei?

            "Papa does what he wants..."

            And most of the time, that was the only explanation Yusuke ever got.

            Deadpanning at him, Hiei bopped the top of Yusuke's head, at a diagonal, with his fist.

            "Dun worry 'bout it. Grown-ups is stupid." Grabbing Yusuke's uninjured shoulder, with one hand on his back, Hiei tried to push him to walk faster towards the kitchens. "C'mon. Le's eat somethin'."

            Yusuke flinched at the sudden bonk to the head, not expecting it in his distraction, but he flashed a grin back at Hiei immediately after, even as the shorter demon started shoving him, and he laughed.

            "Yeah! Le's eat!"

            Striding far more confidently now, Yusuke hurried on to the kitchens, and wasn't the least bit shy about immediately pestering the cooks the moment he got there, until they had piled together a little basket of food that he and Hiei could easily carry with them back to the room.

            The days sort of melted into one another, after that. Hiei at least stayed close to the castle at night, although sleeping inside it was another matter. It was hard to give up the forest noises he was used to for four walls that felt constricting at best, and like a cage, at worst. But he was sure to sneak back in before the day started, because then he'd get to see Yusuke.

            It didn't take long for the safety and novelty of the castle to wear out: Hiei'd seen all the rooms, mapped all the passages and short-cuts in his head, and picked his favorite spots. Even if he never left anything in them, he still liked them. But a big chunk of the world was missing, not being outside all the time. Hiei didn't like losing that. It felt like giving up; like being weak, and boring.

            So around the time he'd taken to spending his nights sleeping on a balcony a little higher than Yusuke's room, Hiei started leaving the castle during the day. He missed hunting. He missed the trees and testing his skills on the daily and no matter how many things Yusuke had in his castle, they weren't the same things Hiei missed.

            Yusuke had panicked, the first time he realized Hiei wasn't inside, or even on the castle grounds at all. But that didn’t last long, because right after that he realized that none of the adults were paying attention to where he was going. They had already gotten so used to him staying inside the castle that nobody even noticed when he just... walked right out. Yusuke had to stop himself from laughing until he'd gotten far enough away that he was sure nobody would hear him. Nobody but Hiei, probably.

            Hiei seemed grumpy about it, whenever Yusuke would find him, but he always came right back to the castle afterwards. And it was kind of fun, going after him. Yusuke missed having an excuse to go outside. And when someone finally did catch him sneaking out to go find Hiei, and told papa about it, Yusuke very stubbornly reminded papa that he'd only promised he wouldn't run away if Hiei stayed inside the castle with him. So if Hiei was outside, then obviously it didn't count.

            Somehow, papa believed him, and he didn't get in trouble for it.

            But Hiei didn't leave the castle every day. Sometimes Yusuke had to look for him first, just in case he was still napping in the balcony, or sneaking around near the kitchen for some food. When he wasn't there though, Yusuke followed him out into the woods, tracking his ki until he managed to locate the little fire demon.

            Today though, Yusuke hesitated at the door for a while. Maybe Hiei would come back on his own? The cloud-covered sky overhead looked even more menacing than usual, and was threatening a downpour.

            Yusuke soon got tired of waiting however, and stomped out into the woods in a huff. He would just have to find Hiei quickly then, and get back before the rain started.

            Hiei was tracking a rabbit. He liked rabbits, because they were small and fast and didn't have faces like moles. The air started to smell of threatening rain about halfway through his hunt, and he'd followed it deep into the woods, this time. Hiei was just going to catch it and then let it go, because he didn't need to eat it. Because hunting made a part of his brain settle. It also tested him in ways dodging the grown-ups back at the castle didn't.

            But as the morning went on, and the sky darkened unnaturally with thunderous-looking clouds, Hiei reluctantly gave it up. He oriented himself, and started to trudge back through the undergrowth. Watching the patches of sky through the trees overhead, Hiei debated if he should run back: before the ground got slick and muddy.

Chapter Text

            The further he got from the castle, the more nervous Yusuke felt, and although he was tempted to run, he just managed to resist. Hiei's ki felt like it was pretty far out this time, and there was no way he'd catch up if he started running. So he did his best to pace himself, in spite of the rolling thunder overhead.

            Just when it seemed like Hiei was starting to get closer, and Yusuke's nerves were starting to fade, he heard a loud rustling noise in the bushes off to his right. And then another. Yusuke froze. It wasn't Hiei. He already knew that. Glancing around quickly, Yusuke spotted a low bush that looked like it was dense enough to hide him from view, but had just enough room underneath for him to wiggle himself inside. So he did. And he waited.

            "Hey. You smell that? Smells like human."

            "Human? No way. Raizen don't eat humans."

            "No, he don't. So let's catch it, and eat it ourselves. He ain't gonna miss it."

            "You're right about that!"

            Yusuke curled himself up tightly and clamped a hand over his mouth when he realized that he didn't know those horrible laughing voices.

            There were demons out there. And they were going to eat him.

            Still picking his way through the forest, Hiei paused briefly, and narrowed his eyes in the direction of two youki. He immediately crushed his own down to nothing, in response. Big demons were big trouble. Hiei would be better off avoiding them entirely.

            He took a step off the path, already prepared to get back to the castle in a more roundabout way. But then Hiei hesitated, and spared a glance in the direction of the two humming demon threats. The wind was wrong, so he couldn't smell them. And even when Hiei was next to him, Yusuke didn't give off any ki.

            Because Yusuke sometimes followed him into the woods. Hiei glanced up at the sky, arguing with himself. It had looked like rain for a while now. Surely Yusuke - Yusuke hadn't gone out to find him, today? Hiei looked in the direction of the castle, then back towards the two youki.

            Yusuke was probably at home. There was no way he was out here. So those demons wouldn't run into him. But... Yusuke's papa probably wouldn't like demons so close to his castle, right? Hiei should... check. Pointedly not in case Yusuke had run into them: which he wouldn't have. Just to... be sure. So Hiei kept his youki firmly smushed to nothing, and zipped through the trees in the direction of the youki signatures.

            He'd only have to watch and observe. So he could tell Yusuke's papa what they looked like.

            ...And make sure Yusuke wasn't there. Yusuke was only an afterthought, Hiei reminded himself stubbornly.

            Yusuke could feel his heart pounding away in his chest as the rustling noises steadily got closer, and closer. But there was nothing he could do. If he tried to run now they would definitely catch him. Maybe... maybe Hiei would find him first.

            Yusuke squeezed his eyes shut, trying to look for the fire demon's ki, but he couldn't sense anything. Hiei was gone.

            Gripping his own face tightly with both hands, Yusuke willed himself not to panic. If he panicked then he would start breathing too loudly. Hiei always complained that he was breathing too loudly. Yusuke ignored the feeling of hot, wet tears tracking down his face.

            Hiei could run real fast, right? Maybe he had seen the demons, and had run to get papa. That had to be it. Because Hiei wouldn't just leave him.

            Yusuke tried very hard not to think about the fact that he'd snuck out here without telling anyone where he was going. Hiei knew. Hiei knew that Yusuke would be coming after him. Right?

            With his eyes still screwed tightly shut, Yusuke didn't see the demon start to reach for him, and when a large, clammy hand suddenly wrapped around his ankle and pulled, he gasped in spite of himself as he was yanked from his hiding space.

            "What!? That's it!? That's hardly a mouthful."

            "Still human though. An' when's the last time you had real human to eat, eh?"

            Hiei came to a stop, crouched low in the bushes and his right hand on his dagger. His eyes flicked around the clearing as he watched the two demons rustle around in the bushes. Probably some animal, right? Definitely not -

            Something jumped up into his throat as he saw the taller of the two demons fish out Yusuke from the bush he'd apparently been hiding in. Stupid Yusuke! What was he even doing out here in the first - Hiei brushed away the guilt that wanted to well up, from that.

            These demons were going to eat him, weren't they? Hiei leafed through his options, and his eyes widened when he found one. He rolled out of the bushes, pretending to be out of breath, and pointed at the bigger demons, yelling at them.

            "Tha's my kill! Na' big 'nough for y'stupid bellies 'nyway!" Hiei drew his dagger and fell into his usual stance to use it, but he was already mapping out running-paths as his brain fizzled back into fighting. He hadn't fought a bigger demon in a long time.

            Ankles. Go for the ankles, elbows, wrists, and the eyes. Don't use his top speed at first, so they underestimated him. Look for the perfect moment to use it, when they gave him an opening. Only use fire if he had to.

            Hiei could have used the element of surprise, but he knew from experience that the time between a demon finding something to eat, and shoving it in their mouth could be a split second. Better they think he was a competitor than a human lover, anyway. It'd make them more scared of him; Hiei hoped.

            Stunned, Yusuke stared upside-down and wide-eyed at the two demons as they lifted him high enough to see just how many teeth they had, between the two of them. Big demons. And they were definitely going to eat him.

            But another rustling noise from the bushes managed to startle Yusuke from his shock, and he turned his head to look at the same time two big demons did.

            Hiei.

            Yusuke felt his breath catch in his throat, but when Hiei started yelling, he snapped his mouth shut again, thinking quickly. He glanced over at his captors to see that they were still staring down at Hiei with those wide, smiling faces. So Yusuke screwed up his face in determination and twisted himself, yelling back as he aimed a punch at his captors' chest, trying to distract the demon from the fact that he'd just grabbed its shirt.

            "You couldn' even catch me, stupid! An' I won' let you eat me neither!"

            Yusuke could hear both the big demons laughing at him, but he ignored it, focusing instead on the fabric caught in his hand as he pulled himself, and it up, yanking the demon's shirt up over it's face just as it had managed to turn its attention back towards him.

            "You really think you can get- hey! You damn brat!"

            Yusuke could hear the other demon start to laugh even harder as he noticed his partner's momentary distress, and Yusuke held his breath, just hoping the distraction was enough.

            Opening.

            Hiei's brain went away as he zipped over: prioritizing the demon holding Yusuke, first. His muscles moved on their own: slashing the big galoot's ankles first, then turning and using his speed to run up its leg and back, and cut off the arm holding Yusuke at the joint. It was hard, but gravity helped, since Hiei was coming at it from his perch on its shoulder.

            And then Hiei stabbed it through the back of the head; the tip jutting out between its eyes. He yanked his dagger out with a sickening squelch, and flipped over towards the side Yusuke had been on; hoping to land near him, but also far enough away from the falling timber that was that demon's body.

            Spattered with blood, Hiei took up his dagger stance again; between Yusuke and the remaining demon. He bared his teeth up at the monster in a murderous, eager grin. Now, this was fun: Hiei'd forgotten how satisfying it was to fell creatures at least three times his size.

            "My kill." He postured again, grip tightening and ready to move.

            Yusuke heard his captor's strangled yell, and felt a sudden lurch. Realizing that he was about to be dropped from a reasonable distance, Yusuke turned his attention towards the ground as it came up fast, reaching down to catch himself with his hands so he could roll with the impact. It was awkward, thanks to the extra weight still attached to his leg, but when Yusuke glanced down to see what it was that had come along with him he blanched.

            Of course. Of course it was the demon's arm. Just the arm. Still gripping his ankle tightly.

            Yusuke stopped to frantically pry it off before glancing back up, still hunched over in his crouched position, as low to the ground as he could possibly manage, while still staying on his feet. Hiei was standing in front of him, and a little to the side, with his knife out. And the taller demon... wasn't. Yusuke swallowed hard.

            "... shit..."

            Yusuke watched as the other demon took a hesitant step backwards, his eyes wide, darting between Hiei and the freshly bleeding remains of his recently deceased partner.

            "Yeah... alright, kid. You got it..."

            The big demon took a few more cautious steps backwards before finally turning around to flee back into the woods. Yusuke choked down a distressed noise as the demon disappeared into the underbrush, biting his lip in an attempt to keep himself from making any more noise.

            Hiei stuck his tongue out at the cowardly demon's retreat, then straightened and wiped the blood off his dagger and sheathed it. He turned to face Yusuke, blinking confusedly at the strange noise Hiei had thought he'd heard, coming from him. Hiei was totally unaware that half his face and front were coated in blood; that, or it just didn't register as important.

            He stared down at Yusuke, not sure what to make of Yusuke's expression, or what to do now. Because obviously Hiei eating him had been a lie, to help with the situation a moment ago. He wasn't going to eat Yusuke now that it was over. Then a thought registered, and Hiei's expression darkened. He crowded in close, squatting down and pushing the cuff of Yusuke's pants up off the ankle that demon had grabbed him by, so Hiei could see it. Did it hurt? Was that why Yusuke was making those weird sounds, instead of talking to him?

            Yusuke could still hear the sound of his own heart beating loudly in his own ears. Could Hiei hear it too? He stared, wide-eyed, as Hiei leaned in close and grabbed at his ankle. Instinctively, Yusuke grabbed one of Hiei's wrists, and held on tight.

            "Wanna. Go home. Now."

            Hiei blinked up at him again, when Yusuke grabbed him. Brow furrowing when he noticed Yusuke looked really pale, he just nodded. Not knowing if Yusuke's ankle was all right for him to walk on, Hiei scooted over and tried to pull Yusuke onto his back. He could get them home faster if Yusuke was piggy-backing, even if the extra weight slowed Hiei down a bit.

            It took a moment for Yusuke to understand why Hiei was tugging at him, but when he did he gladly wrapped his arms around Hiei's shoulders, and held on tight. He didn't even try to argue that Hiei was smaller than him. Or that he could walk on his own. Hiei was fast. And it was already getting darker.

            And Yusuke wanted to be home. Now.

            Hiei grunted a little as he hefted himself to his feet, taking a few steps to gauge the weight distribution and adjust his balance. Yusuke was a lot heavier than that demon's arm had been. Still, Hiei squared himself up, eyes setting forward in determination, and then ran for the castle.

            It wasn't as fast as his top speed, but as he skillfully dodged the trees, followed animal paths through the brush and jumped over bushes when needed, it'd take him no time at all to get them back before the rain started.

            Yusuke shut his eyes against the dizzying blur of the forest as it whizzed past, and turned his face in towards Hiei's hair instead. Had it always been so soft? The tickle of it against his face reminded him of his bed furs. Only his bed furs didn't smell like smoke.

            Yusuke only opened his eyes again once they had stopped moving, jolting in surprise when papa just as suddenly appeared, and leaned in close. But papa wasn't looking at him. Yusuke felt the air move around them as papa breathed in deeply.

            "Take him to his room, and get yourself cleaned up. Come find me, afterwards. We need to talk."

            And just as suddenly, papa was gone. Bewildered, Yusuke blinked. But he hadn't let go of Hiei yet. He had forgotten to move at all, in fact, after that strange interruption.

            Hiei squinted up at Yusuke's papa. He bristled a little at the insinuation he'd done something wrong: because Hiei hadn't. It was Yusuke's own stupid fault he'd gone out to find Hiei in the first place. So, still not putting him down, Hiei took Yusuke to the treatment center inside the castle, instead. He figured the other grown-ups would want to fuss over him. And they would probably know better than Hiei, if Yusuke's ankle needed any help.

            To Hiei's great displeasure, they tried to fuss over him, too; upon seeing all the blood.

            When Hiei finally set him down in the infirmary, Yusuke let the monks examine his ankle, but stubbornly refused to let go of Hiei's shirt. After determining that there was nothing urgently wrong with either of them in spite of all the blood, the monks still tried to convince him to swallow down one of their disgusting potions. But Yusuke refused, stubbornly keeping his mouth clamped shut. He ignored his body too, when started to tremble, sending shivers down his spine even though he wasn't feeling cold. He just wanted these stupid grown ups to go away.

            Hiei glared at Yusuke when he wouldn't take that stupid potion. Hiei'd seen Yusuke take this particular one enough times to know he should, after coming in from outside. Letting Yusuke cling to his shirt, Hiei reached out a hand and pinched Yusuke's nose shut.

            "Take y'stuff. Won't taste 's bad 'f y'can't smell it. Then c'n leave." Hiei huffed at him. Yusuke was just making the fretting take longer.

            Yusuke grit his teeth and bared them at Hiei before yanking his head back with a gasp, trying to lean out of grabbing distance without having to let go. But he took a deep breath and held it as he reluctantly choked down the potion, only gagged slightly afterwards. He shoved the cup back at the monk who gave it to him without looking him in the eye.

            "... goin' now."

            Still clutching Hiei's shirt in one hand. Yusuke shuffled out of the infirmary and headed for his own room.

            Hiei hmphed at Yusuke's reaction, but didn't try again. As they walked, he let Yusuke tug him along after, by his soiled shirt. Hiei scrunched up his nose as he registered the blood-smell again, though. Eugh. Probably best to change. He didn't want Yusuke's room smelling like this. Gross.

            Yusuke continued to hold onto Hiei's shirt until they reached his room, not even thinking about letting go until Hiei suddenly stopped, just outside the door. Yusuke frowned, and paused with him, but let go in the end, much more interested at this point in burying himself beneath the furs of his bed than he was in continuing to hang onto the fire demon.

            By the time he'd climbed into the bed and buried himself beneath as many of his furs as possible however, he realized he could still detect the faint smell of blood. It was on his clothes. So without unburying himself, Yusuke wiggled free from his shirt and pants and shoved them out of the bed, onto the floor.

            Hiei paid no mind to Yusuke's frown, just unclasped his cloak and shimmied out of his shirt and pants, and left them in a bloody puddle of fabric on the floor outside Yusuke's room. Naked except for his hiruiseki and - thankfully unbloodied - underwear, Hiei stepped inside and wrinkled his nose. He levied a glare on Yusuke's soiled clothing, lying just outside the bed. So, Hiei marched over, grabbed up the pile in his arms, and dumped it outside the door before closing it; to keep the smell out.

            All that done, he went rummaging in Yusuke's room for an extra set of clothes. It took a few tries for Hiei to find a shirt and pants in a fabric he didn't hate the feel of, but he found them, and pulled them on. He spared a glance towards Yusuke's bed, then the door, and back; wondering if Yusuke'd fallen asleep under the pile of furs by now, or not.

Chapter Text

            Since the little demon hadn't come to find him like he'd asked, Raizen went to go check on the two of them for himself. Finding the pile of bloodied clothing just outside of Yusuke's room, he slowly pushed open the door enough to peer inside and spot the telltale lump of his son curled up under his bed furs... and the little demon hovering nearby.

            Raizen silently crooked one finger of his blood-covered hand at Hiei, indicating that the little demon should come along with him, before turning to walk down the hall to an adjacent empty room.

            Hiei narrowed his eyes at the door, as it creaked open. After a few moments of deliberation, he walked over to the door, and rummaged in the bloody pile for his dagger and its attached belt. Buckling the belt securely, the familiar weight on his left hip grounding, Hiei closed the door silently behind him. He stepped around the bloodied fabric, lifting one hand to feel the reassuring bulge of his hiruiseki underneath his shirt. He then dropped his hand, walking into the doorway of the room in which he felt Yusuke's papa's ki waiting.

            Hiei didn't go in right away.

            Raizen sat on a nearby chest with his hands hanging, perfectly visible, between his knees, the right one still covered with the bloodied remains of the demon who had fled. He certainly hadn't gotten far. When the little demon finally entered the room, gazing back at him defiantly, Raizen couldn't help the slight hint of a smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth.

            "That demon was easily three times your size. Though certainly far less skilled."

            Hiei's expression soured, and he turned to leave. He'd rather be with Yusuke - who was sleeping - than hear blatant, transparent flattery. That demon had been alive, and now he wasn't. What else was there?

            Raizen resisted the urge to sigh when the little demon turned his back. So stubborn, this one. But useful, just the same.

            "Hiei. I cannot have my son roaming about in the woods on his own. I have a job for you, if you will accept it."

            Keeping his back to Yusuke's papa, Hiei paused. He weighed the options in his head, then:

            "Mebbe y'grown-ups shoul' pay better 'ttention." Hiei jabbed verbally at him, voice cool. It wasn't Hiei's fault Yusuke had come after him. Weren't all the other grown-ups in the castle supposed to be watching Yusuke? Why weren't they in here, getting a talking-to? Why Hiei?

            "Yusuke has resisted all my attempts at assigning him a guard. He refuses to cooperate, and is constantly looking for an opportunity to slip away from anyone assigned to watch him. I cannot possibly keep my eye on him all the time, no matter how much I wish to. But you he will not be parted from."

            Hiei pinned a hard look on Yusuke's papa, from over his shoulder.

            "So's y'want me t' do it 'cause y'grown-ups is stupid." Hiei hazarded as a guess, eyes narrowing. He didn't like where this was going. If Yusuke was with him all the time, if they were stuck in here all the time, what else would living here be, but another cage? "'ven 'f he's wit' me, 'm still goin' where I wan'." Hiei said stubbornly, half-hoping that would ruin Yusuke's papa's stupid idea. He would not lose his freedom over this. Nobody told him what to do, or where to go, or when not to go somewhere.

            Raizen nodded, ignoring the little demon's first comment in favor of clarifying further.

            "You are free to go wherever you like, as long as Yusuke goes with you. And he must follow the same rule. He cannot simply wander off, without you by his side."

            Hiei scoffed at him, then started to head for the door.

            "As' him then." Hiei wasn't about to make a deal behind Yusuke's back, when it was just Yusuke's papa. And maybe Yusuke didn't want Hiei following him around, as a guard, either.

            Raizen felt that same smile threatening to pull at his expression, but he stayed where he was, even as the little fire demon began walking away.

            "Hiei... may I see your knife? You don't have to hand it over, just show me. If you don't mind."

            Hiei froze, and immediately put his hand on the hilt, jerking back to stare at Yusuke's papa with wide, surprised eyes. Then they narrowed, and he growled a little, baring his teeth slightly.

            "Why." Was he going to break it? Hiei didn't doubt Yusuke's papa probably could, even if Hiei was fast. Hiei couldn't put his finger on why he thought that, except for that one time he'd felt Yusuke's papa's ki, undiluted. Yusuke's papa didn't go around the castle like that though, so it was hard to tell most of the time. But Hiei remembered.

            "If you agree to take the job, and Yusuke agrees to have you as his guard, I suspect you will need a better one. I would simply like to get a better idea of what you are comfortable using, since you clearly have some skill with it already. So... may I?"

            Hiei squinted at him. Figuring there was no way it would hit him - and if it did, he deserved to be hurt - Hiei slowly slid it out of its sheath. Then his hand blurred, and the dagger was airborne, with the pointy end aimed right at Yusuke's papa's forehead.

            Raizen snatched the blade out of the air when it came at him, twirling it between his fingers for a moment to get a feel for the balance of the thing before holding it up to examine the blade's edge. It was a crude, but sturdy blade, and with the little one's speed, he could certainly do more damage with something lighter weight, and more finely honed. Raizen made sure to gauge the length of it properly before flicking it back at Hiei, embedding it into the floor at the little demon's feet.

            "Keep it for now. If you decide to accept my offer, I will have something ready for you then."

            Keeping eyes on him, Hiei moved to tug the blade out of the floor, then resheathed it. He scowled, facing Yusuke's papa properly and setting his stance wide, arms crossing stubbornly over his front.

            "Don' wan' a new one 'f Yusuke says no." Hiei declared, because it felt important. He kept Yusuke's papa's gaze; unyielding. Hiei didn't like that Yusuke's papa kept trying to bribe him, but he figured he could at least trust Yusuke to say no to something he didn't want. And maybe if Yusuke did say no, Yusuke's papa would have to solve his grown-up problem about Yusuke risking his own neck. Instead of making Hiei solve it for him.

            Raizen nodded slightly.

            "Fair enough, though I would like you to think about how you would like to be compensated for your work, if you accept. I do not expect an answer right away, naturally. But please consider it."

            Hiei wrinkled his nose in distaste at that. But instead of argue, he simply turned and left the room. The sound of his footsteps, then Yusuke's door opening and closing, echoed in the hallway.

            Raizen chuckled softly and waited a moment before following behind, gathering the bloodstained clothing off the floor and taking it with him as he considered the little demon's words.

            Raizen didn't approach Hiei again until several days after the incident, waiting until he sensed both the fire demon and his son were settled safely in Yusuke's room before knocking on the door. After pausing for a moment, he entered to his son's smiling face, and the little demon glaring over at him suspiciously, as always.

            "Papa!"

            "Hello Yusuke. I have a question for you."

            "Yes, papa?"

            Now there were two pairs of suspicious eyes gazing up at him, and Raizen resisted the urge to laugh.

            "I know you understand why it is necessary for you to have a guard, especially if you want to leave the castle." Raizen ignored the rude noise that came out of Yusuke's mouth, and simply continued. "But I also understand that it is pointless to try and assign you a guard you will not agree to cooperate with. So... I would like to give Hiei the job. Is that acceptable to you?"

            "Oh! Yes!"

            Yusuke's shining face was the only answer he really needed, but Raizen waited for a response anyway before turning to Hiei, for his response.

            Settled on his usual perch - the 'bookcase', Yusuke'd called it one time - Hiei rolled his eyes when Yusuke just agreed. Like that. T'ch. Hiei deadpanned when Yusuke's papa looked at him. He'd turned over the idea in his head, the past few days, and had a few ideas. Because all Hiei really wanted, was:

            "I wan' you t' look for Mama's house 'n the sky." Hiei said, squarely. "An' really try. An' if y'can't - " Even Hiei hadn't been able to find her, and he'd literally been looking his whole life, so it was a possibility. " - I wan' sword less'ns." Hiei liked how wicked they looked. They seemed like they could do a lot more damage than a dagger, too.

            Raizen raised his eyebrows at the little demon's quick response.

            "Agreed."

            Well, that was convenient. He wouldn't have to convince the stubborn little bastard to attend training lessons with Yusuke after all, it seemed. Though... finding the hidden ice village would be an interesting challenge.

            Pulling the sheathed dagger he'd promised from his pocket, Raizen held it up for the little demon to take. It was about the same length as the one Hiei already used, perhaps a little longer, but much more finely forged, so it could hold a sharper edge.

            "I hope you find this to your liking, in the mean time."

            Hiei squinted at him, but took the dagger without bothering to stand up, and like it didn't mean anything to him. He set it on the top of the bookcase next to him, then crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall; keeping eyes on Yusuke's papa the whole time.

            As if Yusuke's papa could go now. Dismissed. In his own castle.

            Raizen did quirk a slight smile at that. He just couldn't help it. The little demon was certainly braver than most.

            Before he left, Raizen reached down briefly to ruffle Yusuke's hair.

            "You be sure to stick with Hiei from now on, you hear me?"

            Raizen chuckled when Yusuke attempted to act annoyed with him, but couldn't quite manage to stop smiling. He trusted that the two of them would stick together anyway, after what had happened in the forest.

            The minute Yusuke's papa was out of the room - and the door safely closed - Hiei immediately unsheathed the new dagger. He squinted at both sides of the blade, and then did a couple of quick stabs in the air at different heights, testing out the feel of it.

            Yusuke hopped up from where he was sitting to walk over to the bookcase, peering up at Hiei as he waved his knife around.

            "Whassat?"

            "'s mine." Hiei stuck his tongue out at Yusuke, and - still sitting - switched the dagger to his other hand, repeating the same tests.

            Yusuke screwed up his face and stuck his tongue out at Hiei in return.

            "Know it's yours, dummy. But I thought you had a knife. Why you gotta new one?"

            Hiei sheathed it, and stuck the new one in the right side of his belt. Then he grinned wildly, crossed his arms, and pulled out both daggers with matching 'schwings'. They weren't perfectly even, but hopefully the look on Yusuke's face would be worth the slight adjustments Hiei'd had to do, to make it look effortless.

            Yusuke watched, confused, as Hiei put the dagger away, only to laugh when Hiei pulled them both out at the same time, grinning like mad.

            "Scary."

            Yusuke was still grinning, clearly not scared in the slightest, but he did have to admit that the move was kind of impressive.

            "Mm-hm." Hiei agreed, satisfied. He rotated his wrists, practicing swinging both daggers in the air before sheathing them again. He wasn't sure he really liked that idea, though. It'd slow him down. Probably just one would be enough. But it'd still been worth it, for the show. Unbuckling his belt and leaving the daggers atop the bookcase, Hiei put his hands on the edge and leaned over with a glint in his eye.

            "...Wanna wres'le?" It was... sort of fun, having a new dagger. But the only way he could think of getting this extra energy out around it, was pouncing on Yusuke from above, and seeing who'd come out on top.

            Yusuke grinned wickedly and immediately bent his knees, preparing himself for impact.

            "On'y if you feel like losin'."

            Hiei narrowed his eyes playfully, and scrunched his legs under him, in preparation for vaulting himself off. He hadn't really noticed, but he was still grinning; just not as widely. And a little evil.

            "Not g'nna lose." And then Hiei launched himself like a bird of prey, diving out of the sky with his hands aimed for Yusuke's shoulders, to shove him into the floor.

            Yusuke laughed again when Hiei came at him, grabbing at the demon's shirt as he descended and tumbling with him across the floor as they each attempted to out-maneuver the other one.

Chapter Text

            A couple years later, Yusuke was still watching Hiei swing that knife around, though he'd gotten a lot better at it. It was almost mesmerizing to watch. And definitely not was he was supposed to be doing right now.

            "Yusuke, pay attention. Unless you want to get hit."

            Yusuke snapped his attention back to the training dummy rapidly advancing in his direction, and swung his fist. The impact stopped the dummy's momentum, and it toppled to the ground. Yusuke grinned, but just as quickly stopped, pretending to be more serious when he saw that papa was not amused.

            "Are you going to pay attention this time?"

            "Sorry papa."

            Hiei was much more focused in his own lessons; not even giving Yusuke a glance. This was free, danger-devoid knowledge. And even if he ended up leaving Yusuke's papa's castle, that knowledge would stay with him.

            Hiei'd gone through a few so-called 'master swordspeople'. Hiei'd always loudly declared that if he could beat them in a fight, he wouldn't take them as his teacher. One after another, embarrassingly, failed that test. And then there was Shilly-sensei. Hiei couldn't beat her, and apparently he wasn't big enough for a full katana yet. So, she taught him a few basic forms of swordsmanship, and dropped in every now and then to guide his practice or introduce new concepts. She didn't bother to teach him katas, seeing as he had no interest in them - just things he could make his own.

            Today was one of the days Hiei was practicing on his own, against one of the monks serving as a moving target, with all their stretchy limbs. Hiei didn't remember their name. But it was a good counter to Hiei's own deadly skills: learning to hold back from his tendency to give killing blows. It wouldn't hurt the monk if Hiei scratched his very-stretched-out finger, or some such thing. But Yusuke's papa wouldn't let Hiei fight Yusuke with his sword unless Hiei had good control. And maybe it would come in handy one day: being able to slit a throat or just threaten a throat with the same degree of ease.

            So, since Hiei didn't want to slit Yusuke's throat by accident, he practiced.

            And every day since Yusuke's papa had given him his current dagger, Hiei'd asked about Mama.

            Yusuke's papa had said the lessons were merely a fallback, so they didn't waste time waiting only to realize they couldn't find Mama's house. But Hiei had been living here for years, Yusuke's papa was rich and strong and - nothing? It was suspicious. But with nothing but his intuition to back it up, Hiei held his tongue.

            In the interim, Hiei'd also finally started sleeping inside. The room he chose was a few floors higher than Yusuke's, with a view of the forest, and on the same side as Yusuke's room. The ceiling was see-through, but made of some strong material that didn't let the rain or wind in. At the side, Hiei could go out on the balcony: if he looked over it, he could see Yusuke's windows and the balcony Hiei'd used to sleep on, when he first got here.

            There was nothing much in Hiei's room that was his, although clothing and shoes in his size and preferred color - black - had mysteriously appeared one night. It took some time to adjust to having so many clothes that Hiei had to change them, for all sorts of places, and all sorts of reasons: training, sleeping, eating even. If they were eating in the big hall with Yusuke's papa, that was.

            Hiei'd also discovered baths. He'd hated them - cold water, dumped over him in a barrel like he was an animal - until someone threw him into the hot spring out of sheer frustration. Hiei liked the hot spring. It was hot, like him. And it made the cold shower and sudsing before getting into it grudgingly acceptable.

            Recently papa had been trying to teach him how to do a different kind of punch. Yusuke didn't really understand it, the way papa explained it, but he did know that sometimes when he got real mad, his punches hurt more. Or at least that's what Hiei had told him. And now it seemed like papa was trying to get him to do that, on purpose. But Yusuke didn't know how he did it, or even what the difference was, really. He just did it.

            So it had been frustrating, constantly punching dummies, and being told to do it again. And again. And again. But at least papa let him train outside now. And he got to train with Hiei. And Hiei was always fun to watch.

            It was fun to watch Hiei practice with his knife, and argue with papa, and growl at the monks. Yusuke was glad that he had finally decided to stay. He had been nervous, at first, every time Hiei had asked about his mama, not knowing what it would mean if papa did find her. But eventually he realized, if Hiei's mama had to leave the place where she was to come look for him, then there was no reason she couldn't stay here with them too, right?

            Besides, papa never had an answer for Hiei anyway. And it had been a long time since Hiei had first started asking. So Yusuke hardly even paid attention anymore, when Hiei did ask. Until one morning after breakfast when papa had come to get them for training, like usual, and Hiei asked, and papa didn't answer him back right away.

            Yusuke's head snapped up to stare, wide-eyed at papa when he realized that he hadn't heard the usual 'nothing yet' in response to Hiei's question. Did that mean there was something? Instead, papa sighed, and crouched down, closer to them.

            "One of my scouts did locate the floating ice village, and she spoke to one of the women there who knew of an imiko child. She was told that the child was tossed from the island, in order to protect the inhabitants there, and that the child's mother died of grief, shortly after."

            Yusuke felt his blood run cold. That wasn't... Hiei's mama that papa was talking about, right? And Hiei... hadn't just been thrown away. Right? Yusuke glanced over at the fire demon, silently praying that it wasn't true.

            When Yusuke's papa hadn't said the same thing he did, every time, Hiei felt his brain still. When Yusuke's papa crouched down in front of him, equal parts of excitement and dread crowded in from the back of his brain like static, because Hiei realized: this could be it. He'd spent his whole life searching for her, and now he might know.

            He kept a neutral face as Yusuke's papa told him; giving nothing away. It was still possible there had been another imiko, besides him, in the time he'd been gone. It was equally possible she was dead - Hiei'd certainly considered that before. So the only way to know the truth was:

            "Names." Hiei said, clipped and curt, eyes narrow and his entire small body tense, hands fisted at his sides. "The names of who tossed the child, and who died. Tell me."

            Because Hiei had never told Yusuke or Yusuke's papa or anyone here either of their names. It was the only defense Hiei had against being lied to. And if Yusuke's papa couldn't give Hiei their names... it could just as well be a lie. And Hiei'd wasted his time by staying here. So Hiei would immediately have to leave, to resume his search.

            Yusuke looked back over at papa. It felt like his whole body was trembling, from the stress of not knowing. But nobody was paying attention to him. Papa and Hiei were only staring at each other. And the tension between the two of them was making his heart race. He hated this. But they had to know.

            "The woman who died. Her name was Hina."

            Yusuke swallowed hard. Hiei had asked for a name. And papa had given him one. But he wasn't sure he could look at Hiei now, to see if it was the right one. So he just kept staring at papa instead.

            Hiei's expression didn't change. There was a long moment of silence, and then Hiei's eyes dropped to the ground at his left, remembering. Her face when he'd first been born, and then her screams. At least she wasn't screaming anymore, then. And Hiei knew it. His fists unclenched and he nodded - mostly to himself, but partly in acceptance of Yusuke's papa's information. Hina had been his mother's name. Yusuke's papa couldn't have known it unless all that he'd said was true.

            She was dead then.

            Lifting his head back up, jaw set, he turned towards the hall, in the same direction they always went, to get to the training fields. His steps kept to the usual sure, quick, efficient pace Hiei usually walked at.

            When Hiei walked past, out into the hall, Raizen finally turned his head to stare down at Yusuke, and Yusuke kept on staring back. He could feel the tears threatening to well up, in his eyes, but papa simply stood, and waved at him.

            "Come along now Yusuke."

            So it was true then. Yusuke followed automatically when papa turned and started walking. Hiei had been thrown away by the ice village people. And his mama was... dead. Yusuke clenched his fists and stared at the ground as he followed the now familiar path to the outdoor training yard. He heard his papa say something briefly to one of the monks who was already there, but Yusuke didn't bother waiting. He walked right up to one of the stationary training dummies, and just started punching.

            Hiei walked to his usual spot, and turned to look back for his monk-opponent for the day. When he saw Yusuke's papa talk to them, and dismiss them, however, his eyes narrowed, and Hiei's right hand grabbed the hilt of his dagger; tightly.

            So Yusuke's papa thought he couldn't handle a proper training session, after that news? Hiei ground his back teeth in annoyance. He hated being under-estimated. Knowing enough by now, that Yusuke's papa wouldn't be budged on a decision, once he'd made it, Hiei resigned himself to training alone today. Fine.

            To that effect, he drew his dagger and immediately blurred out of sight, flitting all around his side of the field: fighting invisible enemies at a speed Hiei doubted anyone would ever match. But. It was good to practice, anyway. So he didn't forget everything he'd learned already.

            Yusuke didn't want to think about it, but he couldn't stop papa's words from coming back to him as he kept on punching. The ice people had thrown Hiei away to protect somebody? Did they not trust him, like papa did? Why? It didn't make sense. And Hiei's mama had died because of it.

            Yusuke remembered something Hiei had said, a long time ago, about his mama not being able to get away from them. That's why she hadn't come to find him yet. But they had taken him away from her. It wasn't fair, to take somebody's mama away.

            "Stop."

            Yusuke froze, just as he heard the support for the dummy split, and he watched it slump backwards.

            "That. What did you just do."

            Yusuke frowned, and glanced over at papa.

            "...I dunno. I just punched it."

            "Well figure it out, and do it again."

            Yusuke bared his teeth in a silent snarl at papa's back as soon as he turned to walk away, and kicked over the useless, broken dummy before moving over to the next one, still standing on its post. What did he do? Did he do something different? He wasn't sure.

            Raizen kept walking until he was well within range of the flashing blur of Hiei's blade, and simply stood there. Watching. Waiting.

            Yusuke's papa was in his space. Hiei immediately noticed him on the field. His presence grated, because Yusuke's papa never did this. He was always more concerned with Yusuke's training: which, to be fair, Yusuke did need more help with understanding the basics. Hiei didn't need someone - besides Shilly-sensei, when she was here - watching his every move. Yusuke's papa didn't even use a blade. What Hiei needed, was his usual training. Not being punished for being able to take that news unflinchingly.

            So, not in the mood to deal with Yusuke's papa's meddling, Hiei simply kept going. And ignored him. He hoped it sent the message that Yusuke's papa wasn't needed here.

            When Hiei simply ignored him, Raizen watched for a moment longer, gauging the pattern and direction of Hiei's attacks before stepping right in front of the next one, using his claws to deflect any glancing blows. And when Hiei pivoted, so did he, stepping in front of the little demon again. And again. And again.

            The first time, Hiei figured Yusuke's papa was testing him. So he tried to ignore it. When he kept stepping in front of him, though - Hiei had to resist the urge to go at him.

            He was Yusuke's papa. Hiei didn't care about his power or title or whatever, but on the off-chance, very unlikely event Hiei did land a blow or draw blood, it would be Yusuke who'd cry about it. So it was irritating that Yusuke's papa kept trying to force his hand.

            By the fifth time, instead of finishing his slash - and ending on Yusuke's papa parrying it - Hiei leapt back. Silent, expression schooled to utter impassivity, he sheathed his blade and turned to walk in Yusuke's direction. To allay any safety concerns, Hiei unbuckled his belt and kept walking, letting the entire thing, along with his sheathed dagger, clatter to the dirt. It had been a gift from Yusuke's papa, and if he was going to get in Hiei's way, then Hiei just wouldn't practice with his blade today.

            He walked right up to Yusuke, and talked to him.

            "What are you practicing today." There was no anger in it; but instead of neutrality, his words held a note of grudging, actual curiosity. Because Yusuke pissed him off sometimes, but never on purpose: unlike his papa, right now. Apparently.

            When Hiei walked away, Raizen didn't attempt to follow, and simply kept his distance.

            Yusuke, however, was so focused on trying to figure out what he had done differently that he hardly noticed the change in the action behind him, and he startled when Hiei spoke to him, not expecting it.

            "Uhh... I'm punching."

            Realizing that was obvious, and probably kind of dumb, Yusuke straightened up and tried again.

            "You know how you said sometimes it hurts more, when I get mad and punch you? I'm tryin' to do that. On purpose."

            Hiei blinked at him, considering that answer. He flicked his eyes to the stationary dummy, then back to Yusuke.

            "Are you mad now though?" Hiei wondered, raising an eyebrow. "Issit gonna work if you're not?"

            Yusuke blinked back at him. Was he mad? He stared at the upright dummy, and then at the broken one.

            "I was... when I punched that one."

            He pointed at it. Was that what papa had meant?

            Hiei looked at the broken dummy, then back at Yusuke again. He reached out, to grab Yusuke's shirt by the shoulder, trying to tug him around; once. Letting go, Hiei raised his hands in front of himself, palms out; a clear invitation for Yusuke to start punching at them.

            Frowning a little as he kept contemplating it, Hiei braced himself. Just in case.

            "Try 't again?"

            Yusuke pivoted when Hiei tugged at him, but froze when he saw Hiei raise his hands.

            "I... I don't think I can do it to you."

            He looked away, his gaze sliding off to the side, and down, towards the floor.

            "I'm not mad at you."

            Hiei hmphed, at that. He dropped his hands, and punched Yusuke lightly in his upper arm.

            "Who're y'mad at then? Use them." Hiei offered, simply.

            Yusuke straightened up again as Hiei punched him, and he stared back at the demon for a moment in silence, his jaw clenched tightly shut. He really didn't need to say it. He knew who he was mad at, and that was enough.

            So he turned, and aimed his fist at the dummy, and swung as hard as he could.

            And he heard the pole snap.

            "Whoa..."

            Now that he was paying attention, Yusuke realized that papa was right. That had felt different, and he swung his arm back and forth in a few, slow, imitation punches trying to understand the difference. He still didn't know how he did it. But he did it.

            Hiei blinked again, because for a brief moment it had looked like Yusuke wasn't saying something. But, well: that wasn't really important, was it? It was just weird. But so long as Yusuke had thought of something, that was all that mattered.

            Hiei huffed when the pole snapped like a piece of dry kindling, and rolled his eyes; crossing his arms over his front.

            "Hn. Stupid." He said, just to say it. Because it was an old thing to say, and familiar, as well as obvious - in this instance - that Yusuke was the opposite of stupid, if he'd figured it out. Hiei even found himself wondering about it, eying one of his own tucked fists and wondering if he could do the same.

            Yusuke stretched his arm and grinned wickedly over at Hiei.

            "Jus' remember that. Next time you wanna make me mad. Stupid."

            That was assuming, of course, that he could figure out how to do it every time. But that was what training was for, right?

            Hiei lifted his left hand from where it was crossed over his front, so he could pull down his left eyelid and stick his tongue out at Yusuke.

            "I was talkin' 'bout the dummy, dummy." Hiei told him, without dropping the rude gesture.

            "Yuh-huh. Sure. So... what. You wanna practice with me?"

            Yusuke glanced back in the direction where Hiei usually trained, where papa was now standing, just watching them, and noticed Hiei's dagger on the ground nearby. He decided not to mention it.

            "Y'papa's gettin' in my way, so might as well." Shifting his footing, Hiei punched Yusuke's upper arm again, to start the game, then bolted. "You're it!" Now Yusuke had to both catch him and land a punch on him, for them to switch sides.

            Yusuke snorted out a rude noise when Hiei bolted, but immediately darted after him anyway. There was no way he was going to catch the little demon just by following him though. He would have to cut him off somewhere, in order to land a blow.

            For Yusuke's sake, Hiei ran nowhere near his top speed. He also made sure to keep track of how far behind him Yusuke was, when Hiei darted into the forest. Hiei zigzagged for a bit, then smushed his youki down to nothing, and scrambled up one of the trees with shorter branches near the bottom. At least Hiei could climb them now. Mostly. ...Somewhat.

            As soon as Hiei's youki vanished Yusuke stopped dead in his tracks, and focused on leveling out his breathing so he could listen instead. Hiei would still be nearby. He hadn't been that far behind. So Yusuke kept as still and as quiet as he could, and waited.

            Hiei watched him, hidden behind the leaves in the tree he was perched in. He wondered if Yusuke'd still be able to find him, without his youki giving Hiei's location away.

            When nothing moved, or got thrown at him, Yusuke started to look around. Hiei's clothes were black, and Yusuke had noticed that he enjoyed standing in dark corners and making the grown-ups jump when they finally spotted him. If they spotted him at all.

            Yusuke thought it was pretty funny, too. But nothing stood out to him when he scanned the bushes around him, so he started to look up. Because Hiei was always climbing things, too. Though these trees were pretty big.

            When Yusuke spotted him, exactly where Hiei was leaned on the branch supporting his weight directly overhead, Hiei blinked. Yusuke never looked up. He scoffed, though, covering his surprise with a crooked smirk.

            "Bet'cha can't get up here." Hiei taunted him, transparently.

            Yusuke smirked right back at Hiei, when he spotted him.

            "You forget I'm taller'n you?"

            If Hiei could reach it, then surely he could reach it. So he reached up, and grabbed hold, pulling himself up more than climbing. But he still managed.

            Getting on top of the branch and staying there was a lot trickier than Hiei made it look, though, and Yusuke stayed close to the trunk of the tree, for balance, rather than daring to venture further out.

            Hiei bit the inside of his cheek, to keep from laughing outright as Yusuke hugged the trunk of the tree. He looked ridiculous. Hiei just couldn't resist:

            "Ah, yeah? How's that tallness workin' out for ya?" Hiei said, in the least-patronizing tone he could muster.

            Yusuke stuck his tongue out at Hiei as his only response, glaring over at the demon as he slowly inched himself away from the trunk. He still had to get to Hiei, if he wanted to punch him.

            Unable to keep back a grin at that, Hiei taunted him some more.

            "Don' fall. Be embarrassin' if I gotta catch you."

            Yusuke bared his teeth. Just. A little. Farther.

            Deciding to risk it, Yusuke grabbed the branch beneath him in a death grip with his left hand and leaned forward, swinging a punch at Hiei's shoulder with his right.

            Hiei's grin sharpened, when Yusuke bared his teeth at him. But he did lean imperceptibly forward, a completely inconsequential amount, to let Yusuke's punch connect with his shoulder. And then Hiei simply rapped Yusuke on the forehead with his knuckles - technically a punch - and rolled off his branch, dropping straight down out of the tree with an evil laugh.

            He landed impeccably, of course, and put his hands on his hips to stare up at Yusuke; the now-sole occupant of that tree.

            Yusuke almost swatted at Hiei's hand as it came towards his face, but decided it wasn't worth it, and scanned the ground below instead as Hiei dropped. Falling, on purpose, was way easier than trying to stay up here, and Yusuke swung himself down out of the tree, rolling as he hit the ground, before straightening up to see where Hiei went.

            A pebble arced through the air towards Yusuke, flung out of the underbrush, and there was a telltale rustling in the bushes as Hiei furtively changed hiding spots.

            When Yusuke saw the pebble hit the ground he grinned, and crouched down, so that he could scan through the bushes from a lower level, looking for anything that didn't move right.

            There was another round of rustling, a flash of booted movement from Yusuke's vantage point, inches from the ground. It was up to Yusuke if he could keep those boots in sight, though. Naturally. Hiei made an effort not to blur out of existence, because the point wasn't to show Yusuke how much faster Hiei was than him. They both knew it. So, the point was really to make Yusuke think he could catch him.

            Yusuke caught just enough of the movement to make a good guess at Hiei's direction, and went for it, darting into the bushes where he thought Hiei had ended up, with the intent to grab hold of the little demon just long enough to tag him.

            Giving out an undignified squawk - Hiei'd given Yusuke the chance, but he hadn't thought Yusuke'd actually get him - as Yusuke tackled him to the ground, Hiei proceeded to both try to wiggle free and roll himself on top, so he could get away before Yusuke punch-tagged him.

            One of those things had to work out, right?

            Laughing at Hiei's obvious surprise, Yusuke tightened his grip on Hiei's shirt and rolled with the demon. And he kept on rolling, not letting up until he'd managed to shove Hiei to the ground long enough to give him a quick punch and hop off him, taking off as soon as his feet hit the ground.

            Making a disgruntled, annoyed sound, Hiei scrambled to his feet, pressing his palms against the dirt and expression already settling into rock-solid determination. He would get Yusuke back! 

Chapter Text

            Many hours later, after a much-needed bath - given their 'practice' for the day had somehow devolved into a mad chase around the forest - Hiei was finally settled in his room to watch as the Makai stars came out from behind the dark clouds. The ceiling was see-through, after all, and he hadn't bothered with a candle, since he didn't need it.

            There were still a bundle of candles, and the holder, by the door: because Yusuke did need them to see, when it was dark. And sometimes he came in here.

            Hiei was lying in the loft portion of his room, laid back on his preferred thin mat of a bed. It was wide enough to fit two adults comfortably, although Hiei had taken to sleeping on the right, wall-side. He had covers, but didn't need them for warmth most nights, so they were kicked off towards the wall. There was also a completely unnecessary railing along the left, room-side of the bed which would otherwise lead to a straight drop-off into the rest of his room below. Again, for Yusuke's safety. Hiei hadn't had anything to do with it being installed, but he wasn't about to complain about it. The ladder was helpful, though.

            Hiei didn't have much to complain about, really. Not anymore. His right hand lifted, to curl over the fabric covering the hard marble of the hiruiseki currently resting on his chest.

            Not much to complain about at all. At least Hiei knew now. And at least he knew she wasn't suffering because of him, anymore.

            Yusuke laid back on his bed for a long time after his bath, just staring up at the top of his bookcase. He still couldn't stop thinking about what papa had said that morning. Even though Hiei hadn't said anything about it, all day.

            So Yusuke stared at the spot where Hiei usually sat, in silence, as if he were waiting for something to happen. But there was nothing. Just the soft glow of the candle on the low table beside the bookcase. And the silence.

            Eventually, Yusuke rolled himself out of bed, grabbed one of the stubby, half-melted candles that was shoved into the candlestick that was easiest to carry with him, and lit it from the one on the table before wandering out into the hall.

            He kept going until he had wandered all the way up to Hiei's room, but froze, just before knocking on the door. He wasn't really sure what to say. But he felt like he should say something. So he knocked on the door anyway, and waited for Hiei to answer back.

            The knock was nearly inaudible. Hiei could have ignored it. But only two people really bothered him when he was in his room, and Yusuke's papa didn't knock like that.

            So, he rolled himself next to the railing, and hopped over it to land on the floor. Unlike Yusuke's room, there was no clutter. The things that had been bought for him sat mostly off to the side. Some were dusty and unused. Others were things Yusuke liked to play with, so they were often pulled out when he came up. His dagger, on its belt, was on a hook near the door. His old dagger, on his old belt, was dangling on the hook next to it.

            Hiei opened the door wide, stepping back as it opened towards him. He stared at Yusuke and his tiny flickering light. Hiei's eyes rested on the light, and he resisted the urge to steal the fire from it; just to break the silence. It felt... thick, somehow. In a way it usually didn't, with Yusuke. But in the end:

            "What." Hiei said, quietly. He'd been thinking about things. So why was Yusuke here?

            As soon as Yusuke saw him, he suddenly knew exactly what he wanted to say, and his grip on the candlestick tightened as he straightened up, determined.

            "It's not okay."

            Yusuke knew it wasn't enough from the expression on Hiei's face, so he swallowed hard and tried again.

            "It's not okay, what they did to you. I... somebody... took my momma away too. But they never threw me away like that. It's not okay."

            Hiei's expression flattened at Yusuke's first words, and then it dipped into a sigh as Yusuke continued. He reached out to grab Yusuke's shirt - not caring about the flame - and made to drag him inside.

            "'f y'gonna say stupid stuff, say it in here." Who knew who might be listening, just around the bend in the hall? And Hiei'd had enough of Yusuke's papa's pity, this morning. The memory still grated.

            Yusuke made a strangled note of surprise as Hiei dragged him inside, and he stumbled slightly, trying not to collide with him. When he finally found his feet again and straightened back up, he pouted, glancing around until he could stare stubbornly back at Hiei.

            "It's not 'stupid stuff'! I mean it!"

            Hiei let go of Yusuke, so he could take a peek out the door before shutting it. Once that was done, he pinned a hard, assessing glance over his shoulder at Yusuke. After a moment, Hiei walked past him, grabbing Yusuke's shirt sleeve to tug him over towards the ladder.

            "...C'mon."

            As soon as Hiei tugged at him again, Yusuke put down the candlestick and followed him. It would be easier to adjust to the dim light of the room without the flame right in front of him, and even if Hiei was a fire demon, there was no safe place to put a candle up in the loft. So as long as he was careful, he knew he could make it up the ladder in the dark without any problems, and he settled himself with his back against the railing, once he'd climbed up there.

            Coming up the ladder behind him, Hiei stole the fire from Yusuke's candle, once they were at the top. He let Yusuke settle where he would, and resumed lying on his back on the wall-side mat, staring silently upward. With Yusuke against the railing, he was at least out of Hiei's eyeline if Hiei kept staring up at the sky. Self-conscious about doing it in front of Yusuke, Hiei didn't put his hand back on the hiruiseki under his shirt.

            Tracing out the edges of the room above his head - the borders, that cut off the night sky no matter how well-made the crafters had been - Hiei kept staring in that direction.

            "...who took y'mama."

            Yusuke glanced down at the question, absently plucking at the thin mat in front of him.

            "Don' remember..."

            Truthfully, it wasn't something he thought about too often, these days. He had papa. And now Hiei. So he hadn't thought about his momma in a long time, though he knew he used to ask about her all the time, before. He wasn't really sure why, now.

            "Papa says I was too young..."

            "Y'member her?" Hiei wondered quietly, listening to the slight shuffling sound of what must be Yusuke messing with the other mat, off to Hiei's left. He didn't look at it, though.

            Yusuke stilled, quiet for a long time before he answered.

            "... sometimes... I see her face... "

            It was the only good memory he had, and a faint one. There were the bad dreams, too. But he tried not to remember those. Hiei's question had reminded him though. He hadn't had one in a while. Not any that he could recall, at least.

            Hiei nodded a little to that. He understood that. And he'd never let himself forget her face now, either. Now that he knew he wouldn't be seeing it again.

            "Mine was screamin' a lot." Hiei said, eyes still firmly fixed on the dark night sky. Somewhere, up there, she was dead. Dead for a long time. And Hiei hadn't known it until now. He'd been waiting for someone who'd never show up. "She di'n't want 'em to."

            Yusuke winced and swallowed as he felt an involuntary shudder race up his spine. Was that all Hiei remembered? The bad things? Yusuke grabbed at his own pant leg and stared down at nothing in the dark.

            "It's... not okay... they shouldn' 'uh done that... "

            "Nah, they was right." Hiei narrated, barely connected to the words as they came out. "They a'scared of me. Thought I'd kill 'em all. Did wan' to, after they took 'er. 'nd even more, after they tossed me. Wan''d t' kill 'em dead. All of 'em. 'cept her."

            But she was dead. So now what?

            "No!"

            Yusuke was so tense he nearly stood up in the confined space.

            "They was wrong. You wan'ed to kill me, but papa still trusts you. You were gonna eat me. They's just stupid. And nobody should take nobody's momma away. They shoulda died. Not her."

            Hiei didn't react in the aftermath of Yusuke's outburst. He didn't look over at him, either. There was a beat of silence, and then:

            "Don' wanna eat y'now. Not hungry 'nymore." Hiei said, because he couldn't think of anything else to say, to that.

            He was still mad, but it was hard to stay that way, in the silence. So the tension in Yusuke's body slowly eased, in spite of his own, still chaotic thoughts.

            "... yeah... I know."

            He understood now why papa hadn't driven Hiei away for trying to eat him, that first time. But he was still grateful for it. He didn't always understand the choices papa made, or the rules he had to follow, but he knew he would never forget the day papa asked him if he wanted the little demon in the woods to come and live with them.

            After another moment, Hiei dipped his left hand under his shirt, through the neck-hole, for his hiruiseki. He pulled it out, then lifted his head off the mat so he could tug the cord off from around his neck. It felt weird without it there, and he had some slight hesitation, but Hiei pushed past it.

            Hiei flopped his left arm out towards Yusuke, gem covered in his fisted hand and the cord falling mostly on the mat, and partly on his arm. He kept his eyes above, and didn't move otherwise.

            "This's Mama's. Ev'r'body else wan''d t' take it. But..." And this was the hard part, wasn't it? But Yusuke hadn't stolen it in all the time Hiei'd been living here, so. If he was going to steal it now, Yusuke really had been playing the long game. "...y'can. Look't it. If you wanna."

            Yusuke stared down at the light-colored gem in Hiei's hand for a moment before very gingerly taking it from him, holding it up by the cord so it caught the faint light streaming in from the star-covered ceiling up above.

            "Your mama's?"

            He'd only seen it the one time before, and then only briefly. It was pretty. A different kind of blue than some of the rurimaru stones papa had, which came in all different colors. And it almost looked like it wasn't quite solid, all the way through. Like if he looked at it long enough, he could see through the stone. Like ice.

            He put it back down in Hiei's hand.

            "She give it to you?"

            Yusuke didn't have anything from his mama. And it felt strange to think about. Why didn't he have anything, when Hiei did?

            The back of Hiei's brain stopped itching, once Yusuke placed the gem back in his hand. He didn't bother to curl his fist back around it though: just kept his arm laid out, like that.

            "Mamas cry these when kids 're born, up there." Hiei said, only remembering the lore vaguely. "They stole it from Mama when she made 't. Lady who tossed me gave 't t' me. Rui. She said t' come back 'nd kill 'em all, 'nd t' kill her first."

            Yusuke certainly heard what Hiei had said, but his brain filtered slowly through the information.

            Hiei's mama had cried the stone? Yusuke vaguely remembered the one time he'd seen Hiei cry, and all the little black stones on the ground, afterwards. But he'd been trying not to look, at the time. He didn't like seeing Hiei cry, like that.

            And the lady who tossed him? Hiei knew her name? And she wanted him to kill her first? But... she had given him the stone. His mama's stone.

            But... Hiei had said he did want to kill them. All of them. Except his mama. But his mama was dead now.

            "... you gonna do it?"

            Now, that was what Hiei had been considering, all day. Turning it over in his head.

            Before coming to Yusuke's, he'd been alone. The bandits didn't count, because they weren't like Yusuke and his papa. Hiei didn't mind being alone. He'd told himself he would survive, to get stronger and rescue Mama one day, if she didn't come find him in time. And then he'd kill the rest of them so they never did it to anybody else.

            But. Mama was dead. And it'd taken Yusuke's papa years to even find them. Hiei could ask the scout that'd found it, to take him there. He could go there, and massacre them. Burn up their land of ice, or die trying.

            But... if Hiei left to do that, and maybe got killed by them while doing that, who would protect Yusuke? Was it worth living out their stupid prophecy, proving them right, just to lose... this?

            He turned his left cheek into the mat in order to look at Yusuke, eyes blank and unreadable in the dimness.

            "...Why. Y'wanna help?"

            "Yes."

            There was no other acceptable answer, in Yusuke's mind. Of course he wanted to help. Hell, he kind of wanted to do it himself, even if Hiei didn't. But... it wasn't his mama who'd died. And they didn't throw him away. Yusuke understood that it was Hiei's choice. It was up to him, not Yusuke. But that didn't mean he couldn't help.

            The silence thickened, and lengthened - as they stared at each other - and then Hiei's expression cracked. He rolled over onto the other mat, clutching his hiruiseki tight in his left hand as he fought the giggles that wanted to erupt. Once he was close enough, and facing, Yusuke, Hiei slapped his right hand lightly over Yusuke's nose, trying to talk through the involuntary laughter bubbling through his words.

            "Y-Y'ssstupid - Wha'cha... g-gonna do? Punch 'em in... in d'eir kneecaps?" Hiei kneed at Yusuke's stomach a bit, just for emphasis; trying to get the feeling out , without any serious force behind it.

            Yusuke startled at the smack, and tried to be offended, but it was hard when Hiei was laughing like that.

            "Why not!? I'll break their stupid legs like I broke that stupid dummy!"

            He shoved Hiei’s shoulder, trying to push the demon away from him and out of kicking range, but the giggling was just too infectious, and Yusuke felt himself start to laugh right along with him anyway.

            Laughing outright at that ridiculous idea, Hiei grabbed Yusuke's arm when Yusuke tried to shove him away. He rolled back - away from the railing - while dragging Yusuke with him, settling somewhere in the middle of the mats, with Hiei lying on his right side. His forehead had somehow ended up smushed into Yusuke's chest, but he just couldn't help it. He couldn't stop laughing, either; and it only got worse when he realized Yusuke was laughing too.

            Tears stung at the corners of his eyes when it finally began to calm back to a snicker-fit, and Hiei clenched them shut as the tiny gems pattered out on the mat, in the space between them. It would be hard to tell in the dimness, but when Hiei stole a peek, he realized they were clear straight-through. They weren't black, like Hiei'd seen in that bag Yusuke's papa had collected, after he'd kicked it down and some spilled out.

            Yusuke laughed himself to giggles, rolling when Hiei pulled him along. He stilled when he eventually realized that Hiei had gone quiet. But it was... better now, somehow. Laying here in the dark, in the silence, with Hiei, didn't feel the same as earlier, when he'd been alone in his bed, unable to stop thinking about those words.

            "Le's make graves f'r 'em." Hiei blurted before he could think himself out of it, fingers tightening on the fabric of Yusuke's shirt; where they still held onto his arm. "Yours an' mine. 'cause they our mamas. 'nd they a'served better 'n t' die like that."

            "Yes."

            Yusuke was so sure about his answer that if Hiei said he wanted to do it now, he would, and the tension in his body reflected that as he stared fiercely out at the dark wall over Hiei's head. Yusuke wasn't even sure how they would do it. But they would. They would make it happen. He knew they would. Because it felt right.

            Hiei nodded at that, but didn't make to move. Tomorrow, then. Because... he just realized he was tired. Already imagining carving the memory of his mama's face into whatever stone they ended up finding, Hiei let his eyes slide shut, as his body started to relax. But... there was one more thing.

            "Wha's y'mama's name?" Because Yusuke'd heard his, earlier. It didn't feel right for him not to know Yusuke's.

            Yusuke froze. His mama's name? He thought about it for a long while, in silence. It was hard to remember. He knew he was supposed to know, but... it had been such a long time and... only the man in the bad dreams called her that.

            "... A'suko."

            Hiei nodded again, branding the name into the back of his brain. Because it was important to Yusuke. He patted awkwardly at Yusuke's sleeve as he released it, then let his hand just lay there. That done, it started to feel like Hiei's brain was - drifting? He'd never fallen asleep like that before. He managed to mutter something though, pressing his forehead a little harder against Yusuke's chest.

            "'m s'eepy..."

            "Mm..."

            Yusuke could feel Hiei starting to lean more heavily against him, so he relaxed. He hadn't meant to spend the night in Hiei's room tonight, but he didn't feel like going back now, and Hiei was always warm enough that he knew he wouldn't need a blanket. So Yusuke just shifted slightly, until he was staring up at the ceiling instead, and settled there for the night.

            It was nice, being able to see the sky from inside. Yusuke remembered being a little bothered by it, when he was younger. But since the grown ups were always keeping him in, he'd eventually forced himself to get used to it, just to be able to see something that wasn't a stone castle wall on the days when he couldn't manage to escape into the woods.

            It had been useful too, when it came time to give Hiei a place to stay, where he would be comfortable. Some place where he would feel like his mama could still find him. Yusuke blinked back a tear. All this time, Hiei's mama hadn't been looking. Hiei had been waiting, for nothing.

            Yusuke turned his head away, until he couldn't see any more stars, staring over at the blank wall instead. At least he had known the whole time that his momma was dead. Papa had never tried to lie to him about that. She was never coming back. But Hiei...

            Yusuke stared out at the dark wall in silence, and it was a long time before he finally managed to drift off to sleep.

            The next morning, Hiei woke when the sun got bright enough overhead. He pushed himself up, wincing a little as his palm caught on one of the numerous tiny, clear stones sprinkled over his mats. Brows descending in annoyance, Hiei looped his Mama's hiruiseki back over his head. Then he grabbed one of the smaller ones and simply swept the rest off; rolling in a wave over the railing into the room below, and thus - for now - out of sight.

            He stuffed the single one in Yusuke's pants pocket, and shook his shoulder to get him awake; if he wasn't already.

Chapter Text

            Yusuke grumbled, still half-asleep and curled into himself to try and avoid the sunlight starting to peek in from above, when an irritating clattering noise reached his ears followed by Hiei shaking him.

            "Wha'dy' wan'?"

            He still stubbornly refused to move, not wanting to open his eyes and get up, just yet. He had been perfectly comfortable just a minute ago, and maybe if he pretended hard enough, he would be again. Even though he was already getting colder with Hiei up and moving around.

            Hiei huffed at him, and promptly pinched Yusuke's nose shut, narrowing his eyes.

            "Gotta get up. Find some good rocks." He said, impatiently. Then he thought of something. "...an' learn how t' write. A bit." Just enough for their mamas' names.

            Yusuke gasped and yanked his head back.

            "Hey!"

            Frowning, he was just about to yell at Hiei some more when his words finally registered.

            "Rocks?"

            What the hell were they going to need rocks for? Yusuke pushed himself up and yawned before peering down over the edge of the loft. There was some weird shiny stuff on the floor, but he didn't pay too much attention to it. It could have been there last night when he came in and he just didn't notice it in the dark, though Hiei usually kept his room cleaner than that. He turned back to the demon.

            "Wha'd we need rocks for?"

            Hiei deadpanned at him. He leaned in, grabbed each of Yusuke's cheeks and stretched them out; painfully.

            "Stuuupid." He taunted, mercilessly. "Y'brain still 'sleep?" With each word, Hiei tugged Yusuke's cheeks outward again.

            "You stu'i'!"

            Yusuke reached out and shoved Hiei's face away at the same time he yanked his own face back, again, trying to escape from Hiei's grasp, before scrambling over to the ladder and swinging himself down. Instead of using the rungs, Yusuke simply grabbed each side and let himself slide, all the way down to the floor, before hopping off of it. And then he stuck his tongue out at Hiei.

            Not expecting it, Hiei flopped onto his back as Yusuke shoved him. He stared, upside-down, as Yusuke escaped, and huffed softly to himself. Getting up, Hiei peeked over the railing. He then rolled his eyes as Yusuke stuck his tongue out at him, and hopped over the railing to land in the room below.

            His foot catching just the wrong angle on one of the numerous gems littering the floor, Hiei's eyes went wide as saucers as he slipped. He'd forgotten they were down there. Gravity took over as he fell back, bumping his head hard on the floor.

            "Ow! Owowow ow - " Hiei whined through gritted teeth. His hands came up to hold the swiftly-swelling bump on the back of his head as he rolled from side-to-side, on his back, to try to distract himself from the pain.

            Yusuke really tried not to laugh. He really did. But Hiei never fell. The shock of it alone had a sharp laugh escaping before he could clamp his hand over his face to stop himself, and he was still fighting back the giggles when he finally stepped forward to try and help Hiei up off the floor, his eyes searching around for what had made him fall in the first place.

            "Y-y'okay?"

            Yusuke bent over and picked up what looked like a large, shiny glass bead off the floor. Hiei must have slipped on it, by accident.

            Hiei had already sat up by the time Yusuke stooped down to help him. Keeping his left hand on the goose-egg at the back of his head, he tried to bat away Yusuke's hand with his right, baring his teeth at him in a silent snarl.

            It was only when Hiei caught Yusuke picking up one of the gems, that he stilled unnaturally. His mouth thinned to a hard, unhappy line, and he jerked his increasingly-scathing glare off to the left, on the floor. There were a lot. And they were everywhere. Hiei wished they would just combust. Stupid trash. Not like his Mama's at all. Not as big, either.

            "Wha's'is?"

            Yusuke held the bead up to the light.

            "'s pretty. But i's all over the floor, stupid."

            Yusuke glanced back at Hiei, who was looking... mad? Yusuke frowned, and took in all the scattered gems. There were a lot of them. If they had been there last night, he definitely would have tripped himself. So where did they come from?

            Yusuke suddenly remembered the clattering sound that had woken him, and looked up. Then he remembered the way Hiei's mama's gem had looked when he held it up in the light, and all the little black gems all over the forest floor. Yusuke felt his stomach sink as he looked back down at Hiei, and the scattered gems.

            "... oh."

            Hiei preferred Yusuke's previous casual dismissal to the loaded nature of that 'oh'. He darted a quick look back at him. Yusuke was making a stupid face. Hiei grimaced, and made the effort to get himself up, absently kicking the closest one and watching it roll away. He was still rubbing at his head, a bit; but mostly as a distraction, while very firmly not looking at Yusuke.

            "...Can't burn 'em or crush 'em. Don't tell nobody I did 'em." He hesitated, briefly; amending. "Y'papa knows." Because demons were greedy. If the bandits had wanted just his Mama's gem, how much glee would've lit up in their eyes if they realized Hiei could make more of them? And Hiei didn't trust anyone past Yusuke's papa - because he was already rich, so why would he care? - and Yusuke.

            Because Yusuke wasn't a grown-up. And he hadn't ever wanted Hiei's hiruiseki, either.

            Yusuke frowned when Hiei kicked one of the gems away from him.

            "Why would I tell?"

            It was an honest question. The thought of telling someone about Hiei's tear gems had honestly never occurred to him. Aside from papa, of course. But Yusuke already knew that papa knew. He felt a slight stab of guilt about that though. He hadn't told Hiei that he knew that papa was following him, those two times in the woods, or that he had found out later that papa had followed him the time before that, either. It hadn't seemed important. But that didn't change the fact that he knew that papa was there when Hiei had shown him his mama's stone the first time. And that had been important, to Hiei. It still was.

            "I... know, that papa knows..."

            Hiei looked at him sharply; wasn't it obvious? But Yusuke was asking. Hiei stepped close, dropping his hand from the bump on his head and grabbing each of Yusuke's upper arms. Hiei stared up at him; unflinchingly.

            "Dem'ns wanna steal stuff tha's pretty. Lots'd do an'thin' t' get rich, like your papa. So don' tell no one." Hiei didn't want to have to worry about one of the monks trying to make him cry in his sleep, or something else equally stupid that grown-ups might think of, to get what they wanted without asking for it.

            Hiei didn't know what Yusuke's second comment meant, so: he ignored it. He wasn't worried about Yusuke's papa knowing, anyway. If nothing had happened in the years he'd been living here, Yusuke's papa probably just didn't care.

            Yusuke met Hiei's stare unflinchingly, even as the demon grabbed him.

            "I'm not. Telling. Nobody."

            And that was a promise. It didn't even occur to him to really think about what Hiei meant until after he'd already said it.

            People wanted to steal Hiei's gems? Yusuke glanced down at the one in his hand. But the only way to make a gem like this... Yusuke felt his blood run cold, and he glanced back up at Hiei again as his fist closed over the clear gem, his face a grim mask of determination. There was no way he would ever let anyone do that.

            The back of Hiei's brain relaxed, because Yusuke looked serious. He huffed when Yusuke looked down and then back up at him, though; because Yusuke's face got all constipated-looking. So Hiei bopped him on the forehead with the base of his right fist. To try to snap him out of it.

            "Stop lookin' stupid 'nd help me clean 'em up." It'd taken Hiei a few years to accept that Yusuke's papa cleaning up his gems in the forest, had been the smarter move. Hiei would never tell him that, though. He turned to squat, starting to pluck them up off the floor. "Still gotta go find s'me good rocks."

            Yusuke stuck his tongue out when Hiei bopped him, just out of habit, and automatically moved to help Hiei clean up when he asked. They were the reason he'd fallen on his ass after all.

            The mention of the rocks reminded Yusuke of why Hiei had even woken him up in the first place, however, and he made an irritated noise.

            "Why rocks?"

            Hiei smirked to himself, and sent an evil little glint of a look over his shoulder at Yusuke.

            "Dunno. Mebbe y'should 'member. I'll help you pick out a good one 'f y'don't, though." And Hiei stuck out his tongue at him.

            Yusuke scrunched up his face, stuck out his tongue, and flung one of the little gems at Hiei, before he resumed picking them up. He should remember why they needed rocks? Yusuke pondered it while he hunted down the shiny little things.

            Last night, he had come here to talk to Hiei about what papa had said. And they talked about Hiei's mama. And Hiei asked him about his momma. Ah! And they decided to make graves. Maybe that's what the rocks were for. Yusuke wasn't sure. He'd never made a grave before.

            After he turned back around, Hiei smirked a little more widely to himself as he felt the slight impact of the gem against his back, and the resulting clatter when it bounced off. Running out of space in his hands, Hiei went to his dusty, unused toys. He dumped out a bag of marbles, and put the gems in there so they wouldn't get mixed up. Then he wandered over to Yusuke to collect his bunch in the bag, and squinted over the room, looking for any they'd missed.

            Yusuke dumped his handfuls of gems into the bag and straightened up, shoving his hands in his pockets while he waited for Hiei to finish putting his stuff away.

            "... wha?"

            Feeling the small round object in his pocket, he pulled the gem out. Seeing that it was the same as all the rest, he handed it over as well.

            Hiei scowled when Yusuke extricated it, and pulled the bag away before Yusuke could drop the last gem in.

            "Nuh-uh. Tha' one's yours." He glared at Yusuke, a slight dash of pink around his temples the only hint giving away his discomfort at being found out.

            Yusuke paused, when Hiei yanked the bag away. His face felt warm all of a sudden, and he closed his hand over the gem.

            "...oh. 'kay."

            Shoving his hands back into this pockets, Yusuke looked away and started walking towards the door, to wait for Hiei there instead.

            Glad that moment was over, Hiei pulled the top of the drawstring bag tight, and went to stash it in the bottom of the toy chest he never used. He had to dig past a few things, but it was worth it for the hiding spot. All done, Hiei detoured to his closet, shucking off his loose sleeping clothes and tossing them in the bottom of the closet, before grabbing an easier-to-move-in set of clothes for wearing outside.

            It'd been weird at first, but this was how things were done. And it was a little nicer, falling asleep in a bed that didn't smell all bloody or was caked in mud. Hiei's initial forgetfulness around the 'changing clothes rituals' here had resulted in quite a few replacement mats, until he'd learned.

            Redressed, he detoured to the rack beside the door, and took his belt and dagger off their hook, buckling it around his waist; above the hem of his shirt. Leaving the old pair, Hiei grabbed the door with one hand and Yusuke's shoulder with the other, shoving him out of it in front and closing the door behind, as they exited. Then he put both his hands on Yusuke's shoulders from behind, and began to march them down in the direction of Yusuke's room.

            "C'mon. Y'gonna dig 'round for stones 'n your sleepin' stuff?" He huffed, but mostly to remind Yusuke. He got forgetful over the stupidest things, sometimes.

            Yusuke huffed as Hiei marched him back to his own room, but he didn't fight it.

            "No. I ain't."

            Yusuke marched straight to his closet when he got to his room, and pulled out his clothes, but didn't remove his sleeping clothes right away. Instead he dug around in the back of his closet until he found a small pouch he could stash the gem in. Then he marched over to shove the pouch beneath his mountain of bed furs before finally changing clothes and heading back towards the door.

            "Fine. Ready?"

            Arms crossed over his front impatiently, Hiei hmphed at him. He'd tried not to watch too closely as Yusuke hid his gem away, and didn't comment on the extra time it took.

            "I been ready." Then his stomach growled, and Hiei glared down at it. Right. Breakfast was supposed to come in the morning, wasn't it? Stupid more things just getting in the way of what he wanted to do.

            Yusuke grinned.

            "Yeah? Y' gonna eat rocks for breakfast, too?"

            Shoving his way past Hiei, Yusuke laughed his way down the hallway, towards the kitchens.

            Hiei bristled as Yusuke went past him. Grumbling to himself, Hiei turned to follow behind Yusuke, eyes narrowed on the back of his head. In a split-second, Hiei booked it down the hallway, passing Yusuke in a flash of speed: the challenge clearly thrown down in his wake.

            Still laughing, Yusuke took off after Hiei, because he knew if he didn't the little demon would grab all the good food before he got there. The cooks, of course, knew to expect this by now, and had become accustomed to having food set aside where the two of them could easily reach it without harassing the entire staff.

            So of course as soon as Yusuke made it to the kitchen, he immediately scrambled for whatever he could grab, taking the chance to elbow Hiei in the process, just because he could.

            Hiei stuffed his favorite thing in his mouth before Yusuke could nab it - conveniently, it was also easy to travel with. He left what he knew Yusuke's favorite was, and made an irate noise when Yusuke elbowed him, and tried to kick him out of the way in retaliation. It was more fun to pretend it was a contest and that they had a time limit, anyway: just because.

            Once Yusuke had stuffed his pockets with as much food as he could manage - a habit he'd most certainly picked up from Hiei - and was already well on his way to stuffing his face with even more food, he bolted right back out of the kitchen, carefully considering Hiei's unusual goal for the day.

            There were several places around the castle where they could look for rocks, but none of them were too close by, or particularly easy to get to. If Hiei meant to go get a rock, and bring it back, Yusuke wasn't quite sure how they would manage it. But, maybe Hiei had a plan.

            Hiei dragged them over to one of his favorite spots in the castle: a spot in a cavernous hall, where they could look down on people coming and going, their feet could dangle and they had a view of the trees from behind more windows. That was as good as any place for breakfast, at least until they'd relieved themselves of the large amount of food they'd stolen from the kitchen.

            "Was thinkin." Hiei started, looking down at the floor far below, before he took a large bite, and talked through it. Because it was just Yusuke, and the monks weren't around to frown at him for it. "Mebbe smaller rocks? Was gonna put 'em outside but mebbe better inside? So's we see 'em ev'ryday?" He thought hard, staring down at his free-swinging bare toes. "An' maybe draw their faces on somethin' too." Hiei pinned a serious look on Yusuke, then; completely earnest. "I wanna see what your mama looks like."

            "Mmm... yeah!"

            Yusuke chewed through another slightly sticky roll as he swung his legs enthusiastically. He definitely liked the idea of drawing their mamas' faces on the graves. That way people would know what they were for. But...

            "... doesn' your mama wanna see the sky though? We should put 'um inside where they can see the sky."

            Hiei made an assenting noise at that, but it was a problem too.

            "Yeah but I don' want 'em in my room. An' I wan'em a'gether. Someplace we go a lot. I think they'd wanna see us too, not jus' put 'n a room where nobody goes. Was thinkin' somethin' like the big hall where ev''ybody eats but..." He trailed off, head tilting as his eyes swept toward the ceiling thoughtfully.

            Yusuke blinked at Hiei's comment. He had never thought they should put graves in Hiei's room. That seemed... not right. But Hiei did make a good point about not putting them in a place where nobody goes. He wouldn't want mama to be lonely.

            "Whad about... the garden? I's pretty in there."

            And lots of people used the garden. They even played in there, sometimes, when the weather was bad and Yusuke couldn't go outside for fear of getting sick from it.

            The garden? Hiei thought about it. And then he thought about how Mama had never, ever gotten to see something like the garden, if she'd been kept up there her whole life. So he beamed happily at Yusuke, his entire expression radiating approval, cheeks stuffed full of food still.

            "Mhm! I think Mama'd like that. She ain' never seen gardens a'fore. Just ice and snow up 'dere."

            Yusuke grinned back at Hiei, something warm settling in his chest as he watched the demon smile at him. Had he ever seen Hiei smile like that? Yusuke kept staring for a minute before he remembered he still had food in his hand, and continued stuffing his face.

            "Mm, good!"

            They had a plan then.

            Already distracted with trying to think of places for the best rocks, Hiei dropped his gaze down between his swaying feet again and resumed chewing his way through his food. When Yusuke spoke, he just nodded, grunting in agreement, and didn't feel the need to say more.

            Yusuke kept on stuffing his face until he'd eaten everything he'd brought with him and then, after wiping his hands on his pants, headed outside to begin the hunt for rocks.

            Once they'd each managed to dig up a satisfactory pile of rocks, stacking them as high as they could into two separate piles in one corner of the greenhouse, they washed up briefly in the nearby basin before returning to Yusuke's room. Hiei had said he wanted to draw their mamas faces. So Yusuke dragged out a small chest of paints that usually sat, neglected, at the bottom of his toy chest, and found a couple of thin, blank wooden boards that had probably been toy shields at some point. And then he sat down, and stared at it.

            Momma's face...

            Hiei grabbed all the blues and whites and greys, opened them, and started mixing them together on a waterproof slab off to the side, with his fingers, to find just the right shades. Everything about his Mama was blue and muted in his memory - had that been because of the snow? - but Hiei had to get the colors perfect. His tongue stuck out of the side of his mouth as he focused, hunched over, without having touched his own wooden board yet.

            After seeing what Hiei was doing, mixing the paints, Yusuke carefully started doing the same. It was easy to make brown, he discovered, but they were all kind of ugly browns. And his momma wasn't ugly. So he kept trying, until he finally got something he was satisfied with, and started dragging the paint down the board with his fingers. Because his momma had long hair, he remembered. And big, brown eyes.

            Deciding just to focus on her face - after a moment to deliberate if Hiei wanted to draw those robes, too - and finally satisfied with the colors he'd made, Hiei started. He did her eyes first; a pale shade of blue. Rui's eyes had been blue, too. And the old mean ladies' ones. Those done, Hiei set to work on her hair: more light blue, doing all the outlines and facial features in dark blue. The outlines were harder, so he did them with his smallest finger. It took an agonizingly long time to get it right, without any mistakes, and near the end Hiei sat back to survey it. Something was missing. His eyes dragged over to the white paint, and he grabbed it, and dipped his smallest fingertip in it. Hiei did two tiny dots of white in each of her eyes, and made a satisfied noise when he sat back and it looked right.

            Well, not exactly as in his head. But it was as close as he could make it.

            When Yusuke was done he sat back and stared at his board with a slight frown. It didn't look exactly like his momma. It was... messy. But it felt right. So he nodded, deciding he was satisfied, and wiped his hands on his pants again before getting up to put the paints away.

            It looked like Hiei was done too, and he peered curiously over at the demon's board. Hiei's drawing was a lot better than his, but it also looked a lot colder. Did Hiei's mama always look like that? Kind of... sad?

            Yusuke turned away to finished putting away the paints, instead.

            Hiei blinked as Yusuke leaned into his space, but then glanced over Yusuke's back and squinted at Yusuke's drawing. There was... lots of brown. But Hiei could sort of see a face in there. When Yusuke got up to do something else, Hiei stayed kneeling and stared back-and-forth between the two pictures, trying to find the similarities.

            Long hair and eyes. That made sense. But there was something else, in Yusuke's picture, that his own was missing. Hiei frowned to himself, trying to figure out what it was.

            It was almost like... Yusuke's mama looked warm. And not in the fire way, because Hiei knew she couldn't have had youki. Yusuke's papa was a demon, so his mama had had to be human. And. Someone who'd been warm from the inside. Somehow.

            When Yusuke had finished stashing the paints back in the bottom of his toy chest he stood back up and clapped his hands together once, determined.

            "Now we take momma to the garden!"

            Picking up his board with much more care than he usually treated his things, Yusuke held it out in front of him as he led the way back to the garden. He didn't run either, and kept an eye out for anyone or anything that might get in his way on the way there, shouting very firmly at anyone who even tried to cross his path. He was on a mission, and would not be stopped.

            Hiei rolled his eyes at Yusuke's announcement, but wiped his hands off on his pants - to make sure the paint was dry on them, so it wouldn't rub off on his own painting. He got up and squatted down to gather up his own plank, and hurried out the door after Yusuke.

            The first time Yusuke yelled, it startled him a bit, but after that Hiei started to join in on the shouting. Because it was fun. And it'd probably be more effective if both of them did it.

            Yusuke was very relieved when he managed to make it all the way back to the garden without bumping into anything, and he set his board down against his pile of rocks with a sigh. Then he took a step back and settled himself down onto the dirt, cross-legged, to stare at it. Hiei was right. This was good. He was glad they had done this, for both their mamas, and he smiled over at Hiei as he leaned back on his hands.

            Hiei followed suit with his own painting, and sat next to Yusuke. Rather than look at him though, Hiei just kept staring between the two sets of rocks, and their accompanying pictures.

            He didn't know what to call this feeling, so Hiei didn't call it anything. Belatedly, Hiei realized his hiruiseki was still on the outside of his shirt. He did a quick check for any smears of paint, before dropping it back beneath, where it thudded against his skin. And resumed staring fixedly at the little, joint memorial they'd made.

            When Yusuke noticed Hiei tucking his mama's gem back beneath his shirt, he turned his gaze back to the painting Hiei had done. It was mostly blue, like the gem that Hiei wore. And, now that he thought about it, papa did mention that he'd found the ice village. But... Hiei was a fire demon.

            Yusuke glanced back over at Hiei again with a more thoughtful gaze. Even though his momma was a human, his papa was a demon. Maybe it was like that for Hiei, too? He certainly didn't look like his mama. But Yusuke also knew that he didn't like it when people called him a human, just because his momma was one. So... he didn't ask. It didn't really matter what Hiei's mama looked like, anyway. She was still his mama.

            Eventually, Hiei felt the stare burning into the side of his face. Rather than say anything, keeping his eyes forward, Hiei lifted his left hand up - the one closest to Yusuke - and with almost-eerie precision, pinched Yusuke's nose shut with his fingers.

            Yusuke squeaked out an undignified noise, and halfheartedly aimed a punch at Hiei's ribs as he yanked his face out of the demon's grasp.

            "Meanie!"

            He laughed about it half a second later though, and let himself topple sideways onto the dirt.

            "What'cha wanna do now?"

            Hiei grunted at the punch, but let go and turned only his head to watch Yusuke flop into the dirt. Then his eyes darted back to his Mama's picture, and Hiei thought of something. Turning his head back to look at the painting properly, Hiei steeled himself for getting laughed at, and did it anyway.

            "Mama." Hiei pointed off to his left, squarely at Yusuke's face, without bothering to look. "'s's Yusuke. He's weak so's I p'otect 'im. His papa's soooooo - " And here Hiei stretched both his arms into the air, straining to get higher; without resorting to standing up, though. His gaze was still fixed on the painting in front of his mama's pile of rocks, though. "...tall. Wi'' big claws. An' lots'a hair."

            Yusuke laid still for a moment as Hiei spoke, but eventually pushed himself back up off the ground. He waited until Hiei was done, and then bent his head forward in a bow, like he'd seen some of the grown ups do sometimes. It just felt like the right thing to do, somehow.

            Blinking over at Yusuke, Hiei tilted his head as Yusuke hunched forward towards the ground. It sort of looked like something a few of the monks did, but Hiei wasn't sure what it meant.

            "Wha'cha doin'?"

            Yusuke reached up to scratch at his cheek, slightly embarrassed.

            "Bowin'. I's 'upposed to be respec'ful."

            "Oh." Hiei blinked at him again, then leaned over to nudge Yusuke's arm with his left elbow, and brought his right hand up to cup over his mouth: whispering into Yusuke's ear, to try 'hide' their conversation from the pictures. "C'n I meet your mama?" Hiei could mimic Yusuke's positioning pretty easily, he thought.

            Yusuke nodded, slightly wide-eyed, at Hiei's question, and swallowed hard as he faced the drawing of his momma. He'd never really thought about talking to his momma before. She was gone. He'd always known that. But... what if she could hear him?

            "I... momma... this is Hiei. He's... my friend. And we do lots of fun stuff together. And he makes sure none of the bad demons try to eat me. And... his mama got taken from him too, so he lives here now, with me an' papa."

            Yusuke could feel his throat threatening to close up, like it used to when he couldn't breathe. But the air in here was fine. He just couldn't say anything else. So he didn't, and stubbornly shut his mouth, swallowing hard against the tightness in his chest as he took a deep breath through his nose.

            Hiei watched Yusuke talk for a bit, but then settled himself on his knees, like Yusuke had done, and waited for the right cue. For Yusuke to stop talking. And when Yusuke did - determined to do it right - Hiei bowed all the way down; so his head brushed the grass, in here.

            When he came back up, cheeks pink, Hiei blurted something out with zero forethought.

            "Thanks for makin' him 'n your tummy!"

            Hiei's blurted comment caught Yusuke completely off guard and it actually managed to startled a laugh out of him. He shoved Hiei lightly afterwards, still grinning.

            "You said your mama never seen a garden, right? We should get some flowers! From tha outside."

            Hiei stuck out his tongue at Yusuke, and shoved him in return. Then Hiei tackled him, intending to start an impromptu wrestling match.

            "I think my mama wanna see how strong's I is!"

            Grinning ferally, Yusuke wasted no time grappling Hiei back, fully intent on giving the demon the challenge he was aiming for.

            "Better 'pologize when you lose, then!"

            Hiei hmphed at him, growling back an equal challenge as they both fought for supremacy.

Chapter Text

            The day after that was a usual, day: with training, and even Shilly-sensei came by. So Hiei had his brain too full of training and new stuff to try, to really dwell on the existence of two small graves taking up residence in their indoor garden.

            He did start stopping by those new graves every day before breakfast, on his way downstairs to the kitchens. It was just a silent, staring, quiet few moments of a visit, though. But he thought it mattered. Something was... different, about talking to his Mama like she was here. Hiei knew she wasn't. But it eased some of what he'd been carrying around in his head, for all this time. Like pressure finding a way out, almost.

          Yusuke had gone back that very same night, after he'd already gotten ready for bed. He just couldn't sleep, thinking about his momma's picture, and how Hiei had talked to his mama. So he lit his candle and made his way back down to the garden, to sit in front of his momma's painting in silence for a while. He still couldn't bring himself to speak to her. So he simply sat there, until he finally felt tired enough to start yawning, his head nodding involuntarily as he struggled to stay upright.

         Yusuke continued to visit every night after that. Though, after the first time, he was sure to get ready for bed after his visit, instead of before. And he brought his candle with him while it was still light out, waiting for it to get dark before he dared to speak. It still didn't feel right, talking to his momma in the daytime. But in the dark, sometimes, he felt like maybe she was listening.

            Close to a week later, nearing dinnertime, and Hiei was climbing out of one of his favorite higher perches in one of the upper floors. His stomach told him it was time to eat, anyway. He hadn't seen Yusuke since this morning's training, and absently let his feet guide him in the direction of Yusuke's room. It was on the way, at any rate.

           Yusuke hardly thought about his nightly ritual anymore, automatically making sure his candlestick and flint were within easy grabbing distance from his bedroom door as he got ready for dinner. But when he went to open his bedroom door this time, Hiei was already standing there, in the way, startling him a bit.

            "Oh! Hiei... you goin'a dinner?"

            Hand raised to knock on the door, Hiei blinked as it opened. There was a beat, and then he knocked on Yusuke's forehead instead.

            "...Uh-huh." He grabbed Yusuke's shoulder, already turning; ready to drag him along. "C'mon."

            Yusuke snorted a laugh and allowed himself to be dragged, purposely bumping into Hiei as he hurried along the hallway.

            "Hey. That thing you done with your knife was cool. Throwin' it like that."

            Hiei bumped Yusuke's shoulder back, letting his grip fall in order to do so. Yusuke was going to come along anyway.

            "Uh-huh. Y'get any better with breakin' those dummies on purpose? Dummy."

            Yusuke let out a frustrated huff.

            "Yeah... 'course I am..."

            Yusuke did feel a little embarrassed that he could only manage to punch the dummies 'correctly' about half the time. But he was getting better at it. And papa seemed happy about it. At least, as happy as papa seemed about anything.

            He shoved Hiei again as they continued to walk, just to be annoying about it.

            Hiei hooked his right elbow around Yusuke's neck - it was a little hard to reach up there, but he got it - as Yusuke shoved him, taking advantage of the force of Yusuke's push to pull Yusuke's head down. Hiei trapped it in his armpit. He messed up Yusuke's hair with his other hand as he continued to walk; not even breaking stride.

            "Ah, yeah? Y'ready t' try 't on me yet? Bet'cha I c'n make y' madder than those dumb ol' scarecrows, any day."

            Yusuke let out a strangled noise as his head was yanked down, nearly tripping over his own feet, stumbling as Hiei continued to drag him along. But instead of responding to Hiei's taunt verbally, he simply reached up and yanked at Hiei's shirt as he bent down even further, in an attempt to throw Hiei off balance, and down to the floor.

            Not expecting the yank, Hiei felt Yusuke's center of gravity shift down as he bent forward. So Hiei did the only logical thing: he lowered his knees into a squat, and then rolled them onto the floor to brace himself and prevent a fall. This forced them to stop walking in the middle of the hallway. Yusuke's head was still trapped under his arm, but it was only a few inches from the floor now.

            "...What was'sat?" Hiei wondered, sounding on the verge of laughing at him.

            Yusuke let out another frustrated noise, and simply tried to wiggle his way free this time, reaching up to pinch Hiei's side with one hand as he shoved at Hiei's arm with his other hand.

            Hiei did laugh, at that, and he squeezed Yusuke's head a little harder with his arm, a sharp grin sneaking onto his face. He almost didn't even feel the pinch: Yusuke's reaction was too much fun.

            "Y'give up? Give up 'n' 'll let y' go."

            "No!"

            Yusuke took a deep breath and braced himself.

            "You let go!"

            And he pulled his arm back and punched Hiei, just to one side of his lower back.

            Hiei grunted at that, feeling the impact. There was that punch he remembered. But he still didn't let go.

            "That all y'got?" Hiei baited him, readying himself in case this next one really hurt. If Yusuke did it right, it just might. Hiei wanted to see for himself.

            Yusuke actually hesitated at the challenge, but... he knew Hiei wasn't going to let him go without being convinced, one way or another. So if he wanted to be convinced that he wasn't the only one actually learning something during their daily training sessions... then Yusuke would convince him.

            He actually stopped struggling altogether for a moment, focused on his balled up fist as he pulled back, and got mad.

            And Yusuke felt the impact when his fist connected with Hiei's side, this time.

            When Hiei felt Yusuke's focus sharpen, he knew this one would be different. At the last second, he loosened his arm around Yusuke's neck and tried to relax as the force of the punch sent him careening side-first into the wall of the hallway.

            There was a Hiei-profile-shaped indentation in it now, and he groaned a little as pain sliced up his side; starting to throb. That had hurt. Hiei pushed himself off the wall and rubbed at the spot Yusuke'd hit him as he slid to a seat, but didn't otherwise complain.

            So that was what one of Yusuke's 'special punches' felt like.

            Yusuke gasped when Hiei slammed into the wall, a sharp spike of guilt jolting through him as he straightened up and lunged forward to reach for him.

            "S-sorry!"

            He didn't know what to do about it now, though. It didn't look like Hiei was injured, but Yusuke knew that didn't mean anything. He couldn't stop thinking about how those dummies had snapped so easily, when he'd punched them. And he had just done that, to Hiei.

            Huffing at the bleeding heart in Yusuke's voice, Hiei grabbed Yusuke by his shirt collar and dragged him down. He hadn't thought it through, but somehow it ended up being a hug, with Yusuke's face pushed into his chest, and Hiei holding the hair on either side of his head.

            "Stupid." Hiei winced as he shifted. There would definitely be a bruise there, later. "Big demons hit harder. Got lot'sa those a'fore I tried t' eat you. Gonna have to hit 'ven harder if you wanna live out 'dere." He grumbled, taking a moment to shove Yusuke's face in his left armpit - on the opposite side that Yusuke'd hit him - and mess up his hair again.

            Yusuke choked down another surprised squeak as Hiei grabbed him again, and grappled him downwards. And when Hiei tucked him down under one arm to mess with his hair, he reached up to yank Hiei's hair in retaliation.

            "You're stupid!"

            "Ow!" Hiei complained, loudly, at Yusuke pulling on his damn hair. So he grabbed a fistful of Yusuke's and pulled that, to get him back. Hiei even tried to knee Yusuke in his stomach, since he was positioned perfectly for it. "Nuh-uh! Stuuuuuuupid!" Hiei barked at him, considering upping the stakes to biting, if Yusuke kept raising them on his own.

            Yusuke winced when he felt Hiei pulling at his hair, and twisted when he felt the demon's knee come up, trying to avoid the full impact of the blow. But there wasn't much room to maneuver, already being on the floor of the hallway, smushed up against the wall where Hiei had fallen. So Yusuke just kept on twisting, until he could get his feet up against the wall, and his hands somewhere solidly against Hiei's middle, where he could shove the demon away from him as he pushed himself off the wall.

            Hiei let out a gush of air as Yusuke pushed at his stomach, and in his surprise he let go: letting Yusuke jettison himself away. He scowled at the success of Yusuke's last move, and started to get up.

            Yusuke's face'd probably do that annoying thing again if Hiei showed any pain as he stood, though, so he simply didn't. There were more important things, sometimes.

            Not trusting Hiei not to grab him again, Yusuke rolled away before getting his feet under him in a crouch. He paused there for a moment before standing, still watching Hiei closely. Then he brushed himself off, straightening his clothes in an attempt to appear unbothered by the tussle. He gave Hiei one last, critical look before making up his mind.

            "You're stupid. And I ain't punchin' you like that again."

            Hiei's expression flattened, at that, and he stepped forward, reaching up to try to pinch Yusuke's nose shut.

            "Nuh-uh. I asked y'to." Hiei said stubbornly. "'nd y'gotta sometime. Gotta see 'f y'can stand up to big demons s'meday." And the alternative was... not something Hiei wanted to think about: Yusuke testing it on a real demon. Because Hiei knew it wouldn't be enough, yet. Maybe someday. And Hiei'd want to always be there to protect him.

            But always was an easy thing to say, and a hard thing to do. Even Hiei knew that. Even Hiei knew, that one day, Yusuke surviving might come down to Yusuke defending himself. He probably wouldn't be around to see that day if it came, though. Because Yusuke needing to defend himself would mean Hiei was already dead.

            Yusuke slapped Hiei's hand away, making a rude noise and sticking out his tongue as he hopped backwards.

            "Then you better become a big demon."

            Yusuke laughed, and turned to run, as fast as he possibly could, away from Hiei.

            Eyes widening at the insult, and Yusuke's speedy getaway, smoke started to rise from Hiei's head as he smoldered, watching Yusuke beat it down the hallway. His eyes now aflame, Hiei vanished as he leaned into a sprint to give chase. It wasn't stealthy in the slightest, going by the fury-filled bellow that echoed down the hallway as he ran to catch up:

            "'m Not. Small!!"

            Yusuke kept on laughing, glancing back as he heard the screaming demon approaching, and as soon as he thought Hiei was in range to grab him again, he immediately dropped, skidding along the floor instead in an attempt to evade the fiery speed demon.

            Hiei ran past him, because at the end of the hall there was a fork; to go left or right. Once there, Hiei quickly pivoted to stand in the T-shaped opening, because there was only one way for Yusuke to move forward. If he didn't retreat, that is.

            Calling a ball of flame to his palm, hair still smoking faintly, Hiei tossed it at Yusuke as he skidded into range.

            Making a small note of distress when he noticed Hiei waiting for him at the end of the hall, Yusuke scrambled to stop his momentum, and reverse direction. Those flames were no joke. Yusuke knew that. So when he saw the fireball coming at him, he rolled towards the wall, and hoped for the best.

            Hiei tracked Yusuke as he dodged, and let the fireball die out as he zipped over to tackle Yusuke. He just ended up rolling along with him, though, snarling in wordless rage and trying to scratch, or get in a good punch, without putting enough force behind it to hurt Yusuke.

            "'m not!" Huff, huff. "Small!" Hiei tried to land a punch on Yusuke's face, making a profound noise of frustration as they got all tangled up. "'m not! Take 't back! Don' gotta be big t' - !"

            Yusuke took a punch to the face before he was able to get his arms up high enough to protect his head from the rest of Hiei's wild attack. He still couldn't stop himself from laughing though as he tried to wedge his knee between the two of them, so he could shove the demon away. He knew he shouldn't laugh, but he'd seen Hiei take down demons three times his size, so why did it matter if he was small? It was such a stupid thing to get so mad about.

            Yusuke was just laughing at him. Hiei started to question why he'd said it, past the anger pulsing in his eyeballs. Had Yusuke just... meant it as a joke? He wouldn't be laughing this hard at Hiei. Not really. Yusuke wouldn't. Right? ...Right.

            Deciding on that conclusion, Hiei sat on Yusuke's stomach, crossed his arms and legs, and glowered down at him.

            When Yusuke finally caught his breath, and determined that Hiei wasn't going to start hitting him again (at least not immediately), he lowered his arms with a grin.

            "Hey."

            He tried his best to be serious, but couldn't help the small, breathy laugh that escaped from him as he peered up at Hiei's furious scowl. It just looked ridiculous, coming from him.

            "Let's both become big strong demons. Like papa. Then nobody can mess with us, or tell us what to do."

            Hiei's expression flattened, at that. He withdrew his right hand, and brought that palm down, to slap it over Yusuke's nose.

            "How y'gonna do that when y'got no youki, stuuupid?"

            Completely forgetting that he'd just punched Hiei a little bit too hard a moment ago, Yusuke balled up his fist and punched Hiei in the stomach.

            "I ain't stupid! An' I will do it! Don' care if I ain't got no youki!"

            A puff of air escaped Hiei, at the cheap punch. He growled, moving both hands to pull at Yusuke's hair, instead.

            "Y' are stupid! Want'n' t' be a demon don't make y'one! Not 'ven your papa c'n change 'zat!"

            When Hiei tipped forward to pull at his hair, Yusuke bared his teeth and grabbed Hiei's legs, lifting the smaller demon up to toss him over his head and into the hallway behind him.

            "My papa's a demon, so I'm a demon too! Stupid!"

            Hiei stubbornly didn't let go of Yusuke's hair as he was thrown, so he just ended up smacking on his back on the floor, their hair smushed together. Hiei still pulled at Yusuke's.

            "Nuh-uh! Y'still smell human, stupid! An' got no youki!"

            Yusuke winced when Hiei didn't let go of his hair, using it as an anchor to resist the throw.

            "Ow!"

            He reached up to slap at Hiei's face instead before twisting around, trying to free himself from the demon's grasp.

            "How you know I ain't got no youki, anyway, huh? Prove it!"

            Hiei opened his mouth and snapped at Yusuke's slapping hand, threateningly. When Yusuke twisted, Hiei let go so he could scramble over onto his stomach, and launch himself at Yusuke that way.

            "Ain'ever felt it, stupid! And I felt lot'sa youki!"

            Yusuke huffed. It was hard to argue with that. Even he knew how to track youki. And it was something that everyone else seemed to have... except him. Even Hiei had always had some youki, even when he'd been much smaller and weaker than he was now, running around in the woods on his own.

            Yusuke let Hiei tackle him, just so he could wrestle the smaller demon to the floor, in a frustrated attempt to pin him there.

            "Fine! Don't need no youki!"

            Hiei instinctively bit at one of Yusuke's arms as it came at him, muffling a growled response around Yusuke's shirt sleeve. His eyes were still hard and fierce, though.

            Yusuke actually laughed when Hiei bit him, but his smile was hard, and humorless.

            "What'chu gonna do? Eat me?"

            Since Hiei was already attached, Yusuke used his arm to slam Hiei's head into the floor, not caring if it meant the demon's teeth broke through his skin, and he kneed Hiei in the side where he'd punched him hard earlier, at the same time.

            This wasn't about getting away from the demon, anymore. This was about winning.

            Hiei's brows furrowed at that: first at the weird smile on Yusuke's face, then the words. Before Hiei could detach his mouth and respond, though, Yusuke took advantage of the bite and then there was pain rocketing up his spine. Everything got a little dizzy, after that. Hiei didn't remember letting go of Yusuke, and his ears were ringing.

            Was Yusuke... going to kill him? Over that? Hiei could win against him, if he tried, but then Yusuke would be the one dead. So, not quite thinking straight after that head blow, Hiei did the only thing he could think of.

            He ran. He just disappeared down the hall. Hiei didn't know where he was running to: just away. The hallways were familiar now, and he wanted out.

            The forest. Hiei knew the forest. And Yusuke wasn't out there.

            Yusuke stilled in shock when Hiei suddenly vanished. He couldn't even sense the fire demon's ki anymore. He was just... gone. And that's when it hit him: the guilt of what he'd done, attacking Hiei like that.

            Yusuke swallowed hard and shakily got to his feet. He stared down the hallway, first one way, and then the other, trying to make up his mind. And then he did something he hadn't done in a very long time.

            He went to papa's room.

            Papa wasn't even there, at first. But that was fine. Yusuke simply climbed up into the huge bed and curled up to wait. And when papa did come back, he explained what had happened. And papa listened. He didn't ask Yusuke to leave, but he didn't go after Hiei either, like Yusuke wanted him too. Instead he asked Yusuke to be patient. Yusuke's least favorite word.

            But he trusted papa. And he stayed, for the rest of the night, in papa's room, not wanting to face what he'd done, and not able to bear the thought of telling momma about it.

Chapter Text

            Hiei found that tree he used to stay in, when he first started living at Yusuke's castle. He glanced at Yusuke's windows, then away, and settled himself in a tree on the opposite side of the castle, instead. Hiei's stomach was hungry, but he had had lunch and breakfast. Missing one meal was nothing compared to the days he'd gone, when he was younger.

            He slept on the branch of a tree, and when light began to poke out from the horizon, Hiei got up and sneaked back inside. Keeping his youki pushed all the way down, he grabbed two rolls and a plate from the kitchens, and headed up to the garden. Poking his head inside, to be sure Yusuke wasn't around, Hiei walked over to the little memorial.

            At first, he sat and put the plate in front of just his mama's picture and stone pile. Then Hiei reconsidered, eyes flicking to Yusuke's mama's side. He scooted the plate over so it was in the middle of the two piles, put one roll in his mouth and ripped the other one in half. Hiei placed one half as close to 'in front of' each picture, as he should get. He should've brought two plates, but he hadn't thought of Yusuke's mama until he was up here, and she was staring at him.

            Sitting back, his side bruised and aching and his brain still a little wobbly from the fight the night before, Hiei sat there and ate his roll in silence. Outside, the sun slowly rose higher.

            Eventually all of Yusuke's wiggling annoyed papa enough that he very insistently helped Yusuke to his feet, pointing him in the direction of the door.

            Still bleary-eyed and drowsy, Yusuke made his way to the bathroom and then, after his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten any dinner, down to the kitchen. He moved slowly, as it was only just starting to get light out, but he knew the way well enough by now that he probably could have walked there with his eyes shut, if he really wanted to.

            It wasn't until he actually got to the kitchen that he realized he was still wearing his dinner clothes from the night before, and that they were still scuffed up from wrestling around in the hallway. He frowned down at them as he slowly chewed his way through a piece of fruit. Afterwards, he wiped his sticky hand on his shirt and grabbed a piece of bread instead, intending to take it with him back to his room. But before he could leave he paused, turning his face towards the garden instead.

            Last night was the first night he hadn't gone to visit his momma like usual, and another creeping feeling of guilt crawled up his spine at the thought. He took a tentative step towards the doorway only to stop again. There was already something - someone - in there.

            Hiei.

            Yusuke swallowed and stood up a little straighter before taking a few more purposeful steps forward into the doorway, but his voice still sounded small when he spoke.

            "S-sorry... 'bout yes'erday."

            Hiei felt eyes on his back, and Yusuke's smell wafted into the air of the room; from behind him. Hiei didn't say anything, but he gave a brief glance back, out of the corner of one wary eye. Then, without budging from his cross-legged seat in front of it, he resumed staring at the memorial and eating his roll.

            Yusuke shifted on his feet momentarily before stepping into the garden, going to sit next to Hiei in silence. He didn't sit close enough that they would bump accidentally if either one of them moved, but he didn't sit any further away from Hiei than he normally would either. That would have felt... weird.

            "...Sorry. I bit ya." Hiei mumbled around his roll, a while after Yusuke had settled. But his eyes were on his mama's face. "Wasn't gonna... eat ya."

            Yusuke stared down at his bread, picking at it without eating it.

            "Yeah... I know..."

            Hiei nodded at that, shoved the rest of his roll in his mouth, and chewed around his full cheeks. The silence almost seemed to thicken.

            After a few moments of silence, Yusuke looked up, carefully considering the painting of Hiei's mama.

            "... y' mama don't look like you. But she's still ya mama."

            Hiei shifted uncomfortably at that, and looked away; to the side opposite Yusuke. He swallowed his food. It seemed loud, in the quiet.

            "So?" He said, sounding undecided on if he wanted to be prickly about it, or not.

            Yusuke didn't bother to look at Hiei, simply turning his gaze to his own momma's painting instead.

            "My papa is a demon..."

            Not knowing where Yusuke was going with this, curiosity aroused despite himself, Hiei turned his head ever-so-slightly, so he could observe Yusuke looking at the memorial.

            "...Uh-huh?" Hiei prompted, when the quiet got too heavy.

            Yusuke huffed, and finally turned to look straight at Hiei with a determined glare.

            "An' I don't care what anyone says 'bout me bein' weak, or human. I'm gonna grow up to be like my papa."

            Hiei raised an eyebrow at him, to that. He almost wanted to believe it, when Yusuke's face looked like that. It was silly. But clearly Yusuke didn't think that. So Hiei just stared back at him, turning his head to meet Yusuke's gaze fully.

            "'mkay." Hiei said, after a beat, because it seemed like the thing to say. And it was better than fighting about it: again.

            Satisfied that that was settled, Yusuke turned back to stare at his momma's painting.

            After another moment he remembered the bread he'd brought with him too, and finally started to eat.

            Hiei stared at Yusuke for another moment, before letting his gaze naturally drift to his own mama's face. At least, the best one Hiei had been able to recreate. The silence came back as Yusuke ate and Hiei didn't say anything; but it didn't feel as oppressive, this time.

            Once the bread was gone, Yusuke stared down at his hands.

            "My momma... got taken away from papa, too. 'Cause she was human. An' that ain't gonna happen, to me."

            Hiei looked over at him, immediately. He hadn't known that. He hesitated, but -

            "Did she get eat?"

            Yusuke shook his head. He wasn't exactly clear on the details but... he was pretty sure -

            "Was a 'nother human. Killed her. Papa wasn' there."

            Hiei let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

            "Oh..." So humans killed each other, too?

            "Mm..."

            Yusuke curled his hands into fists and looked back up at his momma's painting in silence. He knew that's why papa had always insisted that he stay inside, and that he have a guard. Because he was weak, and his momma wasn't here because she had been weak too. But that didn't mean he had to stay weak. He could learn to be strong. He was already learning how to be stronger, and he could tell that papa was pleased with the progress he was making. But it still wasn't enough. It would never be enough, until he could be strong like papa.

            Hiei glanced up at the garden's see-through ceiling, as the sun rose higher. It was just about that time, so... He leaned over, and grabbed Yusuke's right wrist with his left hand, and tugged on it urgently.

            "C'mon. Mornin' trainin'. We can start early. Fightin'? But no fire 'r mad punches 'dis time." Hiei proposed, solemnly; although without quite looking Yusuke in the face. And he wouldn't use his youki either, but Hiei didn't want to say that. Then it'd sound uneven.

            "Hm?"

            Yusuke snapped out of a semi daze-like state when Hiei tugged at him, and looked up. The sky was getting lighter, so he stood.

            "A'right."

            Papa would be expecting them anyway, and he'd much rather spar with Hiei than stand there and punch another stupid dummy, even if he did still feel bad about punching Hiei too hard in the side, last night. He would just try not to punch him there again, today.

            Hiei squinted at him. Yusuke was making that face again. He cast about in his mind for something to fix it. An example popped up unexpectedly.

            One time, when he'd been hiding in the shadows and the monks hadn't noticed him, Hiei remembered an odd thing that'd happened. They'd glanced around as though looking for eyes on them: missing Hiei, below their knees, utterly still and youki smushed down into non-existence, as it usually was when he was hiding. And then they'd done a weird thing with their mouths, and had looked at each other all goofy, sort-of giggling, afterwards. Hiei'd taken it all in with silent confusion, staring up at them unblinkingly until the two monks had scurried back away to whatever it was they did around here.

            Eyes dropping from the ceiling - where they'd gone in the split-second while he relived the memory - Hiei fixed a determined look on Yusuke's face. It was still in that weird, sort-of-spacey, not-good expression. Maybe what the grown-ups had done, would fix it? Did it work like that?

            Hiei didn't think about it anymore. He just leaned forward to bump his mouth against Yusuke's, because that was what it'd looked like, when the monks had done it.

            Yusuke paused when Hiei's face suddenly came closer to his. It wasn't a fast movement, like Hiei was going to try and headbutt him, but Yusuke couldn't ever remember Hiei's face ever being this close to his before. And it just kept getting closer, until Hiei's mouth smushed up against his for a brief moment.

            Yusuke frowned slightly, confused, once Hiei's face was a much more normal distance away from his again.

            "Wha' was'at for?"

            Unimpressed with the results - Yusuke wasn't supposed to frown - Hiei scowled at him. Maybe it only worked for grown-ups? He smacked Yusuke's nose with his right palm, then turned to drag him towards the door; still holding onto Yusuke's wrist with his left hand.

            "'apposed t' fix y'face." Hiei said, still sounding grumpy that it hadn't worked.

            Yusuke snorted, leaning away from Hiei's hand to try and avoid the smack, but didn't resist the pulling, following along easily as Hiei headed for the training field.

            "Fix my face?" He giggled. "Wha's wrong with my face?"

            Hiei made an annoyed sound, but didn't bother looking behind him. At least Yusuke was giggling now, though. Maybe it'd just been a delayed reaction?

            "Not 'nough time t' tell y'all that." Hiei quipped mercilessly instead, thinking quickly.

            Yusuke huffed out another laugh as he picked up the pace just enough to shove his shoulder into Hiei's as they walked.

            "Liar. Ain't nothin' wrong with my face."

            "'cept what's onnit." Hiei hmphed at him, shoving his shoulder back against Yusuke's.

            Yusuke stuck out his tongue and made a rude noise as he twisted his wrist free of Hiei's grasp and broke into a run, clearly intending to try and get to the training yard before Hiei, as unlikely as that was. It was still better than sticking around to listen to Hiei make dumb remarks about his face.

            Hiei rolled his eyes, and broke into an easy jog as he followed Yusuke. He didn't feel like beating him in a race, right now, so Hiei kept eyes on Yusuke as they ran.

            At least it had worked. Sort of. ...After a bit. Hiei filed it away in the back of his brain, in case it ever proved useful, again.

            When Hiei didn't just zip past him, Yusuke slowed to a less punishing speed and simply enjoyed the fact that he could run.

            There were still some days when he felt like he was constantly out of breath, but his lungs never hurt like they used to. He didn't have to take the monks' disgusting medicines every single day just to go outside anymore, either. Papa did still make him take the treatments every once and a while, just in case, but most of the time Yusuke truly felt like he didn't need them anymore.

            And he already knew he would never be as fast as Hiei. Because nobody was as fast as Hiei. But that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy running, now that he could.

Chapter Text

            It was raining today. Hiei could hear it even before he opened his eyes. He sat up on his sleeping mat, and rubbed at his eyes, squinting up at the droplets sliding off the see-through ceiling of his room. The clouds were thick in the sky, overhead.

            Well. Maybe the monks wouldn't want to try to force Yusuke to do That, today. Hiei rolled over to the railing, and hopped down into his room, to get changed for the day. After that, he paid his usual morning visit to the graves in the garden, then went to check Yusuke's room to see if he'd gone to get breakfast yet.

            The moment Yusuke opened his eyes to see the sky outside his windows painted in a dark, uniform, gloomy gray, he had buried himself back underneath his bed furs and stayed there, ignoring the complaints of his grumbling stomach.

            Maybe if he pretended hard enough, then nobody would bother to make him get out of bed today, to go sit in that stupid, boring room, with all those stupid, boring books.

            Hiei knocked, looking around the outside of Yusuke's door. He then glanced up and down the hallway. No monks yet...

            Yusuke froze, and held his breath, not daring to peek out from under the bed furs to actually see who it was at the door.

            Please don't let it be papa. Or one of the monks.

            Irritated at no response, Hiei turned the handle and let himself in, closing the door behind him. He put his hands on his hips, looking around the room first. Then his expression flattened when he saw a telltale lump under Yusuke's covers. Taking a silent, running start - nimbly avoiding all of Yusuke's toys, strewn about - Hiei jumped up and landed squarely on his butt, in the middle of the bed.

            Well, if Yusuke was under there, he should be awake now.

            Yusuke let out an undignified squeak as something heavy suddenly landed on him, and he fought to wiggle his way free from the bed.

            "Hey!"

            Flinging the bed furs off of him, it immediately became obvious what it was that had assaulted him. Hiei. Yusuke frowned over at him.

            "Y' didn' hafta do that."

            Throwing the covers off, from where Yusuke'd flung them over him, Hiei crossed his arms and glared at him.

            "Y'just gonna wait for them t' come find you like a li'l rat, or you wanna have some food 'n fun first?"

            Yusuke huffed, and pushed himself out of bed, stomping over to his closet to change out of his night clothes.

            "'m not a rat."

            Hiei tracked him to the closet, and huffed. He started to dig himself out of the furs.

            "Y'sure do squeak like one s'metimes."

            "I- !"

            Yusuke whirled around, about to scream back, when he stopped himself, and stuck his nose up in the air instead.

            "Do. Not."

            He turned back to his closet, firmly intent on ignoring Hiei as he finished getting dressed.

            Hiei barked a laugh at that ridiculous show. Smirking to himself as he stood, and kicked off the last of the covers, Hiei strode casually, silently up behind Yusuke. When Yusuke pulled his shirt off, Hiei poked a single finger in his bare side. Just to see if it produced another squeak.

            Yusuke inhaled sharply when he felt a sudden prod in his side, gritting his teeth as he swung his arm in a backhanded motion, not thinking about who, or what, he might hit in doing so.

            Hiei blocked Yusuke's arm with his other hand, just before it hit him. He hadn't quite expected that, though. Grinning a little, now - and wondering just how stubborn Yusuke wanted to be - Hiei poked him in the same place, a second time.

            Now that he knew Hiei was there, the second prod came as less of a shock, and Yusuke squinted back at the demon as he shifted the aim of his arm and bent it, trying to elbow Hiei away from him instead.

            Scoffing to hide his laugh, Hiei simply bent Yusuke's arm behind his back, since Yusuke was being so accommodating to it. The poking didn't seem to be working anymore though, so Hiei let that hand drop.

            "That all y'got?" Hiei raised his eyebrows as Yusuke squinted at him. "What 'f a bad guy came up a'hind y'like 'dis?"

            Yusuke let out a frustrated huff when Hiei simply captured his arm. But when Hiei asked that question afterwards, he nearly laughed. What a stupid question.

            Yusuke wasted no time throwing his head straight back, aiming to collide with Hiei's. But it didn't matter if it connected, because his goal was simply to surprise the little demon, hopefully throwing him off balance just enough so that when Yusuke bent one knee and swept his other leg back behind him, it would take the demon's feet right out from underneath him.

            Hiei's eyes widened when Yusuke tried to headbutt him, and he swiftly avoided it by ducking his head back. He didn't think to let go of Yusuke's arm when Yusuke kicked out his feet though, and Hiei's free right arm pinwheeled hilariously as he tumbled down onto his back; bringing Yusuke along with him, thumping solidly on top of him.

            There was a pause, and then Hiei laughed. Even though his back and shins stung, a bit. Because that had been a good move.

            Yusuke rolled off of Hiei as the fire demon laughed, and got to his feet, planting both hands firmly on his hips.

            "That's all I got. Stuuupid."

            And then he stuck his tongue out at him.

            Hiei grinned up at him, but didn't comment as he pushed himself up. He let Yusuke have this one.

            "Mhm. 'mkay." He walked over to the door, to peek out into the hallway again as Yusuke finished getting dressed. Then Hiei closed it - still clear - and glanced back at him. "But y'give up when 't comes to the monks draggin' y'away, huh?"

            Yusuke sighed when Hiei mentioned the monks.

            "They's so 'noying."

            Hiei just didn't get it. He had been trying to run away from the monks for his whole life. Hiei hadn't had to try and run away from them until he agreed to come live here. But Yusuke knew. The monks always won. Because the monks did what papa wanted. And nobody said no to papa.

            "Mm." Hiei said, watching Yusuke's face for a second. He glanced at the door; thinking. "Hey. Y'know the last place they'd look f'r you: day like t'day?"

            It was worth trying, Hiei thought. If it made Yusuke look a little less like the life was being sucked out of him, every time those monks ushered him away. Always on rainy days, too. Maybe one of Hiei's plans would work, one of these days. Hiding in the castle was no good; they'd tried that a lot. Hiding in Hiei's room, or Hiei's favorite spots was too obvious. So that only left…

            Yusuke immediately perked up.

            "Where?"

            Hiei had always been good at hiding. So if Hiei had an idea, then there was no way it wasn't going to be a good one.

            Hiei reflexively grinned over at him, when Yusuke visibly brightened.

            "Ou'side. Wanna try?"

            Yusuke thought about that for a minute. It was raining outside. And that meant it was wet outside. And he'd tried to run away in the rain before. It hadn't worked out so well. After he'd gotten wet, he'd gotten cold far too quickly, and he remembered feeling really sick and weak for a long time afterwards.

            But that was a long time ago. And he was stronger now.

            Yusuke nodded back at Hiei, determined.

            "Yeah!"

            He still took a moment to grab a thicker vest out of his closet and pull it on over his shirt. It was something he almost never wore, but if they were going outside in the rain, then he just might need it.

            Feeling a heady rush of excitement in the back of his brain when Yusuke said yes, Hiei bit back a ridiculous, eager noise. He pointed at him.

            "Wear y'boots. Getta pack 'nd shovel all th' stuff y'can from the kitchen, inta it. 'm gonna go up t'my room 'nd get s'me stuff. Le's meet at... " Hiei squinted, thinking. The cave he was thinking of, was outside the forest by a bit; ringing the large lake there. "...cooks' entrance." It was certainly the one he was most familiar with, having gone in and out of there to steal food, before Hiei started living here all the time. "Don' le' 'em catch you though. Yeah?" Hiei paused, hand on Yusuke's doorknob and sparing a glance over his shoulder at him.

            Yusuke grinned and nodded again, his eyes already searching for the things Hiei'd said he would need.

            "They ain't gonna catch me!"

            He didn't waste any more time diving back into his closet for his boots, but after a moment of digging, realized that his bag was buried somewhere in his toy chest instead. After locating it, Yusuke slung the empty bag over his shoulder and held one boot in each hand as he very cautiously made his way down to the kitchens. He didn't dare put them on just yet. They made far too much noise in the stone passageways, and Hiei already complained about how noisy he was anyway.

            Once he was safely in the kitchen, and out of the cooks' way for the moment, he shoved his boots on and opened his bag. He started with the food that the cooks usually left out for them to grab, but when he'd successfully packed all of that away, he quickly snatched a couple more items off the counters as well before darting out the door, laughing at his own success.

            Hiei met him at the entrance, holding up his raggedy old cloak - the cloak he'd met Yusuke in - with a big grin on his face and his own boots laced up tight over his shins. The edges of the cloak, always scraggly, had been sloppily sewn over with new material, so it was longer now. Not so much for Hiei's sake, but definitely big enough to cover two people.

            "C'mon, put this on over y'pack - " He tugged Yusuke out of the main view of the kitchen, off under a windowless overhang, and squatted down to wait with his knees just barely avoiding the mud, on this side. Hiei's eyes skirted the line of the forest, and he poked a little at the soggy ground, to test how saturated it was. Just how fast could he run today, and not slip accidentally? Probably still enough to get them past the outskirts of the forest before the monks got to Yusuke's room, he bet. He patted the dagger at his side, making sure it was secure.

            Hiei didn't like the rain, on principle. Which is why they'd never tried this before. But he'd had the idea, to make his old cloak into a rain cloak a while back, and just did it on days he was bored and Yusuke was busy.

            Yusuke was slow, too. If they kept to Yusuke's speed, they'd get caught in no time. But if Yusuke rode on his back, until they got to the cave? Hiei figured they could at least get a free day out of it, and head back in the evening. Then it'd be too late for the monks to take Yusuke away for that room-torture they did, Hiei thought while smirking to himself.

            After making sure the food was securely packed away, and his pack was settled comfortably on his back, Yusuke reached for Hiei's cloak, wide-eyed. Hiei was going to let him wear it? Yusuke shrugged it on, up over his pack, watching the way it draped down over his sides, to the ground, with an almost reverent gaze.

            He was so preoccupied with it, in fact, that it took him a second before he realized that Hiei was squatting on the ground in front of him, and why. He scrunched up his face in disagreement.

            "Why y' gotta carry me?"

            Hiei blinked up at him, nonplussed at the question. Wasn't it obvious?

            "'m faster. 'nd I know how t' run in mud without trippin'."

            Yusuke stood there for another moment, completely silent, and frowning, hating that he couldn't come up with a single thing to say to argue against Hiei's stupid plan. If he didn't want the monks to catch him, he was just going to have to let Hiei carry him. Yusuke let out a frustrated huff.

            "Fine."

            That didn't mean he had to like it though.

            Reluctantly, Yusuke wrapped his arms around Hiei's shoulders, and held on tight, bracing himself for what he knew was going to be a very fast ride.

            Hiei stayed partially bent over as he hooked his elbows around Yusuke's knees to steady him - wanting gravity's help to keep Yusuke from sliding off. He hitched Yusuke up on his back, and hopped from one foot to the other; testing the added weight and its distribution. Then, without even a glance back, he ran across the clear swath of dirt around the outside of the castle, and vanished them into the drippy shadows of the woods.

            It poured a strange sort of calming salve over his brain, just running and having to duck and watch his footing and dart around obstacles as they went. And Hiei didn't like the rain. But he wasn't getting wet - well, except for his legs, and the spattered mud that was unavoidable, going up to his knees. His top half was dry, because Yusuke was up there, and the cloak was doing its job magnificently. Hiei hadn't been able to test it out with the both of them, but Yusuke's knees still felt light and unsticky against Hiei's sides. He was glad he'd made it long enough to serve the purpose Hiei'd needed it for.

            The cave he'd found was behind a waterfall, on the north edge of the lake, so Hiei sped around the gush of water, onto the damp rocks inside. It was drier, further in. Hiei let Yusuke down first, then walked a little ways further into the dark, until he spotted the pile of sticks he'd left in here, on his last visit.

            Hiei picked up a handful of them, frowning in careful concentration as he dried them without making them combust. Then he threw them in the stone circle in the middle of the cave. After that, Hiei squatted down and carefully lit them, so there'd be a small fire. Yusuke probably would get cold if he didn't, after all.

            Yusuke tried to be brave and keep his eyes open, his gaze pointed forwards towards where Hiei was running, but everything was just moving too fast. The confusing blur of it was dizzying, and he ended up ducking his head down into Hiei's shoulder after only a few seconds, his eyes tightly shut.

            It was almost weirder with his eyes closed, though. He could still hear the rush of the air whipping past, and the sound of Hiei's feet slapping against the mud as he ran, but it didn't feel like Hiei was running. He could feel the demon shifting, whenever he had to change direction, but there was no bouncing or bumping or jostling. Just stillness. And warmth.

            The cloak, Yusuke realized, was keeping him from getting wet in the rain, but Hiei, being a fire demon, was also keeping him from getting cold, since being carried meant he was pressed up against the demon's back until Hiei decided to put him down.

            It was the thundering sound of the waterfall that finally got Yusuke to look up again, though he'd hardly grasped what it was that was making the noise before Hiei had plunged them into darkness and started to set him down. Yusuke stayed where Hiei'd put him, listening as the demon shuffled around in the darkness until finally: a fire.

            They were... in a cave. Yusuke grinned. The monks definitely weren't going to find him here.

            Hiei looked at him, still kneeling by the fire. He waved Yusuke over, then held out his hand: making a grabby motion.

            "Hey. Lemme eat somethin'." Hiei didn't want to risk his youki getting too low, after all. Then it'd be a much more miserable trek back. And he still had to keep Yusuke safe. Hiei'd scoped out this cave before, and had never seen signs of anyone or anything living in it, so they'd probably be fine. He grinned a little, finally registering Yusuke's grin. "...better 'n whatever they make y'do in that room on rainy days, yeah?" Hiei tried; mostly ignoring the satisfied curl of non-fire-related warmth in his chest, at the thought.

            Yusuke immediately pulled off Hiei's cloak so he could hand his whole pack over to Hiei.

            "Here. Grabbed a buncha stuff."

            And then, settling himself down by the fire, still grinning.

            "This 's way better."

            It didn't even really matter what they did now, as far as Yusuke was concerned. Just the fact that they had come all the way out here made today probably the best rainy day he'd ever had.

            "Mm, good." Hiei grabbed the pack, then thought better of it, and stood up. He took his cloak from Yusuke and spread it out on the ground, with the inside-side facing up, so they could sit on it. And Hiei did, but pointed at the edges.

            "Keep y'boots off so's we can wear 't back without gettin' muddy, yeah?" He already had his own booted feet safely propped outside of it: soles facing the fire, and perhaps closer than most people would dare, but to Hiei it was comfortable. He dug around in the pack now between his legs, looking for something good. When he found a meat-filled bun, his expression lightened, and Hiei wasted no time drawing it out. He bit it, to hold it in his mouth, and closed the pack up securely; setting it on a spot on the cloak at his side. Then Hiei started in on the bun.

Chapter Text

            Yusuke got up and brushed off his pants before re-settling himself on the cloak, mimicking Hiei's posture, a little further away from the fire. Then he reached for the pack himself, grabbing a plain bread roll from the top without bothering to dig around before closing it back up and shoving it back in its spot. He stared at the fire as he ate, not really paying much attention to anything as he completed the mindless task of satisfying his empty stomach. But when the bread was gone, he tipped his head back, and started to take a look around.

            "When you fin' this place?"

            Content to monitor - and occasionally feed, or feed from - the fire, Hiei blinked over at him, at the question. His own bun was long eaten. Then he looked thoughtful.

            "...dunno. A'fore, I think."

            "Mm..."

            Yusuke nodded, satisfied with that answer. The cave actually kind of reminded him of the castle, a little bit - all made out of stone. But it was way more interesting to look at. Not flat at all, except for parts of the floor. It was a lot colder and darker than the castle too, with no windows, and there were some parts of it that were hard to see, because they simply faded off into the blackness. It felt different from simply being inside, but Yusuke couldn't quite puzzle out why.

            Hiei realized, in the silence, he hadn't actually gotten far enough to plan anything for them to do. So he let himself drop to lie on his back, propping his arms behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. Maybe he could think of something? And... well. If Yusuke got bored, he'd probably say so, right?

            Not feeling like leaving the fire, to look around any further, Yusuke leaned forward instead, and stared at the flames. He remembered the first time he'd found Hiei with his hands in the fire, and discovered he was a fire demon. Hiei used fire a lot more often now, but Yusuke still remembered how surprised he was, the first time.

            "Wha' was it like? Before?"

            Yusuke had never really asked Hiei about the time before he'd come to live at the castle. Because it always seemed like a bad question. He knew Hiei had been hungry. Starving, even. He even kind of understood what that meant, now. So he knew it wasn't a fun time. But... that didn't mean he wasn't curious about it.

            Hiei hummed, not expecting the question, but not really against answering it. It was just what... was. And now it wasn't. That was all.

            "Mm... Was cold." Hiei mused, screwing up his expression to try to think back, to those years before he'd run into Yusuke and his papa. "Had t' kill lots'a folks. Stayed with s'me bandits f'r a bit. They's who found me."

            Yusuke glanced over at Hiei, surprised. He'd never considered that Hiei might not have been alone before they'd met.

            "Bandits?"

            It seemed strange to think that Hiei would have stayed with anyone else.

            Hiei side-eyed Yusuke briefly - meeting his glance accidentally - then resumed staring up at the cave's rocky ceiling.

            "Mhm. They di'n't like me much though."

            Yusuke hummed, frowning.

            "Then they's stupid bandits."

            Obviously.

            Hiei huffed at that assessment, but he didn't exactly disagree. So he grinned over at Yusuke, instead.

            "Less of 'em now."

            Yusuke snorted out a laugh at Hiei's comment, and grinned right back at him.

            "Good. Don't need 'um anyways."

            Yusuke glanced past Hiei, towards the echoing sounds of the waterfall beyond. It would have been fun, if the weather was nice, to go out and play in the water. But since it was cold and raining outside, they were kind of stuck in the cave, when it came to looking for things to do. So Yusuke looked in the other direction instead, peering into the darkness.

            "Wha's back there?"

            "More cave." Hiei sat up into Yusuke's eyeline though, blinking at him. "Why. Wanna see?" He looked thoughtful, for a moment, eyes aimed briefly towards the ceiling. "Might be passajasses." Hiei thought he remembered something like that, but the last time he'd been here he'd only done a quick run-through to be sure there wasn't anything living here. He hadn't paid much attention to the layout itself.

            "Yeah!"

            Yusuke stood, but waited for Hiei to lead, since he would need the demon to carry some of the fire along with them so he could see. But Yusuke had never been this deep in a cave before. He wanted to explore a little.

            "Hm'kay." Hiei hopped up as well, grabbing his cloak off the ground and shaking it out, then pulling it on. He propped Yusuke's pack over his left shoulder, and reached out over the fire with that same hand, to steal the flames. No sense burning the wood-fuel if they weren't going to be here. And Hiei wasn't stupid enough to leave their food unattended. It might get stolen, if anyone wandered in.

            Absorbing most of the fire-energy, eyes glowing briefly as he did, Hiei transferred the palm-sized remnants of it to his right hand; resulting in a ball of warmth and light. Yusuke was on his right as they started walking further into the cave, so said light was perfectly positioned between them as Hiei held it up.

            Yusuke watched, as fascinated as ever, as Hiei picked up and reabsorbed the flames. But he eventually remembered to redirect his attention towards the back of the cave as they started walking, squinting slightly as he tried to make out the weird shapes in the flickering light.

            He stayed close to Hiei, and tried not to look directly at the flame in his hand, because every time he did, he had to wait for his eyes to readjust before he could make out the rest of his dim surroundings. But the cave floor got rougher, and the walls got closer, the further back they went, and Yusuke still managed to trip over himself several times in the dark even though he was moving slowly and trying to be careful.

            Whenever Yusuke tripped, Hiei had to resist the urge to steady him: grabbing Yusuke with his closest hand would just result in a burn. So Hiei kept an eye on him instead, readjusting the pack now and then as they walked on in silence, except for a few vague, far-off dripping sounds that echoed.

            Eventually the cave became too narrow for the two of them to walk side-by-side, so Yusuke followed behind Hiei as the shorter demon led the way, one hand reaching forward to grab hold of the demon's cloak in order to make sure he didn't lose his way in the dark.

            Since the fire was for Yusuke's benefit, and it was too close to his face like this - ruining his night vision - Hiei simply put it out. He could see perfectly fine, after all. The tunnel they were in forked into multiple smaller ones, so Hiei led them down those - all dead ends - until he came to one where he paused before going down it; utterly still.

            There was breathing coming out of it. Low and deep, like something was asleep. It was further down a tunnel that seemed to open up into a bigger cavern, so Hiei could only catch a glimpse of some scaly hide. This was beyond where he'd explored before, so Hiei hadn't known such a creature was here. Putting his right hand out towards Yusuke, to stop him, Hiei took a slow step back.

            Better it didn't notice them at all. Better they leave: now.

            Yusuke followed Hiei for a long while, stumbling and feeling his way around in the darkness. But just because there was nothing to see in the blackness didn't mean it wasn't interesting, he realized.

            The first thing he'd noticed was that some of the rocks felt different than others. Some were wet, almost to the point of being slimy, which was gross, and he tried to avoid touching those ones when he could, but other rocks were dry, or rough, or smooth. And different parts of the cave smelled different, too. They weren't really smells he recognized, but they were different enough from each other that it gave him a sense they were still moving to different areas of the cave, in the dark.

            So he was content to simply follow Hiei through the stone passageways, doing his best not to trip over the uneven surface beneath his feet as he walked along behind.

            But when Hiei suddenly stopped, and backed up instead of turning around, Yusuke tensed, sensing something was wrong.

            "What? Wha'sit?"

            Hiei grabbed Yusuke's wrist behind him; not quick, but measured. He kept eyes in front of him, ears strained past Yusuke's words. The creature's breathing hadn't changed. Hiei took another step back.

            "...Back up. Slow. Don' rush. Quiet." Hiei directed almost inaudibly, keeping his eyes glued to that bit of hide he could see at the end of the tunnel. He looked as hard as he could in the dark, wanting to be on notice if it moved more than the peaceful, unconscious up-and-down of sleep.

            Yusuke almost asked why, but remembered that Hiei had said to be quiet, and shut his mouth as he took a few steps backwards. But walking backwards in the dark was even harder than walking forwards had been, and he quickly lost his balance on the uneven surface, tipping dangerously backwards as he let out a strangled note of surprise.

            Hiei gripped Yusuke's wrist tighter, as he felt a tug on that arm, and braced his legs to try to prevent Yusuke actually falling behind him. Eyes wide, Hiei inhaled a quick, short breath as the scaly hide's rhythmic movement stuttered, pausing, and then a deep inhale seemed to suck all the air out of the tunnel they were in.

            Oh no.

            Still as death as Yusuke's cry bounced off the walls around them, Hiei saw an eye appear in the tunnel-end he'd been watching. It was lidless and yellow, the pupil round in the darkness. Hiei knew it could see them. He didn't know how, he just knew. There was a rumbling growl as it sniffed, and Hiei tried to think quickly.

            Hiei couldn't send Yusuke on, too far ahead; Yusuke'd just get lost, and he couldn't see without Hiei right beside him. The eye was big enough that the creature itself probably couldn't fit into the smaller tunnels they'd come out of; but maybe it could. It would be stupid to assume its size just from its eye. Coming back to the moment, Hiei jerked Yusuke's wrist again, to try to rebalance him vertically, and stepped back into him so Yusuke wouldn't fall forward.

            "Big. Big thing. Go back. Where we came out. Small tunnel." Hiei recited almost-silently, resuming backing up very slowly as the eye in the tunnel-end cocked, and a slow exhale dispersed through the air. Whatever it was, its breath was rancid.

            Grateful for Hiei's balancing weight, Yusuke scrambled to get his feet back under him as the air suddenly rushed past, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Then he heard the growl, and his own eyes went wide in the darkness. He swallowed hard as Hiei suddenly jerked him back into place, instinctively reaching out to grab at the demon's shoulder with his free hand as Hiei backed up into him.

            But then Hiei just kept on backing up, forcing Yusuke to move along with him. Not that Yusuke was keen on staying. He tried to focus on the instructions Hiei had given, rather than the foul stench now drifting down the passageway, letting go of Hiei's shoulder and reaching out to the stone around him instead, so he could turn around and begin to head back with a little more haste.

            The air changed, whispers of movement and sound coming from the end of that tunnel: like it was moving around; restless, thinking. Like Hiei could hear claws against the stone floor, and a tail swishing consideringly, and the wind as it coiled through the tunnels towards where Hiei could feel it. Slowly, they made their way out of the open, multi-pathed area and back towards the tunnel they'd come out of. Hiei kept his awareness on where Yusuke was, only so far as to be sure Yusuke was headed down the right tunnel.

            Everything else, was on the thing that'd noticed them. It undoubtedly knew the tunnels better than they did. Every now and then, the eye reappeared; gradually getting further away, until it was out of sight completely. But being out of sight didn't mean they were safe.

            Hiei wracked his brain, searching for anything that might help. If he were on his own, he'd have already left. But it was too cramped and slippery to run right, in here, and he wouldn't leave or run over Yusuke to save himself. Yusuke'd just get eaten up. Was there a larger tunnel, where it could possibly get at them? Hiei didn't think so, and he hadn't smelled anything like this earlier, so if they could just get far enough down the small tunnel that led back to the waterfall entrance... they should be fine.

            All at once, it disappeared. Whatever it was, the creature ran away from where Hiei could smell and feel its breath. It didn't reassure him at all. It was too suspicious, but he didn't say that to Yusuke. Hiei just took the chance as an opportunity, to turn around and march Yusuke in front of him into the smaller tunnel. Once they were inside, Hiei crouched down a ways back from the opening. A good distance back. Not trusting how quickly it'd vanished, Hiei didn't dare put Yusuke behind him. Instead, he pulled Yusuke down to crouch with him and backed Yusuke up against the narrow wall, glancing up and down the tunnel: one hand poised in either direction.

            It was too quiet. Hiei glanced at the open cavern they'd just left - unscathed - and then narrowed his eyes back the way they'd come. It was the way they had to go. But he didn't like that the creature was gone. What if it smelled the way they'd come? What if it popped out in front of them? What if it did, and Hiei sending Yusuke ahead of him just meant Yusuke'd walk right into its mouth?

            Hiei grit his teeth and resisted the urge to growl; forcing himself to re-register Yusuke: alive, pressed up against the rock behind him. Hiei wouldn't let that happen. But they had to go out the way they'd come, because it was the way Hiei remembered. Otherwise they might just get lost in the passages down here, and eventually get picked off anyway.

            Yusuke was so focused on putting one foot in front of the other and not tripping over himself that he wasn't expecting it when Hiei suddenly stopped him, and pulled him down towards the floor in the cramped space. He had to quickly stifle a note of surprise, swallowing down a deep breath instead.

            Once he was down, however, he realized that it didn't stink anymore. Did that mean the thing was gone? Yusuke relaxed a bit at the thought. But Hiei wasn't relaxed. Yusuke could feel the tension vibrating off of the demon crouched in front of him. It was kind of hard to ignore in the cramped space.

            Without saying anything, Yusuke clumsily reached forward and tapped Hiei on the back, near the shoulder.

            Yusuke was tapping him. Why? Hiei spared him a sharp glare over his shoulder, hissing as low as he could, under his breath.

            "What."

            In that split second of distraction, a long, thin tongue shot out from the way they had to go, to retrace their steps. Luckily, Hiei was fast, and he'd been glancing over his shoulder in that direction - his right - so he caught the movement in time to dodge that tongue attempting to wrap around his arm. He loosed a fireball at it immediately, and something made an inhuman shriek. The now-singed tongue retracted back down the tunnel into darkness: too far even for Hiei to see.

            Hiei ground his back teeth in irritation, and pulled out his dagger with his right hand, turning towards where the tongue had come from and lifting his left hand in preparation to use more fire. In front of them, then?

            Yusuke had just opened his mouth to speak when Hiei threw a flaming fireball down the passageway and something shrieked, causing him to jump and snap his mouth shut. And then he realized. That was in the direction they had been headed. Somehow, the thing had gotten in front of them, and Hiei knew that. Or... suspected. That's why they'd stopped. Yusuke swallowed hard again and did his best to just stay still.

            Eyes on the passageway ahead, Hiei didn't spare a glance back to Yusuke, even if he wanted to. It was too risky. It went against his instincts to pull away, but Hiei slowly stood up in the tiny tunnel. They had to go that way to get out. The stupid thing was in their way. He clutched his dagger down by his right side, and let the pack slide off his shoulder onto the ground. Just the cloak was left, then. Hiei didn't bother taking it off, but spoke to Yusuke while never taking his eyes off the tunnel in front of them.

            It wasn't gone. Hiei knew. And it was in their way.

            "...Stay here. Don't stand up. Stay low 'nd 'gainst the sides." Hiei lifted his chin, because - standing up - he was taller than Yusuke sitting down. And if Yusuke was afraid, Hiei couldn't be. "'ll... be back. Gotta kill 't first."

            Hiei swore he heard another growl rumble down the tunnel, but it was still from in front of him. Good. He waited for a repeat of its tongue lashing out, and dodged without moving his feet from their stance, flinging another ball of fire at it. The cadence of its shriek sounded angry, this time. Hiei's knuckles whitened on the hilt of the dagger in his other hand.

            Yusuke turned his head in the direction of Hiei's voice, surprised. Hiei was going to go kill it? Yusuke felt a sudden spike of anxiety. Could Hiei kill it? Yusuke hadn't even seen the thing, so he had no way of even judging the situation. But... he trusted Hiei.

            Yusuke hadn't really ever seen Hiei go up against a target he couldn't defeat, Yusuke realized. Except maybe papa. But nobody could beat papa, and that didn't stop Hiei from standing up to him. So Yusuke stared into the darkness with solemn determination, and nodded. If Hiei said he was going to kill the thing, then he was going to kill it.

            "Okay. Don' worry 'bout me. Jus' kill it dead an' come back."

            Hiei nodded shortly at Yusuke's words - without looking away from the tunnel - then remembered Yusuke couldn't see it.

            "Mhm." He lit a ball of fire in his left hand: bait. This creature was used to the dark, so Hiei'd make himself an easy mark for it. Its tongue was faster than he could run on this slippery, uneven rock anyway. There was another rumble, and this time when the tongue came out, Hiei let it wrap around his left forearm. It whizzed him away: and with it, the light. 

Chapter Text

            Hiei gathered his youki as it reeled him in, eyes glowing fire-bright as he fisted his left hand, bringing his dagger into position. The thing wanted to eat him, so its tongue would take Hiei right into its mouth. And its brain and eyes should be above its mouth. He just had to stab hard enough. The end of the tunnel came quickly, and Hiei shouted fiercely as he jumped off the bottom side of the creature's mouth before it could bite down. He stabbed up at the same time he exploded the fire in his fist outward, trying to burn anything living around him: if his dagger didn't hit true.

            It was the creature's own fault for trying to eat him, Hiei told himself viciously. Maybe the trick would work though, and it would be dead. Just like that.

            Yusuke couldn't stop the little gasp that escaped when Hiei was suddenly gone, his fire gone along with him, a quickly vanishing streak in the darkness. He clutched the straps of the pack in front of him, his whole body tense as he waited. There wasn't anything else he could do.

            He heard Hiei's yelling, echoing back to him from somewhere in the dark, and saw the glow of flames appear at the end of the long, narrow passage. It was followed almost immediately by the creature's own screams. The worst part was not knowing what any of it meant.

            After stabbing upward, Hiei rolled out of the creature's mouth before it could trap him there, and sliced off the end of the tongue still clinging to him. He wasted no time leaping up on top of it, stabbing out those round, glowing yellow eyes as it thrashed in fury at him. Still had some life in it, then: no fatal injuries yet. Perched atop its head, a ways back from the gaping maw, Hiei stabbed between its eyes, again and again and again and again, at all sorts of different angles, until its screams ceased and it slumped over onto the floor.

            Landing on the ground beside it, Hiei felt his left arm twinge. He looked down at where the creature's tongue had wrapped around it, and his brow furrowed. A barbed tongue? Not sure if it could mean poison, or a paralyzing agent, or something else Hiei didn't want to deal with right now, Hiei raised the temperature around the puncture wounds on his arm. He kept it up until they stopped tingling. They were still oozing blood, sluggishly, as Hiei walked around the thing to gauge its size. He watched carefully for any signs of breathing or twitching or life in general, but there were none. It should still be trying to kill him, if it were alive: lizards weren't that smart. And it did look like a big lizard.

            Wiping off and sheathing his dagger, using his cloak to at least partially clean off any blood from his face, Hiei started back down the tunnel towards where he'd left Yusuke. As an afterthought, he called another ball of flame to his left palm, so Yusuke could see it was Hiei coming. At least his clothes weren't covered in blood, though. His cloak being waterproof had probably helped keep most of it off, he thought.

            Eventually the creature's scream's stopped, but so did the fire, and the silence that followed was much worse. Yusuke was tense, his whole body still, barely breathing as he strained to hear anything in the darkness.

            After what felt like an eternity, he thought he finally heard what sounded like bootsteps against the stone. And then... a light. Yusuke immediately stood, grabbing the pack as he hurried forward to meet Hiei down the passageway, not caring how much he had to stumble over his own feet to get there.

            "Y'okay? Here."

            Yusuke nearly shoved the pack of food at Hiei as soon as he was close enough. Hiei had used a lot of fire. So he probably needed to eat now. Right?

            Hiei blinked when he heard footsteps running towards him, and made an unhappy noise when he saw Yusuke appear in his circle of light. Hiei'd told him to stay put. He was on the verge of saying that, when Yusuke shoved the pack at him. Not expecting it, Hiei flailed a little as he tried not to let the pack catch on fire. He settled for kicking out at Yusuke's shin so as not to drop the pack, already complaining.

            "Hey, don' run me down!" Annoyed, Hiei swung the pack over his right shoulder, despite his rumbling stomach, then grabbed Yusuke's wrist and began to drag him down the passage. "C'n eat later." He said, stubbornly. First, Hiei wanted to be sure they were back in the entrance part of the cave: where his fire-circle was. Then he knew they could get out easily, and be safe, because there were a lot of very small tunnels that led there. Too small for a creature as large as the lizard that'd just tried to hunt them.

            Yusuke huffed, but refrained from making any complaints about Hiei's prickly behavior. He was already too focused on trying to keep up, anyway, as Hiei dragged him along. He quieted even further when he realized that Hiei would have to guide him past whatever creature he'd just killed, in order to get back to where they'd come from. It was definitely dead though. Otherwise Hiei wouldn't have come to get him. But that still didn't quite erase the little nagging fear in the back of his mind as they hurried towards the thing. So Yusuke did his best to stick close to Hiei, and stay on his feet.

            Hiei kept his fire small, so Yusuke couldn't see just how big the thing was. It could've easily fit them both in its stomach, if they'd had worse luck. He hurried Yusuke past it anyway, and in a stony, concentrated silence navigated them back to the little fire circle under the waterfall-mouth of the cave. Hiei's brain eased, then, and he headed immediately for the stone circle: re-lighting the wood in it.

            Next, he spread out the still mostly clean, interior side of his cloak for them to sit on, dropped the pack on it and flopped onto his back on top of the cloth with an exhausted groan. Hiei's stomach rumbled again, and he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. He was tired, suddenly.

            But at least Yusuke was safe, and there was fire for him, and Hiei could eat now. He just had to sit up and open the bag. It seemed a lot harder than it should be, somehow. Wondering at it, Hiei brought up his left forearm to squint at the injuries there, again. It all looked normal, and it hadn't started tingling again. So he was probably fine, right? Hiei tilted his head at it, when he realized it was still sluggishly bleeding. It should have definitely stopped by now. Was that why he was so tired?

            Yusuke couldn't help but catch a few glimpses of... whatever it was that Hiei had killed as they rushed on past it. Some kind of lizard thing? He couldn't even tell how big it was, in the darkness, but it certainly hadn't been small. Hiei's fire only lit up small sections of it, leaving it up to Yusuke to imagine the rest, and he shuddered briefly as it passed out of sight.

            But they were back by their camp fire soon enough, and Yusuke watched nervously as Hiei lit it, spread out his cloak, and finally stopped moving. He still hadn't eaten yet though, and with a proper fire going Yusuke could see that he was still bleeding too. Frowning, Yusuke settled down next to Hiei on the cloak.

            "Hey. Y' okay?"

            Hiei blinked up at him, vision feeling a little fuzzy around the edges. Still not trusting himself to sit up, he patted absently around for the bag. It had been just next to him, right?

            "...Mhm. Sorta sleepy." Hiei muttered, as his stomach growled again. Maybe he should wrap his arm up, too? It couldn't hurt.

            Yusuke watched Hiei miss the bag several times before he yanked it over himself, dug out another meat bun, like the one Hiei had been eating earlier, and handed it to him.

            "Eat."

            Even he could hear the demon's stomach grumbling, at this point. He'd obviously been right before. Hiei needed to eat after using so much fire. Then they could figure out what to do about his arm. They hadn't brought any bandages with them, and Hiei's cloak was too big to tie around his arm like that. But they probably needed to do something, if it was going to keep bleeding like that.

            Hiei grumbled something around Yusuke handing it to him, but bit into it anyway, thudding his head back on the cloth-covered ground as he closed his eyes and chewed. Once finished working his way through the bun, Hiei shifted to hold his right hand over his left forearm; tightly, where it was still oozing. His hand was too small to cover all the punctures though, and Hiei made a frustrated noise when more blood eked out from the holes he hadn't been able to cover.

            Noting Hiei's frustration, and what he was trying to do, by holding the wound on his arm tightly, so it stopped the bleeding, Yusuke shifted over until he was close enough to reach out for Hiei's left arm himself.

            "Here. Lemme do it."

            He didn't wait for permission however, already closing his right hand tightly over the portion of the wound that Hiei hadn't managed to cover, while tapping insistently on Hiei's right hand with his left, so he could grab that side too.

            Hiei relinquished his arm with a slight glare up at Yusuke, for bossing him around again. But since this was happening, he might as well help.

            "L'ft 't up." Hiei muttered from his place, laid-out, on the floor. "S'metimes 'zat works too."

            Yusuke dutifully did as Hiei suggested, keeping his grip on Hiei's arm tight and steady as he raised it up a bit, to a position he thought he could hold for a while without tiring himself out. He wasn't sure how long he would need to hold Hiei's arm for, after all. But he would do it. He'd already made up his mind about that.

            "Okay. I got it."

            With limited options to stare at, Hiei watched Yusuke's expression. It was... hard to describe. Hiei felt he needed to say something, as his gaze drifted to where Yusuke was holding it. A little trickle of blood oozed out from between Yusuke's fingers, but it looked like less. Was it less?

            "'m OK." Hiei said as he stared at the blood; for something to say. Yusuke was probably worried about them getting back, right? "C'n get y'back. Just gotta... mebbe sleep 'a bit." And he should probably eat more. Or something.

            Yusuke blinked, looking away from where he was very determinedly holding onto Hiei's arm in order to look more directly at the demon's face. He nodded.

            "'kay."

            He settled himself a little more comfortably, trying to relax. If Hiei needed to sleep, then he was going to be sitting here for a while. But that was fine, if that's what Hiei needed.

            "Sleep. I got'chu."

            Yusuke wasn't really worried, he realized. Once again, he trusted Hiei. And Hiei would be fine, because he said he would. That's all Yusuke needed to hear. And until then, he would sit here and hold Hiei's arm, waiting for the blood to stop.

            Hiei nodded a little, then his eyes drifted to the pack. Trying not to shift too much, Hiei rummaged around in with his free, right hand for another bun - it didn't matter what kind, just whatever he grabbed - and munched through it in the silence. He did feel a little better after that second one, but still tired.

            Moving his right hand - to draw his dagger out from the sheath at his left hip - Hiei shifted up and over, slightly. He tried to lean his left cheek on Yusuke's closest knee, attempting not to disturb how Yusuke was holding his arm, in addition to settling in such a way as to be poised to slash at anything that might come near Yusuke, while Hiei was sleeping. Holding the hilt tight, Hiei reluctantly closed his eyes. Even after he'd fallen into a vague doze, and then deeper sleep, his grip didn't falter.

            Yusuke really did relax when Hiei reached for more food and started eating again, but he shifted his gaze back to the arm he was holding, and focused on maintaining his grip instead. He knew he was unlikely to grab Hiei too hard, but easing up, or letting go too early would be a problem.

            He blinked again, distracted, when he felt Hiei shift closer to him though, not expecting it. Glancing down, he noticed the dagger in Hiei's other hand and smiled a little. It was easy to forget that Hiei was supposed to be his bodyguard, most of the time. But Yusuke knew that Hiei never forgot that. Even, apparently, when he was sleeping.

            Yusuke turned his attention back to Hiei's arm though, still determined.

            After a while he felt himself losing focus. It was boring trying to sit still and do nothing. So he turned his head to watch the fire instead, as it slowly burnt down to embers. At least that gave him some sense of time passing. And it was more interesting to look at anyway. Yusuke hadn't even noticed that Hiei's arm had already stopped bleeding by that point. He just kept on holding it, even when his own arms started to shake slightly from the effort of keeping it raised where it was.

            It was dark in the cave when Hiei woke. He made a displeased noise - because Yusuke couldn't see in the dark - and made to sit up. Glancing around a bit first, he set down his dagger so he could lob a bit of flame at the fire that'd gone out. That done, he frowned up at Yusuke.

            "...why di'n't y'wake me when 't went out?"

            Yusuke startled slightly when he heard Hiei wake, having mostly zoned out in the darkness, and he shifted to accommodate him as the demon sat up.

            "... you needed t' sleep."

            Why would he wake Hiei over something like that when it was obvious that he needed to sleep in order to recover from using so much of his fire in the first place? Yusuke glanced down at the arm he was still holding, and realized that the only blood he could see was dry and slightly crusted over, from where it had leaked out between his fingers earlier. There wasn't any fresh blood coming from Hiei's wound. So he very slowly let go.

            "Yeah, but..." Weren't you cold? Or scared? Hiei thought. But he didn't say that. He didn't know what to say, really. So when Yusuke released his arm, Hiei turned it over to examine it. That tingling feeling still hadn't come back, and he did feel a lot better now. But there was blood on Yusuke's fingers, and Hiei's arm, still. Gaze oscillating between the two, Hiei decided to prioritize Yusuke's.

            He grabbed Yusuke's left hand, first, and tried to rub the blood off from between his fingers. And when that wasn't enough, Hiei started licking at those harder-to-clean spots to loosen it up, and then rubbed it clean; determined.

            Yusuke watched as Hiei examined his own arm, waiting for some kind of reassurance that he was going to be just fine. But then Hiei was looking at his hands, for some reason, and Yusuke frowned. He certainly wasn't expecting Hiei to reach out and grab his hand.

            He very nearly yanked it away, but then Hiei was licking at the dried blood between his fingers, in order to clean it off, and Yusuke's brain dissolved into static. He simply sat there, frozen in shock, watching it happen.

            After a moment, Yusuke's awareness started to filter back in, and he noticed that his mouth was hanging open slightly. His face also felt very warm, for some reason, even though he wasn't facing the fire. He shut his mouth and swallowed dryly as Hiei dropped his left hand, only to realize that he was probably going to do the exact same thing with his right one.

            With a slightly distressed squeak, Yusuke attempted to hide both of his hands very quickly behind his back before Hiei could grab at them again.

            Tongue still sticking out slightly, Hiei blinked at Yusuke. Then he retracted it and glared at him, making to grab at the elbow attached to Yusuke's yet-uncleaned right hand.

            "Wha'cha doin'? Gotta clean 'em. Did y' hurt 'em? Lemme see!" That blood had just been Hiei's right? It'd certainly tasted like his own, anyway. But now he had to wonder.

            Yusuke very stubbornly clasped his hands together behind his back when Hiei started tugging on his elbow, so that his hands stayed where they were, and Hiei's efforts only served to shake his upper body instead.

            "No! 's fine! I'm fine!"

            Aside from the unbearable heat in his face, that wouldn't seem to go away, of course.

            Hiei upped his glare; leaning in, challenging.

            "Th'n lemme see." He growled, trying to wriggle his fingers between Yusuke's, so he could check. Because Yusuke was acting weird.

            Yusuke felt a sudden tightness in his chest when Hiei leaned in. He couldn't breathe. He registered the sensation of Hiei's hot fingers forcibly worming their way between his own, and simply reacted without thinking, scrambling backwards to get away. To escape from the too-much-ness of it all.

            Yusuke didn't stop scrambling until he felt his hands touch the cold stone of the cave floor, having backed himself completely off of Hiei's cloak, and away from the fire. But the cooler cave air was soothing, and he took a few steadying breaths as he tried to calm his hammering heartbeat.

            When Yusuke scrambled away from him, Hiei paused, blinking in confusion. He let his hands drop, and then his gaze drifted past Yusuke's head: in the direction of the waterfall. And the rain. Grimacing at his own stupidity, Hiei sat back on his heels, and rubbed at the back of his head with his right hand, as he looked into the fire; not thinking about the blood still caked on it.

            "...S'rry." He muttered, glare petering out to a dark frown. "Di'n't mean t' scare ya." His eyes flicked up, experimentally: at Yusuke, only briefly, and then the rain again. Hiei pointed over Yusuke's head. "C'n jus'... wash 't off outside." Not wanting Yusuke to run into anything out there, either, Hiei got up. Instead of walking straight forward, he took the long way around the fire, walking near the side of the cave, keeping a good distance from Yusuke and not looking at him.

            Hiei peered out, to be sure he didn't see anything, then - when it was clear - stuck his arms out under the fall of the rain, and started to wash off the blood. His back was to Yusuke, but the pressure in the back of his brain hadn't seemed to dissipate.

            He hadn't meant to scare Yusuke. Hiei'd just been trying to make sure he was all right.

            Yusuke stayed frozen for a moment, not looking at Hiei as the demon walked around the fire, headed for the exit. But after a moment he sat up properly, and grabbed his left hand with his right, trying to will his brain to forget the sensation of Hiei licking between his fingers. He shivered.

            He considered Hiei's words, too. Had he been scared of the demon? Was that what had caused the tightness in his chest? Yusuke shook his head. No. He had never really been scared of Hiei. That couldn't be it. Hiei had just... surprised him. That was all.

            Firmly decided on the matter, Yusuke got to his feet and followed Hiei to the entrance of the cave, sticking both hands out into the rain and rubbing them together, to start washing the rest of the blood off, before he spoke.

            "Not scared. Jus' surprised. Sorry. 'm not upset."

            Hiei still didn't look at him, but he nodded, and stepped over a bit, to give Yusuke room to stand beside him.

            "Mhm. Still s'rry." He said, keeping his eyes on his own arms: which were stuck out in the rain despite the fact they were rubbed clean, now. The puncture wounds on his left forearm had already healed shut; probably while he'd been asleep.

            Yusuke nodded, and shook his hands dry once he'd finished rubbing them clean.

            "I know. 's okay."

            He stepped back a little, to avoid getting too wet, but stuck his hands in his pockets as he leaned forward to peer up at the sky. It was hard to tell just how long they'd been gone, since there was no good way to keep track of time in the cave, and even out here the dense rain clouds covered the sun.

            With a slight stab of guilt, Yusuke wondered if papa was worried about him. He'd never really been out of the castle for this long before.

            Staying quiet, at that, Hiei eventually turned around, to approach where he'd left the pack. He crouched down, and dug around inside it. Finding a bit of fruit, way at the bottom - probably because it was heavier than the breads - Hiei turned to hold it out behind him, scowling in Yusuke's direction. His cheeks were still a little pink from the shame of messing up, like he had.

            "C'mon. Your turn t' eat somethin'."

            Yusuke followed Hiei back into the cave, plopping himself back down on the cloak as Hiei dug around in the pack. He was hungry after sitting still for so long, holding Hiei's arm like that. So when Hiei held out the piece of fruit, Yusuke took it and bit into it eagerly, talking around his mouthful.

            "Thanks!"

            Yusuke took a few more bites of the fruit and, with his mouth still overly full, motioned for Hiei to hand him one of the breads, too. Or hand him the pack so he could grab one.

            Hiei rolled his eyes at Yusuke's stuffed cheeks, but shoved another of the pack's buns into his face, anyway. Once Yusuke took it, Hiei moved to sit down on the other side of the pack, carefully putting the soles of his boots towards the fire. He stared into it to the sounds of the rain, and Yusuke's eating.

            With his fruit in one hand and bread in the other, Yusuke enthusiastically chewed his way through both of them as he sat and watched the fire, more than happy to forget the incident of a few moments ago in favor of filling his hungry stomach instead. Besides, Hiei was fine now, and they were both cleaned up, so it wasn't like it was going to happen again.

            When he'd finally finished eating, Yusuke leaned back with a sigh. But there was still something bothering him. Now that he'd thought about it, it was starting to worry him.

            "... wonder if papa'll be mad..."

            Hiei blinked over at him, still slouched forward towards the fire with his legs straight out in front. He considered the problem, and then dismissed it.

            "Not like we ran 'way from the monks, though." Hiei said, full of confidence. "They di'n't 'ven get t'see y'today. So 's not like y' disobeyed 'em, jus' 'cause they coul'n't find ya." He continued, through a slight crooked quirk of an evil grin.

            Yusuke tipped his head, glancing over at the fire demon as he started talking, but by the time he'd finished, Yusuke was already laughing.

            "Y-yeah, but..." He quieted down. "I've never been outta the castle this long before..."

            Hiei's grin brightened a little, when Yusuke started to laugh. He straightened, puffing up a bit when Yusuke seemed to wilt slightly, though, and Hiei pointed his right thumb at his own chest.

            "Yeah, but y'got me. An' I'm indestructib-ibble."

            Yusuke hummed, grinning over at Hiei.

            "Yeah. Guess you're right."

            Papa had said he was allowed to go wherever he wanted, as long as Hiei was with him. He had never said for how long.

            "A'course 'm right." Hiei crowed, sticking out his tongue at Yusuke and pulling down his right eyelid. "Duuummy."

            Yusuke snorted out another laugh and leaned over to shove Hiei.

            "Ain't no dummy! Stupid!"

            Grin stretching wider, Hiei smacked Yusuke lightly on his nose, with his left palm; as he recovered from the shove, swaying back upright.

            "You's stupid."

            Yusuke swatted at Hiei's hand, and stuck out his tongue.

            "Am not!"

            He refrained from retaliating any further, however, not wanting to get into a full on wrestling match next to the lit fire, on top of Hiei's cloak. They had already had enough mishaps for one day.

            Eyes dialing in, going round with mischief - and since his left hand was still close - Hiei darted it out in a flash of movement, and pinched the end of Yusuke's tongue between his fingers. His grin grew toothy, triumphant - and then Hiei laughed, releasing it, only to turn to rummage in the pack for more food. The day wasn't done yet, anyway. He couldn't have slept for that long.

            Startled by the sudden movement, and the unfamiliar sensation, Yusuke jerked his head back and snapped his mouth shut, baring his teeth at Hiei in a grimace. Why the hell was Hiei being so weird today? Yusuke huffed, and eyed the demon as he rummaged around for more food. Was it because that thing had bit him? Had it made him strange, somehow?

            Hiei smirked, when he glanced over his shoulder and caught Yusuke silently snarling at him. He raised his eyebrows, daringly.

            "'m gonna eat the rest 'f y'too slow. Stupid." He said through sharp, grinning teeth: returning the snarl in spirit, at least.

            Now that was a challenge Yusuke understood loud and clear, and he set aside any thoughts about Hiei's strange behavior in favor of shoving and elbowing his way over to the pack of food, to snatch what he could before Hiei made good on his threat.

            "Nuh-uh! Gimme!"

Chapter Text

            Snickering and elbowing Yusuke back, Hiei put up a good enough fight that Yusuke wouldn't realize he'd been kidding. On principle, Hiei let Yusuke grab a few good things before reclaiming the bag and shoving another bun in his mouth. He pretended to guard the pack after that, growling a little in fun when Yusuke attempted to sneak more, but eventually sharing until they'd worked their way through it all.

            Stomach stuffed full, Hiei flopped onto his back on his cloak once more, staring up at the ceiling again. The fire was warm against the soles of his boots, and despite their earlier misadventure and the resulting anxiety, this was... nice.

            Being around Yusuke was nice. Even if it meant Hiei having to fight any monsters all on his own. It was different, than when he'd just been fighting for himself. Hiei'd just have to keep getting stronger, then.

            A bit after dusk, they cleaned up the cave and put out the fire. Hiei lifted Yusuke on his back again, the cloak draped over them both, because it was still raining. It was lighter now, though, without the food, and Hiei was looking forward to a hot dinner back at the castle. He ran through the forest without slipping or tripping, holding tight onto Yusuke's knees to make sure he stayed on. But it was still a weird feeling, unfurling in his chest: to have somewhere to go back to.

            Hiei wasn't sure it really counted as a home, like he'd heard people talk about. Or the kind of home that he'd sometimes looked into: while living outside in secret and the shadows, passing through villages like a ghost. But maybe it was the closest thing to one he'd ever get.

            With his belly full of food, and the mesmerizing flicker of the fire keeping him warm, Yusuke found himself getting tired a lot faster than he thought he would, and by the time Hiei had hefted him onto his back, he was struggling to stay focused. But he held on tightly anyway, not daring to do anything less, in case he fell. He kept his face turned down into Hiei's shoulder from the beginning too, not wanting to face the dizzying blur of the scenery as Hiei zipped through it.

            But it wasn't as if being pressed up against Hiei's warm back was any less comforting than sitting beside the warm fire had been, and Yusuke could feel himself beginning to drift off as Hiei ran, even with his arms still locked solidly around the fire demon's shoulders. Vague memories began to surface in Yusuke's muddled brain, without prompting. Being carried through the forest. Falling asleep in someone's arms, his arms wrapped around their neck. The smell of smoke.

            Instinctively, Yusuke hugged Hiei even tighter, and turned his face inwards, towards the nape of Hiei's neck. Hiei always smelled faintly like smoke. It was a familiar smell by now, and Yusuke found it strangely comforting, without really understanding why. He simply accepted it.

            Yusuke's thoughts continued to drift as Hiei ran, his breathing evening out into a slower rhythm, and by the time Hiei had reached the castle he was already fast asleep, still clinging tightly to the demon's shoulders.

            Hiei felt Yusuke shifting around, felt him relaxing on his back, but didn't pay it much mind other than adjusting his grip to be sure Yusuke stayed secure. By the time they reached the cooks' entrance of the castle, Yusuke was sound asleep; his breaths deep and even. Hiei carefully toed the door open with his foot, then shoved it the rest of the way without quite kicking it - not loud - and started inside.

            He wondered if anyone had noticed they'd been gone. Well, no matter what happened, Hiei should get Yusuke to his room. If Yusuke was tired enough to fall asleep on the ride back, he was probably more exhausted from the day than Hiei'd thought.

            Several of the cooks stared as Hiei made his way through the kitchen, and not a small number of them giggled or whispered hurriedly to one another, but nobody made an attempt to stop him. The few monks who did manage to catch him in the hallway on his way to Yusuke's room were clearly distressed, and all looking rather haggard, but by the time they got close enough to start telling him off, they noticed Yusuke, fast asleep and clearly unharmed, and quickly shut up, looking even more irritated than they had previously, before letting him go on his way.

            Yusuke barely moved at all in spite of the interruptions, clearly passed out for good. But his room wasn't completely unoccupied in his absence either, and when the door opened, Raizen picked his head up from where he'd been leaning back against the wall, seated on top of Yusuke's toy chest with his eyes closed, to see who it was.

            Hiei mostly ignored the cooks: they made their food, after all. And they weren't being annoying, like the monks were.

            Hiei liked to think the glares he gave any of the monks who looked like they were about to launch into lectures, were what kept their mouths shut. He stuck out his tongue at their backs, as they retreated.

            Making his way to Yusuke's room, thinking he was in the clear, Hiei fumbled a little with the knob, one-handed, before carefully throwing open the door: enough to let them pass through, but not hit the wall and make a loud noise. Then, smiling proudly to himself at a successful escape for the day, he strode inside, and headed immediately for Yusuke's bed, intending to deposit him on it.

            A small smile creeping onto his face in spite of himself, Raizen watched as the little demon headed for the bed, to unload his burden.

            "Having fun, are we?"

            The hairs on the back of Hiei's neck prickled all the way up to his scalp, and he jerked his head around to spy Yusuke's papa, eyes wide. Hiei scowled at him immediately, not liking that he hadn't noticed him just... sitting there. But then, Yusuke's papa did that a lot. Not wanting to wake Yusuke with an argument, Hiei just stuck his tongue out at him, and carefully kneeled down next to Yusuke's bed.

            There was a problem, he realized: the cloak was not clean, but Yusuke's bed was. Holding Yusuke steady with one hand, Hiei fiddled blindly with the clasp under Yusuke's neck. Finding it, he unhooked it and pulled it free: glad the rain had washed away any hints of the lizard's blood, on their way back. Then Hiei hunkered down as close to the ground as he could, and essentially rolled Yusuke off his back, and onto his bed.

            Or, he tried to. Halfway through, he realized Yusuke wasn't letting go of his shoulders, and thus Hiei ended up tipping over onto him, instead of depositing him. After a moment to struggle, Hiei resigned himself to lying on Yusuke and just stared up at the ceiling miserably. Why, when Yusuke's papa was right there? He hated this. Stupid clingy Yusuke.

            Chuckling softly at Hiei's predicament, Raizen slowly got to his feet and leaned over the bed to peer down at the two of them for a moment in silence before speaking again.

            "While I personally have no issue with your little outing today, you do seem to have caused my monks a great deal of distress, and I can't have that. If you plan on leaving the castle for an extended period of time in the future, I ask that you tell one person in my employ before you leave. You may choose the individual you tell. I do not care. Simply tell someone, before you go. That is all."

            Raizen didn't bother waiting for a response. Now that his wishes were known, he simply turned and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

            Hiei narrowed his eyes up on Yusuke's papa as he spoke, then huffed softly; mulishly looking away, with his jaw set stubbornly. Now that Yusuke's papa had stipulated a rule, though, Hiei knew better than to push beyond it. Besides, he hadn't said they had to tell him. So Hiei wouldn't. Maybe he'd go with one of the cooks, next time. Anyone but the monks.

            Only moving again as the door shut, Hiei again tried to escape, and let out a half-annoyed scoff when Yusuke still clung to him. So he shifted as best he could; not comfortable with his stomach exposed, and facing the room at large. Settling so at least that was taken care of, Hiei peered up over Yusuke's chin. Hiei couldn't really see his face like this, lying down on him.

            Adjusting a bit so he was more comfortable, Hiei closed his eyes and tried to let himself get some sleep. Yusuke certainly had no problem falling asleep like this, so he wouldn't either. He refused to be defeated by it.

            The first thing Yusuke noticed when he woke up was that he was very warm. And when he rolled over to stretch, he wasn't under any of the blankets. But he was still wearing his clothes from the day before. And his boots. Yusuke sat up and blinked down at them. And then he glanced over at where he'd been curled up on the bed, only to see a pair of red eyes staring right back at him.

            Yusuke let out a strangled note of surprise, and his hands flew up to cover his face as he suddenly remembered what happened. He must have fallen asleep while Hiei was carrying him, and then not let go, afterwards. He very vaguely recalled doing something similar with papa, years ago, when he used to run away all the time. But papa wasn't Hiei.

            "S-sorry."

            Hiei blinked over at him. Then he sat up, deadpanning, and bopped Yusuke gently with a fist against his forehead; over Yusuke's covering hands.

            "For what. ...Stupid."

            Yusuke took the hit without flinching, still mumbling behind his hands.

            "Di'n' mean t' fall asleep..."

            He hadn't even realized he would be that tired. It felt like he hadn't even done anything. Hiei was the one who had carried him all the way out there, kept the fire going, killed that weird lizard thing, and still managed to carry him all the way back. It was embarrassing.

            Hiei huffed. Then he lifted up his other hand, and started to quickly, roughly mess up Yusuke's hair with both of them. He didn't try to pry Yusuke's hands away from his face, though.

            "Duuuuummy. I fell 'sleep 'n the cave. Now we even."

            Yusuke instinctively lifted his hands to try and swat Hiei's out of his hair with a huff, but eventually his brain caught up with what Hiei had said too, and lowered them again, finally meeting Hiei's gaze once more. He hadn't considered that. Hiei had fallen asleep in the cave. So Yusuke nodded.

            "A'right. Let's get breakfast!"

            The next rainy day after that, Hiei came to shake Yusuke out of bed, just as before, and just like before they took off before any of the monks could get a hold of them, spending the whole day out of the castle. After the next few rainy days followed the same routine, Yusuke finally started to believe that they might not ever get caught, and he might not ever have to spend time sitting in that big, boring book room ever again. It was a wonderful thought.

            Then one day when papa came to get them for practice as usual, he turned in a different direction. And Yusuke followed. But instead of leading them out to the yard, Raizen led them straight to the library. Yusuke stared up at him with a growing dread.

            "Papa?"

            Papa smiled a not-smile down at him, and pointed at an empty chair in front of one of the many tables arranged around the room.

            "I think you've been skipping out on your studies for long enough, Yusuke."

            Yusuke glanced back at Hiei briefly and swallowed, but marched himself forward dutifully and sat down, already resigned to a very boring day of staring at books.

            Sensing something was different today, Hiei frowned when Yusuke's papa didn't take them towards the training field. They stopped in front of a room Hiei had seen the outside of, plenty of times, and heard complaints about the inside of, but had never personally been in.

            He scowled when Yusuke just listened, crossed his arms over his chest, and pinned an unhappy glare up on Yusuke's papa. They were both still standing in the hall, a little ways back from the doorway.

            "Why's he gotta be there." Hiei narrowed his eyes, not backing down; jaw raised and stiff. "He hates it. What's so important about sitting all day?"

            Raizen turned to Hiei, with one eyebrow raised.

            "He is not just sitting. He is learning. It is training for the mind, not the body. Not all challenges are physical ones, my friend."

            He paused for a moment. Seeming to consider something.

            "Do you know how to read?"

            Hiei grimaced, at that. It just sounded like a lot of grown-up nonsense. When Yusuke's papa asked him, though, Hiei blinked up at him. Then his expression went wary, and he darted a glance towards Yusuke, and back to Yusuke's papa. Hiei slid one foot slightly behind him, in the hall; in case he needed to make a quick getaway, to avoid sharing Yusuke's fate in the Boring Room.

            The question sounded like a trap. But Hiei hadn't ever heard that word before. What could it mean?

            "...a'course I do." He lied, eyes challenging and head tipping back to deliver his confident answer up the long, long way to Yusuke's papa's face.

            Raizen felt his mouth twitch upwards at the obvious lie, and he nodded.

            "Good. Then you can stay here with Yusuke, and find something interesting to occupy yourself with."

            Moving quickly, Raizen reached down to shove Hiei forward into the room, pulling the door closed behind him. It would be a handful for the monk in charge of Yusuke's studies, but he didn't particularly care. It would be interesting just to see what came of it.

            Hiei tried to run, but Yusuke's papa scooped him into the room before he could. Body heating up, Hiei punched and kicked at the heavy door after it closed on him; leaving a few smoldering burn marks as he vented his anger on it. Then he yelled at it.

            "Why do I gotta - !" Frustrated, Hiei whipped around, upper arms parallel to the floor, forearms perpendicular to it and fisted hands dangling straight down. He stomped off into the weird rectangular trees, filled with smaller rectangles, that filled this room. His hair was still smoking slightly as he muttered and grumbled to himself.

            There was nothing interesting in here. Hiei recognized the rectangle-trees as the same type as the... 'bookcase', that was the word - in Yusuke's room. And the smaller rectangles looked like the ones Hiei always pulled down to climb up it. If they were all the same thing, that just meant lots and lots of paper. He ground his back teeth in annoyance, as he disappeared into the stacks.

            Hiei would find a way out of here. He'd break a window if he had to. He should be training to be stronger so he could keep Yusuke safe, not wasting time in here! Yusuke's papa didn't know shit.

            Since the library was central to the castle, there were no windows, only shelves lining the outer walls, and the space was lit with a combination of scattered candles and ki-lights. There was another, similarly heavy door on the opposite end of the room, also shut. A few of the bookcases had cabinet doors at the bottom, or glass cases in place of shelves, but most of them were simply shoved full of lots and lots of books and scrolls.

            The monk who was attending Yusuke's studies only managed to hover nervously over Yusuke's desk for a minute or so before he lost his nerve, taking off down the stacks after Hiei, searching for the smoking little demon.

            As soon as the monk was out of sight, Yusuke slipped out of his chair as well, and disappeared in the opposite direction, keeping himself low to the floor as he darted along the aisles.

            Hiei's glower only grew deeper as he didn't find any windows. He bared his teeth at the other big, heavy, stupid door that looked like it hadn't budged for an age. A nervous youki fluttering into his awareness made Hiei narrow his eyes over his shoulder. The monk's youki, that had been by Yusuke, when Hiei'd unwillingly entered the room.

            Looking left and right, Hiei took off to his left for one of the towering bookcases, already pulling down rectangles so he could start scrambling to the top. Maybe he'd have a better view of the place from above. This room was too close-together, with too many tall things blocking the air-space.

            Irritated, he was still smoldering faintly, and left quite a few burning hand-prints in his wake: over the ends of the bound-rectangles as he got them out of his way, and the shelves as he climbed them.

            When the monk finally found Hiei, he let out a strangled noise of distress, collecting the damaged books and frantically patting any that were still smoldering, ignoring the demon for the moment.

            On the other side of the library Yusuke clamped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing at the sound of the monks distress and kept moving, cautiously peeking around each shelf as he went, trying to figure out where Hiei went without getting caught himself.

            The monk's distraction let Hiei get to the top, and he sat cross-legged on it, peering over the edge to watch. This one seemed frantic. If Hiei squinted - this bookcase was very tall, easily twice the monk's height - it almost looked like he was... upset? About the damage to the bound-rectangles?

            Leaning over further, Hiei tilted his head at the top row of rectangles. He plucked one out, and sat back: still close enough to the edge to see the monk below. Experimentally, Hiei lit the bound-paper rectangle on fire, as he gripped it. Then he put his arms out and let it drop, straight-down, into the aisle between the bookcases. Hunching forward, keeping curious eyes on the monk instead of the burning thing, Hiei waited to see if his theory would be proven correct.

            When the flaming book dropped into the monk's field of vision, he paled, immediately looking up, wide-eyed with his mouth open in shock, before turning his attention back to the flaming book, stomping on it in an attempt to put out the flames.

            Hiei's mouth split open in an absolutely sinister grin. Satisfied with his determination, Hiei burst both of his fists into flames. But he gave the monk a chance first.

            "Lemme out 'nd I won't burn any more."

            Looking up at the sound of Hiei's voice, the monk's eyes got wide at the sight of open flames in his hands. He didn't bother responding, and simply nodded. Frantically. And ran for the door.

            Incredibly satisfied now, Hiei let the flames in his hands die out, and stood on top of the bookcase. He walked to the end of it, towards where the monk had hurried off to, cupped his hands over his mouth, and shouted.

            "Oi! Yuuusuke! They's gonna open the door!"

            Yusuke hopped up with a laugh when he heard Hiei's voice, racing to the end of the aisle where he knew he could see the exit, and peered around the end. Sure enough, the monk was at the door, pulling it open. Yusuke had no idea what Hiei had done to the poor man, but he was sweating and looking far more miserable than Yusuke had ever felt being trapped in this horrible room.

            Yusuke didn't waste any more time thinking about it and simply booked it straight out the door and into the hallway, laughing. Free.

            Tracking Yusuke when he revealed himself, Hiei hopped down from the bookcase and ran after him. Not thinking about it, he gave the monk a happy, grateful grin from behind Yusuke as Yusuke laughed, and smacked the poor monk lightly on his knee in thanks as they sped by.

            Not knowing where Yusuke was going, Hiei kept pace with him, still buoyed with elation at having won that particular battle.

            "W-Wha'cha wanna do now?"

            Still grinning widely, Yusuke headed for the nearest exit.

            "Le's get outta here!"

            Hiei barked out a laugh; he couldn't help it. It was worth a lot more, seeing Yusuke so happy about it. And Hiei'd done that. Take that, Yusuke's papa.

            "Mhm!" Hiei easily agreed, already looking forward to spending the day sparring, instead of stuck indoors.

Chapter Text

            Raizen tried several more times after that to get Yusuke to stay indoors and attend to his studies. Of course, it wasn't Yusuke that was the problem. Separating Hiei from Yusuke would solve the problem, but only temporarily, and Raizen didn't particularly like the idea of separating the two whenever he wished, just for the sake of making them easier to manage.

            Besides, it would be beneficial for Yusuke to have an educated bodyguard, not simply a deadly one. The issue then, was getting Hiei to sit still. Not an easy task by any measure, and it took several weeks before Raizen stumbled upon a potential solution.

            One of the cooks had passed the word along that his son had fallen asleep in the garden after dinner one night, so Raizen went down to collect him, and carry him to bed. While he was there, he eyed the two small memorials that were now permanent fixtures in the greenhouse. The little fire demon was absolutely meticulous about his mother's memorial, he knew. Not a single weed grew up through the stones, or dead leaf rested on top. It was as clean and as cared for as the day it was set there. But there was no name beneath the koorime's painting. Because the little fire demon could not read.

            Raizen grinned, lifting his son a little higher in his arms as he stood. It would be an unusual order, perhaps, but nothing his blacksmith couldn't handle.

            Within a few days two small, painted plates appeared in the garden, one beneath each painting, with the names of the women depicted there embossed into the metal.

            Hiei woke up, got dressed, and headed to the garden for his usual morning visit to the two graves there. He froze in the doorway, frowning when he spied something that hadn't been there the morning before. Discomfited, he stalked over to it, and grabbed the little plaque from where it was nestled in the ground in front of his mama's picture, and narrowed his eyes at it.

            They were just squiggles. But were they bad squiggles? Was someone insulting her? His eyes drifted over to a similar plaque, in front of Yusuke's mama's picture. Those squiggles were different. Hiei's mouth thinned, and he grabbed that one too. Giving a distracted nod to their mamas as he left - feeling out-of-sorts, with how he habitually woke up, being disturbed - Hiei clutched both plaques to his chest and stormed out of the garden, heading for Yusuke's room.

            Yusuke's papa was always trying to get Yusuke to sit still, and Hiei'd glimpsed the innards of one of the bound-rectangles, now and then. They didn't look like the same squiggles on the plaques, but... maybe Yusuke would know what it was? Maybe it was similar enough that Yusuke'd have an idea?

            Hiei couldn't ask Yusuke's papa, or one of the monks. He knew they'd just jeer and laugh at him for not-knowing; like the bandits had. That's why he'd lied to Yusuke's papa about it. But Yusuke... Yusuke wouldn't laugh at Hiei for not-knowing. Right?

            Besides, Hiei hadn't lied to Yusuke about it. About not knowing what the squiggles he caught grown-ups looking at sometimes, meant.

            Reluctant to drag himself out of bed as usual, Yusuke was still in the process of getting dressed for the day when he heard a knock at his door. He simply grunted in response, and finished pulling on his shirt as he walked over to see who it was.

            He blinked a bit stupidly when he noticed the concerned look on Hiei’s face, however. And that he was carrying something.

            "Wha'sat?"

            Hiei barged in, kicked the door shut, and shoved the plaques in Yusuke's face. They were both upside-down, because he couldn't tell they were supposed to be held a certain way.

            "Found this. 'n garden. Izzit mean?" He asked, feeling panic and the beginnings of righteous fury curling up his windpipe. Who ever had put those there, if they were bad words about their mamas, Hiei would hunt them down. Even if it was Yusuke's papa, himself.

            Yusuke stared at the metal plates for a second in silence before tilting his head sideways, and then tilting it a little more, in order to read them properly.

            "Atsuko. Hina. Oh!"

            He straightened back up with a grin.

            "Tha's our mama's names!"

            Hiei felt the panic drain out of him; the sense of urgency suddenly gone. He turned the plaques back around to study them better, now frowning at them and looking back and forth, trying to see the difference.

            "...which 's which?"

            Yusuke walked over to stand next to Hiei, reaching out with one finger extended, to trace over each plate in turn.

            "This one's your mama... and this one's my momma..."

            Brow furrowing, Hiei handed off Yusuke's mama's plaque to him, so he could feel out the two squiggles on his plaque. His mama's had fewer squiggles. He glanced up at Yusuke, fingertips still tracing the outlines of the embossed lines.

            "...why's yours longer?" In fact, Yusuke's mama's plaque looked like one more squiggle than Hiei's mama's. Was that bad?

            "Hm?"

            Yusuke was turning the plate over to examine both sides when Hiei's question finally registered in his brain.

            "My momma's name's longer. A-su-ko. Your mama's name only got two sounds. Hi-na. So's only two letters."

            Hiei blinked up at him. He looked down at his plaque again. Back up at Yusuke. Then, all at once, he headed for Yusuke's toy chest, setting his plaque aside and trying to dig out the same paints they'd used on the wooden planks. Pulling out a sheet of paper, Hiei brandished the paints and paper at Yusuke.

            "Show me. Wanna write her name." It felt... important, somehow. Like Hiei should have already known how. He didn't like that someone had put her name on there, that wasn't him. It wasn't their grave. It was his, because it was hers.

            Yusuke watched as Hiei rummaged around in his chest, and waved the paper at him. Then he nodded, pointing at the table.

            "Okay..."

            Yusuke made sure Hiei's mama's plaque was on the table where Hiei could see it before spreading out a piece of paper in front of each of them and popping open one of the paints. He dipped the index finger of his right hand in the paint and waited for Hiei to do the same before continuing.

            "There's only two letters so... the firs' one's like this..."

            He slowly drew the first letter out on the paper, and waited for Hiei to copy him before moving on.

            "An' the secon' one..."

            He drew the second one just as slowly, right next to the first one, watching Hiei do the same.

            Hiei eyed his critically. Yusuke's lines were a lot less wobbly than his. He eyed the first squiggle, though. What if - ?

            "What 'bout my name?" Was it the same squiggle? Their names sort of sounded the same. At the beginning.

            Yusuke dipped his finger back into the paint, and then wrote Hiei's name, right under Hina's.

            "Like this."

            Hiei blinked, then he mimicked it. They were the same. He turned to look at Yusuke then.

            "Wha' 'bout you an' your mama's?"

            The middles sort of sounded the same, didn't they?

            "Mmm..."

            Yusuke wrote out his name, and then Atsuko's, under the other two, working just as slowly and deliberately, so Hiei could see what he was doing, as he did it.

            Hiei scowled. He copied Yusuke, then pointed at the middle letters in both Yusuke and his mama's names, with his clean hand.

            "'s sounds th' same. So why's 't look diff'rent?" He grumbled.

            Yusuke stared at the names for a second, and hummed.

            "'s not the same. Mmm, maybe sound the same, but not exactly. Ah-su-ko . Yu-s-ke . Differen' letters."

            Hiei glowered. His eyes dragged back to the top of his page, though. Where he and his mama's names shared the same first letter. Staring at it for a bit, Hiei looked back up at Yusuke then.

            "...how many 're there?"

            "Lots! Here..."

            Yusuke set his first piece of paper aside, and pulled out a fresh one, to start writing again. 

            By the time the sun was properly up overhead, and morning practice hour had come and gone with no sign of Yusuke or Hiei, Raizen sighed, and wandered his way back through the castle to Yusuke's room. He could hear the two of them, chattering away inside, clearly up to something. Something that wasn't their regularly scheduled training. So he opened the door without bothering to knock first. And paused.

            He hadn't expected to find the room covered in paper. Especially not paper that had clearly been written on, in crude handwriting. Raizen blinked slowly in the sudden silence, and backed up, closing the door behind him. It was only after he was sure the door was fully shut that he allowed himself a small, triumphant smile.

            He would have to be sure to tell the monks not to bother the two of them for the rest of the day, he thought, as he turned and walked away.

            Hiei fixed a defensive stare on Yusuke's papa, as he appeared; ready to further solidify his previous lie. Because it wasn't quite the same lie as before. But he didn't need to. Yusuke's papa just stared at them, and left, and then Hiei was much more interested in what Yusuke'd been in the middle of explaining, before the unwelcome interruption.

            A few days passed like this, until Yusuke'd gone through all the letters. Hiei practiced them on his own, and when they ran out of paper, started doing the ordered charts on the stone walls, up as high as he could reach. When they ran out of paint, Hiei grabbed his old dagger and started scrawling them into the walls, instead.

            Because there were lots of them. And they made up lots of words. And Yusuke was already good at them, so Hiei would be too. The next time he poked his head in the library, Hiei ignored the terror-stricken gasp from the monk on duty in there, and wandered the shelves. He'd already picked through the books - that was what they were called - in Yusuke's room, and memorized them. They were too easy now. Hiei wanted a challenge.

            Most of the books in the library were full of complicated-looking letters that Hiei didn't recognize. He resisted the urge to burn them, though, and just left them on the floor. Then he found a section that was full of books written in letters he did recognize. So he started reading them.

            It wasn't something Hiei did all the time, though. Just when his body was tired, or he was bored, or Yusuke's papa had decided Yusuke had to sit at that stupid table and listen to the stupid monk telling him things. Hiei didn't have to sit there and listen, though. He just had to come into the library, wander off to pick some new books, and then wander back to sit next to Yusuke; for solidarity.

            They still ran away on some rainy days. But the days they didn't, and Yusuke had to study, and Hiei decided to read, weren't... bad days. Not really.

Chapter Text

            Yusuke still thought that studying was boring, but with Hiei there, occasionally pulling faces behind the monk's back whenever he got up to grab another book, it wasn't as bad. At least he didn't have to sit through it by himself anymore.

            Yusuke never really enjoyed studying. Even though papa said it was like training, it was nowhere near as fun. Especially not after he'd finally figured out what it was papa had been trying to teach him about his 'mad' punches. The reason they hurt so much was because of reiki. Which, Yusuke was very disappointed to find out, was the human version of youki. But at least he knew what it was now. And he spent the next several years of training figuring out how to wield it.

            He could use his reiki to punch with, obviously, but he could also use it to kick, or even block with, he discovered, as long as he pushed it around in the right way. He was a lot stronger when he used his reiki, but using it also meant he got tired faster. A lot faster. Papa had really pushed him at first to use it as much of it as he could, to try and build up his strength. But after a while, when it became clear that using up his supply of reiki every day was only draining him faster, papa had backed off, and given him a less rigorous training schedule. It was embarrassing, but there was nothing Yusuke could do to argue against it. The only way he could make more reiki, it seemed, was by resting, and waiting.

            Still, Yusuke couldn't help but notice that Hiei'd had no such setbacks in his own training, and had even started working with swords by now, though they were still wooden ones. The demon had also grown up quite a bit, and was no longer any smaller, or shorter, than Yusuke. It was frustrating, and Yusuke wasn't sure why it was bothering him so much on this particular day, but it just was. So he grit his teeth and glared across the training space at the demon as he took his stance, preparing himself for one of their regular sparring matches.

            "'kay. 'm ready."

            The bamboo sword strapped to his back, his dagger in its usual place at his left hip, Hiei didn't show any acknowledgment of Yusuke's readiness, but he did start moving. Expression settling into the intense, slightly unnerving neutrality he tended to reserve only for fighting or focusing, Hiei walked slowly around Yusuke; eying his stances, checking his footing.

            Unlike Raizen - Hiei'd finally bothered to learn Yusuke's papa's name, when it became unavoidable - Hiei didn't bark out what Yusuke should change, or that he was standing wrong. He simply picked out all the openings he saw, and rushed in. It was their usual gamble: Hiei wouldn't give away which way he was attacking - shinai, dagger, fire, claws or fists and kicks - and all Yusuke had to do was keep blocking him, and try to land a hit if he got the chance. Reiki blocks earned Yusuke a longer recovery time in between, because Hiei knew they cost him. So Hiei adapted, and pushed.

            His control was good enough now that Raizen trusted him not to hurt Yusuke. Not that Hiei would have anyway. Even without his old fainting spells after coming inside, Yusuke was still... fragile. But protecting him so far that he could tell Hiei was holding back, was no good. So Hiei always toed the fine line of keeping a real intent to hit Yusuke, while stopping just short of it if Yusuke didn't block him.

            And sometimes, if Yusuke was being extra annoying, Hiei did hit him. But those hits were delivered with nowhere near his full force. Hiei's youki bounced back faster than Yusuke's reiki: it was just how it was. So Hiei had to keep his health in mind, every single step of these bouts. Otherwise, he really could hurt Yusuke.

            For now, Hiei slid his dagger out of its sheath in a flash of light, coming at Yusuke from his right. It'd be a bad angle for Yusuke to land a right hook. And, weak human or not, Yusuke's punches still stung more than they had any real right to. Hiei'd never been able to figure out why.

            Yusuke shifted at the first flash of movement, and immediately realized his mistake: his stance was set too close. If he stepped back to avoid the blow like he'd planned, he couldn't be certain he wouldn't fall on his ass, and the recovery time would cost him. Timing was everything when fighting a faster opponent, and Yusuke wasn't about to give Hiei any more openings than he already had. So he dropped himself a little lower instead, to ground himself.

            Not giving Hiei an opening didn't stop Yusuke from following one stupid decision with another however, and as he lunged forward he deliberately aimed for the knife in Hiei's hand.

            He knew he would miss. Hiei was simply too fast, and would never allow himself to be disarmed so easily. Yusuke knew, too, that Hiei would never allow him to simply reach for a deadly object. He was annoying like that. But that sure as hell wasn't going to stop Yusuke from trying.

            It was unfair really, that Hiei got to train with knives and swords. He already had teeth and claws and fire. Yusuke had asked about training with weapons once, but Papa had been insistent that he learn to fight without them. It didn't matter that it had taken him forever to learn how to wield his reiki, or that his blunt, human-like teeth and fingernails were practically useless in a fight. No. The only weapons he was allowed, it seemed, were his fists and his anger.

            It was Yusuke's own fault he left himself so open, really. Hiei changed directions at a thought, lilting to his left to dodge the sloppy lunge and moving his right hand behind his back; putting the dagger out of Yusuke's grabbing range. Once his left palm found the ground, Hiei pushed off it with his right foot, aiming a kick at Yusuke's unprotected stomach.

            Yusuke grit his teeth and steeled himself to take the hit. There wasn't time for anything else. But since he was already moving forward, he let the momentum of the impact push him even further as he ducked, and quickly rolled out of range.

            When he got to his feet this time, he made sure to correct his stance, his arms already up in front of him as he scanned for Hiei's next attack.

            Not showing anything outwardly - so as not to give anything away, because Yusuke could read him like a book, if Hiei allowed it - Hiei huffed a little in approval, to himself: at the corrected stance. But he didn't dwell on it, just reoriented to go at Yusuke head-on, this time; zigzagging in front of him to try to get the after-images to confuse him. But Hiei couldn't hide the way his real dagger caught the light. He'd just have to see if Yusuke noticed.

            Hiei was moving too quickly, again. So Yusuke simply ignored the visual mess in front of him and felt for the demon's ki instead.

            There.

            Yusuke hated how slow his reaction felt, in comparison, but he didn't waste any movement, shifting back just enough to clear the path of Hiei's trajectory before attempting to swing a punch in after him.

            A there-and-gone smirk grazed Hiei's face just as the punch did, but he jerked his head back before it could become a solid hit. He retreated, to range, sheathed his dagger and pulled the shinai out from its holder on his back. Keeping his face neutral - because if he started grinning then Yusuke would - Hiei held it out in front of him in neutral stance for a second. Then he angled it down towards his right side and ran at Yusuke; coming at Yusuke's left, now.

            The shinai wouldn't cut, of course. And as long as Hiei kept his strength tempered enough that the bound-together slats of bamboo wouldn't shatter on impact, he could whack Yusuke with it all he wanted.

            Yusuke watched as Hiei switched weapons. It meant something. He knew it did. But since Hiei was always so irritatingly cryptic during these training sessions, Yusuke had no idea what it was he'd done to make Hiei decide to switch.

            Still. A wooden weapon was one he could grab. Potentially. And Hiei hadn't trained with it as long. Not that that made much of a difference in his skill, as far as Yusuke could tell. He knew Hiei had wanted to train with a sword for so long that, by the time he'd finally gotten one, wooden or not, he practically lived with the damn thing.

            Yusuke didn't attempt to grab the sword right away, though, and simply blocked Hiei's first few attempts with his forearms. He knew could take a few hits that way, without using his reiki, and still be perfectly fine in the morning. Sore as hell, sure. But fine.

            Even if Yusuke couldn't beat him, this helped Hiei too. He realized it as he struggled to adjust: the shinai wasn't as quick, or efficient, or familiar, as his dagger. The arm movements were nothing alike, because Hiei had to account for the extra length. And he was supposed to squeeze the hilt as he was about to land a hit: something about focusing the momentum of the swing, Shilly-sensei had said. Hiei remembered it about half the time. He could see the mistakes in his head as he made them, and had to correct in real-time. A scuffle like this gave Hiei the real-time urgency of a battle. It made him think of solutions he normally might not have.

            And it was satisfying, somehow, whenever Yusuke managed to get a hit past his defenses. Because Hiei never gave him that; never. So it always meant Yusuke'd earned it. Which meant Yusuke was getting better too. Hiei wouldn't leave him behind. He'd drag Yusuke along with him - into getting stronger - even if it meant bruising him up. Because the bruises just seemed to make Yusuke more determined, and Hiei was fine with that.

            There was a solid thud as Hiei broke through Yusuke's defense: landing a hard hit on Yusuke's left side. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smirking. Hiei's face had to be impassive and neutral right now. So he kept it that way.

            "Ow. Shit."

            Yusuke winced slightly as the blow connected. He hadn't been expecting it, and so hadn't prepared himself for the impact. He would definitely be feeling that one tomorrow.

            But Hiei's sword slipping past his arm also gave him an opening he wasn't expecting, and he recovered quickly, slamming his left arm down tight against his side, trapping the sword there just long enough for him to grab it and twist, in an attempt to wrench it from Hiei's grasp.

            He yanked the sword towards him at the same time, drawing Hiei's arms out away from his body so he could lunge forward with his right arm, swinging an underhanded punch aimed right at Hiei's stomach.

            Hiei made a smothered noise of surprise: realizing his mistake, that he hadn't pulled away quickly enough. He let go too late - had Yusuke gotten faster, there? just for an instant? - and felt the air leave his gut in a whoosh, eyes widening as Yusuke punched him.

            Fuck.

            The impact sent him flying across the field, shinai left in Yusuke's hand. Halfway back to his starting point, Hiei wrestled the momentum so he could roll over, and up, into a crouch. His feet seemed to gravitate to a solid stance on the ground, right hand in front of him as he got eyes back on Yusuke. With his left hand, Hiei held his stomach, eyes narrowing as he assessed the level of pain.

            ...Manageable.

            So Hiei disappeared again, this time running literal circles around Yusuke - pushing himself as fast as he could go - and looking for a chance to return the favor.

            Yusuke smirked when he felt his fist connect, but didn't waste time gloating about it. Hiei was a mean son of a bitch when he was angry. So Yusuke tossed the sword and hunkered down, double checking his stance to make sure he was solid on the ground, and that he had all his vitals covered. He was probably going to have to use his reiki to block this next one, too.

            Yusuke didn't even bother trying to look for Hiei. He simply honed in on the quick flash of the demon's ki, circling him, and waited.

            Hiei gathered his youki into one hand, focusing it there. It took effort not to let it swell up - like it wanted - and burst into flames; only exist as a menacing red glow and crackle of energy. But if Yusuke could do that with reiki, there wasn't any reason Hiei couldn't do it with youki. The logic followed. And if Hiei did it right, it wouldn't burn him either.

            Shooting the weak youki blast - Hiei still hadn't quite mastered it - at Yusuke's back, he smushed his body's youki down to nothing, and jumped up. Maybe the feint would work, maybe not. If Hiei was fast enough about it, and his youki confused Yusuke successfully, he'd spare a second to flip over in the air - using the extra force to try to land a double-footed kick on Yusuke below.

            Yusuke frowned even as he began to pivot towards the flash of ki headed in his direction. There was something off about it. It was too small, he realized. Yusuke frantically scanned his surroundings, as he continued to turn towards the ki blast, but Hiei wasn't on the ground. Which meant there was only one other place he could be.

            Yusuke grit his teeth and prayed his guess was correct as he let himself drop to the ground, flat on his back, with his forearms held up over him like a shield. The move would buy himself some time, if he was correct, but it meant putting himself in an unrecoverable position, if he was wrong.

            Yusuke didn't even bother to notice Hiei's youki blast whizzing harmlessly overhead afterwards, because suddenly Hiei's shoes were coming down hard, and he was too busy focusing on blocking the combined weight and momentum of the fire demon with his reiki, in order to spare his arms from the impact.

            Hiei landed, hard, the thrum of the impact thundering through him. When it was spent, Hiei squatted down from his place now-perched atop Yusuke's arms, blinking down at him slightly as Hiei rested his elbows on his own bent knees.

            "...did that hurt?" Hiei eyed the hum of reiki under his shoes. It had been a good, last-minute block, but Hiei hadn't seen if he'd done any damage, since he hadn't moved his feet yet.

            Yusuke bared his teeth at Hiei in a vicious grin.

            "Get. Off. Me."

            Hiei wasn't particularly heavy, just sitting there, but Yusuke had already taken several blows to his forearms before this, and it was an awkward angle to be supporting the weight, so he didn't dare let his reiki drop just yet. But maintaining it was draining. And it was draining him fast.

            Unfortunately with the way he'd fallen, Yusuke's legs were partially tucked up underneath him, and Hiei hadn't leaned down close enough for Yusuke to headbutt him either, as satisfying as that would have been. He was effectively trapped, for the moment, until Hiei decided to hop off of him.

            Hiei rolled his eyes at that show of intimidation, then smacked his right palm lightly over Yusuke's nose, deadpanning.

            "Stupid. Was gonna." Since Yusuke would need to rest a bit, after being forced to use his reiki, Hiei obligingly tilted to the right, flopping effortlessly onto his back in the dirt next to Yusuke. He stared up at the sky.

            Yusuke huffed, letting his reiki and his arms drop the moment Hiei rolled off him. He stared up at nothing, rubbing at his left side absently for a moment before commenting.

            "The sword hurt worse..."

            Not that it mattered. The bruise might linger, but he wouldn't really be feeling the sword blow in a day or two. His reiki however always took absolute ages to recover. That block would cost him, probably for the rest of the week. Yusuke sighed, and closed his eyes, as he attempted to re-gather as much reiki as he could anyway.

            Hiei hummed, staring up at the sky still as he felt Yusuke shuffle idly next to him. Yusuke always took so long to recover from using his reiki. Hiei's youki wasn't the same. But why -

            He blinked, thinking of something he hadn't before. Hiei side-glanced over at Yusuke, wondering.

            "Hey. Is it because you're human that it takes so long? ...Your reiki."

            Yusuke frowned at the interruption in his focus. He grumbled, irritated.

            "How the hell should I know? It's annoying."

            "Yeah, but..." Hiei squinted at him, trying to catch the thought he'd had. "There's lots of demons here. Because it's Makai. But not a lot of humans. So if they're not here, where are they? What if..." Hiei struggled to connect it, eyes trailing towards the sky again - but he thought there was something important, just out of reach. Something from something he'd read, maybe? So he pushed on. "Your mama didn't live in Makai, yeah? 'cause you wouldn't have been able to live with her here. She'd have got eaten up, quick. So's what if she lived somewhere else? A place for humans."

            A place where humans weren't weak, maybe. Because maybe Hiei wasn't so overwhelmingly stronger than Yusuke at all. Maybe Yusuke was just in the wrong place to be strong? Hiei thought about it. He was a demon, in Makai. He felt strong here. But Yusuke had always felt weak. And the only difference between them was that Yusuke was human, so - What if?

            Yusuke turned his head to look at Hiei as he continued to talk, trying to follow what he was saying. A place with a lot of humans? Yusuke had a vague idea that there was a place like that, but he had no idea where, or why it would be any different from here.

            "Yeah but... I do live here."

            But perhaps there was something to what Hiei was saying. Papa always did insist that humans were just as capable of being strong as demons were. That was why he never let Yusuke stop trying. As if he would. But it was hard sometimes to believe that he could be as strong as Papa wanted him to be.

            But Papa had been to that place, where the humans were. If there was a difference then he would know.

            Hiei scowled over at him, bopping Yusuke on his forehead; with his closer, right fist.

            "Dummy. I know you live here. Didn't say you should live there." He grumbled, but pressed on, squinting at Yusuke consideringly. "But what if it's different? What if the place with lots of humans makes your reiki come back easier? Like my youki does here."

            Yusuke scowled right back at Hiei and jabbed him in the side.

            "Why's it matter if it does? I ain't goin' there. An' I still gotta train here anyway."

            Hiei bared his teeth at him, and caught Yusuke's poking hand by the wrist with his left hand, as he rolled over to face him. So frustrating.

            "Yeah, well, what if you did go there? And it came back faster? So you wouldn't have to wait so long?"

            Yusuke paused, and considered the suggestion.

            "Can't go there every time I use my reiki. 's too far away."

            He at least knew that much. He had no idea how far away it was exactly, but he'd always gotten the distinct impression that it wasn't an easy place to get to.

            "How do you know if you didn't even remember it was there in the first place?" Hiei muttered at him, loosening his left-hand's grip on Yusuke's wrist a bit. He poked at Yusuke's cheek with his right hand; the arm of which, he was partially lying on, now. "Because now you're talking like it is a place."

            "Of course it's a place. Papa's been there. That's how he met my momma. Stupid."

            He'd heard the story often enough. But, Yusuke realized, Hiei hadn't. It seemed strange. He'd told Hiei about his momma, but never about Papa and momma. He'd never really had a reason too.

            Hiei blinked at him, a few times. He even stopped poking, so thrown by the idea that there was something Yusuke had heard about, that Hiei hadn't.

            "Huh?" A beat. "How's that?"

            Yusuke smirked, huffing out a soft laugh at Hiei's confusion.

            "I dunno how. He never told me that part. But like you said, my momma didn't live in Makai. So obviously Papa had to go where she lived, to meet her. I guess demons used to do that a lot."

            Hiei scoffed at him. He sat up abruptly, glancing towards the castle.

            "We should do it then. Ask him where it is. And go." Or find out themselves, maybe.

            "Uhhh..."

            Yusuke sat up next to Hiei, and stared at him. He wanted to ask Papa where the humans were? And go there? Yusuke could already imagine how that conversation was going to go.

            "You sure?"

            Hiei side-eyed him. He hmphed, looking away nonchalantly and canting his jaw upward in a slight, confident tilt.

            "Why. You scared I might be right?" He smirked, then; glancing back at Yusuke from just the corner of his right eye, now. "Or just scared of your papa." Hiei taunted, smugly.

            Yusuke squinted back at Hiei defiantly.

            "I ain't scared. But if you think you're gonna get him to actually tell you how to get there... then go ahead. I'll go with you. Just to see you try."

            He smirked. It was always fun watching Hiei try to argue with Papa anyway. So this should be interesting.

            Hiei stuck his tongue out at him.

            "Even if he doesn't tell us, I'll find out." Hiei vowed, already pushing himself up to stand. He offered a hand down to Yusuke, as he scanned the training field for his discarded shinai.

            Yusuke took Hiei's hand and pulled himself up, brushing himself off as he waited for Hiei to recover his sword. He didn't bother with a response as he followed him back into the castle, clearly on the hunt for his father. There wasn't anything to say. Hiei had obviously already made up his mind on the matter, and Yusuke knew he wouldn't be persuaded otherwise until he was satisfied.

            They eventually caught up with Raizen in one of the studies, standing quietly on his own, bent over a map table. He looked up as the two of them entered.

            "Done with training already?"

            Hiei stuck his hands in his pockets and walked right over, not intimidated at all. Raizen still towered over him, but he'd grown used to it by now. Hiei withdrew his right hand to point over his shoulder at Yusuke, with his thumb.

            "Used up all his reiki. Want to find the human place so he can recover it faster."

            After all, Raizen didn't need to know it was only a theory. If Hiei offered up his idea with the holes built-in, it'd easily leak all over the place - and Raizen would probably say no. It would be easier if Raizen just told them how to get there, though. So Hiei made his proposal airtight, instead.

            Raizen tilted his head, folding his arms across his chest as he considered the idea.

            "Interesting. Unfortunately, the way there has been sealed by Reikai. It's impossible."

            Yusuke blinked dumbly up at Papa, shocked that he hadn't simply rejected the idea immediately. But the outcome, he realized, was the same. A dead end.

            Hiei narrowed his eyes, not liking the quick answer. He dropped his hand, and crossed his arms over his front.

            "Sealed how." Hiei pushed on, stubbornly. "Can't have been too strong a seal to keep Yusuke and his mama out. Or you from going over there, to visit her." His stare was hard, and determined.

            Raizen's eyebrows lifted, and he dropped his hands to his hips, facing Hiei directly as he answered back.

            "Reikai constructed the barrier after I had returned. I wasn't able to visit again after that. Though it doesn't seem to stop humans from entering Makai on accident, the barrier was put in place to stop anyone from Makai trying to get to the human realm."

            Hiei hmphed at him. He still didn't back down.

            "Maybe it only works on stupid tall people." Hiei challenged, his eyes not budging a single bit. "Even if you don't tell us, I'll find it anyway. Just easier if you do tell us. Where it is. Not asking you to go with us." You old fart. Hiei finished in his head, but bit it back just in time. He was trying to get Raizen's help here, not piss him off and get them an automatic stonewall.

            Raizen fought back a quirk of a smile.

            "Finding it might be more of a problem than you'd think. The access points don't stay put for long. Though you, at least, won't have to look for one quite as large as I would need, to cross over. But if you do find one, and can't get across the barrier, you should hopefully be able to get back to Makai before the portal closes again. If not, you will have to wait in the space between the realms, and hope another portal opens nearby."

            Hiei frowned a little at that. He glanced over his shoulder at Yusuke; choosing to completely ignore Raizen, instead.

            "Oi. What do you think. Do you want to go?" Hiei asked, bluntly. Yusuke'd been too quiet. This was his conversation, too.

            Yusuke nearly jumped when all the attention in the room was suddenly directed at him. He had been perfectly content to watch Hiei argue it out with Papa like usual. He hadn't been expecting them to ask for his opinion.

            He glanced between Hiei and Papa for a moment. What did he want? Yusuke fixed his gaze stubbornly up at Papa.

            "I wanna go."

            Raizen stared down at the pair of them before sighing softly. Then he waved a hand dismissively as he turned back to his table.

            "Have Hokushin guide you then. I'll not have you getting lost, going on your own."

Chapter Text

            Half-surprised it was a yes, Hiei blinked a little, expression softening slightly. Yusuke hadn't seemed to want to go, all that much, when Hiei'd brought it up before. He almost smiled back at Yusuke, but by the time Hiei turned back to gloat silently up at Raizen, it was a smirk.

            Hiei huffed at the dismissal, but turned around. His right hand shot out, hooking around Yusuke's shoulders to drag him out the door beside him. When they were safely out in the hall, then, in a low tone so as not to be overheard:

            "You want to go today? Or too tired. Should eat some food too." It wasn't that late in the morning, really. They could make it a day trip. If Yusuke wanted.

            Yusuke felt a thrill of excitement jolt up his spine when Papa turned away without arguing any further. He was going to go see where momma lived.

            So when Hiei dragged him out into the hall to ask him if he was too tired, Yusuke simply laughed. Tired? Not anymore. He grinned over at Hiei.

            "Let's grab a bag. We can pack some food to take with us."

            Hiei blinked at him. For a beat, something almost felt... light? Then he grinned back, in favor of ignoring it and jostling Yusuke slightly with a friendly nudge, leaning into him.

            "...Mm." He moved his hand, playfully shoving Yusuke's head down as Hiei took off down the hallway, already headed for the kitchen in a clear bid for a race. But he didn't go so fast as to disappear, either; not bothering to put in the extra effort.

            Yusuke nudged Hiei back, struggling half-heartedly when he felt the demon shoving him down. But he took off like a shot down the hall the moment he was free, not even thinking about beating Hiei. He just wanted to get going, and the sooner they had eaten, and grabbed a pack of food, the sooner they could head out.

            Oh, and he would have to find Hokushin, to drag him along too. But that wouldn't be difficult. Hokushin was notoriously easy to bully. Not that Yusuke would ever tell him that.

            Hiei got to the kitchen first, and he hunted around for his favorite food, then Yusuke's; setting one aside. Since Hiei'd beaten him by a good amount even when he wasn't trying, he grabbed the designated 'go-pack' - left there for their rainy day adventures - off its hook and started to stuff it with easy-travel foods. When he heard Yusuke's footsteps echoing down the hall, Hiei grinned around his mouthful of meat bun, and grabbed the fluffy bread bun he'd set aside. He moved to hold it in front of the door at just the perfect angle, for when Yusuke'd barrel through: intending on shoving it into Yusuke's mouth, right when he entered.

            Yusuke squinted as something suddenly appeared in the doorway in front of him, but didn't slow down. He did make a small squeak of surprise as the offending item was then shoved into his mouth as he attempted to dart past.

            When his brain finally registered the bread between his teeth, he nearly laughed again. Hiei. Yusuke grabbed the bread with his left hand and ripped a bite out of it, while he shoved Hiei with his right. He'd already grabbed the pack, Yusuke noticed. So he chewed through his bun and scoured the kitchen for anything else they could take with them.

            Barking out a satisfied laugh that his evil plot had worked, Hiei let Yusuke shove him out of the way. He left the pack on the floor between them, and went to hunt down a few of the seasonal fruits, that the cooks left out for them in a basket a little ways further into the kitchen. On his way back with the basket - to see how much of it they could shove into the pack, and eat the rest now - Hiei grabbed a few casks of water they could strap onto the sides of it.

            Vision impeded by the sheer pile of things he was toting, now, Hiei slowed down a little and went mostly with his space-intuition to guide him back in Yusuke's - and the pack's - direction.

            Seeing that Hiei had already retrieved the basket of fruits, Yusuke started grabbing the ones that he wanted, and shoved them into the pack. As soon as that was done, Yusuke grabbed a fruit for himself, and immediately started stuffing his face as usual, not wanting to waste time.

            Setting the much-depleted basket on the low counter, Hiei hopped up on it to sit, legs dangling, as he munched through his own handful of fruit, eyes tracing the ceiling as he thought.

            He wondered what it was like, over there. And then Hiei smirked behind his food. Maybe Reikai's barrier really did keep stupid tall people out. They'd just have to see when they got there, though, because Hokushin was stupid-tall. So they'd have their answer soon.

            Yusuke couldn't keep himself from grinning, even with a mouthful of fruit and bread, and he glanced up at Hiei as he chewed through another helping of each.

            The human world. Logically Yusuke knew he must have been there before, when he lived with momma, but he couldn't really remember any of it. He didn't really care about whether or not there were other humans there either. He just wanted to see it. To be there. Where momma lived.

            And Hiei was going be there with him.

            Noticing the stare, after a bit, Hiei blinked down at Yusuke. Then he grimaced at the view of the half-chewed food in Yusuke's mouth, and slapped his other hand over Yusuke's gaping maw.

            "Gross." Hiei declared, but only after he'd swallowed, himself. He stuck his tongue out at Yusuke before going in for another bite.

            Yusuke swallowed his mouthful of food before he stuck his own tongue out and licked Hiei's hand in retaliation.

            A shuddery, unsettling sensation prickled up over Hiei's shoulders as he felt Yusuke's tongue against his skin. He ripped his hand away, eyes wide and betrayed as he wiped his now-damp palm hastily on his pants. But, realizing the full extent of the situation quickly: Hiei couldn't just leave it like that. Then Yusuke would win!

            So, expression still twisted in furious thought, Hiei soon came upon an outlet for his revenge. He grabbed Yusuke by his collar, hiked him up and leaned down to lick a stubborn, extremely pointed patch of saliva over Yusuke's cheek: all in one impossibly swift, decisive motion.

            Yusuke made a startled noise when Hiei suddenly dragged him in close and licked him, leaving a hot, wet streak up the side of his face. But since he was already there, with Hiei holding him up by his collar, Yusuke scrunched up his face in determination, leaned in, and bit Hiei on the neck.

            A warning rang out in Hiei's head, and he squirmed, hastily kneeing Yusuke in his chest and shoving him away, releasing him in the same move. He clapped his freed hand over the spot Yusuke'd bit, eyes wide and face abruptly red. Hiei's mouth gaped open and shut like a fish when it tried to breathe air.

            Grown-ups bit each other. Hiei'd seen the bandits do it - they didn't care about things like privacy - and he'd seen a few of those blushy, giggly monks sporting matching bite marks, too. Biting someone there was special. He was so flustered, Hiei couldn't even think of any words past the fuzzing panic in his brain. So he just froze, staring down at Yusuke in disbelief; but not really staring at him.

            Miraculously, Hiei still hadn't dropped the half-eaten fruit in his other hand: fingers clenched too-tight around it.

            Yusuke exhaled sharply as Hiei kneed him in the chest, and he went down, landing hard on his ass on the kitchen floor when Hiei suddenly released him without warning. He blinked up at Hiei for several moments in silence as he attempted to process the situation.

            Something was wrong with Hiei. But that didn't make sense. All Yusuke had done was bitten him. He'd done a lot worse in some of their previous fights. So why the hell would Hiei care about a single bite? He hadn't even bitten him that hard.

            "Um... you okay?"

            He felt stupid even asking.

            Heated tears sprung to the corners of Hiei's eyes, because Yusuke hadn't meant it like that. He was just a stupid kid. Yusuke didn't know anything. And Hiei was upset because - because Yusuke didn't understand the implications of what he'd just done. Yusuke didn't understand it, so it didn't mean anything. The fuck was wrong with Hiei? It'd just been another fight. It hadn't meant anything to Yusuke, so it didn't mean anything to Hiei. And that would be the end of it.

            Not thinking it through, Hiei chucked his unfinished fruit directly at Yusuke's stupid, stupid, stupid, clueless face. He was already jumping down and grabbing the bag, marching determinedly past Yusuke to find Hokushin's youki. Hiei's face was red because he was angry, because nothing else made sense.

            The few tears he ignored - that trickled down his face in hot, betrayed streaks before clattering on the stone floor, tinted vaguely pink - tried to whisper something different, but Hiei didn't listen.

            "Stupid! Hurry up!" Hiei barked over his shoulder as he exited the kitchen, hitching the bag strap up over his shoulder. Being mad was easy, so he let himself feel it. Hiei understood this feeling. It did make sense. So he clung to it.

            Yusuke could feel the panic rising as he watched the look on Hiei's face shift. He still didn't understand why what he'd done would make Hiei so upset, but that didn't change the fact that he'd clearly made a mistake, somehow.

            Yusuke scrambled to his feet when Hiei jumped down from the counter, ignoring the half-eaten fruit that bounced harmlessly off his chest and onto the floor. He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the clatter of small, hard stones hitting the floor, however.

            Yusuke stared down at his feet, and swallowed hard. Then he knelt down, quickly collecting all of the hiriuseki and shoving them into his pocket before he hurrying after Hiei.

            Hokushin, as it turned out, was already waiting for them, just outside the front entrance to the castle, and he looked perfectly miserable about it, too.

            Finally, someone else to vent his bad mood on. Hiei had been silent once Yusuke caught up, but he wasted no time in pointing rudely up at Hokushin's face as they approached, his own a mask of discontent.

            "Oi! Let's go! The sooner you take us there, the sooner we can ditch you and find our own way back." Hiei sneered bossily up at him, teeth and eyes seeming a little sharper than usual.

            Hokushin blinked down at Hiei's abruptly rude attitude, but when he turned to Yusuke instead, Yusuke simply lifted an eyebrow at him in silence. Hokushin sighed.

            "The nearest access point to Ningenkai is quite a ways from here. We could run the distance, if you like, but it will be faster if one of us carries you, Master Yusuke."

            Yusuke scowled deeply and looked away from both of them. He knew Hokushin was right. Both he and Hiei could run far faster than Yusuke could, but admitting that he needed to be carried, like some kind of child, was humiliating.

            Hiei glowered up at Hokushin, for his complicating matters. He also did not want to carry Yusuke after what'd just happened. So Hiei put one hand on his hip, the other still holding tight to the bag. His entire stance was still aggressive.

            "Why don't you carry us both. We'll get back on our own anyway." Hiei challenged him, with narrowed eyes. He didn't glance over at Yusuke, either. Because Hiei's suggestion had nothing to do with him. And Hiei'd remember the way whether he ran it or was being carried.

            Yusuke glanced over at Hiei quizzically. He was still acting weird. But clearly Hiei had no intention of carrying him. Which was fine. But to suggest Hokushin carry them both?

            "Don't be stupid. You're faster than him anyway." Yusuke shrugged, tilting his face in Hokushin's direction without really looking at him. "If you gotta carry me then fine. Let's just get this over with."

            It made more sense that way anyway, Yusuke realized. Hiei already had the pack with him, and Hokushin was unburdened. So he suffered the humiliation of climbing up onto the monk's back, and held on tight as they began to run towards their eventual destination.

            Hiei sliced a look that might have killed a lesser demon at the back of Yusuke's head, but then he brushed it off with a dismissive half-shrug, turning away from Yusuke to face the same direction as Hokushin.

            "Ch'. Have it your way, little prince." Hiei shot back at Yusuke, bad-tempered, and very firmly not looking at him as they set off.

            Yusuke grit his teeth and did his best to simply ignore the frustration and humiliation of the situation. He couldn't help but notice, however, that having Hokushin carry him was clearly the lesser choice. The monk's movements were jarring, compared to Hiei's. Not that it mattered, Yusuke reminded himself, because he didn't need to be carried.

            Eventually Hokushin slowed, and then stopped, allowing Yusuke to slide off and stand on his own two feet. Yusuke looked around, but couldn't see anything particularly different about this area. It wasn't until they started walking again that something weird happened, and the scenery began to blur out into a strange nothing space. Yusuke glanced nervously over at Hiei, but didn't stop walking, not wanting to be left behind.

            It wasn't long after that before they reached a glowing net that stretched as far as they could see on either side, and upwards just as far. Here, Hokushin paused again.

            "This... is Reikai's barrier."

            Hiei looked up, and down, and to each side; judging the visible area of the glowing net. He side-eyed Yusuke, then reached a hand out. There was a moment of trepidation, just before he touched it, but Hiei blinked when his fingers slid harmlessly past the first layer of the grid. That was it? What was the big deal? He made a disbelieving sound, pinning a dry look up on Hokushin.

            "So what?" It made his hand a little tingly, in a weird way, but not enough that Hiei felt the need to retract it. It was barely a barrier. All that buildup for nothing. Feh.

            Yusuke watched in nervous anticipation as Hiei simply reached out and stuck his hand through the barrier. But nothing happened, and he exhaled in a relieved sigh.

            Hokushin simply raised an eyebrow at Hiei's question, and stepped forward, passing through the barrier himself.

            "I take it you are determined to continue, then?"

            They'd already come this far, so Yusuke turned to look Hokushin dead in the face as he stepped through the barrier, and did his best not to react when he realized that it barely felt like there was anything there at all. That was it? That was what all the fuss had been about? And for what?

            "You can stay. We're going."

            Hiei rolled his eyes, but stuck both his hands in his pockets and walked after them at a slow, leisurely pace. He let Yusuke talk to Hokushin, too busy examining their surroundings as they pressed on. The tingling feeling only got stronger: it was like a kind-of pressure, or an invisible wave that passed over Hiei's body without actually hitting him.

            "Yeah. No grown-ups allowed." Hiei declared a beat later. Even if he was pissed at Yusuke right now, that didn't mean he'd side with the tall people against him.

            Yusuke huffed out a quiet laugh at Hiei's declaration, but didn't respond. The further they walked away from the barrier on this side, the more exciting it felt, for some reason, and by the time the scenery began to fade back in, Yusuke was feeling practically giddy about the whole thing.

            Completely ignoring the nervous looks Hokushin was shooting in his direction, Yusuke darted out into the sunlight, laughing.

            When Yusuke ran out, Hiei shot a smirk back at Hokushin's fretting face. He pulled down his left eyelid and stuck out his tongue at him.

            "Go on, now. Shoo." Hiei chirped patronizingly at him, before shoving both hands back in his pockets. The bag slung over his right shoulder lazily, he strode coolly after Yusuke, squinting slightly at the sunlight. So Ningenkai was bright - ?

            Yusuke paused for a moment, just to take a look around. It didn't really look that different from Makai. The trees were a little smaller, perhaps, and the sky was brighter... but it sure as hell felt different. Yusuke took a deep breath and grinned, glancing back at Hokushin only briefly before turning to Hiei instead.

            "Hey... I think you were right."

            Hiei just stared at Yusuke as he took in their new environment, blinking slightly when Yusuke turned to him. Then Hiei rolled a half-shrug, at that, looking off to his left - and away from Yusuke - nonchalantly.

            "Hn. Told you we should come here." Hiei said, giving a mild glare back at Hokushin, still a ways off. Stupid monk should just leave already.

            Yusuke glanced over at Hokushin again, frowning slightly. It was seriously no fun, having to drag Papa's favorite snitch around. Turning away again, Yusuke took another look around, slowly flexing his hands as he did.

            He was itching to start a fight, just to see how quickly he could recover his reiki here. But there wasn't enough space. Not unless he knocked down a few trees first. So Yusuke kept walking instead, to see if there was a better space, past the trees, where he could convince Hiei to spar with him.

            Hiei followed after Yusuke, secretly hoping they could lose Hokushin if they got out of his line of sight. He blinked when the trees abruptly ended, and came to a stop next to Yusuke. Hiei stared at the weirdly flat, square, whitish stones neatly arranged before them. A little further in, was like a sleek black ocean of some shiny surface beyond them - marked with lines? Hiei's brow furrowed, as he looked up. The trees were behind them, but in front of them were long poles that looked like metal, holding a narrow rectangular basket that held three gaping holes. One of the holes was lit a bright red.

            There were monsters bigger than he and Yusuke, flashing the same red lights at their rears, but they seemed... tame? The monsters waited patiently as the humans crossed in front of them, but Hiei could hear their bellies grumbling and growling; putting out foul-smelling smoke.

            On instinct, Hiei reached out and grabbed the back of Yusuke's shirt, near the hem, as his awareness of the people really filtered in. They were in different shapes and sizes, different colors and types of dress, but they all smelled human, and a crowd of them were walking to-and-fro across the black ocean-like expanse. He stepped back, towards the bushes they'd come out of, pulling Yusuke with him so they wouldn't get jostled by the people passing by on the white square stones before them.

            And the sounds. The trees had muffled the noises, but when the humans had stopped crossing and the monsters started moving, Hiei resisted the urge to cover his ears: because that would mean letting go of Yusuke. It was so loud here. This was where humans lived?

            Yusuke stopped dead at the edge of the treeline as the change in scenery seemed to hit him all at once. The flashing lights, and garbled sounds of multiple people talking at once. The smell of something toxic, yet familiar, burning. A woman laughing. Crying. Screaming. Objects crashing. Glass breaking. The acrid smell of hot, black stone searing his skin. And rotten garbage.

            Yusuke was already reaching back for Hiei's arm before he even realized it, and he latched on with a vice grip as his wide, unseeing gaze passed over the demon's face.

            "Back. I wanna go back. Now."

            Hiei - slightly guarded, but quiet - had been taking in their surroundings with a wary curiosity when he felt Yusuke's fingers dig into his arm. He immediately redirected his attention, frowning a little at Yusuke's expression. Already?

            Knowing better than to argue when Yusuke looked so scared, though - Hiei felt like he'd seen it before - Hiei just nodded. He glanced back at the scene: the color-changing basket overhead, the monsters running on a black ocean, the crowd of people. Then he turned, putting his free, left hand around Yusuke's shoulders, and pulling him back into the bushes.

            The muffling effect was immediate, but Hiei didn't pop out the other side yet. Hokushin might still be there: waiting, watching. And Yusuke didn't like looking weak. It'd only make the grown-ups fret more. So Hiei pulled Yusuke down into a crouch under the stick-ridden, safe shade of the bushes, watching him intently and moving his left hand to Yusuke's shoulder, instead.

            "...Oi." Hiei kept his voice low. Could Yusuke see him yet? It hadn't looked like Yusuke could, just a few seconds before. His eyes had been open but Yusuke hadn't acted like he saw anything. Hiei's frown deepened.

            Yusuke let Hiei guide him down into the brush, taking a few steadying breaths in the quiet stillness as he closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them again and, glancing down at where he was still clutching Hiei's arm tightly, he grimaced.

            "Sorry..."

            He relaxed his grip, but didn't let go, and didn't look up, not able to meet Hiei's gaze directly.

            Hiei's shoulders relaxed slightly when Yusuke said something. He looked off contemplatively, back through the bushes - towards what had been the noisy side. Instead of doing anything else, Hiei moved his left hand to rest on the top of Yusuke's head; and off his shoulder.

            "...Still want to go back?"

            Yusuke nodded slightly, and tensed when there was a slight disruption in the bushes a little further in. But it was only Hokushin, and he relaxed again when he heard the monk calling out.

            "Master Yusuke? Hiei?"

            Yusuke scrunched up his face in an exaggerated expression as he glanced over at Hiei.

            "Guess we gotta take him back, too."

            Hiei wrinkled his nose in distaste; completely missing Yusuke's expression and focusing on his words. He glanced the opposite way towards Hokushin, briefly considering just running away from the monk. Then Hiei sighed, and shoved Yusuke's face down towards the ground, from where his palm still lingered on Yusuke's head.

            "Stuuupid." Hiei complained at him; but low enough so they wouldn't get found out right away. He realized he couldn't think of anything else to say, after that, so he settled for just mussing up Yusuke's hair with one hand.

            Yusuke made a quiet grunt of indignation and attempted to swat Hiei's hand away, before changing his mind and grabbing him by the wrist instead.

            "...wait."

            He sat up properly, and scanned Hiei's face in order to gauge the demon's reaction.

            "I have an idea. Do you remember the way back?"

            Hiei squinted over at him, but didn't pull back his wrist right away, either.

            "...I mean. One of us has to." Hiei grumbled. He made a half-hearted attempt to poke Yusuke's eyes out, since his hand was still close to Yusuke's face.

            Yusuke dodged away from Hiei's attempt, with a mischievous grin on his face, before letting go of the demon completely.

            "Race me."

            Any race against Hiei would be pointless... in Makai. But from here back to the border? Yusuke was willing to bet he could run fast enough to surprise both demons who had so willingly dragged him along, and hopefully lose the monk in the process.

            Hiei raised an eyebrow at him, but that look put him on guard. Yusuke was plotting something. Hiei shifted to look back at where Hokushin was still searching for them, then to Yusuke once more.

            Yusuke knew he'd lose any race. So if he was suggesting one, there was something else going on. And it was probably better to suggest a race than let Hokushin get wind of any real plan.

            "...Yeah, alright." Hiei agreed, leaning forward to sneer into Yusuke's face. "If you wanna lose that badly."

            Yusuke only grinned even wider at the taunt, and tipped himself forward, getting his feet firmly underneath him and his hands on the ground in front of him, to steady himself, clearly ready to take off.

            "Who says I'm gonna lose?"

            And then, without any further warning, Yusuke summoned up as much reiki as he could, as fast as he possibly could, and launched himself forward out of the bushes in the direction of the barrier. And he ran. He ran faster than he ever had in his entire life. Faster, really, than he had time to react to, which meant he ended up glancing off a tree or two as he attempted to correct the path of his trajectory, but with the amount of reiki coursing through his body, that hardly felt like a problem. Who the hell cared about a couple of bruises when you were having this much fun?

            By the time the scenery had faded and the barrier came into view, Yusuke slowed to a halt, leaning over with his hands on his knees, laughing in between panted breaths. Hokushin, he noticed, was nowhere in sight.

            Good riddance. The nosy bastard.

            Hiei huffed at Yusuke's running stance, to start, but his eyes widened as there was a swell of reiki, and Yusuke was gone. Hiei stared after him, in shock, but it didn't last long. A strangled, laugh-like sound of surprised elation burst out of him as he gave chase, eyes narrowing.

            It felt... harder to run, here, for some reason. Had Hiei been relying on his youki to run, without noticing it? It was more apparent here, because if Yusuke was feeling a power burst, being in Ningenkai, the same could be said for Hiei in Makai. A foolish, delighted grin stretched his face as Hiei worked to catch up.

            Yusuke wasn't weak at all, then. Just in the wrong place to be strong. And this proved it.

            Hiei followed in Yusuke's path, tracking him intuitively so he wouldn't lose him. He dodged around the grazed trees with a shake of his head, then eventually zeroed in on Yusuke. He'd stopped ahead. So Hiei did the only thing that made sense, with this weird feeling buoying him up from inside.

            He tackled Yusuke as he phased out of his run, laughing loud and ridiculous as he clung to his friend and they sprawled in the dirt. Because it'd been so simple a solution, and not even any of the grown-ups had thought of it. Hiei had. Something in his chest swelled; it almost hurt, it felt so good.

            Yusuke let out a strangled sound as Hiei tackled him, and instinctively clung to the other demon as they hit the ground, rolling. But when Hiei simply laughed and collapsed down onto the dirt, Yusuke relaxed, and kept on laughing right along with him.

            Yusuke turned his head to stare over at Hiei's bright laughing face for a moment before he rolled over in the dirt and propped himself up on his elbows, so he could stare down at him, instead. Slowly, Yusuke's grin widened into something much more wickedly satisfied.

            "Hey. You lost."

            Hiei snorted at him, and palmed at Yusuke's face, but didn't try too hard to shove him off, just yet.

            "Nope." Hiei said, still attempting to pull a serious face when his insides didn't match that, right now. "Hokushin did." He declared, with a triumphant grin that felt too ludicrously wide, when accounting for the actual situation.

            Because Yusuke had beat him. Hiei hadn't even let him. Yusuke just had.

            Yusuke lost it, rolling off into the dirt in a fit of giggles at Hiei's declaration. But the mention of the monk was a reminder that he was still a problem. If not at the moment, then soon. So Yusuke made an attempt to compose himself, and sat up.

            "We should probably get goin', if we don't want him to catch up. I think you were right though. I don't think I can run that fast over here. So we should find a different way home."

            Hiei sat up as well, watching Yusuke giggle for a moment, until he sat up. Then Hiei's eyes dragged behind them, to where the land faded back into the barrier-grid.

            "Mm. He's gonna be mad." Hiei was smirking around it, though. He pushed himself up, dusting himself off and checking the status of the bag on his shoulder - still secure, if a little dusty. Then he offered his right hand down to pull Yusuke up, considering their surroundings. With his free hand, Hiei pointed in the direction they'd come. "Home is... that way."

            Or, at least, that was the way Hokushin was going to go. Yusuke was right: if they didn't want to get caught and scolded, they should take a different path.

            Yusuke took Hiei's hand and pulled himself to his feet, brushing off his clothes before taking a quick look around. He'd gotten a lot better at finding his way around than he used to be, but he still relied on Hiei a lot for stuff like this: finding an alternate route. If it wasn't the way they'd come, then Yusuke wasn't certain he would be able to find his way back from this far out. But he knew Hiei would. So...

            "Well... lead the way then." He smirked. "I'll do my best to keep up."

            Hiei deadpanned over at him, and resisted the urge to punch Yusuke in his stupid, smirky face. Was it getting stuck that way?

            "Like I'd leave you out here." He huffed, turning away and grabbing Yusuke's wrist in the same moment. Maybe the extra reiki Yusuke'd recovered would help him get back faster? Well, they'd only know if they tried. So, keeping a tight grip on Yusuke's wrist - so Hiei could better gauge when he started to drag or stumble, and adjust his speed accordingly - Hiei veered off out of the plains around them, headed for a forest. The edge of it seemed to run parallel to the way they'd come, but Hiei'd have to keep in mind where they were at all times, so they wouldn't get lost.

            Hokushin had said it was a long way, but they'd run it pretty quick at demon-speed. So Hiei tried to calculate it in his head. If it'd taken them until midday to get here, and they'd left late in the morning... and they were going slower, going back... Maybe they'd get back just after nightfall, if the two of them were limited to Yusuke's speed?

            Well, they had enough food; and water. And Hiei was noticing his usual abundance of available youki was back. So they'd be fine.

            Yusuke reacted quickly when Hiei grabbed him, not wanting to be dragged along, and paid attention as he ran along behind. It would be embarrassing to fall behind now. So he carefully gauged the amount of reiki he had left - was it more, than before? - and only pushed himself to run a little faster than he normally would. He really didn't want to get spotted, after making such a successful getaway, after all.

            After they'd run for a little while, Yusuke could tell his reiki was beginning to drain away like it usually did. Frustrated, he debated with himself as he ran. If he didn't slow down, and just kept on running, he would drain himself for sure. But... he could always go back to the human realm, couldn't he? He wouldn't necessarily have to wait for a full recovery every time, if all he had to do was cross over the border.

            A distant, jumbled memory threatened to disrupt his thoughts and Yusuke clenched his teeth as a shiver raced down his spine.

            He wouldn't have to go to where all the people were, in the human world, just to recover his reiki. All he had to do was cross the border. As long as they could find it first.

Chapter Text

            Yusuke's pace didn't slow, but Hiei noticed his reiki was dwindling. It was easier to notice, now, because there'd been more of it to really catch on Hiei's senses, in Ningenkai.

            Without saying anything, Hiei slowed, and detoured under the boughs of the trees. He let go of Yusuke's wrist to rummage in the pack, and tossed a bread bun at him. Then Hiei dug out a meat bun for himself, and dropped to a seat, to take a bite out of it. Holding it in his mouth, he wrangled one of the water flasks free and offered it up to Yusuke.

            Yusuke stopped and sat without complaint when Hiei stopped, ripping a bite out of the bun he'd been handed. And then another. He hadn't realized how hungry he'd gotten.

            He chewed through the bread with a mechanical determination, and muttered a quick thanks when Hiei passed him the water, drinking it down just as enthusiastically before finishing off his bread to rummage around in the pack for some fruit.

            Hiei drank from his own flask, idly watching Yusuke over it. He turned over the moment in his mind.

            "Ningenkai was loud." Hiei said, bluntly, unrelenting eyes trained on Yusuke for any reaction. He lowered his flask and occupied his mouth with another bite of food, but his gaze never wavered.

            "Mm..."

            Yusuke dug into his fruit, and stared off into the trees as he chewed. It had been loud, once they'd gotten past the trees. But... something else had happened. Yusuke just wasn't sure what it was. He just had this feeling, like he didn't want to be there.

            "Humans... killed my mother. I don't trust them."

            That had to be it. Right?

            "There were lots of humans." Hiei agreed after swallowing, but he kept staring. He couldn't really put a reason on why, though. His eyes darted to the side, internally assessing Yusuke's statement; silently debating it. Then they settled back on Yusuke. Hiei wondered if Yusuke actually remembered anything of that life he'd had, before. If he'd been one of those many humans, walking around obliviously in a world of growling monsters and hot black stone and glittering, multi-colored eyeballs suspended in the sky.

            A lot of them had been laughing. Hiei'd spied a few kids like them. They looked well-fed, and colorful, and happy. What was it with humans and color, anyway?

            Yusuke scowled down at the ground.

            "Too many humans."

            Not that that would stop him from going back. He would just be more prepared next time, that's all.

            "But... a lotta reiki, too..."

            Yusuke wondered about that. Was it because the humans lived there that there was more reiki? Or did the humans live there because that's where the reiki was? Either way, it was obviously different from Makai. Yusuke looked over at his hand, and flexed it, opening and closing his fist. How much more would he be able to do, over there, he wondered.

            Hiei finished his bun, and took another sip. He reached into the bag for a fruit, starting in on that as he kept watching Yusuke.

            "Mhm. You want to go back sometime?" Hiei took a stab at a guess, because Yusuke sort of looked like he wanted to go back. Hiei wouldn't mind it, really. He could stand having less access to environmental youki, for a little bit. Ningenkai seemed full of things he didn't know, too. It could even be, sort of... fun? To learn about them.

            Especially if that was Yusuke's 'real' world. His original world. The one he'd probably been happy in, before his mama got killed.

            Yusuke nodded decisively, and looked up to meet Hiei's gaze.

            "Yeah. I wanna go back. But..." He grinned. "We gotta ditch the tag-along. You think you can find out how they figure out where the portals are?"

            Finding things out had always been something Hiei had been good at, because people didn't always pay attention to him. Yusuke really envied him for that, some days. Everybody always paid attention to him.

            Yusuke had seen it happen, too. He could remember one particular instance even, where one of the monks was so busy chewing him out for trying to take something he shouldn't have, that the idiot completely failed to notice when Hiei simply stepped up behind him and stuck the damn thing in his pocket.

            It had turned out to be a completely boring artifact, in Yusuke's opinion, but he would never forget the way they'd laughed about it afterwards. It had just been so easy.

            Hiei blinked at him, then rotated his eyes skyward as he thought about it; chewing. He swallowed, after a bit.

            "Mmm... maybe." They did feel a certain way, once they got into them. His brow furrowed, and Hiei stared down at the dirt in front of him, trying to parse it out. "Maybe if we got close to another one, I could tell. Would have to see more of them." Hiei eyed him, then, and cradled the fruit in his right hand, palm up, as he pointed his right index finger at Yusuke. "Trouble is, where you are, they know I am. If we're out of the castle." He grimaced, taking another bite. It was harder to be sneaky if people assumed he should be around somewhere. Since he was Yusuke's bodyguard, and all.

            Yusuke hummed, and tilted his head, thinking. Getting Hiei out of the castle often enough to look for more portals might be a problem. But it wasn't as if they never left the castle.

            "They don't know, they guess. What about rainy days?"

            He indicated the pack they had brought with them.

            "They don't know where we are if we're not using our ki, and you can cover a lot more ground on your own, right? We can skip out and I'll just stay in the cave. I can wait for you there."

            Hiei scowled over at him, cheeks pinking slightly with annoyance as he set down the flask in his lap; upright, so it wouldn't spill. Then he reached out to bop Yusuke's head with his left fist.

            "Dummy. Wouldn't be your bodyguard then. What if something came 'round to eat you up?" He groused, starting to glare and definitely not liking that idea.

            Yusuke rolled his eyes and blocked Hiei's incoming fist.

            "Come on. When was the last time we saw anything in that cave? Besides. Nothin's gonna eat me."

            Hiei didn't relent: either by way of his glare or the stubborn press of his wrist against Yusuke's blocking forearm. He bared his teeth, slightly, at Yusuke.

            "I'm not doing that. Think of something else."

            Yusuke squinted over at Hiei, and then huffed, angling his arm so that the force of Hiei's downward press slid sideways, out of his face.

            "Fine. Hokushin knew about the portal before we left, and you know his lazy ass wasn't out of the castle this morning before he took us. So how did he know where it was? Somebody had to tell him. But Papa didn't know we was gonna ask him to go. That means he already had somebody lookin'. So we just gotta find that person."

            As his arm slid down, Hiei tried to flick the side of Yusuke's face. Not really caring if he succeeded or not, Hiei withdrew, grabbing his flask again and taking a swig as he watched and listened to Yusuke think. ...Surprisingly, Yusuke's assessment stood up to scrutiny. Hiei smirked a little.

            "Those study lessons paying off, huh?" He jeered, hunching slightly in Yusuke's direction with a sharp grin. "Getting all analytical over there."

            Yusuke shoved Hiei lightly and glanced away, grumbling.

            "Shut the hell up."

            He ignored the slight flush threatening to creep across his face.

            "If you'd rather go runnin' around the castle after a buncha stupid monks, 'stead of tryina find the damn things yourself, go ahead."

            Hiei snickered at him, batting Yusuke's hand away. He kept eyes on him, though. Just because.

            "Nah, was a good idea. Gotta track that person down. They probably go out in the morning, since your papa had us leave straight away. Bonus points for ruining Hokushin's day, though." His grin widened, just a little. "And if they leave in the morning, maybe I can track them, since I get up earlier. So long as you stay inside the castle until I'm back, and cover for me." Hiei amended, expression canting a little curiouser, to see what Yusuke thought of that.

            Yusuke felt his mouth twitch upwards in a smirk at the mention of Hokushin. But, to be fair, it was pretty easy to ruin that guy's day. He let his gaze drift off to the side slightly, as he thought about the rest of Hiei's plan though. Their usual early morning schedule...

            "I can probably cover for you most days until morning training. 'Cause you never miss training."

            He glanced back over at Hiei.

            "Think that'll be enough time?"

            Hiei nodded. Him missing morning training would be a dead giveaway something was up. And if Raizen suspected something was 'going on', it would be even harder to get it past him.

            "Mhm." Hiei's gaze hardened, determined, and he nodded again: a few more times, in quick succession. "I'll just get up earlier. Watch for someone leaving real early." Or maybe... multiple someones? There was no way to know until Hiei started to investigate. "But be back by then."

            Yusuke couldn't help the wide grin on his face, or the triumphant look in his eyes as he met Hiei's steady gaze.

            "Great."

            Now they had a plan. And he was going to get stronger. For real this time. He had to. If they actually managed to figure out how to make the crossing back and forth to Ningenkai, then he couldn't afford to waste this chance.

            Yusuke reached for the pack of food again, grabbing another bread bun and devouring it with determined efficiency before finishing off most of the rest of his water flask.

            "... we should get going then."

            Something... fluttered. Inside of Hiei? On instinct, he didn't let it show past a slight widening of his eyes, that Yusuke wasn't likely to notice, anyway. He sat back, absently cuing himself up to eating the rest of his fruit as he watched Yusuke work through another bun.

            Hiei seemed to shake himself out of it when Yusuke spoke though, nodding sharply and screwing the lid back on his mostly-empty water flask as he reaffixed it to one the side of the pack, and stood. Hiei secured Yusuke's in the same way, on the other side, then looked around to orient himself. The plain was still on their right, so they just had to keep going this way until they found more of the landmarks they'd passed on the way in.

            With a side-glance back at Yusuke, not grabbing his wrist this time, Hiei tilted forward into a running pace Yusuke should be able to match, without whittling his just-revitalized reiki down to nothing.

            Yusuke was already ready by the time Hiei took off, and he followed behind easily. It was a slower pace than before, but that was fine. He knew now that it was going to be a while before they could go back to Ningenkai, and in the mean time he would have to pretend like nothing had changed at all. He had gone there. He had come back. He had ditched Hokushin in the mean time, but nobody really needed to know the details.

            And if Papa asked, he would simply tell the truth. Hiei had been right. There was more reiki in Ningenkai. And he hated it there.

            Yusuke couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this relieved to finally be home, once they reached the castle gates. It had gotten late, and nearly too dark for Yusuke to see, so they'd entered through the kitchen-side gardens, where their mothers portraits lived. Yusuke always left a candle there, for when he visited at night, and he took it with him this time as they passed through, so he could make his way back to his room in the dark.

            He was so exhausted by that point that he didn't bother changing, and simply removed his boots and socks before falling face-first into bed.

            He woke to the sound of a woman screaming.

            Yusuke bolted upright, only to realize he was sitting on the floor, with a mess of bed furs sliding down off the bed next to him. He was breathing hard and covered in sweat, and started to shiver as the rapidly cooling temperature of his damp skin finally registered in his brain. Stripping off his shirt before pushing himself to his feet, Yusuke wandered over to his closet and pulled on a fresh set of bed clothes.

            Then he simply stood there for several moments in the dark. Eventually, he made a decision, grabbed his candle from beside the door, and went to Papa's room, to sleep there for the rest of the night.

            In the morning, Papa was gone, but Yusuke didn't bother rushing himself to get out of bed. He did wonder though, if Hiei had left the castle yet or not.

            Instead of staring at the sun, as it rose, Hiei rolled out of bed when it first peeked out over the sky. He smushed down his youki; not entirely strange, he did it sometimes when sneaking around the castle. Hiei got changed, and took a quick detour to the garden to wish their mothers good morning. When he got back, he'd probably have to go into the castle, and then straight out to the training grounds.

            He flit up to a higher-point on the castle, watching for anyone leaving in the dimness. Hiei's eyes narrowed when a few people did. Picking one at random, Hiei trailed them like a shadow, ensuring he wasn't seen or sensed. There was no luck with this one, though: Hiei kept an eye on the sky as the light changed. His time window was limited, and the monks might run faster than Yusuke, but they were still slow.

            To entertain himself in his spying, Hiei realized there was a flaw in their plan. He'd be extra tired for morning training, by the time he showed up. If he did this every day, Hiei might get used to it, but it would take a long time - until he had followed all of them - to build up his stamina. But that alone could be a good excuse. Because someone would probably notice, eventually. So Hiei had to have a reason ready. Something with a bit of truth in it...

            Maybe... he'd just decided to start running every morning? It wasn't a total lie. And it would make Hiei stronger. And if it was so important to Yusuke... he'd do it. It wasn't about the physical toll it took. Hiei would do this for him. Yusuke wanted him to. Hiei could say no, but... it wouldn't be worth it.

            So, every morning for a week, Hiei got up at the break of dawn and silently trailed the various monks that spread to the four winds. Some of them did come upon the barrier into Ningenkai, and with those Hiei tried extra hard to remember what was different about those places.

            By the end of the week though, he was tired. There were bags under his eyes he didn't notice. But Hiei didn't complain. He'd just have to go to bed earlier, and eat more. That should take care of it, right? He was a demon. A strong one. His body just had to accept that this was how things were, now. It just had to obey him.

            When Yusuke did roll himself out of bed, he returned to his room first. When he went to pick his discarded clothes up off the floor however, a small stone clattered out of his pants pocket, and he paused. It was a pink hiruiseki. He fished the rest of them out of his pants pocket, and then dug the small pouch out from under his bed furs, to stash them there instead, where they would be safe.

            After carefully replacing the pouch, the rest of his bed furs, and gathering his clothes of the floor to dispose of them properly, Yusuke considered the strange events that had proceeded their trip, yesterday morning. Things had started off normal enough. With a scuffle. Or, at least that's what Yusuke had thought, until Hiei suddenly started acting weird. After he'd bit him.

            Yusuke puzzled over it some more as he dressed for the day, and headed down to the kitchens to grab breakfast like usual. Then, food in hand, he walked right back out again.

            He had questions. And the best place to look for them, without actually asking somebody, was the library. It was also the last place anyone would think to come looking for him, this early in the morning, which meant he was less likely to be bothered by anyone looking for Hiei. 

            It didn't take Yusuke a whole week to figure out why Hiei had reacted so weirdly when he'd bitten him like that. In fact, it didn't even take a whole day before Yusuke had started noticing that a bunch of other people had bite marks on them in exactly the same place.

            But talking about it? Seemed impossible.

            Hiei just looked so damn tired, for one thing. And Yusuke still wasn't sure why he'd gotten so mad about it, afterwards. Had he made a mistake, biting Hiei like that? It had just been an accident, right? Hiei had to know that.

            Or did Hiei think that he meant it?

            Yusuke had never thought about it, before now. But... did he? He wasn't sure.

Chapter Text

            Hiei was starting to get the shape of how to find the barrier, but it always fucking changed places. He noticed, it was usually in one particular direction though. So the other way, was just deeper into Makai? Maybe that made sense. What if they kept walking just in that direction? Would the places where they could access the barrier... reappear? Did they cycle through the same places? Was that how this puzzle worked?

            Groaning to himself, Hiei pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. He was lying on his back in his room, too tired to even climb up the ladder into his loft-bed. His legs hurt. He'd come here after grabbing an afternoon snack, but his stupid body wouldn't let him sleep until it was nighttime. So Hiei'd just laid here, staring out the glass ceiling above. His muscles were sore, and it took even more effort to hide his fatigue from Raizen or Shilly-sensei's eyes. Because they knew what to look for.

            No one had mentioned anything yet, though. So maybe it was safe?

            Yusuke just managed to dodge the attention of a particularly long-winded monk, which he knew bought him at least another hour or so of free time, so he took the stairs two at a time on his way up to Hiei's room, hoping that the demon would be there. He knocked on the door, but didn't wait for an answer before slowly opening it a crack to peer inside.

            Hiei was there. Laying on the floor, like a dead fish. Yusuke sighed heavily and entered the room, lowering himself down, cross-legged, on the floor next to him.

            "You gotta take a break..."

            Hiei grunted, closing his eyes and lifting his left arm from the floor, at the elbow. He waved his hand dismissively in the air, once or twice, before letting it flop back down.

            "'m fine. This is nothing. Just gotta get stronger." He mumbled. Then: "Did you close the door?" It would ruin everything if somebody else walked by and realized how tired Hiei was. Or, at least it felt like it would. Yusuke was in on it, so he was OK.

            Yusuke rolled his eyes.

            "Yeah I closed the door. An' you can't get any stronger if you burn yourself out first. Trust me."

            Yusuke grimaced, remembering what it had felt like those first few weeks when he'd started using his reiki in training sessions, and Papa had him using it all up. Every. Single. Day. He had never felt so tired in his whole life. Before or since. And he hadn't really started getting any stronger until they'd stopped, and moved on to a much more reasonable training routine.

            Hiei huffed at him. He slitted open one eye, sliding a squinty look over at Yusuke sitting beside him.

            "'m fine." He repeated, stubbornly. "You want to go, right? So I gotta figure it out. Then we can go on our own."

            Yusuke grinned, and leaned over Hiei slightly.

            "I do wanna go. But I want you to go with me. An' I don't want you to be useless by the time we get there."

            He reached over to flick Hiei on the forehead.

            "So you better get some sleep, stupid."

            Hiei didn't understand why this would make him angry, but his cheeks pinked a bit as Yusuke leaned over him. He jerked his face to the right, away from Yusuke, and blocked Yusuke's flick with his left arm; and a dismissive snort.

            "I'm not useless. Dummy." Hiei fixed his gaze on one of the dusty, far-off toys he never used, both eyes firmly aimed away from Yusuke now. There was an uncomfortable curl of - rage? it had to be, right? if he was angry - in his gut.

            Yusuke swallowed and glanced away when he noticed the color in Hiei's face, straightening up as he cleared his throat. The responding heat in his own face had nothing to do with it, he reasoned.

            "Yeah, well... you will be if you keep doin' this. You look like shit already."

            Making an irritated noise, Hiei leaned into the familiar feeling. Even if his legs were sore, he pivoted on his shoulder-blades and lifted his socked feet, making a half-hearted attempt to kick at Yusuke with first one, then the other.

            "Shuttup. No I don't. Somebody would'a said something." Hiei challenged, but since he was so tired, he couldn't quite muster the usual heat to it. But he was angry, so. He was glaring, because it made sense. And, anyway... the words sounded right?

            Yusuke shoved Hiei's legs aside and snorted sarcastically.

            "I'm sayin' somethin'. What. I don't count?"

            Letting his legs flop down to the floor again, Hiei pulled down his right eyelid and stuck out his tongue at Yusuke.

            "You said it, not me." Hiei snarked back at him, unable to resist and starting to grin despite his annoyance.

            Yusuke huffed in disbelief and shoved Hiei's shoulder.

            "What!? Liar. I do so count!" He laughed. "And you do look like shit."

            Hiei bared his teeth slightly, bracing his arms against the floor. With monumental effort, he lifted his left foot to shove it in Yusuke's face; intending to rub it in there.

            "Like you even know what that looks like." Hiei huffed nonsensically back at him. "Just tired. Stupid."

            When Hiei lifted his foot, clearly intending on aiming another kick of some kind, Yusuke grabbed the demon's ankle and held it in place, instead.

            "So tired you can't even beat a human? Then what good are you to me as a bodyguard, huh? Might as well do all the fighting myself."

            Hiei narrowed his eyes as Yusuke grabbed his ankle, and showed a little more of his teeth in a frightening grin.

            "If I was tryin', you'd get hurt." He said, simply, gaze awash with the fiery challenge of it. "Just because I go easy on you doesn't mean I wouldn't kill anybody who tried to get you."

            Yusuke squinted down at Hiei suspiciously, but let go of the demon's ankle, shoving it away from him.

            "Still... I know what it feels like... bein' tired because you're doin' too much." He sighed. "And I don't want you to have to feel like that, for me. I can wait. It's not like Ningenkai's goin' anywhere."

            Hiei blinked up at him, a little thrown at the change in topic. He shrugged into the floor, letting his leg come to rest on it again.

            "Yeah, but..." Hiei stared up, far overhead, past his glass ceiling. "You've waited this whole time already. And you didn't even know it was something you might want, because your papa didn't even bother to think about it." Hiei scowled up at the sky. Some papa Raizen was, at times. Sure, he gave them both food and shelter and plenty of free time... but he also asked things of them. Sometimes took them - like forcing Yusuke to study and train. Did Yusuke even want to do the latter?

            ...Well, that was a stupid thought. Of course he did. Yusuke'd told Hiei so, himself: that he wanted to be as strong as Raizen, one day. But still, something about it seemed - 'off', somehow. Was it really what Yusuke wanted? Or just what Raizen wanted for him? And maybe Yusuke'd gotten so used to hearing it, it'd just sort of... sunk in?

            Yusuke was silent for a moment, just staring down at Hiei, before he spoke.

            "If I waited this long, then I can wait a little longer. Besides... I... never wanted to go back, until you mentioned the reiki. And Papa knew that. I was the one who forgot."

            Yusuke looked away, his eyes scanning the room without really taking in what he was seeing, his thoughts clearly elsewhere.

            "I don't really 'member much but... the human world... 's not a good place."

            Hiei readjusted his gaze to Yusuke again, listening quietly. He noted Yusuke's faraway look, pondering it, before sitting up. From closer range, like this, it was more apparent that Hiei'd grown. It was still something to get used to: Yusuke no longer being taller than him.

            Hiei... liked it.

            "No where's a good place." Hiei said without thinking, not looking at anything but Yusuke. Yusuke, who was looking at something Hiei couldn't see. "And just because you forgot, doesn't mean you wouldn't have wanted to go before..." Hiei leaned towards him a little, half-lifting his right hand like he wanted to grab Yusuke's shoulder. To remind Yusuke that he didn't live wherever he was looking right now.

            Yusuke lived... here. Now. With Hiei, and Raizen, and the cooks - and the monks, much as Hiei detested them.

            Yusuke started to smile, and looked over at Hiei, only to realize with a start that Hiei'd sat up while he wasn't paying attention, and was staring right back at him. He still wasn't used to it, meeting those red, unblinking eyes so directly. For some reason, it reminded him of the other thing he kind of, mostly, didn't want to talk to Hiei about, and he quickly ducked his head to the side again as he felt his face begin to warm.

            "I... I... uh..."

            What had they been talking about? Before? Yusuke was suddenly having trouble remembering.

            When Yusuke looked back at him, Hiei's right hand hovered, indecisive, in the air. Yusuke was giving him a face that Hiei didn't recognize. Hiei debated about it, but in the end - after Yusuke looked away - he did grab at the side of Yusuke's left shoulder. Just to let him know Hiei was here.

            "We don't have to go, if you don't want." Hiei turned over the possibilities in his head, eyes trailing skyward again. Was Yusuke angry at him for bringing it up? "Or, I can... stop going. Every morning, at least. If it bothers you so much." He ended in a grumble, eyes dropping back into the room, but now aimed somewhere to Hiei's left.

            His face felt warm again. Hiei didn't understand it. Why would he be angry, right now? ...Because Yusuke was worrying about him? Was that it? It wasn't Yusuke's job to worry about Hiei, though. He was just supposed to be a stupid kid, and let Hiei do the worrying. For both of them.

            Right! The portals!

            Grateful for the sudden reminder of the actual topic at hand, Yusuke snapped back to attention, turning to Hiei and nodding decisively.

            "Yeah! You should do that. You already figured out who's assigned to find 'um, right? So why should you go out every day and look for 'um too? We only need to know where they are when we're ready to go. You'll figure it out. I know you will. But you don't gotta get up so early all the time just for that. I trust you."

            Hiei startled a little when Yusuke seemed to snap back into himself, blinking rapidly and lifting his hand off Yusuke's shoulder, in his surprise. Staring, as Yusuke spoke, Hiei barely got a word in until after. It had been a jumble.

            "...Mm." Some of the words caught up to him then, and Hiei scowled. He lifted his right hand, aiming to poke one finger above each of Yusuke's eyebrows. "But I need to go, sometimes, dummy. Trying to get a feel for 'em." Yusuke saying he trusted him only made Hiei angrier; going by his reddening face, anyway. So Hiei shoved Yusuke in his chest, with his left hand: complaining. "It's doing good things, too. Not just tired. Learning stuff I didn't know. Like that the barrier crossing spots only appear to the east. If you go west, 's just more Makai."

            Hiei's face only kept getting redder, but Yusuke was doing a pretty good job of ignoring it. Mostly because what Hiei was saying was actually interesting. Yusuke swatted Hiei's hand away, and ignored the way his own face felt far warmer than it should be. Hiei was a fire demon, after all. He was probably just sitting too close. Yusuke tried not to think about that either.

            "What? Seriously? That's great! That makes it easier though, right? To find 'um? Wha' do they feel like? It didn't really feel like anything to me, until we got to the other side."

            Hiei made an upset noise when Yusuke swatted at him, so he swatted him back, eyes narrowing in his heated face. He shifted a little away, putting his hands on either side of his own hips and glaring off to his right; away from Yusuke. Even if the conversation was making Hiei mad, though:

            "Mhm. 's... hard to explain." Hiei stared at his socked toes, stretched out in front of him, now. He wiggled them a little. "Gotta show you when I get the feeling down. But there is a feeling. Air's different. Or... somethin'." He mumbled into his chest, darting a furtive look under his bangs and to his left, over at Yusuke sitting beside him.

            "... right."

            Yusuke hummed and dropped his hands to his shins, still folded in front of him, rocking slightly as the conversation seemed to naturally come to an end. He couldn't really think of anything else to say, anyway.

            Now that Hiei wasn't staring directly at him, Yusuke felt his gaze drop to Hiei's neck, where he had bitten him. But his eyes only lingered there for a split second before they skittered away again, as Yusuke, suddenly embarrassed, quickly glanced around the room for something else to look at.

            As his eyes swept across the floor, he remembered the hiruiseki. Why had Hiei cried, when he bit him? Hiei never cried. That, really more than anything else, was the reason Yusuke had taken the incident so seriously. It was important, and he needed to understand it. Because it couldn't happen again.

            Hiei nodded, gazing down at his own lap again. When the silence stretched, he hesitated, then lay back down, so he could stare up at the sky again. But his awareness of Yusuke didn't really go away. Neither did the angry tint to his own face, and Hiei frowned a bit in thought.

            Why was his body acting so angry? It didn't really feel the same as the hot, sticky sensation Hiei got when he was really really angry at Yusuke. But it made his face red, and it made him want to hit Yusuke. Or... something like that. So what else could it be?

            Steeling himself, Yusuke gripped his shins and looked up at the wall, away from Hiei. He could feel the heat rising on his face, but he pushed through it. This was important. He needed to stop being a coward about it, and just say something.

            "Um... that day... before we left... I... didn't know... I... shouldn't have done that... sorry."

            Yusuke barely muttered his apology, as an afterthought. It felt like something he should do, but... he wasn't really sure if he meant it.

            Hiei listened for a bit, and then he blinked over at Yusuke, as his words tapered off into nothingness. What... was he talking about?

            "Huh?" Hiei said, intelligently. The day before they left? ...A week ago? His brow furrowed, trying to remember. He tried to brush aside all the complicated thoughts Hiei'd had since then, about the portals, and how crossing the barrier worked.

            Yusuke swallowed, and turned his head even further away. His face felt like it was on fire, but he refused to let go of his pants and hide behind his hands like some kind of stupid little kid.

            "When... when... I bit you."

            If only the floor would just swallow him whole. Honestly anything would be better than this.

            Hiei blinked a bit more, when Yusuke's face got really red. His own flushed hot to match it, but Hiei didn't... really want to be angry at Yusuke, right now. But if Yusuke was - ?

            He reached out, tugging at the fabric covering Yusuke's right knee. If Yusuke was mad, well then Hiei just wouldn't be.

            "...'s OK. You just did a thing. We were fighting. 'sides... you're..." Just a kid. Hiei changed his mind, about saying that. "...not a demon." Hiei didn't know why he kept talking, but it felt - important? For Yusuke to know? And Yusuke was just a kid, who hadn't known what biting there meant. ...At least, not then. And now he did?

            A ghostly echo of the frustrated, welling feeling Hiei had felt that day, came back to him. He swallowed tightly, trying to smother it, and looked away. But he didn't let go of the fabric he was holding - now puckered over Yusuke's knee - either.

            Yusuke blinked, suddenly thrown by Hiei's comment. Not a demon? Why would that matter? Hiei was a demon. And he was the one that got bit.

            "But..." Yusuke shook his head, and looked back down at Hiei, frowning slightly. "Doesn't matter... I won't do it again, unless I mean it, next time. Promise."

            Hiei's eyes widened, at that, and he swore his throat closed up. Yusuke was staring at him, though. He had to say something. Hiei's grip tightened a bit, on that pinch of fabric. His other hand, still resting on the floor at Hiei's right, tightened into a fist. He managed out something like a squeak. His voice had gone all high, for some reason.

            "H-Huh? W-Why would you mean it though?" That didn't make any sense. And... what? 'Next time'?!

            And just like that, the heat in his face was back, and Yusuke squirmed where he sat, glancing nervously away from those wide red eyes staring up at him.

            "Just... 'cause..."

            Trying to shove the weird feeling in his chest down, Hiei sat up instead. He puffed a harmless marshmallow punch into Yusuke's cheek with his right fist.

            "A-An' another thing!" Hiei sputtered from close-range, eyes still too-wide. His pulse also felt like it was beating too fast, somehow. So it had to be because Hiei was reigning-in his anger, right? "Why're you mad at me?! Huh!?" Because Yusuke's face was just as excruciatingly red as Hiei's own; if he had to guess.

            Yusuke let out an embarrassing squeak when he felt Hiei's fist bump against his cheek, not expecting the contact, and he shoved Hiei back in retaliation, merely out of habit.

            "I ain't mad at you. Stupid."

            But... the way Hiei had said it... was Hiei mad at him? Yusuke glanced nervously over at the demon. He didn't look mad.

            Hiei squawked at the shove, not seeing it coming, and grabbed Yusuke's shirt so he wouldn't fall. He bared his teeth at him on the rebound, finding a splinter of anger to fan into life: at last.

            "Nuh-uh! Your face is red, dummy! So's you're mad! Don't lie."

            When Hiei grabbed him, Yusuke grabbed him back. It was so familiar, it was almost automatic at this point, and he didn't even really have to think about it. He just did it, latching onto Hiei's forearms even as the other demon fisted his hands in his shirt.

            "Dummy! My face is red 'cause I'm embarrassed!"

            Suddenly realizing that he had actually said that, out loud, Yusuke froze. But there was nowhere to go. He was already locked in. He had already committed to this fight... or, whatever the hell this was, by grabbing Hiei back. He couldn't back down now.

            So he did the only thing he could think of, and shoved Hiei again, aiming to push the demon away from him, and back down to the floor.

            Hiei stared at him. What - ? He made a noise as Yusuke shoved him, hands tightening instinctively. Hiei fell back, but he brought Yusuke down on top of him. But -

            "What!" He blurted, still staring up at Yusuke, who was too close. Hiei still didn't let go. "What's! 'Emborrowsed'?"

            Yusuke made a slightly strangled noise when Hiei didn't let go, and ended up dragging him down too. He immediately let go of Hiei's arms, in order to stop himself from falling completely on top of the demon, however, and stared down at him for a moment in stunned silence.

            Hiei didn't know what 'embarrassed' was? Well. He sure as hell wasn't going to explain it to him. Yusuke shoved a hand in Hiei's face instead, and attempted to roll off him.

            "Shuddup."

            Hiei grit his teeth, and kneed Yusuke in his stomach: for good measure. He didn't let go, just turned his face to the left so he could get his mouth - and teeth - clear of Yusuke's hand. Yusuke knew something Hiei didn't, then? Was that it? Hiei barked stubbornly up at him, eyes screwing shut and right cheek still smushed under Yusuke's palm.

            "No! Tell me! What's it!"

            Yusuke grit his teeth and bared them down at Hiei, even though the demon couldn't see his face. And he pushed Hiei's face into the floor.

            "I dunno! How to explain it. It's like... when someone shows you a move, and you think it's gonna be real easy, but then you trip and mess it all up the first time you try and show somebody. I'm not mad at you. I'm just embarrassed 'cause... I didn't do it right..."

            Wide-eyed, Yusuke suddenly snapped his mouth shut. Why the hell couldn't he just stop talking!?

            He was very invested now, in making sure Hiei didn't turn his head back around. He could stay glued to the floor, and spare Yusuke from any further admissions.

            Beyond the pushing, and the shoving, Hiei tried to figure out what Yusuke was talking about. Messing up a move? Hiei... didn't understand that. Sure, he did little things wrong now and then, but they were just tweaks. His moves always worked. So... not literally what Yusuke was saying, then.

            Hiei wracked his brain for a better comparison. Something that fit what Yusuke was saying, but not for Yusuke. For... himself.

            'Embarrassed'... Messing up.

            Was it. Was it like... when... when Raizen hadn't let Hiei have his usual training, when he found out about his mama's death? Hiei'd thought it was just anger, then. But... the feeling of being less than... Of getting the feeling Raizen didn't think Hiei was strong enough to carry it on his own, and still go on with his day... Was that... 'embarrassed'?

            Hiei cracked his half-smushed, right eye open, up on Yusuke. He grabbed higher up on Yusuke's collar with his right hand - trying to get a better hold - and bent his left knee into Yusuke's stomach. It wasn't a kick, or hard: just resting there.

            "Didn't do... what right." Hiei accused him lowly, that single visible eye sharp and intent. "An' why're you... 'embarrassed', at me. I'm not makin' fun of you for it. Don't think you're less for it. So's why you feel... 'embarrassed'?"

            Yusuke leaned away, as far as he possibly could without actually letting Hiei up, when Hiei adjusted his grip. But he kept his mouth firmly shut, and simply shook his head. He had already said too much. He wasn't going to say any more.

            Hiei frowned up at him, when Yusuke backed off, and didn't answer. His brain churned, trying to figure out why. Deciding on something, Hiei let go of Yusuke's shirt with his left hand, and pulled Yusuke's hand away from Hiei's mouth; at the wrist. He sat up, still staring intently at Yusuke's face even when he got too close to see it. Their foreheads bumped harmlessly, and then Hiei leaned his forehead against Yusuke's; more purposefully. His grip tightened on Yusuke's wrist, and against the collar of Yusuke's shirt.

            But... if Yusuke didn't have anything more to say, he just didn't. That was all. So Hiei kept quiet, too, silently trying to understand why.

            Yusuke smothered a slightly distressed noise when Hiei pulled his hand away and sat up, his face suddenly far too close for comfort. But he couldn't bring himself to pull away. Even if he wanted to, Hiei still had a hold of him. So Yusuke simply sat there, frozen in place, staring back into those deep, red eyes.

            Those red eyes that followed him everywhere, for almost as far back as he could remember. Red eyes that never cried.

            But he'd made Hiei cry.

            Yusuke didn't know what he would have done if Hiei had really been upset with him over it. This seemed different, somehow, from their other arguments. Yusuke had never not felt like telling Hiei something before. But now... every time he opened his damn mouth he regretted it immediately. Why?

            Yusuke's eyes were different, right now. For some reason. Was there guilt there? Hiei scowled to himself. But Yusuke wasn't trying to pull away. So... it was fine, right? Shifting over a little, Hiei let his face drop onto Yusuke's left shoulder, his right hand moving to grip at the back of Yusuke's shirt, over his hip. He hooked his left arm's elbow around Yusuke's neck, in a half-there hug.

            It was a little awkward, but Hiei didn't know what else to do. There was nothing he could do, if Yusuke didn't want to tell him.

            Yusuke tensed when Hiei started to pull at him but, once he realized what was happening, he immediately slipped both arms up and around Hiei's back, hugging the demon tightly to him. It was... comforting. And it eased the nagging worry that had been following him around all week.

            He had made a mistake. But Hiei didn't hate him for it. And now that he knew better, Yusuke knew that he would always have the chance to try again. If he wanted to. Maybe. Yusuke blushed slightly, and ducked his face down into Hiei's shoulder.

            Hiei blinked a little when Yusuke's arms lifted up to encircle him. It was... a hug. Hiei'd seen Yusuke give them, sometimes. Mostly to his papa, but occasionally other people. They'd lowered in frequency as the two of them had gotten taller.

            Had Yusuke ever... hugged him before? Like this? Not just roughhousing in the hall, but - quietly? Like this?

            Cheeks pinking a little more, again, Hiei let his shoulders relax, even as his hands tightened. He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath, letting it out in a slow exhale. Then he rubbed his forehead against Yusuke's shoulder, slowly; back and forth, the motion spurred from somewhere deep within. The fabric felt... familiar. Old, worn with age and many washings.

            Even if Yusuke didn't want to tell him everything... They were OK. This was OK. And Yusuke hadn't been mad at him, either. So that was better to know, too.

            Yusuke sighed when he felt Hiei relax, and he grabbed at the back of Hiei's shirt, unwilling to move away just yet. He had never really been this close to Hiei for this long, aside from the few times Hiei'd had to carry him on his back. And Hiei was warm. Because of course he was. He was a fire demon. But it was a comfortable kind of warmth, in the same way that sitting in a very hot bath was comfortable.

            So Yusuke let himself forget about all the stupid stuff, because that didn't really matter right now, and just relaxed.

            Now that the argument - talk? - was over, Hiei's body seemed to finally remember that he was tired. Well, at least he wasn't up on his feet. But he didn't want to move, either. Moving would mean having to climb up the ladder, and losing this. So he turned his face into Yusuke's neck, and unintentionally found himself yawning into it, before just pressing closer.

            It felt... warm, like this. Or maybe Hiei was just heating up Yusuke, due to the close contact? Maybe it was just reflected warmth?

            Yusuke laughed softly when he felt Hiei yawn, and lean in closer, but he didn't try to pull away or move at all, speaking softly against the back of Hiei's shoulder.

            "Stuuuupid. Why were you lyin' on the floor, anyways?"

            Hiei grumbled at him, absently rubbing his warm face, eyes closed, further in against Yusuke's throat.

            "Floor's easier."

            Yusuke felt his face flush as he registered the sensation of warm skin dragging up his neck. That felt... nice. Was that why Hiei was doing that? Did it feel nice for him too?

            Yusuke's brain fizzled out momentarily, and it was a long moment before he was able to pick up the thread of the conversation again, and think of something to say.

            "You can... just use my bed. If you gotta sleep. It's not like I'm usin' it. And you don't gotta climb up a stupid ladder to get to it, neither."

            Hiei growled quietly, at the proposal of moving. After it rumbled into nothingness, he hmphed stubbornly against Yusuke - but didn't stop nuzzling him, either.

            "Gotta walk there though. Just as bad." He muttered, sounding put-out but not truly irritated.

            Yusuke huffed.

            "Shoulda thoughta that before you walked all the way up here then."

            He laughed again, softly.

            "I could carry you."

            Hiei's growl returned, except lower and more communicating exactly what he thought of that. The fronts of his teeth pushed into Yusuke's neck as he bared them. The sharp points were very carefully not poking Yusuke, but still there.

            Yusuke swallowed hard, his grip tightening on the back of Hiei's shirt when he felt the unmistakable sensation of teeth pressing against his skin. It wasn't a bite, and Yusuke wondered briefly if Hiei even would bite him. Would he even be allowed? Wasn't that against the rules? He frowned. That didn't seem right.

            Yusuke seemed to tense up, and Hiei frowned a little. He tilted his head back, so he could peer up over Yusuke's cheek, at him. ...Was Yusuke frowning, too? Hiei's brow furrowed.

            "...what."

            Pulled from his thoughts when Hiei actually moved, Yusuke turned his head to blink quizzically over at him.

            "Huh?"

            Squinting up at him, Hiei decided on an experiment. He bared his teeth again, and pressed them flatly against Yusuke's neck again, all while watching him closely.

            Wide-eyed, Yusuke watched as Hiei purposely bared his teeth and pressed them to his neck, just like he had a moment ago, and he shivered, unable to stop the reaction.

            "Wh-what are you doing!?"

            Unimpressed, Hiei pulled back and snorted up at him; resting his chin on Yusuke's collarbone.

            "Told you I'm not gonna eat you. So what're you so scared about? Dummy." And he stuck his tongue out at Yusuke.

            Yusuke flushed, turning his face away as he muttered.

            "Didn' think you're gonna eat me..."

            Hiei blinked at him, eyes going round with expectant curiosity. The question floated in the air, unsaid.

            Yusuke swallowed again, and stubbornly refused to look at Hiei. He could practically feel the tension in the air. But if Hiei hadn't meant it like that... then he hadn't meant it like that. Yusuke didn't see the point in embarrassing himself further by bringing it up again.

            Hiei deadpanned up at Yusuke, as the silence grew. But it seemed like Yusuke didn't want to say anything more. ...Again. So in the end, Hiei only huffed, and resumed burrowing his forehead into and nuzzling at Yusuke's neck. He kept his teeth safely away, this time, though.

            Yusuke felt the flush burn all the way up his neck this time when Hiei leaned back in and resumed his previous activity. But... it wasn't as if he wanted Hiei to stop. So Yusuke very stubbornly ducked his own face down to press into Hiei's shoulder, and stayed there, still clutching the back of Hiei's shirt with both hands.

            Even Hiei felt the reflective heat was more than it should be, by this point. Yusuke's neck was definitely warmer than it'd been, a moment ago. So, without unburying himself, words slightly muffled:

            "...does... 'embarrassed' mean, having a red neck too? Not just face?" Because it would be better to be certain, right?"

            The fact that Hiei had noticed certainly didn't make him feel any less embarrassed about it. But Yusuke knew it wasn't worth trying to lie about it either. Besides, he didn't lie to Hiei.

            "... yeah."

            Hiei hummed at that. He pressed his ear to Yusuke's neck, listening to his human pulse.

            "Still not gonna tell me why I make you 'embarrassed'?" He figured it didn't hurt to wonder it aloud.

            "I... "

            Yusuke paused, and swallowed. Considering it.

            "I dunno if I could explain it right... "

            How the hell was he supposed to tell Hiei why he was embarrassed when he didn't even really understand it all himself? What if he did it wrong, and just made Hiei upset again, instead? Would it even be worth it?

            Hiei hmphed at him, but left it at that. It was fine. He tipped slightly towards his left side, intending on flopping them to rest on the floor. He really was still tired...

            When Hiei leaned to one side, and then kept going, Yusuke made a soft questioning noise. But he quickly figured it out and flopped, easily, down to the floor, with a sigh. Hiei clearly didn't want to go anywhere more comfortable. And Yusuke didn't really feel like leaving either. So this was good enough, he supposed. Especially if it meant that Hiei would stay put and actually get some sleep.

            Satisfied when Yusuke just went along with it, Hiei squirmed impossibly closer to him, taking another deep breath with his face pressed into Yusuke's shoulder, and letting it out slowly. As he relaxed into the floor, and against Yusuke, the last sputters of Hiei's brain protested him falling asleep like this. He was supposed to be vigilant, about Yusuke's safety.

            But, well... they were in the castle. And Yusuke was right here. So if anything tried to harm him, Hiei'd be the first to know, anyway.

            That turned out to be his last thought before he passed out, into a much-needed recovery nap.

            Yusuke held himself still as Hiei shifted, and settled. But he didn't let go, even as Hiei relaxed into the dead weight of a sound sleep. This meant that his right arm was trapped underneath the demon for the time being, but that was fine.

            Yusuke smiled and slid his left hand up along Hiei’s spine until he could card his fingers through the soft hair at the base of Hiei's neck. He wasn't especially tired, but the warmth and the contact was soothing, and it wasn't as if laying on the floor was the most exciting activity in the world, so after a little while Yusuke found himself drifting off into a light sleep right along with the demon.

Chapter Text

            The light from overhead was nonexistent, when Hiei eventually woke up. His first thought was to shift to look at it - check it for himself - but when he moved his head there was a hand there. He blinked, and shuffled a bit, as the faint scent of Yusuke's humanity trickled into his awareness. Hiei stared over at Yusuke's sleeping face for an uncomprehending minute.

            Then, he wriggled his right arm free, and promptly pinched Yusuke's nose shut.

            Yusuke gasped, jerking awake suddenly, startled and confused. Instinctively, he tried to push the offending hand away from his face, only to discover that his right arm was still trapped, and his left was twisted up behind Hiei's back. Whining in protest, Yusuke wiggled himself away just enough to get his knees up in front of him, to push Hiei away that way.

            Hiei rolled his eyes at the whine, already loosening his grip when it was clear Yusuke wouldn't immediately push him off. Yusuke had a perfectly good left arm free, the idiot. Hiei took the kneeing with a grunt, wriggled his other arm free, and proceeded to smoosh Yusuke's cheeks in; a spread hand palming each.

            The irritation seemed to be helping Yusuke's sluggish brain recover, and when Hiei began to squish his face in, he pulled his left arm back towards himself with a frown, so he could shove Hiei's chin up, forcing the demon's head back, away from him.

            Hiei made a garbled sound as he felt Yusuke's fingers brush his throat, then bared his teeth and instinctively snapped at him, moving his hands to Yusuke's shoulders. But now Hiei was also pushing away. He tried to tilt and duck his jaw out of the range of Yusuke's hand, at least. It felt weird there.

            Yusuke bared his teeth right back at Hiei, but since it didn't seem like the demon was going to grab him, he attempted to roll away, tugging his right arm free from underneath Hiei, in order to put some distance between the two of them.

            Hiei huffed at that, teeth still out, but let Yusuke roll away. He eyed Yusuke over the distance, absently rubbing at the spot Yusuke's fingertips had brushed. It was on the front of Hiei's throat. Rubbing it made it feel a little less weird, thankfully.

            Once he was free, Yusuke sat up and yawned, still frowning as he rubbed his nose.

            "Didn' hafta do that..."

            He glanced up at the night-dark ceiling overhead.

            "... how long we been sleepin'?"

            He hadn't meant to fall asleep with Hiei when he came up here, or stay asleep for so long. But it's not like there was anything he could do about it now. Yusuke stretched his sore arms. It definitely would have been better if he hadn't slept on the floor for quite so long though.

            Hiei hmphed at him, and sat up, crossing his arms and legs and looking off into the darkness of his room, moodily. How else would he have woken Yusuke up?

            At the question, Hiei side-eyed him, then squinted up at the sky. It was dark enough that it didn't seem like the sun had just set, either.

            "...dunno. Should go check the kitchen." If the cooks were getting ready for dinner, or making dinner, or not making dinner, hopefully that would provide more of an answer.

            Yusuke nodded, and got to his feet.

            "Good idea."

            If it was already dark, then that meant he should go down and visit his momma anyway. And besides, if they had managed to miss dinner, they could just grab some food while they were down there checking. Yusuke squinted in the direction of the table where Hiei usually stashed a few candles for him. He would probably need one if they were going to be walking around in the dark.

            Seeing Yusuke squinting in the dark, Hiei lifted his left hand, palm up, and called a ball of fire to it. It should at least cast enough to light Yusuke's way to the pile of candles by the door. He got up as well, intending to follow Yusuke, but winced a bit as his sore legs protested the change in position.

            With the extra light, Yusuke had no problem making his way over to the door to grab a candle. He knew that Hiei could light the way for him with his fire, but that would require him to use his youki the whole time, and he would have to walk Yusuke back to his room afterwards. Having the candle meant that Hiei could leave to go back to his own room whenever he wanted, and Yusuke could return to his room on his own, or stay down in the garden with his momma, if he wanted.

            So he waited patiently by the door for Hiei to light the candle, before he continued out into the hall, and down the stairs.

            Task accomplished, Yusuke's candle lit, Hiei let the fire he was producing die out, and then shoved his hands in his pockets to follow Yusuke down the hallways. Here and there, the candle's flicker caught shadows on some of the practice-writings carved into the stone; that Hiei'd left there with his old dagger, just a few years ago.

            Yusuke didn't pay attention to the usual chatter of the cooks as he approached the kitchen, too distracted by the fact that his stomach seemed to finally remember that it was hungry. But when said chatter immediately shifted to hushed whispers and giggles the moment he walked through the door, he nearly paused.

            That was... strange. But he was too focused on the food to really think about why. So he confidently made his way over to the countertop basket where the cooks left the usual collection of foodstuff for him and Hiei to grab, and shoved a bread roll in his mouth.

            Taking a slow look around the kitchen as he chewed, Yusuke noticed that most of the cooks were cleaning up, or putting things away. So they had probably missed dinner. But they were also staring at him, and trying to pretend like they weren't. It was weird.

            Hiei stopped in the doorway when it felt like every eye was drawn to them, as they entered the room. He squinted up at the grown-ups, then fell back into pace behind Yusuke. As Yusuke went to grab the basket, Hiei eyeballed the cooks who were only half-doing their jobs. It wasn't completely silent, but they were acting weird. Sometimes they were talking when he and Yusuke came in, but not... like this.

            Keeping an awareness of Yusuke as Hiei heard him start to chew, he didn't move to pull his hands out of his pockets, or grab his own food yet. Instead, boldly, to the kitchen at large:

            "What's everyone whispering about." Hiei asked in a loud voice, over the grown-ups' low ones.

            When Hiei spoke up, most of the cooks immediately shut up and got back to work, ignoring him, though they were obviously still grinning about something, but a few of them were actually embarrassed enough at being called out to flush visibly as they turned away. Some simply laughed openly at Hiei's attitude, but absolutely none of them bothered to answer him back.

            Yusuke blinked. He had never seen Hiei make a room full adults so uncomfortable, so quickly. And he hadn't even done anything. He'd just asked them a question.

            Hiei scowled when nobody answered him. He usually didn't care about other people's secrets anyway, but some of the cooks had laughed at him. He simmered, at that, then shot a glare over towards Yusuke. Stomping over to him, Hiei grabbed the food basket off the counter - by its curved, upper handle - in one hand, then Yusuke's candle-laden wrist in the other, and turned: fully intent on taking them both back out into the hallway with him.

            Yusuke made a small note of surprise, but didn't protest, or try to fight it, when Hiei grabbed him and pulled. He followed the demon back out into the hallway with a confused look on his face, but didn't bother to stop eating. Hiei would explain himself. Probably. Hopefully. Because he certainly didn't know how to explain the way the cooks immediately started giggling again as soon as Hiei had grabbed him, and started dragging him out of the room. They were being so strange today.

            Hiei shot a glare over his shoulder at the cooks as the giggling resumed, but didn't stop marching until he and Yusuke were well out of earshot, a ways down the hall. He sighed in aggravation as he let Yusuke go, and grabbed his favorite meat bun to mollify himself, shoving it in his mouth and complaining around his first bite.

            "Grown-ups are stupid."

            Having finished his bread already, Yusuke just hummed and stood there awkwardly for a moment when Hiei released him.

            "Yeah... that was weird."

            Not sure what else to say about the whole situation, Yusuke glanced back towards the kitchen. He would just have to go back through there to get to the gardens later, but that didn't mean they had to hang around in the mean time. He could just take the basket back when they were done eating, since whatever the cooks were doing was clearly making Hiei uncomfortable.

            Yusuke grabbed another plain roll from the basket and chewed slowly, still thinking. The cooks didn't want to answer Hiei's question for some reason, but that didn't mean he couldn't ask. Perhaps he might have better luck if he waited until only one or two of the cooks were left before he tried again.

            "I can take that back... when we're done."

            Already halfway through his bun, Hiei raised an eyebrow at him.

            "...Why. I'm faster." He straightened up a bit. "Can make it so they don't even see me."

            Yusuke shrugged without meeting Hiei's gaze.

            "Gotta go back anyways. To see momma."

            The fact that he still went down to the garden to talk to a pile of rocks with a badly painted picture in front of it wasn't always something he liked to admit to anymore. But he knew Hiei would understand.

            Hiei blinked at him, and took another bite as he thought about that. The only times Yusuke didn't look at him while talking, were when Yusuke wasn't feeling good about something. So Hiei took a stab at it, after he swallowed.

            "...Make you sad? To go see her?"

            Yusuke looked up, and stared at Hiei for a moment, slightly surprised by the unexpected question.

            "Uh... yeah. Sometimes..."

            It had been... harder, to talk to her, since their trip to Ningenkai. Yusuke hadn't expected it to be so unsettling. He thought he would be happier about it, and the fact that he wasn’t bothered him in a way that he couldn't name. And that's why he needed to go back. But it was hard to be in any kind of hurry about it, when the first time had felt like that.

            Hiei hummed, at that. At least Yusuke was looking at him now, though. Considering something, he set the basket down and stuffed his bun in his mouth to hold it there, then spread his arms out, slightly. Hiei didn't move in, but it was clearly an offer for a hug. Yusuke had reacted well the last time he hadn't been feeling good, so. Hiei wondered if it would work a second time.

            Yusuke laughed briefly when Hiei held his arms out, but he stepped in close anyway, giving the demon an awkward sort of half-hug, with his bread roll in one hand and the lit candle in the other. Just because Hiei’s clothes were mostly fire proof didn't give him an excuse to simply be careless about it. So he made sure to keep the flame a safe distance away, and didn't linger, stepping back again after only a moment or two.

            "Thanks."

            As he gave Yusuke the hug Yusuke apparently wanted - even if he hadn't said so, the dummy - Hiei marked it down in his brain, for later. It'd worked twice now, so it would probably continue to work. Hiei nodded, shoving the meat bun the rest of the way into his mouth and chewing it as he squatted down to inspect what else was in the basket he'd taken from the kitchen.

            Choosing one of his favored fruits, Hiei bit into it after he swallowed again. Then, lugging the basket up, he raised both his eyebrows at Yusuke.

            "You want to eat somewhere else? Or just finish here and go see your momma?"

            Yusuke took another bite out of his roll and shook his head as he chewed.

            "Nah. 's go somewhere else. Hallway's boring."

            He hummed for a moment, considering.

            "Courtyard?"

            It had looked like a nice night, when they'd been up in Hiei’s room, and Yusuke didn't feel like staying cooped up indoors if he didn't have to be. He knew there was a small courtyard nearby that was unlikely to be occupied by anyone else, since it was mostly just used to collect rainwater. But it would be a nice place to sit and eat for a while.

            "Mm." Hiei agreed, already going to shoulder the basket and turning in the direction of the courtyard Hiei knew Yusuke meant. He didn't say much else, just chomped on his fruit as they navigated the hallways towards it.

            Happy to simply follow along behind, Yusuke finished off his second bread roll as they walked, and plopped himself down comfortably on one of the courtyard benches when they got there. He slouched down, with his legs stuck all the way out in front of him as he stared up at the night sky past the overhang. After a moment, he blew out his candle. It was just bright enough out here that he didn't need it, and it was a lot easier to rummage around in the basket for some fruit with both hands free.

            Hiei crossed his legs, and assessed the ground-level plants, reflecting pool and stone arches and pillars surrounding the courtyard silently for a moment, before stealing a glance at Yusuke next to him. He huffed a bit that Yusuke hadn't let him steal the fire back from the candle, but - it didn't really matter. So Hiei worked his way through the basket, and stared idly at the mirror image of the sky in the shallow, rectangular pool. His legs were feeling slightly better with all the movement, and he had definitely been too lazy to grab more than a mouthful in the kitchen, earlier. Hiei's stomach was glad it was getting filled now, at least.

            Yusuke ate his fruit slowly, but he was starting to feel restless. He hadn't meant to sleep through the second half of his day. And now there was nothing to do. He sighed.

            He usually went to see his momma before bed, and left when he got too tired to keep sitting alone in the dark. But he wasn't tired now. He supposed he could just sit there until he got bored enough to go back to bed, but why do that when Hiei was still up too?

            Yusuke glanced over at the demon.

            "Whatcha gonna do now?"

            Not moving his head, Hiei's eyes slid back over to Yusuke. He considered the question over the curve of the round bun in his hand.

            "...dunno. Maybe steal a book from the library, to read somewhere." It'd let him continue to rest his legs. Since Yusuke was so concerned about Hiei resting them, and being a little easier on himself, after all. "You?"

            "Mmm... dunno."

            Yusuke looked back out at the courtyard, watching the reflection of the night sky in the water down below. He forgot that Hiei actually liked to do boring stuff sometimes. But if doing boring stuff like reading meant that Hiei wasn't going to be so damn tired that he couldn't even climb up to his own bed, then Yusuke sure as hell wasn't going to complain about it. He would just have to find something else to do.

            "Can't really do much, in the dark..."

            "Could punch you." Hiei said thoughtfully with a straight face, making good on it in the same moment by puffing a harmless punch - with his free, left hand - against Yusuke's upper right arm.

            Yusuke laughed, and elbowed Hiei slightly in the side in retaliation.

            "An' wha'ssa point a that? Huh?"

            Hiei hmphed, secretly glad he'd made Yusuke laugh at least. He grunted around a sneaky smile that Yusuke probably wouldn't be able to see - it was too dark for him, right? - and swung another weightless punch in Yusuke's direction.

            "Nothin'." Hiei confirmed, solemnly. "Just punchin'."

            Yusuke snorted out another short laugh and leaned in towards Hiei just enough to shove the demon with his shoulder this time, without turning to look at him.

            "Well I ain't just punchin' you back."

            "Your loss." Hiei snarked in return, leaning towards Yusuke as he shoved his left shoulder into Yusuke's right; getting him back.

            When Hiei leaned in to shove him, Yusuke lifted his right arm, swinging it up and over Hiei’s head, towards the back of the bench. And then he paused, waiting for Hiei’s reaction before he hooked his elbow around the demon's neck in an attempted grapple.

            Hiei blinked, as he tipped, and kept tipping: when Yusuke's shoulder wasn't where it should have been. It left him flopping slightly against Yusuke's chest; not his intent, and not exactly sure what he was supposed to do now. When Yusuke's arm tried to wrap around his neck though, Hiei's eyes narrowed as the context settled in, and he ducked down out of the attempted neckhold. Since it was convenient, Hiei headbutted Yusuke in his stomach to hopefully get him to teeter, then swiftly struck his hands out at Yusuke's wrists; intending to pin him down on the bench, if successful.

            Yusuke felt his breath leave him in a sudden exhale as Hiei’s head slammed into his stomach, and he gasped slightly, clearly not expecting the attack. He reacted too slowly to keep Hiei from pinning his wrists, but that certainly didn't stop him from leaning forward to try and headbutt Hiei back.

            Hiei hmphed, dodging the attempted headbutt and baring his teeth down at Yusuke for it. He squeezed Yusuke's wrists for a moment - making his point - before huffing and leaning back up to his initial seat; letting Yusuke go. Hiei turned his back on Yusuke as he went back to the basket: it was almost empty, really. But what had that even been? Why the brief instant of hesitation before Yusuke tried to grapple him? Hesitating when you had the surprise advantage was just... stupid. It gave your opponent time to react and find a way out. Like Hiei just did.

            Yusuke huffed right back at Hiei when he was pinned again, and ignored. But he waited until Hiei had turned away before he stuck out his tongue and made a face at Hiei's back.

            And then he sat up, looking away from Hiei as he felt his face start to flush.

            That had been... stupid. And he wasn't entirely sure why he'd done it. Hiei hadn't really reacted at all, and all he'd gotten for his trouble was a head to the stomach. Stupid.

            "You shouldn't hesitate." Hiei declared, still facing away from Yusuke. He turned back around, straightening his arm to shove another bun at Yusuke's face, eyes still narrow. "...If you're gonna do that move. Gives 'em time to get away."

            Yusuke turned to stare at Hiei, blinking in surprise at his first comment, only to have a bun shoved in his face. He bit into it with a frown, pulling it free from Hiei's grasp with his teeth before bringing his hand up to grab it himself.

            He shouldn't hesitate?

            But then Hiei kept talking, and Yusuke fought back a smile, and then a laugh. Because of course Hiei was talking about fighting. Not the stupid shit he was thinking about. That just made too much sense.

            Still, Yusuke couldn't seem to stop himself from snickering around his mouthful of bread at his own stupidity.

            Hiei scowled when Yusuke just started laughing at him. He raised his right hand, smacking the palm of it flatly, against Yusuke's cheek.

            "What's so funny." He muttered, sourly, giving Yusuke the Eye around another bite of his own bun.

            Yusuke forced himself to finish chewing first, to keep himself from laughing, and give himself some time before responding, but he was still grinning like an idiot by the time he was done.

            "'S fightin' all you ever think about?"

            Hiei squinted over at Yusuke, for that grin.

            "Sounds like you, not me. Dummy." He deadpanned.

            Yusuke laughed again.

            "Hey! I think about other stuff!"

            And that was the problem. Fighting was always easier than whatever else was going on inside his head. Life would be so much easier if he could just fight, and train, all the time, like Hiei or Papa could. But... he couldn't. Not here, anyway.

            Hiei scoffed, and lifted his left hand to poke at Yusuke's cheek. He leaned in towards Yusuke, face the ultimate expression of dry disbelief.

            "Oh yeah? Like what?" He prompted.

            Yusuke lifted his right hand to swat Hiei's away, and tried to ignore the funny feeling in his stomach when Hiei leaned in closer to stare at him.

            "Like, uhh..."

            He noticed he was still holding the rest of his bread roll.

            "... food."

            Hiei snorted. He shifted to lean all the way against Yusuke's shoulder, peering down at the roll in Yusuke's hand. He moved his poke to Yusuke's stomach, instead.

            "So fighting. And food?"

            Yusuke shoved back into Hiei's lean.

            "Yeah. And... other stuff. Fighting's more fun though."

            Easily, Hiei met Yusuke's shoulder with his own: force for force. He hmphed softly under his breath.

            "If you just say 'other stuff' that means you can't think of anything else." Hiei decided, side-eying him.

            "Oh yeah?"

            Yusuke felt his face beginning to warm, and quickly deflected.

            "Well what about you? You never answered my question in the first place!"

            Hiei tipped his head back to give Yusuke a Look. His expression went flat.

            "No, I don't just think about fighting." He said, in a deliberate monotone.

            Yusuke scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue out, but he didn't really have anything more to say. Obviously Hiei thought about more than just fighting. Yusuke had just been surprised earlier because he wasn't paying attention. That seemed to be happening a lot lately though. Yusuke huffed. He blamed it on Hiei's stupid growth spurt.

            Hiei had always been short than him. It was just weird now that he wasn't, and Yusuke was starting to wonder if he would ever get used to it.

            Hiei smirked in something like fond laziness, at that, and whipped up his hand to try to catch the end of Yusuke's tongue in his fingertips. Maybe he could nab it before Yusuke retracted it.

            Yusuke jerked back instinctively when he saw Hiei's hand come up, and bared his teeth. He swatted at Hiei's hand instead and, belatedly remembering that he still hadn't finished his bread roll, stubbornly ripped another bite out of it.

            Hiei grinned a little when Yusuke bared his teeth at him; a quiet, short-lived laugh startled out of him. Instead of leaving his hand in danger of getting bitten, Hiei let it flop down into his own lap, muttering something amusedly to himself.

            "Sometimes you almost act like a real demon..." And when Yusuke'd bitten Hiei on his neck, before. If Yusuke was a demon, he would've known what it meant at the time, right? Hiei wondered why his brain was bothering him about it now, though. It wasn't like the distinction really meant anything. Because Yusuke hadn't meant it. And Hiei'd obviously misunderstood him about 'next time'. It'd probably just been a slip of Yusuke's tongue; something stupid, that'd come out the wrong way. That was the only version that made sense, anyway.

            Yusuke frowned as he chewed. Almost a real demon? He squinted suspiciously over at Hiei.

            "Wha'da ya mean?"

            It was Hiei's turn to stick out his tongue at Yusuke, this time. He accompanied it with pulling down his own left eyelid, too.

            "Just what I said. You can be pretty demon, for a human. ... Sometimes." He amended, dropping the look to blink up at Yusuke, instead; not entirely sure why Yusuke was looking at him so warily.

            Still frowning, Yusuke actually pulled back to swing a weak punch at Hiei's upper arm.

            "That's 'cause I am a demon too. Stupid. An' don't you forget it neither!"

            Hiei snorted, at that, instinctively blocking and rolling his eyes at Yusuke's reaction. Rather than make it a big deal, he just leaned into Yusuke a bit more; wedging his head under his armpit.

            "Yeah, yeah. Fine. Won't forget." Hiei did pinch Yusuke's side, though; unable to resist.

            Yusuke grumbled unhappily, squirming a bit as Hiei pinched him, but he knew there was nothing he could say that would change Hiei's mind. Or anyone else's for that matter. He looked human, smelled human, and had reiki instead of youki. Trying to convince anyone, at this point, that he was a demon was basically impossible.

            The only person anyone believed was Papa. And all Papa ever said was that he was his 'son'.

            Even Yusuke wasn't stupid enough to believe that that was enough to convince anyone. But that didn't matter. He knew he was a demon. He had to be.

            Yusuke stubbornly chewed through the last of his bread roll in silence.

            Yusuke seemed to be thinking, hard, to himself, so Hiei didn't say anything further. He disengaged the pinch, let Yusuke eat in peace, and readjusted his gaze to the night sky overhead. But he stayed close, at least. The wind picked up a little, rustling the leaves in the bushes and probably making ripples in the pond.

            When the food was finally gone, and the wind picked up, there was nothing left to distract Yusuke from the feeling of Hiei's warm body next to him. He glanced down, only to see Hiei staring right back up at the sky, and he looked away again quickly, huffing softly to himself.

            Yusuke moving in his periphery made Hiei's eyes shift to track him as Yusuke turned away, and his eyes narrowed a little. He nudged Yusuke, a bit.

            "What."

            Yusuke mumbled, refusing to move as he stared out at the courtyard in the opposite direction.

            "Nothin'."

            "Not nothin' if you look away that fast." Hiei muttered in return, but he did close his eyes to let Yusuke off the hook, at least a little. And shifted a bit, with his head still pillowed comfortably against Yusuke's side.

            Yusuke glared out at nothing when he felt his face start to flush. Stupid Hiei. It was all his fault anyway. Somehow. But nothing bothered Hiei.

            Except for when Yusuke had bitten him.

            Yusuke felt the flush on his face deepen, and he turned his face just a little bit further away from Hiei, just in case.

            When Yusuke said nothing, Hiei started poking Yusuke's hip, rhythmically, with his finger; just under where his chin was resting against Yusuke's shirt. Hiei didn't say anything, or open his eyes, either. He just kept his poking pace steady. Eventually it should annoy Yusuke enough that something would break the stalemate. Or so Hiei's theory went, anyway.

            Yusuke tensed up at the first poke, and the second one, but he did his best to ignore it. After only a few more seconds, however, he realized ignoring it was impossible, and he gasped out a laugh as he turned to swat Hiei's hand away.

            "St-stop that!"

            "Hn." Hiei grabbed Yusuke's wrist, when he tried to swat him away; naturally stopping the poking. Holding onto that wrist, Hiei resettled himself with a slight grumble, absently rubbing his face into Yusuke's side.

            Yusuke huffed when Hiei captured him, watching with silent fascination as Hiei leaned back in and started rubbing his face against his shirt. This again?

            "... why... why d'you do that?"

            Hiei froze, feeling uncomfortably self-conscious about it, now that his attention had been drawn to it happening. He tensed up a little, and didn't start it up again.

            "...dunno." He squinted into Yusuke's shirt; even if his eyes were still closed, the expression held. "Feels like... the thing to do. Why. It bother you?" The last two sentences were short, and clipped; not offended, just - on edge.

            Yusuke felt Hiei tense up and chewed on his bottom lip, worrying at it. He hadn't meant for him to stop.

            "... no... 's nice. I was jus' wonderin'..."

            Hiei still had a hold of his left wrist, but Yusuke slid his free right hand up the back of Hiei's shirt, grabbing slightly at the fabric like he had before, back in Hiei's room.

            Hiei cautiously forced himself to relax, when he felt Yusuke's hand wandering up his back. He didn't start up again immediately, though, just pressed his face into the same spot he'd been rubbing against, before. His left-hand fingers curled a bit tighter around Yusuke's captured left wrist.

            Hiei could ask why Yusuke's right hand was grabbing lightly at him, but if it was the same type of thing he'd just been doing to Yusuke - maybe it would be better not to say anything at all. It's not like Hiei minded it, anyway.

            Yusuke waited for a moment, but when Hiei didn't start moving again, and didn't protest, he let go of Hiei's shirt and slid his hand even further upwards, his fingers slipping up the back of Hiei's neck and into the demon's hair.

            Hiei stayed still, tamping down on the urge to start rubbing his face against Yusuke's side again. It was... a weird sensation, someone else's - Yusuke's - hand in his hair. Fingertips against his scalp. Resistance that wasn't the wind or Hiei's own hand in there. So he waited; choosing to observe first, before making a decision about it.

            Yusuke tried to fight back a grin as he slowly carded his fingers through Hiei's hair, extremely pleased that Hiei still hadn't protested, or moved away. Hiei's hair was surprisingly soft, and dense enough to stand on end, when it was dry. He had grabbed Hiei's hair often enough during their regular sparring matches to be familiar with what it felt like. But Yusuke didn't often get the opportunity to enjoy it. Not like this.

            Hiei's eyelashes fluttered, unseen, and he made a soft, involuntary noise in his throat that was half surprise, and half approval. It felt weird, still, but... good? 'Good weird'? Trying not to think about it too much, he let his guard drop once more, and automatically started rubbing his eyebrows and forehead against Yusuke's shirt, again.

            At least it was better than letting himself make another embarrassing noise, like that.

            Yusuke bit his lip again and forced himself to take a slow, deep breath when Hiei made a noise in response to the petting, and started rubbing against his shirt. But he didn't stop moving his hand, still going slowly so he wouldn't disturb Hiei's movement.

            This was... special, Yusuke realized. He already knew that Hiei didn't let just anyone touch him. And the demon was always very particular about the kinds of things and people that he touched, as well. Yusuke figured that kind of caution made sense, with him being a fire demon. But with Hiei being as stubborn as he was, Yusuke also knew that this was probably something only he would ever see, and he felt a strange surge of warmth in his chest at the thought.

            It was a little scary, actually, because Hiei wasn't used to his body being out of his control. But, right now, it certainly seemed perfectly content to treat Yusuke like one of those stuffed, fluffy, plushy creatures that'd dotted Yusuke's room when they were younger. It was even hard to remember there was an outside world: a world beyond the sensation of Yusuke's fingers in his hair, and the fabric of his shirt against Hiei's skin.

            Hiei tried not to care about it too much. It was just Yusuke. And anyway, if a threat edged into his senses, Hiei would cut it down, same as always. Even if Yusuke was... doing 'this' right now. Hiei told that to himself, partly because it was true, and partly because it made him feel slightly better about it.

            When Hiei just kept going, Yusuke felt himself start to relax. Because it was nice, having Hiei leaned up against him, rubbing his warm face into his shirt. And Yusuke had nowhere better to be right now. It's not like his momma was going anywhere. He could go see her any time. But this? Yusuke wasn't going to take his chances, missing out on this.

            Eventually, Hiei's body seemed to have enough of the rubbing. Like it'd reached some internal filling point, or something. Either way, once it felt done, he stopped: inhaling slightly and then exhaling a long, heavy sigh that seemed to reduce all his bones to some jelly-like substance, as he practically melted into Yusuke's side. Like this, if Yusuke kept it up, Hiei might actually fall into another nap.

            But he couldn't bring himself to voice a protest about it: not yet. It was just too damn comfortable.

            Yusuke continued to watch, with pleased fascination, when Hiei seemed to relax even further as he continued to stroke the demon's hair. He didn't dare move now. Or speak, at all. And falling asleep out here on the bench, for the rest of the night would be a terrible idea. But he didn't feel tired yet.

            So Yusuke contented himself with watching Hiei fall asleep, instead.

Chapter Text

            Hiei grumbled something, forcibly rousing himself, letting go of Yusuke's wrist and scooting back. He grabbed Yusuke's hand in his hair as he did, sitting up onto his knees and pulling Yusuke's fingers out of his hair. He felt... groggy, almost, blinking over at Yusuke as the world seemed to be tilted off its usual axis. Definitely strange, so better Hiei put a stop to it now.

            "...thassa 'nough." He mumbled, rubbing at his left eye with the heel of his left hand, trying to wake himself up more. There was no way in hell Hiei was falling asleep here, out in the open. In his room was one thing. Maybe Yusuke's room would be another that was acceptable. But out here? No.

            It was odd it'd even been a possibility, for a second there. A little unsettling, actually.

            Grinning widely, Yusuke didn't move when Hiei sat up, other than letting his hand drop from Hiei's head when it was pulled away. He just kept watching Hiei, instead.

            "Okay..."

            This was a different kind of tired from when he'd found Hiei nearly passed out on the floor of his room earlier. It was a cuter kind of tired, Yusuke decided.

            Coming back to reality a little more, Hiei scowled when he realized Yusuke was grinning at him. He moved his hand away from his face, trying to smack it over Yusuke's nose.

            "Whass'at for. Why you grinnin' at me li'e that." He grumbled as he felt his cheeks warm up a bit; still trying to half-heartedly blink the drowsiness out of his eyes.

            Yusuke snickered softly at the grumpy expression on Hiei's face, and caught the demon's hand as it came at him, pulling it down, away from his face. But rather than answer Hiei back, Yusuke simply leaned in, and pressed his mouth against Hiei's.

            Hiei blinked, stilling. Both his hands - somehow, inexplicably entangled with either Yusuke's wrist or his hand itself - tightened their grips, just slightly. The brief moment - then two, three - of contact was... warm. It made him want to lean into it. Instead, Hiei pulled back an inch or two: enough that he could at least see Yusuke's face; his own painted with confusion.

            "...What's that for? My face need..." Hiei squinted, trying to remember the context for when they'd done it before. It had been years ago, by now. "...'fixing'? Or, something..." He mumbled, cheeks going a little pinker as his eyes narrowed consideringly, over on Yusuke across from him.

            Yusuke let out a soft laugh, pleased that Hiei had remembered.

            "I dunno. Did it work?"

            Hiei scowled at him, then shook off Yusuke's hands, and put his own squarely on Yusuke's shoulders.

            "You're still stupid -grinning. So no." He huffed, and then promptly dragged Yusuke in for another bump of their closed mouths together.

            Yusuke kept on grinning when Hiei grabbed him, still as grumpy as ever, but his eyes went wide when the demon dragged him in close to do it again.

            Yusuke grabbed at the front of Hiei's shirt to steady himself, but didn't shove, or pull away. He just... sat with the feeling of Hiei's mouth pressed against his, unsure of how to respond. The sensation wasn't unpleasant, but... was it nice?

            Then Yusuke shifted slightly. It wasn't a conscious decision, he was just bad at sitting still. But the movement was enough to slide his face slightly sideways, his lips dragging against Hiei's for a moment before Yusuke broke away with a soft gasp. That had felt nice. And he kind of wanted to do it again.

            This was what the grown-ups got so silly-faced about, all the time? Hiei'd expected, somehow - more? Not that it wasn't warm, and not that Yusuke being so close was bad, really, but...

            He immediately shifted attention when Yusuke gasped and pulled back. Hiei's left-hand fingers curled into Yusuke's right shoulder as Hiei's right arm came up. Wiping the back of his right hand, then wrist, then forearm, over his mouth, Hiei scrutinized Yusuke's expression for any hints.

            ...That was no help, either. Hiei didn't recognize this expression; a new one then? The longer he stared, the pinker his cheeks burned, and Hiei felt it slowly spread to his ears.

            The unwelcome definition hit him all at once: all the symptoms matched. Was Hiei... if he wasn't mad... then: Embarrassed? But why would he be embarrassed? Just because he and Yusuke hadn't done this bef- Well, no. That wasn't true. They had. But it hadn't felt quite like this, then. It hadn't felt much like anything, then. And now...

            Hiei wasn't sure what it felt like. It was too new. He'd never experienced it, and had no frame of reference for it. So, he just kept staring, still and silent, over his yet-raised right arm - parallel to the ground - that conveniently obscured Hiei's face from the nose down.

            Yusuke watched as Hiei raised an arm to wipe his mouth, and then paused in the act, as if he'd just thought of something, and forgot to lower his arm because of it.

            And then, instead of frowning, Hiei’s whole face went pink, and Yusuke grinned.

            "Fixed your face. Dummy."

            Hiei bared his teeth at him, already snarling, and wasted no time swinging his right fist away from his face, towards Yusuke's; bending it at the elbow to do so.

            "Nuh-uh. Y'just broke it. Stupid." Hiei insisted, still with his teeth showing. He didn't know what the flushing part of being embarrassed had anything to do with him, anyway. It was just a weird body reaction... that was starting to happen around Yusuke more often... right? It's not like it was important.

            Laughing, Yusuke leaned back in an attempt to dodge away from Hiei's fist without releasing his grip on the demon's shirt.

            "Nah. Looks better that way!"

            Hiei made a noise of surprise, when Yusuke's lean back prompted a tug of Hiei towards him. His face only got warmer when his hastily-swung punch missed, and he tried to steady himself; countering that pull on his shirt. His teeth remained out.

            "Pink isn't a scary color! Stupid!" Was all Hiei could muster, at the moment.

            Still grinning widely, Yusuke attempted to steady Hiei, his hands sliding up to Hiei’s shoulders as the demon started to tip towards him.

            "'s'at what you want? To scare me?"

            Hiei's arms prickled as Yusuke's hands slid up them. He was startled, wide-eyed, for half a second: staring back, with a blank brain, and no recourse. Then it seemed to restart and Hiei glared daggers at him, winding back his right fist as his left-hand fingers tightened on Yusuke's shirt, over his shoulder; it was a death grip, now.

            "I... I wanna punch you!" Hiei roared instead, but his fist didn't move; not just yet. It was like his pink face was a barrier it couldn't quite get past, for some reason.

            Noticing the strange way Hiei's movement seemed to stutter when he moved his hands, Yusuke studied Hiei's face closely before deciding to continue, ignoring Hiei's balled up fist as he spread his fingers up both sides of Hiei's neck.

            "Yeah? Do it then."

            He wasn't particularly worried about taking a punch from Hiei. Either he would do it, or he wouldn't. And if Hiei did punch him, Yusuke would just know not to do that, next time.

            Hiei growled at him, glared at him, but there was no where for the frustration to go. He grasped for something familiar in all that was unfamiliar because... because something had to be, didn't it? It was just Yusuke. They touched each other a lot; they always had. Whether it was punches or kicks or dragging the other along on some ill-conceived adventure. Or... napping, apparently.

            Hiei tried to calm himself with that knowledge as he sank forward, shivering faintly at the weird, new, unknown feeling of Yusuke's fingers on his neck. Yusuke could wring his neck; easily, if he wanted to. The thought was immediately cancelled out because Hiei knew Yusuke would never want to.

            Lacking any other recourse, too full of novel sensations, an unsettling cloud hovering over him, Hiei sank his punch straight down, full force, by his right hip - into the stone they were sitting on - and hid his face in Yusuke's left shoulder, instead. He didn't care if it scraped up his hand, either. Because he hadn't really wanted to punch Yusuke. But it was even harder for Hiei to know what he might have wanted.

            Yusuke stilled - startled, but not tense - as soon as Hiei's fist hit the bench, and he blinked. That... wasn't the response he'd been expecting. Though he wasn't really sure what would have been the right one, either.

            Immediately abandoning that course of action, Yusuke was tempted to grab Hiei's fist and examine it, to see if he'd hurt himself punching the bench so hard. But he left it alone, and hooked his arms loosely around the back of Hiei's neck instead, staying still as he waited for Hiei to decide what to do next.

            Briefly, Hiei had a fleeting moment of insight: if he'd never come to live here, he wouldn't be feeling like this right now. He wouldn't be frustrated like this right now. Or as conflicted. He'd probably be slicing someone open with his dagger, actually. Or some animal, for dinner, so he wouldn't be cold.

            But, he also wouldn't know Yusuke. Maybe Yusuke would have been eaten. His left hand gripped Yusuke's right shoulder with renewed vigor; even as Hiei felt Yusuke shift to a more relaxed posture, with his arms lightly encircling Hiei's neck. Hiei didn't understand it. Why Yusuke sought out the contact so much. Why did Yusuke like it when his face was flushed, like that? The answer felt just out of reach.

            His right fist ached, but Hiei ignored it. Nothing was broken; maybe a little blood, and a little bruising, as he hadn't thought to use his youki as a buffer for the impact. Coming up with no answers on his own, Hiei shifted his focus, instead: muttering something against Yusuke's shirt.

            "Wha''d... what'd it feel like, for you." Hiei's left hand gradually unclenched, trailing feather-lightly down Yusuke's side, until it could latch a grip in the fabric just over Yusuke's right hip.

            Yusuke shivered slightly when Hiei's hand slid down to his hip, and he turned his face to brush against Hiei's hair, as a distraction. It smelled like smoke.

            "What did what feel like?"

            Hiei squirmed a bit in discomfort, at the question, but the slight movement of Yusuke's face against his hair... seemed to nullify it. Not dwelling on that reaction, Hiei focused on the conversation instead. He scrunched up his nose, though, when he realized he wasn't sure what to call it.

            "That... mouth, thing. You were grinnin' a lot. Did you like it?" Hiei grumbled, towards the end.

            Yusuke laughed softly when he realized what Hiei was referring to.

            "Yeah... I did. Did you like it?"

            Although... Hiei had asked what it felt like. Yusuke wasn't really sure. It had been too brief, and too new, to describe. It kind of reminded him of what it had felt like when Hiei'd rubbed his face against his neck though, and Yusuke blushed slightly at the memory.

            Hiei just grumbled more, and gingerly wrapped his right hand around behind the small of Yusuke's back; holding there as he sank his again-pinking forehead down against Yusuke's neck. He made an effort not to get any blood from his probable-scrapes on Yusuke's shirt, though.

            The thrum of Yusuke's human heart was different than Raizen's heart, and the monks and the staff, and even Hiei's own. But... he liked it. Hiei liked that it was different. He could hear Yusuke - even if Hiei wasn't next to him - if Hiei really concentrated on hearing it. That was good, because his sense of smell was starting to dull, almost. So hearing was a good backup.

            When Hiei didn't answer him back, and simply leaned in closer, grumpy and grumbling as usual, Yusuke sighed. So stubborn. He smiled reflexively into Hiei's hair.

            "... your hand."

            It was Hiei's dominant hand, and he seemed to be moving it with more care than usual, so it had to hurt. It would be stupid to just keep sitting here, if Hiei needed to tend to it.

            Hiei immediately bristled, at that, but it came out a little softer than usual.

            "Yeah, so? 's my hand." He declared, just pushing his face more into Yusuke's neck and firmly closing his eyes - like he could almost blot out the world, that way.

            Yusuke sighed again, letting one of his hands drift up the back of Hiei's head, his fingers dragging through the demon's hair.

            "'s your right hand, and Sensei will be disappointed if you miss out on practice 'cause of it."

            "'m not gonna - " Hiei's indignant protest trailed off into a weird, choked noise as his focus on the words splintered. It recentered with complete absurdity on Yusuke's hand in his hair. Hiei struggled to finish the vein of his thought. "...m-miss practiccce..."

            Smirking widely, Yusuke barely choked back a laugh at Hiei's very obvious reaction, biting down on his lip briefly in an effort to regain his composure before he dragged his fingers right back down Hiei's scalp.

            "Yeah? You sure?"

            At this point, Yusuke didn't really care about Hiei's answer. He just wanted to see if he could keep the distracted demon talking.

            "Mmnf-" Hiei's head tipped involuntarily back, out of its comfortable spot in Yusuke's neck, as he shuddered. He pressed his lips shut, tight, and tried to master the feeling: eyes opening and immediately narrowing in a deathly glare on Yusuke in front of him as he did. Whipping his left hand up, Hiei aimed to puff a functionally harmless, complaining punch directly into Yusuke's right cheek.

            Yusuke didn't bother to dodge Hiei's punch, even when he felt the demon's arm start to move, choosing to grin straight back at Hiei instead as he gripped the other demon's hair, holding him in place.

            "You actually gonna hit me, or not?"

            Hiei glared at him. Yusuke was limiting his options.

            "You gonna stop grinnin', or not?" He parroted back instead, snarkily.

            Yusuke smirked. He knew he was asking for it. But that was half the fun.

            "Nope."

            Hiei bared his teeth at him. Then he leaned in, and bit at Yusuke's lip.

            That'd show him. But... show him what, exactly?

            Yusuke squeaked in surprise when Hiei suddenly came in close, and bit down, his stomach squirming weirdly even as the rest of him was slow to react.

            Instinctively, he attempted to licked his lip, to soothe the pain - though now that the shock had worn off, he realized that it hurt far less than he'd expected - but Hiei still had it captive, so Yusuke ended up licking Hiei's bared teeth instead. Which was... weird.

            Yusuke tightened his grip in Hiei's hair in retaliation, but didn't dare try to pull him away. Not while Hiei still had a hold of him.

            Hiei growled, and tightened his jaw a bit - but then he let go, before he could pierce Yusuke's lip, and sat back. He crossed his arms over his front as best he could, and focused on looking smug and satisfied: and not discomfited by the weird feeling of Yusuke licking his front teeth. At all.

            "Hn. Not grinnin' so much now, huh~?"

            Yusuke ignored the shiver racing down his spine when Hiei growled so close to him in favor of glaring back determinedly at the demon. And when Hiei pulled away, Yusuke only paused for a moment to press his lips tightly together, to rid himself of the sensation of Hiei's teeth on his skin, before he leaned forward to try and bite Hiei back. Because that was only fair, right?

            Hiei huffed, and palmed Yusuke's face to shove him away, when he came at Hiei with his flat little useless teeth, like that. Whether Yusuke was aiming for his neck or mouth, Hiei didn't particularly care.

            "Thought you weren't gonna do that again, unless you meant it." Is what Hiei found falling out of his mouth. He hadn't even realized he'd remembered Yusuke'd said that, until the words were already in the air.

            Yusuke bared his teeth at Hiei’s stupid hand as it came up to meet his face, but he was glad for it a moment later, when Hiei’s words finally registered, and he blushed fiercely behind the cover of Hiei’s palm, as his brain struggled to keep up with his rapidly shifting emotions.

            "I... wha-... you..."

            Unable to decide how he should feel, or what he wanted to say, when suddenly confronted with such a complicated matter, Yusuke eventually circled right back around to what felt most familiar, and got angry instead.

            "And who says you get to decide, if I mean it or not."

            Still internally recovering - even if he didn't show it - from bringing up that, Hiei blinked at Yusuke's anger. He blinked again, and laughed.

            "I d-don't." Hiei managed between gasps for air, and the inexplicable, uncontrollable laughing fit he'd fallen victim to. "So - what? Do you?" Is what eventually made it out, around the curl of a sneaky smirk, as the laughter began to subside.

            Sitting up straight as Hiei laughed at him, Yusuke stared back in stony silence as he waited for Hiei’s laughter to end. And when it seemed like Hiei was finally done, clearly still amused, but quiet enough to be paying attention, Yusuke answered back, his eyes not leaving Hiei’s face as he watched closely for Hiei’s reaction.

            "Yes."

            "Ah - hah?" That last, puny little laugh ebbed out of existence as Hiei stared back at Yusuke's face. Yusuke's stupidly earnest, solemn face. Hiei swallowed, eyes widening slightly.

            Then, unable to take the expectant pressure of the silence anymore, they darted away; downcast. He picked at the hem of his own shirt, muttering something.

            "...so... so what." Was that supposed to mean something to Hiei? Promises got made, and then they got broken. He tensed up a bit, pinch-tugging the shirt-hem between his fingers now. He didn't want a Yusuke promise to get broken, either...

            Yusuke felt his blush returning when Hiei suddenly shied away. It felt strange, knowing that he wasn't the one who had backed down first.

            "S-so now you know..."

            Yusuke finally let his hands drop from around Hiei's shoulders, back into his lap, as he looked away. He wasn't really sure if he wanted to bite Hiei like that again. It wasn't that he never felt like biting Hiei, but ever since he had found out what it meant, Yusuke hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. Because Hiei was a special person to him. And he didn't see any reason why he shouldn't know that, even if the whole biting thing was a little... weird.

            Besides, if Hiei knew, then he couldn't get upset about it anymore. Right?

            Maybe Yusuke didn't realize what he was saying? Hiei hesitated, though. He kept eyes on that spot on his shirt, which he was absently scratching at with one fingertip, now.

            "So..." Hiei started slowly, gaze still fixed very firmly away from Yusuke. "You'd wanna mean it. If you did it. Y'know who does that, right?" He sputtered urgently, because if Yusuke didn't know... Then - then maybe Hiei could still pretend he hadn't heard it. "Like. Those pairs, or groups of monks, or... whatever. It's that. You'd wanna be..." Hiei felt his face getting pink again, but glared fiercely down at his lap, through the damned embarrassment: so he could say it anyway. "...like... that. With - me?"

            Yusuke tensed when Hiei started interrogating him about it. Had he misunderstood?

            Was that not why Hiei had been upset about it? Yusuke glanced back at Hiei briefly before quickly looking away again. He still didn't seem... upset about it. Just... nervous?

            Well, at least that made two of them.

            "I... um... only if you... want that... with me."

            Hiei was quiet for a long moment, as he imagined the beginnings of it. He didn't get much further than that - he and Yusuke smiling all soppily at each other, sneaking kisses in corners. He felt his face warm even more.

            "But you... want it. Yeah?" He wanted to confirm, and then he shook his head; trying to answer Yusuke's other question; mumbling off to the side. "But 's a grown-up thing. You'll probably not want it anymore by then." It made sense, logically. Or at least Hiei thought it did.

            Yusuke could feel the anxiety creeping up the back of his neck, the longer Hiei stayed silent, and of course by the time the demon actually spoke, it was to ask another question, rather than answer one of his. But that was so typical of Hiei that Yusuke started to relax anyway, mollified by the familiar behavior, even if it wasn't the answer he'd been hoping for.

            But it was Hiei's second statement that caught Yusuke off-guard, and he turned back to look at Hiei, frowning, interrupting himself in the process.

            "Well, I- wait... what? That's stupid. Why would I ever not want to be with you?"

            Hiei was very glad he hadn't looked up at Yusuke when Yusuke started to talk. Yusuke interrupting his own answer was annoying, but what was even worse was what Yusuke had said instead. Hiei shrank down, almost smushing into the stone: like a pile of cold jelly oozing downward in the sun. He splayed his hands on it in front of his crossed knees, palms down like he was bracing himself.

            Maybe he was.

            "...Y-Yeah, but - " Hiei did want to be with him too. He just wasn't sure if it was the 'same' with. Or if their 'withs' were compatible at all. What if they were too different? And... besides. Hiei only realized this now, with dawning dread. Humans didn't live long, compared to demons. Even if Hiei protected Yusuke for his entire life, once Yusuke got old and frail like he'd heard humans tended to, he would die. No amount of skill or loyalty could change that.

            The thought Hiei'd been chasing, to try and voice, was lost in the resulting swirl of distress.

            That realization froze him - still, yes, but also abruptly icy - from the inside-out. Like it physically blew a gust of it through Hiei's heart, fanning low the fire in there. The area immediately surrounding him felt colder; maybe? But that was impossible. It was just his imagination, right?

            When Hiei began to shrink away in front of him, hunching down towards the bench, Yusuke was tempted to reach out. But, staring down at Hiei's scraped up right hand, he realized that he wasn't really sure, after everything, what the best way to reach out would be. So he didn't, swallowing hard instead as he shifted uneasily.

            "But what?"

            Yusuke's voice shook him out of it, and Hiei startled: looking up at him like he'd forgotten Yusuke was there. He blinked once, twice - and then got determined. He leaned forward on his hands, into Yusuke's space, and blasted words at him from point-blank range.

            "Bein' 'with' somebody means lotsa gigglin', an'duh... hand-holdin' and touchin' an'dum..." Hiei flushed a little more at this, but pushed on anyway, not looking away from Yusuke's eyes. He'd just have to find a way for Yusuke not to die. With Raizen's resources, that should be possible, right? "...an' gotta do those mouth things an' when we get growned-up we hav'ta sleep in th' same bed."

            There. That ought to do it. But Hiei's face was utterly grave.

            "Y'still want it? All that? Y'might be sick of me by then. Or a'fore." He huffed, finishing up.

            Yusuke huffed a soft laugh at Hiei's sudden determination, but didn't look away, grinning right back at his too-serious face.

            "We already done all those things anyway, stupid. And I ain't sick 'uh you yet."

            And then, since it seemed like Hiei was done saying what was on his mind, Yusuke studied the demon's serious expression for a moment longer before closing the gap between them to press his mouth to Hiei's again, just to prove that he meant it.

            Hiei grit his teeth in the face of Yusuke's infuriating, ridiculous grin. Because Yusuke didn't understand what Hiei was trying to tell him. And then Yusuke was kissing him - again, already, like it was a done deal - and Hiei... He let himself be a little weak, and let it happen. Just for a moment.

            And then he was already pushing Yusuke away with one hand on his chest, grousing and complaining at him as he did so.

            "If I end up bein' right, I'm calling you stupid the rest of your life after that. Dummy." He said - just to emphasize - and snapped half-playfully, in warning, at Yusuke's nose with his sharper front teeth. Hiei missed on purpose, though. However... "An' who said y'could do the mouth thing again! We already did a bunch already! Your lips are gonna get smushed shut 'nd then y'won't be able to eat!"

            It was a transparent fib, but a pretty good one, Hiei thought.

            Yusuke laughed, and let Hiei push him, tipping backwards slightly as he dissolved into giggles.

            "That ain't true! Otherwise half the monks around here wouldn't be able to eat a damn thing and you know it!"

            Hiei made a surprised noise, then he fell back onto his butt as he let Yusuke go; laughing. Loud. So loud, he had to hold his stomach; it hurt.

            "Y-Y-You seen half the monks doin' it that much?!"

            Yusuke snickered, watching with amusement as Hiei laughed.

            "You haven't? You ain't never been down to the barracks, huh?"

            "I ain't no peeper!" Hiei defended with a wide smile, lashing out his right hand to pinch Yusuke's nose shut between his middle and fourth-finger knuckles. "Not my fault they don't look down a'fore they start suckin' on each other's faces!"

            "Hey!"

            Yusuke dodged Hiei's outstretched hand, still laughing.

            "I ain't no peeper neither! But those stupid monks never think to look for me there. An' it's easy, when you ain't got no youki. Not my fault they do stupid shit down there."

            Making a disgruntled noise, Hiei tried to snag Yusuke's nose again, his smile dimming a bit naturally as he focused, tongue poking out the side of his mouth.

            "So's y'gotta tell, then!" His eyes were wide with unholy glee: shining in that way that someone knows they're about to hear information a grown-up doesn't want them to. "Wha'ddidya see?"

            Yusuke raised his hand to try and swat Hiei's hand away this time as he narrowed his eyes, smirking back at Hiei as he dodged his continued attempts.

            "I jus' told you, di'n I? I ain't no peeper. So wha' makes you think I seen anything anyways?"

            He grinned. Truthfully, most of the time he didn't pay attention to what the monks were doing down in the barracks, and only hung around long enough to lose the trail of whoever he was supposed to be studying with. He probably could come up with something stupid to tell Hiei, like that one time he saw a monk dump an entire pot of tea on themself by accident because they got distracted by something out of Yusuke's line of sight, but it was a lot more fun to just tease Hiei about it, instead.

            Hiei squinted suspiciously at him, shifting his weight more onto his left palm as he leaned into Yusuke's eye-space again. Then he jabbed Yusuke in the forehead, with his right-hand's index finger.

            "You seen somethin'. Otherwise y'wouldn't look so smug 'bout it." Hiei decided, his gaze intent on sussing out the secret.

            Yusuke laughed again, going to grab for Hiei's hand before he suddenly realized it was Hiei's scraped-up right hand, and stopped himself, letting Hiei jab him, instead.

            "Just stupid stuff. You know, like monks trippin' over themselves, or yellin' at each other for stealin' each other's clothes, which all look the same anyways."

            Hiei noted the aborted grab, curiosity rounding his eyes back out. He listened for a moment, eyes gradually trailing upward as Yusuke spoke, and nodded.

            "Grown-ups are all stupid."

            Then he headbutted Yusuke in the chin. What was more surprising, perhaps, was that Hiei didn't do it violently.

            Yusuke made a startled noise when Hiei ducked his head forward to bump against his chin, and froze for a moment, not sure how to respond. Then, just because he could, because he felt like it, he nuzzled his face down into Hiei's hair in front of him.

            Hiei blinked, stilling when Yusuke did. He blinked again, slower, when he felt a pressure in his hair. It wasn't Yusuke's fingers; it was too bulky for that. So, curious, Hiei braced himself with both his palms on the stone bench, his head on Yusuke's collarbone and just... let Yusuke do it. Yusuke'd certainly let Hiei do his face-rubbing-thing, earlier. Maybe it was from a similar place?

            Yusuke sighed softly as he rubbed his face down into Hiei's hair, but he didn't stay there long, pulling back somewhat reluctantly after only a minute or two.

            "...'s gettin' late..."

            And he was beginning to get cold, sitting out on a stone bench in the night air, even with Hiei seated so closely next to him.

            "You're the one who wanted t' come out here..." Hiei grumbled without heat, reaching out to put his hand on Yusuke's bare elbow. He frowned when it felt a little cold, and moved his hand to Yusuke's chest, instead. Then Hiei's eyes sharpened, focusing, and he let a soft billow of heat emanate from his hand, fluffing out before sucking in close to Yusuke's skin. It wasn't quite a heat barrier: just a little infusion of ki that should keep Yusuke warm enough until they got inside. That taken care of, Hiei turned to grab the basket, already scooting to the edge of the bench in preparation to hop off.

            Yusuke sat still, allowing Hiei to warm him, before he hopped off the bench to retrieve the candle that had fallen, forgotten, to the ground.

            "You don't gotta go with me, y'know. I can take the basket back."

            The two of them had been messing around long enough that the kitchen would probably be empty, by now, but Yusuke hadn't forgotten about his plan to try and corner one of the cooks. And now that he'd made such a fuss about Hiei not going out every morning, he might not even get his chance tomorrow, when he dragged himself down for breakfast. But maybe he would get lucky, if one of the cooks had stayed late to prep something for tomorrow's meals.

            Hiei frowned as Yusuke bent down to get the candle, but it was gone by the time Yusuke straightened up. Hiei's face was a mask of casual indifference as he held out the basket to Yusuke with an affirming grunt, an accompanying nod, and then stuffed his hands in his pockets. At least they'd get to walk the way back to the castle together.

            Yusuke smiled easily as he took the basket and headed back into the castle, pausing only briefly once they stepped inside, where it was too dark for him too see properly, so Hiei could light his candle. When they approached the kitchen, and started to slow down, Yusuke bumped Hiei with his shoulder.

            "You better take a break, like we talked about. 'Cause if you don't, I will come up there and make sure you're gettin' enough sleep, even if I gotta lay on top 'a your stupid ass."

            Hiei snorted at that, and bopped Yusuke's hip with a light punch, on the most convenient side: his right, and Yusuke's left. Then he turned to head down the hallway, when Yusuke peeled off to head into the kitchen.

            "Yeah, yeah." Hiei waved over his shoulder without bothering to look back, heaving a sigh. "Real scary." And then he started to lick the superficial scrapes on that same hand clean, as he disappeared around the bend in hall. No sense letting it get infected.

            Instead of climbing the stairs up to his room, Hiei headed for Yusuke's instead. Well, Yusuke had said he could. It was... a little strange, just opening the door and slipping himself inside, knowing Yusuke wasn't there. Hiei closed it behind him and left the room dark, looking around, noticing little things as he headed for Yusuke's big bundle of furs and the cushion that made up his bed.

            Flopping face-first onto the topmost of said furs, Hiei next rolled onto his back and sat up, taking off his boots and leaving them at the edge. Then he wriggled his way under only a layer or two of furs - so he wouldn't get too hot - settled closer to the wall, and curled up there to sleep.

            Satisfied with the acknowledgement, Yusuke grinned and turned away to stick his head into the kitchen instead, taking a quick look around before he stepped fully into the room. There was nobody around to harass about the whole giggling incident from earlier, so he sighed and shoved the basket back into its place on the counter as he made his way past, on his way to the garden.

            It was much later than he usually stayed, after dark, and the garden was chilly, so he didn't linger, only staying long enough to make sure the area around his mother's memorial was tidy. The crude painting he'd made, several years ago, always looked more alive in the gently flickering candle light. He'd thought about trying to paint a better one a few times now, but could never bring himself to actually follow through. As childish as the picture was, there was just something about it that he knew he would never be able to replace.

            With a whispered promise to come back for a longer visit tomorrow, Yusuke escaped to the kitchen, lingering near the always warm ovens for a few minutes to shake off the chill before he ventured back out into the dark hallways of the castle. The darkness and the cold was beginning to drag at him, reminding his mind and his body that he should be sleeping, and he yawned as he made his way back to his room.

            Yusuke immediately kicked off his shoes as he stepped into his room, shoving the door shut behind him as he headed for the lamp on the table, but an unusual shadow caught his attention, just at the edge of his vision, and he frowned, turning towards it as he crossed the room. Something was out of place. Another pair of boots? Yusuke blinked at them for a moment before recognition finally settled in.

            Hiei's boots.

            Yusuke glanced up at the bed, and spotted the tell-tale lump. He huffed out a quiet laugh before turning back to his lamp. He lit it and turned it down low before blowing out the candle, and made at least a half-hearted attempt at changing into his bed clothes. Then he wiggled his way under the bed furs to curl up next to Hiei, reaching out to wrap one arm loosely around the toasty fire demon with a contented sigh.

            Hiei woke into a sort of half-sleep when he heard the door shut and a flicker of light poke under the shadows of the furs covering him. Even without having a good view of the room, how they moved revealed it was Yusuke: no hesitation in movements, the sound of the closet opening and the rustle of clothing. A thief would have paused to consider where most valuables would be stashed.

            Not that a thief - besides Hiei, over all that food, years ago - had gotten in here undetected, so far as he knew. But Hiei still never completely lost the paranoia he'd had from living on his own, with his greatest treasure in danger of becoming some opportunist's best prize.

            When Yusuke climbed in bed, Hiei expected him just to doze off. He didn't startle in his surprise, though, when Yusuke reached out and gave him a half hug. Hiei pondered it, as he lay still and kept his breathing even, as he felt Yusuke slip into sleep. Just when he thought Yusuke was there, Hiei shifted. Moving his arm, then hesitating briefly, Hiei continued: so he could hook his arm over Yusuke's neck. Situated like this, Hiei's elbow covered the nape of Yusuke's neck. It was the most vital spot, which Yusuke'd stupidly left open to the room at large.

            Not that anything would threaten Yusuke in this castle. It hadn't before, and probably never would. But that didn't mean Hiei would fail to protect him. ...Just in case the improbable ever happened. Satisfied enough, Hiei tuned his youki to his usual sleeping baseline temperature. It was an old, old habit: not so high as to attract attention, but not too low to risk him getting cold, either.

            It was still... funny. Not having to worry about being cold anymore. It'd been years, but it still felt like yesterday he'd been freezing in the forest, living on the dregs of his youki and not daring to use his fire: it being the energy-glut it was. Hiei's fingers lifted to rest atop the hair on the back of Yusuke's head. He didn't sink them in; just let them rest there.

            Eventually, he fell asleep.

Chapter Text

            Hiei had woken up as early as he usually did - he assumed, because he wasn't as familiar gauging the time of day from outside Yusuke's windows, as compared to his own room's entire-ceiling window. He figured they still had some time before they had to grab some breakfast and get to training, but his insides itched a little as he stared down at Yusuke, asleep, in front of him.

            So much for visiting his mama, as usual, this morning. Hiei hadn't thought about that when he'd crawled in here last night.

            He couldn't move. Because then Yusuke would wake up. And if Yusuke was still sleeping, maybe he needed to. So Hiei'd been forced to wait until Yusuke stirred a bit more - maybe with some slight kneeing, or prodding, as his impatience grew - to gently coax him along into wakefulness.

            Yusuke felt warm, and comfortable, and completely boneless, fighting back against the slow awareness of his surroundings as he woke. He wasn't ready to move. But sleep, it seemed, was determined to escape him. So he reluctantly opened his eyes, only to be met with the intense red gaze of Hiei's eyes, staring right back at him. Yusuke flushed, but still couldn't bring himself to move just yet, too relaxed to bother, and smiled instead.

            "... hey."

            By the time Yusuke's gaze found him, Hiei just stared right back at him. Then, after a beat, he rolled his own eyes. Withdrawing the arm that'd been hooked around Yusuke's neck all night, Hiei palmed Yusuke's face and pushed him back; enough of a distance that he could start to sit up.

            "You sleep too long." He complained, flinging the two layers of sweaty furs off himself like they'd personally offended him. Hiei could have moved them before, but that had run into the same problem - making Yusuke cold, and thus potentially waking him up - so he hadn't.

            Yusuke whined his complaints as he was shoved around, pulling his arm back from where it was hooked around Hiei's side in favor of clutching at the discarded bed furs instead. But it was useless. He was already awake, and Hiei's disturbance had really only woken him further. And now he was hungry. So he wiggled out of bed with another complaining whine, and padded over to his closet to grab some clothes for the day.

            "Nuh-uh. You don't sleep enough. Tha's why you're always so grumpy."

            Hiei scoffed at him, taking a longer moment than Yusuke to completely extricate himself from the furs. He wasn't as used to sleeping under them, after all. When he finally did, he crossed his arms over his front and glared at Yusuke as he searched for clothes.

            "'m not grumpy." Catching sight of his boots, Hiei grabbed them and carried them over to the door. His belt and dagger were still strapped to his waist, as he hadn't moved that much during the night. Hiei'd forgotten to take those off, too. It itched his brain a little, but he could deal with it. It's not like it would just fall out of its sheath overnight, anyway.

            Sitting down with his back facing the room, Hiei began to pull his boots on, lacing them up just inside the door.

            "Yeah y'are."

            Yusuke shucked his bedclothes and dressed quickly, already regretting leaving the warm comfort of his bed furs for the much colder air of his bedroom. But he knew if he went down to grab his breakfast soon enough, he could always come back up and sit in one of the sunnier balconies to eat before it was time to train. The balconies near the top of the towers would have been sitting in the sun long enough to get nice and warm, even early in the morning. He'd learned that from following Hiei around, the first few years after he'd moved in.

            So as soon as he was dressed, he collected his haphazardly discarded boots from near the door and shoved them onto his feet, tucking the laces into the top rather than taking the time to fasten them properly. There would be plenty of time for that later. When he wasn't hungry.

            "Nuh-uh." Hiei disagreed articulately, moving out of Yusuke's way as he stood, his own boots securely attached. He opened the door, looking out it before stepping into the hall, and called back over his shoulder as he did. "It's just your natural talent. Being irritating, that is." Hiei smirked to himself around that response, as he shoved his hands into his pockets, and started for the kitchen.

            Yusuke rudely blew a raspberry in Hiei's direction in response, as he followed him out the door, pulling it shut behind him. Then, hurrying ahead to keep up, Yusuke smiled and leaned in to knock his elbow against Hiei's as he fell into step beside him. But his focus had already shifted firmly towards their destination, so he stayed quiet, and kept an eye out for errant monks as they made their way down to the kitchens.

            Hiei huffed a soft laugh when he heard the rude noise, easily jostling Yusuke back as they walked. It was a quiet enough walk, all things considered. Hiei almost thought it was 'too quiet', but perhaps that was just his paranoia acting up. It wasn't a rainy day, so no monks should be trying to hunt Yusuke down for lessons today, anyway. It was just... a normal day. Training, and then lunch, and then left mostly to their own devices until dinner.