Adult-FanFiction.org : YuYu Hakusho

Into the Gray	By : Dementian Category: Yuyu Hakusho > Yaoi - Male/Male > Kurama/Kuwabara Views: 2206 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho and make zero money off of it.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
   The night had finally come, and the hour drew close to six. Kazuma prepared himself for what must inevitably come next. Yusuke and Keiko had been approached by Keiko’s parents earlier that very day, taken out for an enjoyable lunch date that lead to a string of other affairs Kazuma did not inquire about. It was their job to keep Yusuke and Keiko away from their apartment while their furniture was moved into their new home, and at Kazuma’s request both Yusuke and Keiko were now being told to dress up fancy for a surprise dinner event.
   Kazuma himself felt rather...tight... in this tux, but it was required of the function and so he dabbed a small bit of cologne on his neck. Kurama had dropped by earlier with the deed to the building and the keys, resulting in a make out session that still had Kazuma’s heart racing three hours later.
   He grinned in spite of himself. Damn, life was good.
   Tonight was his night, the stars were shining upon him.
   Tonight he was going to be the one to blow Yusuke out of the water, and wouldn’t it be sweet to see that look of total and utter surprise upon Yusuke’s face.
   Eikichi slept on, unaware of the tension in the air as Kazuma heard a knock upon his apartment door. Checking to make sure that the deed, a spare invitation to the gala, and the keys were upon the drafting table, Kazuma left to answer the front door.
   Outside Yusuke was in a tux, his hair slicked back and his brown eyes gleaming with great intrigue in the setting sun. Keiko was beside him, wearing a red evening gown with her mother’s pearls upon her neck. When they saw Kazuma was wearing a tux as well, both seemed quite surprised.
   The jig was up, so to say.
   Kazuma grinned and welcomed them wordlessly inside.
   “Uh, there a reason I’m in this monkey suit?” Yusuke asked as Kazuma closed the door.
   “Yeah.” Kazuma said, saying nothing more as the three of them walked into his living room.
   “I have to admit, Kuwabara, I’m really excited.” Keiko gushed, “My parents tell me to dress for a special evening, then drop us off here, and you’re wearing a tux too? Are we all going out somewhere?”
   “We going on a date?” Yusuke joked, winking saucily at Kazuma, “Cause I’m down for that.”
   “Yusuke." Keiko admonished him, though there was no true irritation in her voice. Yusuke just grinned.
   “As a matter of fact.” Kazuma said smoothly, picking up the invitation to the gala and handing it over, “We are going out tonight.”
   Yusuke took the unopened invitation and looked warily at it.

   “Open it," Kazuma prompted, and so Yusuke did.
   As he folded back the crisp expensive paper, Yusuke began to read aloud with Keiko looking on over his arm.
   “You are cordially invited to the grand opening of...” Yusuke broke off, a sudden laugh jutting past his lips, “The grand opening of ‘Yusuke’s’… hosted by newly instated designer and graduate of ADU, Kazuma Kuwabara at...” but Yusuke shook his head, no longer reading. He looked at Kazuma, incredulous.
   “What is this?”
   “It’s yours,” Kazuma explained, and without another word he handed Yusuke the deed to the restaurant. “It’s a wedding gift from all of us.”
   Keiko didn’t seem to understand, but as Yusuke opened the deed and she saw the legal spread, she suddenly broke down.
   “Oh my God!" Keiko blurted out, clapping her hands over her mouth.
   “What the hell is this?” Yusuke demanded, unable to breathe adequately as he saw his own name upon the deed. “I don’t- what is this?!” His laughter and his smile were growing by the second. Kazuma adored it.
   Yes, it was good to be calling the shots.
   “I had to do a project for my senior portfolio." Yusuke’s mouth was wide open, and he was shaking his head as Keiko tried to control her tears, “To be an instated ADU designer. I picked the concept of a live-in restaurant, kind of what Keiko’s parents have. Except this bad boy is a bit bigger and... well.. designed for high living.”
   “Oh my god, it’s a house!” Keiko wailed, “Yusuke, it’s a house!”
   But Yusuke still couldn’t grasp the gravity of it, too blown away to fully follow.
   “It’s more than a house,” Kazuma assured Keiko, “It’s a huge restaurant. It seats about three hundred people... and you own it.” He pointed to the paperwork in Yusuke’s hands.
   “It's opening tonight. Me, Kurama, your mom, Keiko’s parents, Shizuru... we’ve all been in on it. Sorry we punked you, but you did screw us out of a proper wedding.”
   Yusuke’s hands shook where they held the deed, his arms full of Keiko as she wept openly upon his chest, blissfully happy.
   “Well, that’s... that’s just swell,” Yusuke finally answered, his voice bleak from shock.
   “You fuckin’ deserve it,” Kazuma assured him. Yusuke didn’t have words.
   “I should have kissed you sooner,” Yusuke said, his voice growing bold and brave as the weight of the situation finally began to sink in. “I’m gonna kiss you again! Right now!”
   "Hey back off, punk!” Kazuma teased, but there was no stopping Yusuke as he reached up and kissed him merrily upon the lips. Kazuma jerked back at once, laughing in spite of himself.
   “Knock it off!” Kazuma warned. Keiko was still too busy crying to care, laughing as Yusuke shrugged and wrapped his arms around her.

   “But this- this invitation says that the party starts at seven! It’s six thirty!" Keiko managed between tears, wiping her face with trembling hands as she clutched the gala invitation to her breast.
   “Well it’s only a few blocks away.” Kazuma assured her, but this just sent her into another wave of hysterics.
   “Wait- that new huge building?! The one with the crowd out front?!" Keiko screamed, elated as she clutched the invitation harder to her breast, “With the patios and the live band playing?!"
   “Yeah, that’s Yusuke’s,” Kazuma confirmed.
   Keiko broke into a fresh wave of hysterics, sobbing openly into her hands.
   “Baby.” Yusuke scoffed, taking Keiko into his arms to attempt to calm her down. To be frank it would be very difficult to jerk Keiko off her high at this moment but still Yusuke tried, rubbing her back is soothing circular motions as she wept into his shoulder.
   “Dude, you are...” Yusuke was once again at a loss for words, “You are fuckin’ insane.”
   “Yeah, I know.” Kazuma grinned, feeling rather high himself at the sight of his two oldest friends so blissfully happy. “Come on, let’s go.”
   Both Yusuke and Kazuma were ready to get moving, but Keiko was still too wrapped up in her emotional turmoil to go.
   It took several minutes for Keiko to compose herself, and by the time they finally made it out the door they had only seven minutes to get to the party. Keiko’s parents were waiting in the car below, blowing the horn and screaming their congratulations.

~*~
   Kurama felt like a child waiting to surprise someone for their birthday, crouched behind an enormous fish tank with Yukina and Shizuru. The restaurant was packed with patrons, architects, and past graduates of ADU. There were even clients who had come to meet with Kazuma, milling about the room with looks of awe on their faces as they observed the glorious first floor.
   It truly was an incredible place to behold.
   Spacious seating on polished marble floors offered for an open aired dining experience that left one feeling at ease even in a high class restaurant. The hostess’s podium was backed by an enormous fish tank which helped to divide yet another area of seating; Kurama watched the fish he had picked out swim about their new environment, totally at ease in the party atmosphere. Kurama himself was far from easy, having invited Shiori to the gala at Kazuma’s request and wondering when she might arrive. This affair drained him considerably; he suddenly found himself wishing he were at home, curled up on his couch and reading. It was a selfish want, when Kazuma needed him here tonight to help him stay confident and poised. Kurama knew that by the time the party ended he was going to be dead on his feet, and had already called in to request the next day off from work. Mercifully, today was a Thursday.

   Kurama should have known beforehand that there was no way to surprise someone with such spiritual awareness as Yusuke Urameshi, for from the minute he’d walked through the door with Keiko by his side and Kazuma right behind him, Yusuke had seen them all hiding behind the fish tank… and promptly lost his mind.

   In truth, Kurama could not blame him. Such a massive restaurant was truly stunning if you weren’t expecting it. Tables laid out in fine linens and crystal glassware were a huge face lift from the cramped and humble noodle shop that Yusuke had kept near the Sapori metro stop. The ceilings were high and made of glass, showing an incredible view of the nighttime sky that was interceded only by large hanging lamps cut and designed to look like clouds. In the far corner a large silver money tree alluded to a more natural backdrop; fine leather seating made for a posh but cozy atmosphere.
   Kurama knew this restaurant was going to make Yusuke a fortune.
   Yusuke had grabbed him round the waist, swinging him so hard Kurama had been temporarily lifted off his feet as Yusuke cheered and jumped. His hair flew in all directions, and after several minutes of coaxing Yusuke back to his sense Kurama was put down upon his feet only to be swept up in another hug by Keiko (who could not lift him but tried). Kurama felt slightly under dressed, forgoing a tuxedo jacket to simply wear black slacks and a fancy white top, but he could feel Kazuma’s eyes upon him and when he finally lifted his own to face Kazuma’s gaze he found it full of love.
   Admittedly, Kurama had unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt; he suppose he’d been trying to look ‘festive’ tonight. The action had not gone unnoticed by Kazuma.
   Nothing went unnoticed by Kazuma. It was one of the many things that Kurama found so endearing about him.
   Yusuke and Keiko desperately wanted to see the place and so Kurama had agreed to play the part of host as Kazuma kept up airs with his guests. So many people wanted to shake his hand, to ask him questions. Kurama was immensely proud of Kazuma.
   That was something incredible about seeing a building on paper, walking around it when it was only halfway completed, and then hosting a party in it when it was ready for viewing. Kurama could suddenly appreciate every light fixture, every tile placement, as he lead Yusuke and Keiko to the very back of the restaurant where a small inner hallway holding only restrooms lay (or so it seemed). At the very end lay a locked door and a coding system. The code was simple: one-three-two-six, a hint at March 26th, Yusuke’s birthday. Once the door unlocked, a flight of padded stairs led straight up to a landing with a large sitting area.
   “This is your work space, Yusuke-“ Kurama tried to explain, but Yusuke wouldn’t have it.
   “Shut up!” Yusuke screamed, unable to comprehend what he was seeing as he looked about. This room was simple and straightforward, comprised of dark green carpets, large leather sofas, and a massive glass coffee table.
   Like a child, Yusuke ran about the room, poking his head into the meeting room where an elongated glass window looked out over the packed back patio as well as well as his own personal office which was small but cozy; Kurama doubted Yusuke would ever use the room. He was far too scatterbrained to sit down and actually use an office like it was intended, but it certainly was a nice touch.
   Of course, this only left the third floor, whose door was hidden behind a bookcase (eliciting another delighted squeal from Keiko). The flight up was much shorter, only six steps, and took them right into the living room of Keiko and Yusuke’s new home.
   When Keiko saw their couch sitting upon the black lacquered wood floors, and recognized their worn coffee table holding an ornate flower vase full of lilies, she promptly lost control. Breaking down, she almost fell to the floor had it not been for Yusuke holding her up. Kurama could not blame her; not when the room was so polished and pure. Compared to their apartment, it was a high rise suite, an incredible step up for a newly married couple. It didn’t help that the kitchen had new appliances and marble countertops; poor Keiko was so over stimulated that she almost had a panic attack.
   Kurama decided it might be best for Keiko and Yusuke to have a moment alone. He left them holding one another in their new living room, followed out by Shizuru and Yukina who had already started drinking and were delightedly pointing out every exquisite nuance of Kazuma’s first establishment. When they returned to the ground floor, Kurama had sought sanctuary in the dark hallway, wanting a moment before returning to the party with its packed dance floor.
   A six piece band had been brought in to play; they were beginning their first number... a jazz piece from America.
   “My baby bro sure knows what he’s doing,” Shizuru gloated as she observed the band, eyeing the liquor bar on the other side with great intrigue. Kurama was in the mood for a drink as well, slightly over stimulated. Had this been any other restaurant he would feel quite at ease, able to mingle with high society by simply outing on false pretenses and using a fake smile to get through most situations. But this restaurant belonged to Yusuke. This would be the setting for their Christmas parties and celebrations. It all suddenly seemed so much bigger to Kurama, swallowing him in its extravagance.
   Was it wrong of him to miss that cramped little noodle shop and its ugly hardwood floors?
   “Kazuma did such a wonderful job!” Yukina said, and Shizuru’s good mood became infectious as she reached over to kiss Yukina softly upon the cheek.
   So it seemed that Yukina’s date the other day had been Shizuru. Kurama grinned wryly as he imagined Hiei’s scowling expression when he found out. Perhaps he wouldn’t mind; Shizuru was short tempered and preferred the facts to nonsense. Both were qualities that Hiei likewise possessed.
   “I’ve very proud of him,” Kurama agreed, and the girls looked at him with a smile, “I told him several times that this place was going to be a success. I’m glad it paid off. Tonight is a night for him to shine.”
   Kurama tried to hide the pride in his voice, but he doubted he did a good job as he caught Shizuru giving him a coy look.

   “... Got something on your neck,” she said, pointing to the love bite delicately concealed by his collar. Kurama knew at once what she had spotted and attempted to re-adjust his collar but it was no use.
   “It’s nothing," he said, but Shizuru just kept grinning at him.
   Kurama finally relented after a moment of awkward silence, shooting her an irritated look.
   “That's a hickie," she said.
   “Well-spotted,” Kurama grumbled.
   “My brother give that to you?” Shizuru asked. Kurama flushed as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Now he suddenly found himself wanting to get back out in the party if only to avoid Shizuru and her increasingly invasive questions.
   Shizuru just smiled, totally at ease.
   “I’m glad you two are together," Shizuru said. “He was really in love with you."
   “I’m well aware.” Kurama did not want to continue this conversation, finding it far too personal for his own tastes. He quickly left the hallway before Shizuru could say anymore, and headed back out into the crowd.

   He did not know why, but he suddenly wanted to stand with Kazuma. It was the strangest feeling, as if Kurama did not feel safe on his own anymore. He doubted Shizuru would ask any questions when he was standing right next to Kazuma. Then again, that might have been a pipe dream. The Kuwabara siblings were nothing if not confrontational.
~*~
   Kazuma had found Kurama in the crowd, devoid of the others and insisting that he needed his space. It was utterly thrilling to shake so many hands and speak with potential clients while Kurama watched. Kazuma wished he could proclaim his love for Kurama to the entire crowd, to the world, but at the same time having it be a secret between them was utterly delighting. Every so often, Kazuma caught sight of the hickie hiding underneath Kurama’s shirt collar and felt his heart leap in his chest when he recalled his mouth there only three hours ago-
   Kurama moaning beneath him, his legs buckling as he kissed Kazuma’s jaw feverishly.
   Kazuma had been bold, squeezing Kurama’s backside in that encounter. It had been positively thrilling and he was fucking determined to do it again sometime soon. Possibly tonight... but he had a nagging feeling Kurama would be downright exhausted by the time all of this was finished. It would have to wait.
   Kazuma was patient. He’d bide his time for a chance to grab Kurama’s ass again.
   As the party progressed, Kazuma’s head began to spin. Both Keiko and Yusuke had returned downstairs and now Yusuke was behind the bar giddily pouring rounds like he owned the place (which was damn ironic because he did own the place). Keiko was entertaining, delighting in telling complete strangers that this very restaurant was her new home. Shizuru was by the bar at the moment, drinking scotch as she watched Yukina dance to the beat of an old jazz number. Yukina was wearing a dazzling white petal dress, twirling about as Shizuru watched with a curiously smug expression. In a dark mauve smoking jacket and pinstripe slacks, Shizuru looked quite dapper.
   Kazuma would have to figure out where she shopped; he wouldn’t mind looking that nice.
   His vain thoughts were dislodged from his mind however when he noticed someone very special walk through the front door.
   “She’s here!” Kazuma suddenly said, and there was an unexpected lurch of fear in his heart. He knew her well, having attended her wedding and been in her son’s crowded apartment too many times to count. She wore a gown of dusky rose that sparkled in the candlelight, her shoulders covered with a loose fur shawl and her ears graced with fat pearls. She’d curled her dark brown hair, and her lined face was classically framed as her searched with coal lined eyes through the crowd.
   “Who?” Kurama asked, still unaware of Shiori’s presence, but as Kazuma coughed under his breath and nodded in Shiori’s direction, Kurama looked around to find his mother wandering through the tight crowd.
   Shiori was looking for Kurama, and found him by Kazuma’s side.
   “Your mother.“ Kazuma was incredibly nervous now, his palms beginning to sweat. He wanted to make a good impression, to look worthy of her son; he knew how much Kurama adored Shiori, how far Kurama had been willing to go in the past to ensure Shiori’s safety.
   “Oh-!” Kurama was taken aback at Shiori’s arrival, perhaps having not expected to see her until later when the crowd would dim at the late hour. “Right... um..” Kurama looked up at Kazuma, his sweet lips pursed tight. “Right. Right.”
   Kurama was nervous too. Perhaps he understood Kazuma’s need to impress, because Kazuma was certain his own father was wandering about the crowd.
   “Does she know?” Kazuma asked, gesturing a little between their chests.
   “No.” Kurama shook his head, his eyes still on Shiori as she drew closer and closer.
   “Do you want to tell her tonight?” Kazuma asked, unsure if that was even wise.
   “No," Kurama admitted; it was probably for the best, for that was a private conversation after all.
   “Right. Later.”
   “Later.” Kurama repeated the word, breaking into a sweet smile as Shiori finally made it to their side.
   “Shuichi.” Shiori threw an arm around him, kissing him softly on the cheek. “Did I come fancy enough?”
   Kazuma was instantly captivated by her, by her serene loveliness. Kurama had inherited her social grace. She was a classy, he could already tell.

   “I haven’t seen a prettier lady yet,” Kazuma offered, and Shiori waved him off with a sweet laugh. From over their heads, Shizuru's snide voice broke in.
   “Thanks, bro,” Shizuru growled. Yukina was snickering at her side as Shizuru downed her scotch and glowered at Kazuma.
   “That is very sweet of you to say," Shiori complimented Kazuma, and his heart leapt a little at her sincere smile.
   “Mother, this is Kazuma Kuwabara. A... very close friend of mine. He made this place, and he also came to your wedding.” Shiori’s smile grew even wider as she reached out and merrily shook Kazuma’s broad hand. Kazuma had no idea why he thought about kissing her knuckles; she surely wasn’t expecting that was she? She was classy but she wasn’t from high society... right?
   Kazuma was second guessing every action he took, terrified it would not be enough to impress her.
   “Kuwabara, you’ve done an incredible job,” Shiori gushed. “I’m so amazed by your work. You’re a genius!”

   “Well, I don’t know about that-“ Kazuma coughed, suddenly quite embarrassed by Shiori’s kind words. He gestured to Kurama, who raised an eyebrow.
   “Shuichi was a big inspiration to me. He picked out the fish!” Kazuma added with a smile. He pointed to the large fish tank near the front, and Shiori observed it with delight.
   “You picked out the fish?” Shiori asked her son. Kurama snorted under his breath, shaking his head.
   “The fish are not the highlight--“ He tried to dissuade his mother but Shiori wouldn’t hear of it.
   “I think they’re important,” Kazuma urged, and Shiori chimed in at once.
   “They’re a lovely touch-“
   “Can we please not make this about me?” Kurama snapped, causing Shiori to laugh softly. A waiter came by offering champagne, and she took a glass to sip it casually.
“Kazuma has accomplished something outstanding,” Kurama said. “I want to praise him for a change.” Kurama glared at Kazuma, though his eyes were soft and devoid of anger.
   “Sorry, old habits.” Kazuma shrugged.
   “Shuichi told me you were very important to him,” Shiori said, and Kazuma suddenly flushed bright pink as he looked up at Kurama. Had Kurama really said as much to her? But she didn’t know that they were together? “I’m so glad to see you shining in the spotlight. You deserve it.” Kazuma could not help but smile, “He told me you’re also friends with Yusuke and Hiei! But... is Hiei here, or Yusuke?” Shiori looked left and right, as if expecting the pair of them to pop out in the crowd.
   “Well, let’s see,” Kurama said, looking over the heads of the patrons to find the bar in the back packed with people, “Yusuke is somewhere near the bar drinking his weight in Jose Cuervo; Hiei is not here. He unfortunately could not come but he sends his regards.”
   “Oh, what a shame.” Shiori sighed, frowning at Kurama. “I miss him. I wonder where he is."
   Kazuma wondered all of a sudden how Shiori knew Hiei and what Hiei had been like when she’d met him? Hiei was an antisocial prick, even at the best of times; Kazuma could blow his first impression clean out of the water if Hiei was the standard he had to live up to.
   “Busy, from what I understand. Work,” Kurama supplied.
   “Hiei’s got... a lot on his plate." Kazuma added, trying to throw some weight behind Kurama’s story.
   “Yes, I know. The poor lamb.” Shiori made a small noise of discontent, but her sadness was quickly wiped away as she gave Kazuma another lovely smile. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to go congratulate Yusuke on his new restaurant and home! I can imagine he’s had quite a day! I’ll be back, though-" Shiori suddenly reached up and before Kazuma knew what was happening she’d kissed him sweetly on the cheek.
   “Congratulations again, Kazuma,” Shiori used his first name, and his heart sang, “You truly deserve all the glory you receive tonight."
   And she was gone, whisking off into the crowd like a lovely pink cloud that trailed a sunset.
   Kazuma heard a tiny noise slip out of his mouth, though he was unsure if someone would classify it as a ‘squeak’ or a ‘whimper’.
   “Oh god, I hope she liked me.”
   "She loved you,” Kurama soothed, rubbed his arm endearingly. Kazuma took strength in the touch, one of the few physical signs of affection Kurama could show him in public.
   That small moment gave Kazuma a sense of inner peace, but it was promptly shattered when a familiar merry voice called out to him through the crowd: Jiro had arrived. When it rained, it apparently poured.
~*~
   Kazuma suddenly stiffened underneath Kurama’s fingers, but the answer to the unspoken ‘what’s wrong’ came when Kazuma nodded once more into the crowd.
   “Oh, great, my dad’s here,” he muttered. “Shit.”
   “Why are we panicking?” Kurama asked, looking around for someone that he might be able to identify as Kazuma’s father. He pictured a tall man, stern and proud like Shizuru, well dressed like Kazuma; he saw no one that matched such a description... at least, no one who was waving at Kazuma.
   The man waving at Kazuma was tall and broad shouldered, with a dark ponytail and a pierced ear. He looked very much like a rocker in an alligator skin jacket and fashionable jeans. He was even wearing shades, despite the fact that it was nighttime and he was indoors. He was more of a youth than a father- surely not? But Kurama’s expectations were blown out of water as the man approached and Kazuma offered him a wry smile.
   “He knows everything," Kazuma murmured under his breath.
   “Everything?” Kurama asked as the man drew closer, noting the coy smile that he was offering Kurama.
   “Everything. Even your real name. We gotta make sure he doesn’t use it in front of your mom-“
   “We’ll just claim it’s a nickname,” Kurama soothed. He’d used the excuse before when Yusuke slipped up. Still, part of him was warily adjusting to the concept that this man knew everything. How open was Kazuma with his family?
   “Dad!" Kazuma greeted, and they moved into a relaxed one arm hug as the man took off his sun glasses to perch them atop his dark head. With the glasses removed, Kurama suddenly found himself looking into Shizuru’s eyes, and knew instantly that this man was Kazuma’s father. He put on a small smile, watching intently as the hug was broke and the two men regarded one another. They even stood alike, both relaxed into a slight slouch with their hands barely tucked into their pockets.

   “You came.” Kazuma seemed slightly surprised, but his father simply scoffed taken aback that his son thought he would ever miss such an event.
   “Uh, yeah!” His father jeered, jerking a thumb over his shoulder and back into the crowd, “This party is swank, and my band is playing! How on earth could I miss this?” But as Kazuma shrugged and looked away, his father just shook his head.
   “You did good, man,” Kazuma’s father urged, parental pride obvious as he nudged Kazuma’s shoulder and gloated. “You did good. I knew you were gonna light up the world when you got into your groove!”
   Kazuma could not stop himself; he smiled wide and genuine at the hard earned praise. Kazuma’s confidence was so usually so low that to see him proud and happy made Kurama’s heart flutter. It was an expression, an attitude, that he wished Kazuma would know far more often.
   “Speaking of getting into your groove-“ Kazuma’s father eyeballed the bar in the back, from which Yusuke’s gleeful voice was issuing.
   “Shiori, you foxy thing, you! Lay some sugar on me!”
   “Yusuke is gettin’ his party on, and I am about to follow.” Kazuma’s father was intent on getting drunk and Kurama certainly would not stop him (he looked to be the partying type) but before he could leave Shizuru was suddenly coming over with Yukina on her arm. Shizuru briefly let go of Yukina to embrace her father, allowing him to plant a whiskery kiss upon her cheek as she passed him a glass of scotch.

   “Hey, dad.”
   “Hey, Shiz-fiz.” He straightened the collar of Shizuru’s mauve smoking jacket. “You look gorgeous.”
   They toasted one another wordlessly, downing their drinks simultaneously, and Kurama remarked at how similar Shizuru looked to her father. She might have even taken the jacket from his closet (it certainly looked like something he might wear).
   “Funny story,” Shizuru remarked, hugging Yukina close who grinned entreatingly at their father, “This is the girl I’m seeing."
   “Aha!” He seemed quite at ease as he took Yukina’s hand in one of his own, bringing it to his lips for a kiss that had Yukina scrunching her nose in delight.
   “Charmed,” he said in a falsely snobbish voice; Yukina snickered as he let her hand fall. “What a lovely, lovely lady you are. What might your name be?”
   “Yukina,” she greeted, bowing. “I am very pleased to meet you.”

   But Shizuru wasn’t one to let a rolling ball drop, throwing a finger at Kurama with a malicious grin that spoke massively of sibling rivalry as Kazuma suddenly began to blush and squawk.

   “And that’s the guy Kazuma’s seeing.”
   Kurama smiled pleasantly, trying hard to ignore Kazuma’s sudden seizing fit as Kazuma’s father turned around and regarded Kurama with respect and, dare he say it, charm? After kissing Yukina’s hand, Kurama doubted that he was about to receive the same treatment, but as Kazuma’s father looked into his face, he could see another devious smile begin to grow.
   “Kurama,” Kazuma’s father greeted him, and Kurama bowed his head politely.

   “It is merely a nickname,” Kurama explained. “My real name is Shuichi.”
   But Shizuru was leaning into her father’s ear, whispering into it as her father regarded Kurama with great intrigue. Kurama narrowed his eyes, wondering what on earth Shizuru was saying as her father began to nod. When Shizuru pulled back, their father gave Kurama another smile.
   “Kurama between us,” he said, and he extended his hand for Kurama to shake. Kurama did so, still wondering what Shizuru had told him. “I’m Jiro; I’m with the band,” he joked, waving a hand at the packed platform where the swing band kept the party going.
   To be fair, the expression could apply to Shizuru and Kazuma as well. They were a wild pair; no doubt they’d run Jiro ragged in their youths.
   “After all the incredible things Kazu has told to me about you, it’s really nice to put a face to a name.”
   Kurama wondered what Kazuma had said to Jiro; no doubt it had all been wild praise, none of which was deserved.
   “I’m pleased to meet you as well,” Kurama said, putting on his most charming smile.
   “Damn, Kazu,” Jiro broke off, taking a slight step back to regard Kurama further. “I gotta admit, you have caught one hell of a fish-“
   “Dad!” Kazuma seethed, clearly worried someone might overhear his father cussing and hitting on a man twenty years his junior, “Would you cool it?”
   “What?” Jiro was unfazed, clearly the source of Shizuru’s eternal calm, “Your boyfriend is smoking hot. Excuse me if I give a compliment or two. Don’t hate me for stating the obvious.” Jiro tutted his son down, but Kazuma just kept making irritable noises in his throat, glowering as he glared at the floor to avoid looking strange to passersby. It was difficult to have a fit of embarrassment at a social function where you were the star.
   Kurama had heard it all before; he simply smiled and waved it off.
   “Between the two of us, I’m really glad Kazu worked up the nerve to tell you how he felt,” Jiro admitted, and Kurama listened intently. “He was real strung out about it."
   “Dad, can we please not-“ Kazuma begged under his breath. No one was going to mind his pleads for mercy at this point, but Kazuma still drug his feet, desperate for someone to change the conversation. Now Kurama could see why Kazuma had not been eager for his father to come over. It was not for lack of love, but lack of mercy.
   “There really was no need for him to be strung out in the first place,” Kurama said, hoping his words might spark some enthusiasm back in Kazuma. “The feeling was mutual.”
   Kazuma slowly looked up, the heat from his cheeks rolling off in waves as his expression fell into a state of neutrality. He looked as if he wanted to say ‘oh?’, but kept silent with his father and sister present.
   Yukina looked quite intrigued by the whole display, keeping quiet as she swayed to the beat of the smooth band.
   “I had a feeling,” Jiro said. “But you can’t tell him that. We gotta work on his confidence level.”
   “I aim to raise it,” Kurama said. Jiro’s grin was infectious.
   “Then you are a friend to me.” There was true camaraderie in his voice. Kazuma’s self-confidence issues were no doubt a point of concern to Jiro, who probably understood their root and cause. Kurama could appreciate the struggle that it took to make Kazuma admit he was worthy of praise.
   “Now if y’all fine folks will excuse me, I’m gonna get drunk with Yusuke Urameshi.” Jiro grinned as he started walking backwards into the crowd, “It’s a great hobby, you should all take it up. Kurama, Yukina-“ He added as a parting thought, “I expect you both at my house for Sunday dinners. Adios!”
   And with that cry, Jiro Kuwabara disappeared back into the crowd.
   “Oh my God," Kazuma grumbled into his hands, still quite embarrassed.
   “Dad knows about spirit world and demons.” Shizuru said, and Kurama suddenly felt his suspicions begin to rise to again. “I explained to him about your situation.”
   "Did you?” Kurama said, quite wary of that information floating about (especially in the mind of someone who was close to getting drunk).
   “He won’t say anything. He knows it’s private,” Shizuru assured him. But Kurama was not convinced. Shiori was still over near the bar. If Jiro let something slip, she might hear.
   Kurama would not have that.
   Yet before Kurama could say something to this effect, Shizuru gasped.
   Her once rosy complexion was starting to grow pale, and she seemed to almost suffer from cramps, as she clutched her abdomen. For all intents and purposes she might have just gotten punched in the stomach. Kurama’s harsh expression faltered, concern blooming inside him as Shizuru touched her throat with a shaking hand and issued deep slow breaths.
   “Shizuru?” Kazuma asked.
   “Shizuru, are you okay?” Yukina reached up to put a hand on Shizuru’s arm, steadying her as Shizuru swayed a little on the spot. She looked like she might faint.
   “... Something...” Shizuru swallowed before she could continue, “Something just hit... my senses.”
   “Here, at this party?” Kurama asked, looking about for a source. Even when he focused his senses, he could not discern the source of Shizuru’s worry. Surely it wasn’t a false alarm; Shizuru was far too adept for such novice mistakes.
   “No,” Shizuru confirmed, “But close by. Maybe... ten miles off.”
   “A demon?” Kurama murmured, suddenly now realizing how vulnerable they were. Their entire group was in one location... if an enemy were to approach them now, where would they run to? How would they take care of the crowd, of their loved ones?
   Kurama sought Shiori’s face, finding her at the back of the bar laughing with Yusuke who was refilling her champagne flute with a clumsy grin.
   “Yeah, but-“ Shizuru shuddered again, a small bead of cold sweat beginning to trickle down from her brow. “That's not what...” She grimaced, clutching her abdomen tight, “Something’s not right.”
   “Look, do I need to shut this party down and get Yusuke on the street?” Kazuma demanded, voicing Kurama’s inner concern. Shizuru shook her head.
   “No, it’s... not like that. It’s not threatening," she said. At this, Kurama gave a small sigh of relief, “It's just... pain. So much pain.”
   Yukina eyed a vacant booth near the short flight of stairs that lead to the hidden hallway and consequent upper floors. It was quite close to the band, but they were taking a break at the moment and the crowd was filtering away.
   “Why don’t you sit down?” Yukina urged Shizuru to the booth, having to keep a tight hold on her arm as she swayed. Shizuru was taller than Yukina; if she fell, Yukina would not be able to catch her. Kazuma helped Shizuru along, and Kurama followed suit.
   Sitting her down, Kurama spotted a random bottle of unopened water near the stage and grabbed it before anyone could see. He gave it to Shizuru who chugged it gratefully, pressing the cold plastic to her forehead as if fevered. She was sweating profusely now; Yukina helped her to take off her jacket.

   Suddenly, their table was being approached.
   “You must be so excited to get settled in!” Shiori was saying to Keiko. The pair of them were being followed by Yusuke, Jiro, and Atsuko Urameshi (who must have been hanging out near the bar to enjoy her son’s company), and Kurama kept a steady hand on Shizuru’s shoulder as Shizuru was hit with another wave of excruciating pain.
   “I can hardly wait!" Keiko was babbling, as of yet unaware of the danger they were facing. “I can’t believe this place is mine! Mine!" she cried out, and suddenly she reached around to kiss Yusuke sweetly upon the mouth. “Yusuke we own a house!”
   “A big ass house, baby!” Yusuke gloated, slightly drunk, “Woo!”
   But even a drunk Yusuke could sense when a threat was being posed, and he looked down at Shizuru suddenly in alarm.

   “Hey babe, what’s got you blue?” Yusuke asked. Keiko, still elated, suddenly stiffened as she saw how pale and shaky Shizuru looked.
   Shiori frowned, her smile slipping away. Jiro was quite alarmed, having left his daughter only minutes ago well and whole.
   “Nothing,” Shizuru managed to mutter through clenched teeth, “Something uh, touched my awareness. I’m not sure what it is." She caught Yusuke’s eye, “But it’s in pain, and it’s close."

   Yusuke’s eyes narrowed as he looked up towards the door. Setting his half-finished whiskey down, Yusuke started to shrug off his tux., “Is it time to rumble?”
   “No, not-“ Shizuru waved a hand haggardly and Yusuke stopped mid-tug. “Not like that. It’s not bringing pain. It’s in pain.” Shizuru corrected him, “It’s not a threat, whatever it is."
   “... okay.” Yusuke shrugged back on his tux, still slightly tense, “Try and relax if you can."
   Yukina was rubbing Shizuru’s back, gazing intently into her face for signs of pain or alarm.
   “Your hands are helping me,” Shizuru whispered to Yukina. “Your hands always help me."
   Yukina’s pale cheeks suddenly began to swim with slight pink, her red eyes locked on Shizuru’s face.
   “Hey, Shiz-fiz,” Jiro murmured, reaching out to touch his daughter’s forehead for signs of a fever. “You just relax. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
   He seemed to understand these kinds of symptoms; perhaps having raised Shizuru he had seen them before when her powers began to fluctuate. Maybe she was the reason that he understood about demons and spirit world.

   “Oh dear, are you ill?" Shiori asked, taking a seat next to Shizuru. She perched herself timidly, unsure of how to help as Shizuru offered her a bleak smile.
   “Sometimes I get a little light headed,” Shizuru whispered.
   Even under stress and in pain, she was willing to keep up Kurama’s facade. There was something to be said for that.
   “I understand completely,” Shiori said, and Shizuru’s smile became slightly more genuine as Shiori patted her leg. “I know it’s scary being up there in the clouds.”
   “Familiar sensation?” Shizuru grumbled.
   “Oh, heavens," Shiori sighed, trying for a small laugh that lacked any real humor, “Half the time I don’t even know where I am.”
   Kazuma picked that comment up at once, looking at Shiori in alarm; perhaps he was noticing her pallid color, her bagged eyes-
   “You’re not sick, are you?” Kazuma asked fearfully, his eyes jumping to Kurama’s face. Kurama kept his expression stoic with the greatest care as Shiori gave Kazuma a weak smile.
   “It’s a long story, sweetie. Not one for tonight.”
Kazuma looked quite disturbed.
   Shizuru suddenly winced aloud, taking several gasping breathes as she pressed her hand to her throat. Her pulse was no doubt jumping wildly
   “Kazu- It’s... coming right for us,” Shizuru blurted out. “Whatever it is, it’s coming for this restaurant.”
   “But it doesn’t want trouble?” Yusuke’s eyes were now locked on the front door; he seemed quite eager to go stand outside and await whatever Shizuru was sensing.
   “No. It’s not trying to bring pain, it’s in pain,” Shizuru repeated, her voice shaky. Shiori didn’t understand, shaking her head as she looked at Kurama.
   She must think Shizuru was suffering from a mental break down.
   “Pain so intense it’s like... knives... digging into flesh, like blood is everywhere. I can feel its pain.” Shizuru shuddered audibly, “God, I'm so cold.”
   Yukina just kept holding her, trying to ground her in the chaotic moment. The band was about to strike back up; no one seemed to realize that something was about to happen besides their little group.
   “You need to focus. Focus on what it is. Try and eliminate all other obstacles-“ Yukina urged.
   “I swear, Yukina. Something is not right. I can feel it in my bones.” Shizuru whispered. Yukina just kept rubbing her back, holding her tight so that Shizuru could draw strength from her presence.
   “Where can you feel it?” Kazuma asked, pressing for details as another bead of sweat started to roll down Shizuru’s face. “Is it someone we know? Or is it like an event? Like a car crash or something?”
   “It’s a..." Shizuru slurred, her eyelids fluttering, “It's a person. It's a person screaming in pain. Dying. Screaming for mercy from someone they love. Screaming for an end, from someone they thought would bring them life.”
   Screaming for mercy from someone they love.
   Kurama did a double take at that sudden slip of information, his heart skipping a beat. Could it be that Shizuru was sensing...? But surely not. It had been months now! Months since Hiei’s last stomach wound, months since his last argument. Surely he’d settled things.
   Surely?
   “Someone they love?” Kurama asked, his tone tense despite his mother sitting next to him.
   “With all their heart. It’s like their heart is breaking. It’s scaring me to death. I can hear their thoughts like a tape reel in my mind,” Shizuru whimpered, trembling viciously as Yukina replaced her jacket upon her shoulders to try and warm her up, “They’re... they’re spiraling. They have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. They’re open and vulnerable. They’re terrified.”
   “Everything’s gonna be alright, sis,” Kazuma urged.
   “Kazuma, something is wrong!” Shizuru blurted, her normally calm and placid brown eyes now bright with fear as she looked up at her younger brother. “Something is wrong and I don’t know what it is. It’s like I’m in a lake of ice.”
   A prickling sensation suddenly flooded Kurama’s mind, a high shrill scream of pain laced with terror and misery-
   Kurama looked over his shoulder at the door.
   He’d felt it too. Something was coming.
   “Kazuma, something’s coming,” Kurama said. “I feel it now."
   Kurama did not dare look around at his mother, not when she was surely staring at him as if he were going mad. He would have to use something to curb her memory now, and he cursed his poor luck. He did not like modifying Shiori’s memory, but he’d already had to do it twice before to keep her under the guise.
   And yet, there she was at his side, now looking towards the door with intense concern.
   “Yeah, I feel it, too," Kazuma replied, and he rose up back on his feet. Scooting around their clustered booth, Kazuma and Kurama stood side by side, both watching the front door and waiting.
   Five minutes passed, nothing happened.
   “... It’s so strange," Shizuru whispered, and both of them looked around to regard her as she wiped her brow with a shaking hand, “It stopped. It’s like it died. Shit, I think whoever it was is dead.” Shiori was still looking at the door, still waiting.
   Kurama opened his mouth to speak, but then-
   Shiori’s sudden scream chilled Kurama to the bone, bringing about him a level of panic he did not know was possible as she clapped her hands over her mouth, her brown eyes wide and filled with terror.
   “Oh my God!” Shiori screamed, “Hiei!”
   Kurama whipped around. The sight that greeted him was something out of a nightmare.
   Hiei stood in the foyer, his clothes tattered and burned to show broken and bleeding skin.
Blood, so much blood.
His eyes were hollow and empty, unseeing upon the crowd as he gasped shallow breaths through weakly-parted lips. Blood trickled from his lip and out of his ears, his energy so frighteningly low that it did not even register in Kurama’s own awareness.
   Hiei could barely stand, could barely see, he had moved on pure instinct alone. On the brink of death he had returned to a place of comfort and calm. Like a dying animal, he had sought out the silence to end his life.
   Kurama’s heart broke; he could only assume the worst had happened.
   Mukuro had made her final attack.
   Hiei had let her claim his body... too in love to put up a true fight.
   A noise passed Kurama’s lips, a horrible aching noise that he hardly registered as his own voice.

   This was not the Hiei that he knew and loved. This broken creature before him-
   “I’m sorry, Kurama,” Hiei whispered, his voice barely understandable amid the terrified murmurs of the shocked crowd. “I tried.”
   Hiei shook, his body wracked with a violent seizing fit.
   He collapsed to the floor.

   “Hiei!” Kurama shouted, jumping over the wrought iron railing that divided him from the foyer floor to sprint across it, skidding to his knees and crashing to a halt beside Hiei as he took him into his arms. Hiei was still and cold... it terrified him.
   “Hiei, answer me!” Kurama screamed, shaking his best friend as hard as he could.

   Hiei did not stir.

   There were people around him, beside him, and at first he was afraid that someone was going to try and take Hiei from him. It turned out to be Kazuma and Yusuke, both of whom were pained in fright.
   “Jesus god, is he dead?!” Yusuke blurted out, and Kurama heard the terror in his voice, “He- he can’t be dead!”
   Kazuma pressed his head to Hiei’s naked and broken chest, listening intently.
   “No, he’s breathing,” Kazuma assured Yusuke who let out a noise that was rather close to a whimper, “But barely.”
   “I knew it!” Shizuru could not help but cry out, “I knew something was wrong!”
   But as Kurama looked over, his face fell even lower to see Yukina staring at Hiei in horror. She looked ready to faint, her face even paler than normal as she stumbled over to Hiei’s side and dropped to her knees. Her hands trembled above his flesh, her movements unsure. It seemed she couldn't decide what to heal first. But she couldn’t heal him, not hear in front of humans. It was by the grace of God that Hiei’s bandana was on, otherwise everyone would have seen his Jagan and wouldn’t that have been fun to explain?
   “Oh, Hiei...” Kurama whispered sadly, touching a particularly damning wound upon his abdomen.
   Mukuro had used her signature punch. There could be no denying his attacker now.
   “Hiei, what happened now?” Kurama blurted out, though Hiei could obviously not answer back.
   “Now?!” Yusuke caught the word and glared at Kurama with such heated scorn that Kurama’s heart suddenly leapt with anxious fear. The crowd around them was getting louder, people were demanding to know what was going on-! “This is re-occurring?!”
   Kurama didn’t know what to say to Yusuke. How would Yusuke take it if he knew that Hiei had been battling against Mukuro for months, steadily getting worse? Would Yusuke take it as a personal insult and seek out Mukuro for a fight?
   Of course he would. Kurama knew full well how Yusuke felt about Hiei. Hiei was like family to Yusuke, and Yusuke was not known for turning the other cheek.

   “We have to get him out of here.” Kazuma broke off Yusuke’s angry stare, looking about the crowd in nervous disarray.
   “Probably sixty people have already called the police,” Yusuke snarled.
   “Or an ambulance,” Kurama added, for blood was smeared across the threshold where Hiei had stumbled in.
   “Oh, that’ll be fun!” Kazuma turned to Kurama, his tone angry though certainly not directed at him, “Wait till they try and take off his headband!”
   Kazuma’s point was made, and Kurama did not resist when Kazuma pulled Hiei into his strong arms and lifted him up.
   Shiori, Keiko, and Atsuko had all come over, leaving only Jiro and Shizuru behind as Jiro held his faint daughter comfortingly by the under arm. Shiori was horrified as she looked at Hiei, knowing him well from visiting their house-

   How would Kurama ever explain this to her?
   But it seemed Shiori understood the dire nature of the situation as she scanned the fretting crowd and quickly pressed a hand to Kazuma’s back to urge him onward.
   “Upstairs!” Shiori urged, “Take him upstairs! You stand no chance of getting him out of the area, take him away from the public!”
   Shiori was right. They had to move, and quickly.
   “Christ, Kurama, he’s really hurt!” Kazuma’s voice was pained as he held Hiei with ginger care, “His body feels like he’s broken in half.”
   “Come on-!” Atsuko urged, forcing her way through the thickening crowd and opening up a path from them as they headed for the hidden stairwell in the back. “Move, people!”
   Move, they did; Atsuko could not be ignored.
   “Who could have done this?!” Yusuke demanded, his voice thundering in the cramped hallway as their group moved in a single unit. Kurama reached the access panel first, punching in the code so that the door unlocked. Once it was open, he stepped aside to let Kazuma pass first.
   Keiko broke away from their group, and Yusuke watched her go with alarm.
   “Yusuke, take care of him!” Keiko urged, “I’ll take care of the police!”
   “Babe, you are a treasure,” Yusuke crooned at once, grateful for the wary eye that Keiko possessed as Yusuke and Yukina both slipped upstairs. “I worship you! I suck your toes!” Yusuke shouted down the stairs at Keiko’s retreating back.
   Kurama wanted to worry about Shiori, Shizuru, Jiro and Atsuko, all of whom would face intense questioning from the police when they arrived, but damnit he could not spare himself. He closed the door hard hearing the lock click back automatically, running up the stairs behind Yukina’s rapidly retreating back as they headed for the safety of the third floor.
   Hiei had come to him in his hour of aid. Kurama would not deny him. Not when Hiei had already been denied by others so many times before.
~*~
   Yukina kept her hands steadily upon Hiei’s abdomen, pushing in soothing rays of healing ki with constant vigilance as Kazuma paced and Yusuke studied Hiei’s face for signs of consciousness. This living room should have been filled with joy, with a party atmosphere and a sense of hope towards the future. Now it was like a deathbed, with Kurama and Yukina pouring everything they had into Hiei’s frail and battered body. Their goal was simple: keep him alive. If he made it through the night, he would live. If he slipped...
   Kurama dared not finish that thought.
   Hiei was as pale and still upon Yusuke and Keiko’s couch as he had been downstairs on the foyer floor. The only change came in the lack of blood upon his body as Yusuke carefully wiped Hiei’s bruised and broken skin. The bowl of water which had started out clear was now a murky red; it had already been emptied and refilled three times. He had lost so much blood. An impossible amount, in Kurama’s mind. How on earth had Hiei survived the passage into human world? How long had he been traveling in such a state? To that effect, what state was Mukuro in? Was she equally damaged, but hiding in demon world? God forbid, was she dead? Kurama did not believe Hiei would kill Mukuro, even on the most difficult day. Hiei adored Mukuro, to the point where his body became the consequential victim of her wrath. Kurama knew that on most days it was well deserved, that Hiei had a sharp mouth and was quick to scapegoat everyone instead of focus the blame inward. Mukuro had to be quick on her mark to make sure Hiei did not go overboard and spiral.
   Yet it seemed that even with her love and help, Hiei had spiraled. Incredible, how little it had taken to push Hiei over the edge. Hiei was the image of strength, a pillar that none could topple, but he was positioned upon a ball of glass, so easily swayed or crushed. Kurama could see that now.
   “How long has this been going on?” Yusuke asked. The lack of noise issuing from downstairs was disturbing. Either these walls were sound proofed or the party below had been effectively canceled. Kazuma just kept pacing, his hands over his mouth as he tried to keep himself together. Kurama knew Kazuma was close to saying something he’d later regret.
   “Quite a while, from what I understand,” Kurama admitted. Yusuke gave him a murderous look, but Kurama would not budge from his position. He had had his reasons for keeping Yusuke in the dark, the largest of which was that Hiei would not have liked it if Kurama had told Yusuke there was a problem. Kurama would not dare to break Hiei’s trust.
   “Explain,” Yusuke growled.
   “For months now, Hiei has been coming to me secretly, offering me aid with regard to an unrelated issue. Every time I have seen him, he has been injured. Every time.”

   Yusuke pulled back from the couch, rubbing his hands together in nervous habit.
   “Is he being followed?” Yusuke asked.
   “No,” Kurama said.
   “Then how the hell is he constantly being injured? Surely he’d have killed the dick doing this to him by now-“

   “Not exactly,” Kurama began, but even as he Yusuke opened his mouth to demand more answers, Hiei started to stir. Both Yukina and Kurama pulled back, unsure of what mental state Hiei would be in if he awoke.
   When Hiei opened his eyes and surveyed them all, Kurama knew that Hiei was scared out of his mind. It showed in his eyes; all those layers of fear pushing to the surface from the increase in stress.
   “Hello, Hiei,” Yukina whispered, timidly resuming her healing of Hiei’s abdomen. Hiei looked at Yukina, at where she touched him so lovingly; the fear remained in his gaze. He was afraid of his own sister.

   “I’m alive,” was all Hiei said. He seemed amazed by that fact.

   “Yes,” Kurama agreed. Hiei met his gaze briefly, but he lacked the strength or the resolve to hide his fear from Kurama. In others, such fear would prompt tears. In Hiei they only prompted hysterics and escalated paranoia. Kurama hoped that his next words would not rattle him too deeply, but already knew he was asking too much.
   “It’s time you explained to me what happened,” Kurama said. “So I can explain it to Yusuke... so he can explain it to the police.” Hiei looked up at Yusuke who was leaning over the back of the couch to look down at Hiei with great concern.

   “You arrived amid a very public event. It frightened a great deal of people, including our parents.” Kurama tried to keep the irritation out of his voice. It was not Hiei’s fault that his time of need had corresponded with such an important night. Hiei had had no idea of Kazuma’s project, or Shiori’s arrival. He had simply required aid and come to the source of Kurama’s energy. Kurama could not blame him for that. “We require answers.”
   Hiei said nothing.
   “... Did Mukuro do this?” Kurama tried again, gesturing to Hiei’s stomach wound which Yukina continued to heal
   “Yes.”
   Kazuma had heard enough.
   “I don’t understand this!” Kazuma exploded, whirling on Hiei with such energy and volume that Yukina jumped from her place on the couch and Hiei’s eyes widened considerably. Kazuma was fuming, his frustration at the lack of truth obvious as he gestured helplessly into the air.
   “Everyone keeps telling me that you love each other! That you’re practically soul mates or something! So why would Mukuro do this to you if she loved you!?” Kazuma snarled. “You don’t beat up someone you love! You don’t cause harm or pain to someone you care about! If she thinks that this is okay, that beating you up like this is normal, then she’s a fucking psychopath-“

   Hiei lunged, a murderous snarl ripping loose from his mouth as he reached futilely for his katana so normally at his belt. But Kurama had removed his katana and Hiei’s hand grasped wildly at thin air as he suddenly doubled over in pain and cried out-
Yukina bore the brunt of it, catching Hiei mid fall and stumbling with him back onto the couch as Hiei bled all over her white gown and trembled haggardly in her loving arms.
   “Woah, woah!” Yusuke shouted, quickly intervening to block Hiei and Kazuma from harming one another. Kurama did not know who to attend to, Hiei who was dying in Yukina’s arms or Kazuma who was shaking in a livid rage behind Yusuke.
   “Kazuma,” Kurama warned, his patience growing incredibly short as he watched the blood drip from Hiei’s stomach. Yukina was trying to shush her brother, trying to push him back down onto the couch, but Hiei was furious and would not lay back. “Not everyone has lived as pleasant a life as you. Mukuro is not a psychopath, she is a product of her environment. As are you.”

   Kurama’s tone turned gentle as he glanced apologetically at Kazuma. Kazuma raised his hands up in disbelief, prostrating himself silently as if to say ‘This isn’t right and you know it!”
   Kurama did know it.

   “Hiei, tell me what happened,” Kurama urged, his patience officially drained. He needed facts and he needed them now.

   “Go to hell!“ Hiei spat back, hysterics taking over from a lack of places to run to.
   “Hiei, you have to tell me what’s going on in order for me to fix this!” Kurama’s voice grew hotter. Hiei grew more panicked.
   “You can’t fix this!”
   “Allow me to speak with Mukuro and I can-“
   “The answer doesn’t lay in your words-“
   “Then whose words do they lay in, Hiei? Certainly not yours. This has to be the fifth time you’ve spoken with her and every time you return to me you’re just more injured than the last! What are you saying to her that is enraging her so much-!?”
   “I’m not enough!” Hiei screamed.
   Heartbreaking silence followed his words.
Yukina’s expression from behind Hiei reflected what they all felt: sympathy and assimilated pain. She reached out, trying to put a hand on her brother’s back, but Hiei jerked away. Her touch scalded him, scared him.
   “I cannot do this anymore-“ Hiei’s voice shook with rage as he slammed a balled fist upon his own knee, his eyes burning with self-hatred and shame. “I cannot ruin- I never wanted to cause- but it’s all I can-“
   But he could not speak, and his sentences remained unfinished as he took deep, quivering breaths.
   Kurama looked at Kazuma, unsure of what to say; for the first time in living memory Kazuma was looking down on Hiei with sympathy and kindness instead of irritation and mild dislike. The change was unsettling, suddenly throwing a whole new dynamic on their relationship as Kazuma approached Hiei timidly (despite Yusuke’s frantic but silent gestures from behind the couch) and spoke.
   “Of course you’re enough,” Kazuma murmured. “She... She loves you. And... you love her. How could that ever not be enough?”
   Hiei could find no reply within him. Kurama kept his eyes upon Kazuma, afraid of what he might say next in such an important and rare moment. Hiei’s fragility was laid bare before them, his mental state like a breath upon a tissue paper as he waited to be torn asunder.
   “That’s all that matters,” Kazuma continued on. From behind Hiei, Yukina quickly wiped her moist eyes. “Love is all that matters. So whatever you said or she did... it’s nothing compared to what both of you feel. So long as you love each other, what can stand in your way? Least, that’s what I think.” Kazuma’s voice grew timid as Hiei slowly raised his eyes from the ground and turned to glare at Kazuma with dulled rage.
   “... Is that what you think?” Hiei whispered harshly. Kazuma did not back down, his jaw set in a grim frown as he gave one final jerk of the head in a resolute nod.
   Hiei’s soft sneer was like acid upon the air. “Then you are an idiot.”
   Kurama emitted a noise of shame, bowing his head in horror at Hiei’s words. “No, Hiei,” he whispered. “No.”
   Kazuma seemed not to hear, or if he did he did not take notice, turning his head for a few minutes to gather back his self-confidence, which had been effectively shattered.

   Kazuma thought like a human, who had done no wrong and believed in goodness for good people. Kazuma worked in the light and did not understand how it was that people in love could hurt each other and good men could die before their time. His gentility and kindness soaked into Kurama’s soul and gave him hope for the future, but in a moment like this when the heart of the dark was spilled upon the page, Kazuma fell short. He believed, truly, that love could solve the pain between Hiei and Mukuro.

   “Love won’t fix it,” Hiei said, and the bitterness in his voice spoke to Kurama’s heart.
   Love would fix nothing. Not between Hiei and Mukuro, not between Kurama and Kuronue-
   Kurama sucked in a breath, the name bouncing across his skull as he realized he’d been thinking about his long dead partner. How long had Kuronue been on his mind and he had not known? How long had Kuronue been in Kazuma’s touch? How long...
   Kurama put a hand over his mouth, suddenly realizing the fragile nature of his relationship with Kazuma. Of what its fate would unfortunately have to be.
   Ultimately Kurama would suck out Kazuma’s light, as he had Kuronue’s. Kazuma would be left hollow and bare like Hiei upon this couch, or dead like Kuronue in a bamboo thicket stained with blood.
   Kurama would not, could not, allow it to continue.
   “Please leave the room,” Kurama blurted out. All eyes were on him in an instant.
   “... Yusuke, Yukina... Kazuma.” As he said the same, Kurama’s voice wavered a hair. “Please leave the room.”

   For a moment, no one moved. Then, Yukina stood up from the couch and wiped her hands, sticky with HIei’s drying blood, upon the lap of her heavily stained dress. Yusuke followed behind her, looking in dire need of a smoke break from the heavy stress weighing upon his face. Kazuma was the last to leave, his eyes upon Kurama’s rigid expression as he began to back out of the room. When he turned and finally reached the door, his stance was cold and his shoulders were set in anger.
   When the door closed, Kurama and Hiei sat in cold silence, both their fists balled tight.
   “... Forgive him, Hiei,” Kurama finally whispered. “He thinks he’s in love with me.”
   Hiei looked away, unwilling to negotiate on such a tender matter.
   “Of course, you know what it’s like to be in love, and be a demon,” Kurama offered. Still, Hiei said nothing. “Maybe that’s why I’m so worried about you. I don’t want you to hurt when you’ve already hurt so much.”
   Hiei’s expression was shifting, his stoic calm breaking momentarily as his bottom lip twitched in a slight quiver.
   “Tell me everything.”
   Hiei did.
   “...Mukuro’s second in command, Kirin, left briefly, and put me in... control of his position. When I felt your energy flare so dramatically, I left to... observe its cause-“ Kurama nodded, understanding what Hiei was trying to say: ‘I felt you hurting and I left to help you’. “I thought I could help you and do that moron’s job at the same time. He’s such a dense headed clown that I thought surely anyone could do what he does.” Hiei paused, his expression cracking again.
   There, horrific emotional pain, quickly masked up before Kurama could comment.
   “Something went wrong while I was away,” said Hiei, eyes burning as he looked away from Kurama’s face. Kurama understood that Hiei was trying to defend himself, trying to protect himself even now in this moment. The blame that Hiei could so easily lay upon another’s shoulders was suddenly turned back on him, the facts discouraging and plain before him. His absence had led to failure.
   Kurama had led to failure. It stung.
   “And you weren’t there to fix it,” Kurama supplied. Hiei said nothing to the contrary.
   “Is Mukuro alright?” Kurama asked, a new fear suddenly springing to his mind that Hiei had not been able to arrive in time and Mukuro had-
   “She’s peachy,” Hiei muttered bitterly, the word sharp on his tongue. “Enki decided it was his own fucking business to interject and... she was...”
   Hiei shuddered a little, as if attempting to physically recoil from a memory.

   “Furious,” Kurama murmured. Hiei gave one short nod, his expression as stoic as ever.
   “She attacked you with her full power.” Kurama swept a hand up and down, Hiei’s battered and bruised body the only evidence Kurama needed. Mukuro was a powerhouse, and in her prime had been vicious in combat. Her fury unparalleled, Kurama could remember in his prime as Yoko when Mukuro had first come to power.
   He’d stayed well out of her way. He knew when to avoid an enemy.
   “She nearly killed you.” Kurama whispered. Hiei snorted, opening his mouth to deny it, but he could not. Not when his blood covered his sister’s dress, “Hiei... Let me speak with Mukuro and explain-“
   “You will the stay the fuck out of this!” Hiei shouted, his voice going from flat to harsh as he suddenly pointed a vindictive finger at Kurama’s reproachful face, “Or I will murder you in your sleep-!”
   The threat was an empty one.
   “This is my fault, Hiei. You weren’t there because of me; allow me to fix it,” Kurama urged, but Hiei was just getting angrier.
   “Fault?!” Hiei roared, eyes blazing as they fixed on Kurama’s face, “Fault?! This isn’t anyone’s fault, this is the truth! This is the truth, and she can’t handle it!-“
   As Kurama opened his mouth to protest, he thought of Kazuma and how his heart would break if he knew the truth about Kurama.
   And suddenly, Kurama understood. Sick tendrils of fear began to spread in his stomach, his own icy cold truth seeping through his veins.
   “She has no fucking idea how much I deal with; she believes she can get anything she wants, that everything will turn out happily because she decrees it so!” Hiei shouted, misery pouring from expression though he just kept ranting. Kurama knew exactly how Hiei felt, thinking of how Kazuma constantly showered him in praise and seemed to forget just who Kurama was. “She’s slowly filling her grave by associating with me! I’m making her life more difficult. And it should stop. It needs to stop.”
   Slowly filling his grave...
   A face swam to the surface of Kurama’s mind, wild purple eyes and flying black hair, a broken in hat and a shoddy jacket- How long would it be before Kazuma was the one on the ground, bleeding to death in a bamboo thicket? How long before the painful parting, and the nights spent wondering on what could have been? Had he made a grave mistake in allowing himself to feel something for Kazuma? Had he gone too far, trod in a land where he did not belong?

   Kurama had to put a hand over his mouth to hide his trembling lips, and with great resolve of will forced himself to smile at Hiei. Hiei was broken upon the couch, a lost and frightened child with no idea of where to turn or who to.
   Kurama would give him direction, happily.
   “Hiei... please,” Kurama whispered, “Listen to me. Go home to her and fix this. She is not out to get you, she simply doesn’t understand what’s happened. Hiei, she is probably terrified at your absence. She might even think you dead.”
   Hiei looked away, his expression lost and searching as he attempted to dissuade Kurama’s points with petty internal arguments.

   “At the very least, let her know you survived her assault.”
   Hiei closed his eyes. Kurama watched him for a moment, praying that Hiei was listening, that Hiei would do as Kurama urged, but his heart leapt in fright as Hiei’s expression cracked and crumpled.
   Kurama’s hand shot out to grab Hiei’s arm, holding it steadily; a physical object of support.
   “All will be well,” Kurama whispered, though he knew it probably wasn’t true. “I swear to you. Do as I advise and all will be well.”
   Hiei could not hide from Kurama, his only option to bury his face in his hands. Kurama allowed him it, knowing that even this bare covering gave Hiei some option of release in such a tense moment. Kurama knew what it felt like, to want to hide but to have nowhere to run.
   “... All will be well,” Kurama whispered again.

~*~
Hiei needed to be alone, and Kurama understood that his time alone with him had come to a close. When he felt certain that Hiei would be fine on his own, he left Hiei to his own devices. Hiei could do whatever he wished in private, whether it was to scream or cry. It was not Kurama’s business; he had no urge to change that dynamic of their relationship. If Hiei needed something from Kurama, he would ask (physically or verbally). For the moment, Kurama needed to attend to Kazuma, and to Shiori, who was no doubt being heckled relentlessly by the police.
   So it was that as Kurama went to the second floor and found it bare, he traveled down to the first to find it less crowded than before but with a whole host of different people. Flashing lights of blue and red filtered through the glass walls, making the restaurant look a little like a techno club, but instead of dancers it was packed with policemen, EMT’s, and party goers, all of whom wanted answers. Kurama would supply them, reaching into his hair to fish for a select seed. Sticking his hand in his pocket, Kurama began to pump energy into the little pod, soon feeling it swell, ripe with a pollen that would erase memories and ease troubled minds. Kurama had used this very plant on Shiori twice before, having to come up with excuses as to where he’d been during the Dark Tournament and his short stint in Spirit World Prison.
   Kazuma, Yusuke, Keiko, Yukina, and Shizuru, were at the foot of the stage where until recently the band had been playing; Yukina was wearing Shizuru’s jacket, trying to hide the blood on her dress. Shiori, Jiro, and Atsuko were all speaking with policemen, each of them probably weaving a different tale as they tried to explain where Hiei had gone and what had happened to him to begin with.

   “Kurama!” Kazuma called out, but Kurama shook his head, taking to the stage and grabbing the cold microphone.
   “Get behind the stage. All of you,” Kurama ordered. Keiko and Yusuke swapped a concerned look, but Kazuma immediately began to push the others along, clearing the way as Kurama reached into his pocket, pulled out the pod, and threw it high into the air.
   It exploded mid flight, and a white flash of powder suddenly captivated the babbling crowd. Everyone was covered in it, save for his little group sequestered behind the stage, and Kurama turned on the microphone to address his beleaguered audience, which was now looking about in confusion.

   Shiori’s dazed brown eyes filled him with a sick sense of self hatred.
   “What you just saw was a drunken pedestrian wandering inside from a prior dispute with an unknown assailant!” Kurama called out, his amplified voice booming over the crowd. The policemen watched, agog. “We do not know who he is; we do not know where he went. He is not associated with the owners of this restaurant or the architect of this building. He was a homeless nobody and he’s gone. He will not be coming back. There is no need for a police presence, or for an ambulance. You can return to your civic duties, they are not required here.”
   Kurama pulled back from the microphone and flipped it off.
   The crowd of police, having been so eager for answers only minutes before, were suddenly looking eager to leave; apologies were being extended as they slipped back from the crowd, hastily stepping around the blood trail coming through the front door. An EMT sprayed it with a chemical, wiping the blood away before someone else could step in it, but as they began to pull out a sense of normalcy was returning to the crowd. People were even laughing, joking at the nonsense of a homeless person stumbling in and out the door.
   “The hell did you throw on the crowd?” Kazuma demanded when Kurama had turned to face his group.
   “On our father?“ Shizuru added angrily.

   “My own mother is in that crowd, lest you forget,” Kurama snapped, and Shizuru’s cheeks flushed red with barely repressed anger. “If you’re so eager for him to know everything, you can tell him yourself. That’s your own prerogative, and I won’t get involved with it... but the police had to leave, for Yusuke’s and Kazuma’s sakes, if nothing else.”
   Kazuma certainly looked relieved to see the police leaving, loosening the tight collar of his tie as he let out a deep sigh.
   “And what happened to Hiei?” Keiko asked.

   “Yeah, do we get to know about that or are we going to be swiped clean of our memories too?” Shizuru drawled. Kurama glared at her, his normally calm face suddenly turning cold as he lost interest in monitoring his expressions. Shizuru took an automatic step back as she curled a lip in alarm.
   He hoped she was beginning to understand just who he was.
   “Hiei stretched himself too thin. He tried to do several jobs at once, and failed to procure Mukuro’s safety. Enki had to become involved, and Mukuro let Hiei know just how she felt about that.”
   Kazuma was starting to shake his head. Kurama would not hear any more nonsense of love, or how lovers ought to act to one another. Kazuma did not understand. Kazuma was a human.
   “I still don’t understand how anyone in love, anyone with passion in their heart, could do that to someone they care for,” Kazuma murmured. Keiko seemed to agree, nodding as looked from Kazuma to Kurama.
   “I am taking Hiei home,” was all Kurama could say, stepping down from the stage.
   “Let me go with you!” Yukina suddenly called out, breaking away from Shizuru to follow Kurama back into the hallway and towards the hidden stairwell.
   “Yukina, that will only upset him further,“ Kurama warned, but his eyes fell upon the blood staining Yukina’s white dress.
   “I love soap!”
   Hiei’s cry of drunken joy as he clutched his sister’s loving fit to his chest suddenly swam to mind.
   “... But I cannot deny how much he needs you.”
Yukina nodded.
   “Well, that settles it, doesn’t it?” Yukina said, and the pair of them headed up stairs.
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Into the Gray