Dry Country

A/N: Thanks for the review WhiteCoutain. I can always count on you can’t I. I’m glad this story is being received well, I’ve gotten a little ambitious and was afraid it would be too hard to follow, what with the bouncing back and forth in time and all. There will be more of that so be on your toes. Enjoy . ^_^

Dry Country By: boysluvcraft
Part two…

Kurama closed the door after Yusuke had left them, only to be immediately rushed by Hiei. Hiei’s lips closed on his with as much passion as they had on the day me and Kurama found one another. That was a day that Kurama would not soon forget. It was three weeks after he’d arrived on New World 364. He’d failed to find any kind of familiarity in his co-workers in the lab. Risho was cold and removed, while Karasu… was Karasu. Kurama had started to question the wisdom of having accepted this job. Until one day, he was measuring the nitrates in the native soil, when Hiei walked into the lab. Kurama recognized him instantly as one of the drill site workers. He had been introduced to all of them at orientation, but it wasn’t until that day that he actually looked at Hiei. Hiei was a very small man, his eyes only came up as high as Kurama’s chest, and he was so slim too. Yet, the way he carried himself was as if his size was of no matter, like a house cat that thought he was a tiger. Sort of an apt comparison, Hiei’s features were somewhat cat-like as well with a small mouth and button nose, counterbalanced with his large expressive eyes The first thing that occurred to Kurama’s mind was that Hiei was adorable.

The reason why Hiei had come to the lab was because it as his turn to deliver the most resent soil samples. The workers apparently had a rotor system for handling that duty. Instead of taking the sample from Hiei and letting him go, Kurama started a conversation. It started innocently enough, introductions and such. As the time passed, Kurama found that he was becoming more and more enamored with the tiny man. Hiei had a delightfully quick wit and dry sense of humor. He was also far more intelligent than Kurama would have thought a manual worker would have been. But, maybe that was just Kurama’s prejudice. As the conversation progressed, Kurama realized that he was flirting with the other man, and much to his surprise Hiei was flirting back.

After work that day, he found Hiei milling around in the east/west corridor. Kurama approached him and the chemistry between them bubbled once more. Hiei asked Kurama if he would like to come back to his room. Kurama said yes. When they got there, Hiei sat on the bed next to him and told him exactly what he thought of him.

He said, “I’m not one to beat around the bush, Kurama, so I’m going to tell you straight out; I like you. You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen and I’d like to kiss you.”

Kurama said yes and Hiei kissed him. It was shy, sweet and so genuine. Hiei’s hands shook on his shoulders from nerves and barely refrained passion. Kurama was acutely aware of the raising heat between them and how he melted from the sweet sighs that fell from Hiei’s lips between kisses. And that was when Hiei’s bulk mate walked in. That was when Kurama met Yusuke.

Remembering that time Kurama started to giggle.

“What’s so funny?” Hiei asked him.

“Oh, I was just thinking about how much I love you,” said Kurama.

Hiei smirked, “I love you too, Sugarplum. Now take off your cloths.”

Kurama wrinkled his nose at the name, but still complied, sitting on the bed and pulling off his shirt. Hiei instantly moved in to nibble at his chest. He traced along the muscles, methodically mapping out Kurama’s chest, but never touched his nipples. Hiei was teasing him.

“I thought you have to work late tonight,” Hiei said as he licked along his left pectoral.

“Oh, that” Kurama said, “I finished the most of it, I just need to graph the results and that can wait for tomorrow, I’d much rather spend tonight with you-- OHH-AH!” Hiei had rewarded his sentiment by finally giving his nipples the attention they were begging for.

Secretly however, there was second reason why Kurama had abandoned the lab early. It was Karasu. He conveniently had extra work too that day. Risho had left on time, thus the two of them were left alone in the lab together. Once they were alone, Karasu came over to Kurama’s work table, standing too close for confront. So close in fact, that every time Kurama tried to move his right arm he’d inadvertently brush against the dark haired man’s crotch.

He asked Karasu, “Would you mind moving back a bit?”

But the man replied, “Oh, sorry, I just find your work so fascinating, I didn‘t realize I was crowding you.” He backed up for a moment, but only a moment. Because only seconds after Kurama bent his head again to continue his work, Karasu’s hands snaked around his head to tread gently into his hair. Kurama could feel his heat behind him and his breath on his neck.

“What are you doing?!” Kurama whirred around.

“Your hair was in the dirt again,” Karasu told him. His voice was patronizing. “You’ll ruin your hair like that. Perhaps you should tie it back when you work.” He reached out to fondle one of Kurama‘s forelocks “But then again, it would be a shame to bind down such a lovely mane as this.” As he withdrew his hand he let his finger’s drifted over Kurama’s lips, just barely touching them. He remarked, “Your lips seem to be a bit chapped as well. Vaseline’s good for that-- it’s good for a lot of things, actually. I could show you sometime I you’d like--”

“No thank you,” Kurama snapped. “Don’t you have work of your own to do?”

Karasu smiled at him like a cat smiles at a mouse he intends to play with, before he rips it‘s head off. “You know that last soil sample had some high levels of hydrogen in them, which means the boys could be hitting water soon.”

“So?” Kurama huffed as he attempted to get back into his work.

“So, when they do, you’ll be wishing you’d been a little more sociable,” Karasu slipped an arm around Kurama’s waist and pressed his chest to his back. He whispered hotly into Kurama‘s ear, “But don’t worry, I’ll give you another chance.”

“Stop it,” Kurama growled a warning.

But Karasu only laughed, “Don‘t be shy, I know you do it for that roughneck pipsqueak.” His slim hand slipped down Kurama’s stomach, attempting to press beneath his waistband, “Wouldn’t you like to know what it’s like to be with a man who can reach all your good parts?”

Kurama’s face grew hot, but not from modesty, it was anger. The sheer audacity the man had, coming on to him as if it was a matter of course. As if he hadn’t a say in it. And what’s more, the thing’s he was insinuating about Hiei. It filled Kurama with so much rage; he didn’t even think to ask how he knew about his relationship with Hiei. Kurama spun round, his open palm landing a clean blow on the dark haired man’s face. The shock of the blow caused Karasu to stumble back.

“Touch me again and I’ll put your lights out!” Kurama spat as he stormed out of lab.

He could do the rest of his work the next day, he couldn’t stand to be near the creep on moment more. The way he touched him made him feel so dirty. He didn’t want to go back to his room because that was Karasu’s room too. He was too livid to chance facing him again. He might kill the man. Kurama knew were he could go. He would stay the night in Hiei’s room. Yes, that was a good idea. He would spend the night with the man he loved.

When he got to his room, Hiei greeted him with a kiss and a warm passion that made him feel good again. Again Kurama told Hiei, “I love you.”

A smile touched Hiei as he responded, “I love you too, Gumdrop.”

“I’m serious,” Kurama caught Hiei’s face between his palms and pulled his face close to his, “I really do love you.”

Hiei sobered. He brushed the back off his hand affectionately across Kurama’s check as he softly asked, “How do you want to do it tonight?”

“On my back with you on top of me, and slowly,” Kurama sighed.

“Perfect,” Hiei leaned down and kissed him.

Soon both men had striped away the remnants of their clothing. Kurama lay back on Hiei’s bed, assuming his chosen position. Hiei kneeled between Kurama’s spread legs, trialing a line of kisses down his belly. Hiei was quite fond of teasing his lover in this particular manner. Kurama gasped and tumbled each time Hiei’s soft, warm lips descended on his flesh. Hiei’s tongue darted to trace the borders of the burgundy red patch of pubic hair. Hiei grinned against Kurama’s tummy. It never failed to give Hiei pleasure that he had excusive knowledge of how the carpets compared to the drapes. Kumara spread his legs wider with a pleading moan.

He snickered, “I thought you wanted slow.”

“I wanted slow, sure” Kurama gasped. “That didn’t mean I wanted to be teased to death!”

“Alright alright, I’ll get to the good stuff,” Hiei grinned, retrieving the bottle of lube he’d left close at hand and smeared a good amount of the on his fingers. He cooed, “You ready, Teddy Bear?”

Kurama shot him a perturbed look and spread his legs, showing Hiei his rosy entrance. Hiei growled lustfully at the display. He brought his slick fingers up to stroke at the pink little pucker and then he pushed firmly against it. Kurama’s body opened to him readily. Kurama moaned wantonly as his ass devoured Hiei’s digits, inch by inch, until his first two fingers were knuckle deep in Kurama. As he began to move his fingers in and out of Kurama, he leaned down to continue laving his attentions on Kurama’s torso.
It didn’t take long for him to fully prepare his lover, as Kurama was used to the procedure. They had made love so often that he no longer felt pain, not even during the initial penetration. As he felt Hiei move to position himself between his legs, Kurama curled his back so he could reach Hiei’s lips. Hiei braced Kurama with one hand on his shoulder and one arm twined around his back. Their lips melted together. Hiei sunk deep into Kurama. Kurama gasped, briefly loosing contact with Hiei’s mouth, but Hiei quickly pulled him back and recapture his lips. Hiei didn’t let him go as he began to move in his lover. His thrusts were slow and shallow, and they deliberately teased Kurama’s sweet spot. Sluggish sparks of pleasure caused the redhead to jump and convulse in Hiei‘s tight grasp. When Hiei became concerned that the curled up position may hurt his lover’s back, he pressed Kurama down onto the bed. Due to his height, he couldn’t really reach his lover’s lips in that position, but this was no obstacle to Hiei. He would pleasure his lover come hell or high water.

He started by suckling on Kurama’s nipples. He knew Kurama went completely silly when someone was playing with his nipples. Kurama’s hands absently treaded into Hiei’s spiky hair and scratched at his scalp. Hiei loved that. For nearly the next hour they carried on like that, touching and fondling one another, filling the room with gasps and sighs as Kurama enjoyed Hiei’s leisurely thrusts. Their bodies shimmered with sweat and their muscles strained with barely restrained passion.

At long last Kurama whispered hoarsely, “ H-Hiei, I need to come.”

“Hn,” Hiei grunted as he increased his tempo.

“Ah, more, Hiei,” Kurama demanded, “Harder!”

Hiei gritted his teeth and slammed into his lover. The sound of flesh smacking against flesh echoed through the room. Hiei reached down, twining his fingers around, the redheads dripping manhood and gave it a few firm pulls. Shortly, Kurama came hard, screaming his lover’s name. With his love sated, Hiei slammed relentlessly into the constricting passage until he followed his red haired lover into orgasmic bliss.

Hiei rolled off of Kurama and after a few minutes of catching his breath, he smirked, “How was that Foxy?”

“Foxy?” Kurama quirked an eyebrow, “Hmm, I think I like that one.”

Hiei thought of a second, “I like it too. It suits you. I think I’ll keep it.”

Kurama snuggled up to his diminutive lover, he said, “You were great by the way.”

“Thanks Foxy,” Hiei used the new pet name.

Kurama tittered in amusement, “I love you… Firefly.”

“Firefly?!”

“If I get a new name, than so do you,” Kurama asserted, “I think this one suits you, what with your red eyes and fiery disposition.”

Hiei grumbled to himself about embarrassing boyfriends.

“Don’t worry I’ll only call you that when we’re alone,” Kurama told him, “Well, alone or with only Yusuke around. After all that he’s seen, he doesn’t count as an intruder.”

Hiei snorted with a smile, “Yeah, we should come up with a cute nick name for him too. Got any ideas?”

“Not just yet,” Kurama tapped his finder to his chin. Then on a different note he said, “Speaking of Yusuke, how do think he’s doing with the boss?”

“Oh, I’m sure by now he has Koenma bent over his desk and howling in pleasure,” Hiei joked dryly.

Kurama laughed, “Oh yes, I‘m sure that‘s exactly what‘s going on.”

Hiei amended, “Actually, knowing Yusuke, he’s probably sitting on Koenma’s couch, making small talk and vainly hiding an erection.”

Both men laughed at the mental image that conjured; little did they know how close to the truth they had hit. Yusuke was sitting on Koenma’s couch, trying to appear to be relaxed as he watched Koenma finish up his work. Koenma was leaning on one elbow with his hand tangled in his bangs over his scrunched brow, while the other hand alternated between marking on documents and holding his pen up to his lip so he could chew at the cap. At that, the corner of Yusuke’s lip curled slightly with amusement. Koenma crewed on pen caps, too. He wondered what else they had in common.

Abruptly, Koenma stamped the last page and then shoved the whole bundle into a folder, proclaiming, “Done.”

“Awesome,” Yusuke picked up the two dinner trays he had brought up to the office with him and crossed to the desk, “Let’s eat.”

“Thanks,” Koenma accepted one of the trays, “You know you didn’t have to wait for me to finish my work before you ate.”

Yusuke dismissed it with a wave of his hand, “It’s no big. Besides, we said we were gonna eat dinner together. Not I’ll eat my dinner and then watch you eat ten minutes latter.”

“Actually you’ve be waiting for more like thirty minutes,” Koenma amended. “I’m sure our food is cold by now.”

“It don’t taste much better when it’s hot,” Yusuke shrugged, pulling the foil off of his meal.

Koenma did the same while nodding his agreement, “True. What is this stuff suppose to be, tonight?”

“Um, let’s see. This brown lumpy goo is beef stew, and those are carrots, that’s a roll, I think, and those are mashed potatoes,” Yusuke pointed to the various things on the trays.

Koenma took a bite out of the creamy white stuff that was designated as potatoes and made a face. He said, “No, that’s ice cream substitution.”

Yusuke sampled some of the substance and said, “It tastes kinda like vanilla ice-cream, but its room temperature and still solid. That’s just wrong man.”

“It does make you nostalgic for home, doesn’t it?” Koenma picked at his food with a lazy grin, “Home; were the food obeys the laws of nature.”

“Yeah, I tell you I got a whole list of stuff I miss about being on earth.” Yusuke said, feeling a little giddy over having such an easy conversation with his boss.

“Oh, like what?” Koenma asked casually.

Yusuke shrugged, “Little stuff, ya know, like cigarettes and showers without time limits or...”

Koenma picked it up, “Food that you cook and ice-cream that’s cold.”

“Yeah. And stuff like music on the radio.”

“And having a good book and a cup of real tea.”

“Or rented movies and a pizza.”

“The sound of rain and the smell of grass.”

“Sex.”

Koenma’s face flushed and he didn’t reply. Yusuke could have bitten his tongue off for having said that. He couldn’t believe he just said that. He was just so caught up in the conversation and talking with Koenma was starting to feel so natural-- he just blurted it out. But then he started thinking, guys talk about sex all the time and it doesn’t really mean anything. It wasn’t like Yusuke had blurted out, “I want to have sex with you.” So, why did Koenma look so bashful all of the sudden? Yusuke decided to go out on a limb and ask, “Did I touch a sore subject?”

“Oh, no. Its fine,” Koenma shook his head. “It’s nothing you need to be concerned with, as an employee.”

“What about as a friend?” Yusuke asked hopefully, “Come on, and tell me. I promise not to blab to anyone.”

Koenma couldn’t help but to smile at the juvenile type promise. “Well Yusuke, the thing is that sex isn’t necessarily at the top of my list. In fact, it‘s not really on the list at all.”

“Really?” Yusuke tipped his head, “I always thought you young millionaire types were all playboys.”

“Well we’re supposed to be, I suppose,” Koenma crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “And I did play that part back home. It was expected of me. I used to cavort all around town with pretty actresses, heiress, and such.”

“So what you got so much action you burned out on it?” Yusuke asked.

“You would have thought so if you saw the list of all the women I’ve dated,” Koenma told him. “But-- don’t tell anyone-- I only actually slept with a few of them and I found the experience… over-rated.”

Yusuke’s mouth hung open. He didn’t know what to say to that.

“I shouldn’t have told you that!” Koenma hid his face in his hands when Yusuke failed to respond, “It’s not normal, is it? For a guy to not be interested in women.”

“Whoa, back up there,” Yusuke reached across the table to pry Koenma’s hands away from his face. “First you said you weren’t interested in sex, and then you said you weren’t interested in women. Which is it?”

“Excuse me?” Koenma squeaked.

“Well, I’m not sure I understand not being interested in sex,” said Yusuke, “but if it’s just the women that put you off… there’s still hope you know.”

“What are you getting at?” Koenma looked at him suspiciously.

“Um, like… you get it off okay when you’re by your self right?” Yusuke asked.

“Well…yes.”

“Well, you ever think of, I don’t know, trying it with a guy?”

Koenma’s face turned white, “I-I couldn’t. No, absolutely not. It’s absurd, isn‘t it?” Koenma shook his head as if to clear it, “In any case, there’s no point in thinking about it. In this place, I mean there’s no way I could…”

“Find out for sure,” Yusuke finished it for him.

Yusuke had come to this meeting purely for the purpose of being a friend to Koenma, but the past few minutes had brought revelation’s that changed everything. The lines dividing the roles of boss and employee, colleague and friend had been dashed, and Yusuke didn’t really know where he stood. It was a situation that required a lot of thought and careful consideration-- but this was Yusuke.

“Well, I could, um, help you out with that,” Yusuke scratched the back of his head, “Ya know.”

Koenma rubbed his temples as he spoke, bewildered, “Yusuke a-are you offering to… um….”

“It’s not a big deal,” Yusuke lied, “Guys mess around with each other all the time. Haven’t you ever heard a one-time-at-band-camp story?”

“We’re not teenagers,” Koenma pointed out.

“So, you’re a late bloomer,” Yusuke shrugged, “Anyway, you want to give it a try?”

“I don’t know,” Koenma said unsure, which Yusuke took as a good sign because it wasn’t a no.

“I won’t do nothing you’re not comfortable with,” Yusuke said holding his hand out to Koenma, “Trust me.”

Koenma licked his lips and then took Yusuke’s hand. Yusuke smiled at him in a way that he hoped was reassuring and not at all leering. He led Koenma over to the couch and sat him down.

“Why don’t we start with something easy like kissing?” Yusuke said. Koenma nodded bravely.

“Okay, um here we go,” Yusuke said as he leaned in close and gently brushed his lips to Koenma’s. Then he pulled back and asked, “Um, so, how was it?”

“I don’t know,” Koenma touched his lips where Yusuke had kissed him, “It happened kind of fast.”

“You want to try it slower this time?”

“Um, yeah, okay.”

This time when Yusuke went to kiss him, Koenma leaned forward to meet him. Yusuke moved his lips on Koenma’s first brushing across the top lip and then moving down to suck at the lower lip. Koenma’s frame started to tremble and then a moan escaped him. Yusuke continued to massage the man’s lips for a few more moments before drawing back.

“How was that?”

“You’re, um, a good kisser.” Koenma blushed.

“You want to keep going?”

“You mean kiss again?”

“Well, yeah, but with a little more this time,” Yusuke told him, “We’re doing this so that you can see if you’d like to be with a guy, right? Now then, you can be kissing someone and forget about their gender. So, I think the only reasonable thing to do would to be to make sure you don’t forget who you’re with.”

“And how will you be doing that?” Koenma asked warily.

In answer, Yusuke lifted his arms and peeled off his tee shirt. For a brief moment Koenma’s eyes flowed over Yusuke’s exposed abdomen, from his flat washboard tummy and a broad chiseled chest to strong arms and shoulders, and the sinewy muscle of his neck leading up to his boyishly handsome face. Koenma swallowed hard.

“Relax, I said I wasn‘t going to do anything you‘d be uncomfortable with.” Yusuke took Koenma’s by the wrists and guided his hands over to rest on his bare chest. “Ya see, you won’t forget I’m a guy if you’re touching me like this.”

With that Yusuke drew Koenma back to him. To his delight, the man was even more willing this time. Yusuke took Koenma’s lips the same as he’d done before. It was encouraging when Koenma began responded, moving his lips with Yusuke’s. After a moment Yusuke whispered, “Feel free to let your hands… explore.”

Koenma’s hands then tentatively moved over his chest, lightly dusting over his skin. When Koenma’s finger accidentally grazed his nipple, Yusuke nearly bit the man’s lip. As Koenma became braver one of his hands strayed up to wrap around Yusuke’s neck and he pulled himself closer to the man. That was when Yusuke forgot himself and let his hands drop from Koenma’s back down to cup his firm round buttocks. Koenma gasped, but he didn’t pull away. In fact, he grasped even harder to Yusuke and he opened his mouth. Yusuke didn’t think twice about taking the invitation. He slipped his tongue inside and immediately went to work memorizing every inch of the moist cavern.

Koenma arched into Yusuke’s embrace, the hand on his neck moving to the back of his head, and the other hand traveling down to caress Yusuke’s hard abs. They hungrily devoured each other, until the need for air separated them.

“So?” Yusuke asked while trying to catch his breath.

“Um, it was… um,” Koenma couldn’t quiet articulate his thoughts, but the bulge in his pants spoke volumes.

“You want to try it again?”

“Yeah.”

Yusuke and Koenma melted back together.

It was around mid-night before Yusuke parted from Koenma and crept into his room. When he closed the door two bodies stirred in on bed.

“You’re back late,” Hiei said rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, “We were starting to think that awful food finally did you in.”

“I think there’s more interesting explanation,” Kurama grinned to his lover.

Yusuke feigned modesty, “Well, ya know I don’t like to kiss and tell.”

“Oh something good did happen,” Kurama sat up fully in the bed.

“Come on Yusuke, don’t make us wrestle you down and sniff you for signs of sex,” Hiei smirked.

“How would you be able to smell it over yourselves?” Yusuke waved his hand in front of his face, “Whew! How many times did you go?”

Kurama responded point blank, “Five times, I bottomed twice, blew Hiei once, toped him another time and then bottomed from the top-- oh yes, I forgot, I came when he rimmed me too. So that would make six times we made it. How many times did you go?”

So astounded Yusuke was with the detailed description he’d just received, he answered before he could stop himself, “Actually we just made out for a while… Shit!”

Hiei laughed at how easily Yusuke was manipulated. And then he said, “You might as well tell us the whole story now that the cat’s out of the bag.”

“I can’t tell you everything. I made some promises, ya know,” Yusuke told them, “But, I guess I can tell ya, this; Koenma and I, we got to talking about stuff, and some stuff was said, and I managed to persuade him into a little bit of experimentation.”

“Ah, I see,” Hiei tapped his finger on his nose. “You said something stupid, but as a result managed to throw some doubt on his heterosexually. Then seeing this ray of hope, your cock lead you press the situation until the situation changed into you pressing your hands on the boss man’s tight little bum.”

Yusuke blinked,” Damn it Hiei! Why the hell do you have to know me so well?”

Hiei laughed, “It’s not difficult. You’re not very complicated.”

“Stop teasing him Hiei, I want to hear this,” Kurama chimed in.

“To tell you the truth, there’s not a lot to tell,” Yusuke sat down on his bed, “We started kissing, just to see if he’d like the kissing-- he said I was a good kisser,” Yusuke sighed. “That’s all we did, for three hours. We kissed and touched-- but only above the waistline. Dang, I tell you all that has caused me something of an issue.” Yusuke lay back rubbing said issue that was evident in his pants.

“You need some help with that?” Hiei gave him a saucy grin.

“Nah, it wouldn’t feel right, now that I’m activity chasing Koenma,” Yusuke told him, “But if ya got so much energy, you two could always put on a little show for me.” Yusuke took out his meat and started to stroke it. “I know tonight was kinda PG-13, but then again you guys where like that at first too. Haah, I wonder what we’ll be like if we work out like you two did.”

Hiei whispered to Kurama, “Ahh, isn’t that cute he want‘s to be like us.”

“Why not?” Kurama purred, “We have good fun, great sex, and cute nicknames, Firefly.”

“Watch it, Foxy, or I’ll entertain our friend by spanking you again,” Hiei joked dryly.

Yusuke had long since tuned out the playful couple and focused his imagination solely on the object of his desires. Koenma, with his pretty face and those full lips, the way those full lips had kissed him. Yusuke never thought he’d get to kiss those lips, he was so happy now that he had. It was ironic, Yusuke thought, that he had become so enamored to his boss, considering his opinion of him when they’d first met.

Yusuke and his boys had arrived on New World 364 a day head of the rest of the staff. He remembered watching the others step off of the transport ship and wondering where the hell the boss was. Somehow, he’d expected the director of a well drilling operation to be older and, well, hardier. Imagine Yusuke’s surprise when a pretty-boy who didn’t look a day over seventeen, stepped forward and introduced himself as Director Koenma.

Yusuke’s first analysis was that he was some spoiled rich playboy-- finding out he was Mr. CEO Yama’s son only reinforced that idea. In Yusuke’s opinion, a guy like that had no business being on an operation like this. Yusuke would have bet money that within three weeks, the boy would have gone crying to daddy to get him out of that hellhole. Yusuke had little respect for authority in the first place; he had no respect for Koenma. And he took every opportunity he could to show it, like not filing his reports and talking back to him. He even went so far as to play juvenile pranks on him, like putting supper slick hydraulic oil on his phone receiver, so when he picked it up it would shoot out of his hands like a wet bar of soap.

All that changed in a most unexpected manner, about on mouth after they’d arrived. It had been a day like any other, when suddenly a freak sandstorm blew in. It happened so quickly that they didn’t even have time to shut off the machinery. Yusuke said to hell with the machines and called his men into the shelter of the complex. It was the right call, the winds were strong and fast, and growing more so. Moments after all the men were in the complex, the storm kicked into high gear. It would have been instant death for any man who’d been caught out in it. The storm raged for twenty hours after that. When it was finished they went out to inspect the equipment. It was bad. There was sand all in the gears and the electrical systems were trashed. Had they taken the time to put the canvas covers on the equipment, the damage would have been minimal. But then again, if they’d have stayed out for even one second more, the team would have been caught on the storm.

They projected that it would was going to take at least a month to repair things before they could they could get running again. The CEO of Reikei Corp was not happy about the lost time or the expense for repairing the equipment had caused. Mr. Yama and the stock holders were considering having Yusuke removed from the project for incompetence-- or so Yusuke had heard from the communication officer Suzuki, who had been monitoring the call. True to his character, Yusuke stormed up to Koenma’s office to give him a piece of his mind-- and maybe a piece of his foot too, after it’d broken off in his ass-- before he was served his walking papers. As he approached the office he heard Koenma talking, he was on the video phone with his father at that very moment.

“…refuse to let him go over something as trivial as some broken equipment. I’ve sent you the data on the severity of that storm, so you know how dangerous it was. Those machines are replaceable, the men aren’t.”

“I understand that,” The man on the fuzzy screen replied, “Why, the cost of replacing even one of those men, not to mention the payoff to their families would be ten times the expenses of the equipment. What worries me is the rashness of Mr. Urameshi’s decisions. This time he saved his crew, but the next time?”

“Let’s pray there is not a next time. In any case, I have seen his record and it has shown him to have good instincts,” said Koenma.

“I have seen his record too,” The man snapped, “And it is pockmarked with reports of insubordination, and improper conduct. Would trust this mission to a man like that?”

“I’ve had no complaints with him,” Koenma said coolly, “After the way he handled that storm fiasco, yes, I trust him completely.”

After a pause the man relented, “Very well, keep him on board. But if he screws up it’s your ass, got it?”

“Understood,” said Koenma, before the call was terminated. After a moment, “How long do plan to stand there Mr. Urameshi?”

Yusuke had been caught. He strolled into the office with his eyes down and his hands in his pockets like child about to be scolded. He muttered to Koenma, “Ya didn’t have to do that you know.”

“Actually I did,” Koenma corrected him. “I know you and I have had our personal differences, and I’m sure my life would be much easier with you out of it, but…”

“You never filed reports on all that stuff I did, did you?” Yusuke asked astonished.

“That petty stuff? No.” Koenma shook his head.

“Why?” Yusuke wanted to know.

“It‘s my responsibility as director to take care of the team,” Koenma told him a-matter-of-factly. “They really respect you, you know. I’ve seen it. It would be foolishness to separate you from them.”

“Thank you,” was all Yusuke was able to mutter. Until that point, he had always seen Koenma as some brat that was given an easy job to keep him out of trouble. But he was wrong. The job wasn’t easy. And Koenma really did care about the project, and the people he had working under him. He was willing to put himself on the line for them. From that day on, the pranks stopped and he conducted himself with more dignity in front of Koenma because he had found that he could respect the man-- maybe even admire him a little.

As the months progressed, Yusuke paid more attention to Koenma. At first, he noticed things like the subtle way he kept his crew in line without making them feel like their under a despot. Eventually, Yusuke started to notice other things, like the subtle way his hips swayed when he walked and how he would gently crew at his thumb when he was deep in thought. And most importantly, Yusuke noticed those honey colored eyes. One night, Yusuke dreamt that he was in Koenma’s office, buck naked and sitting on his desk with a similarly naked Koenma sitting on his lap. His cheeks were flushed and his lips panting as he stared into Yusuke’s eyes with those pools of sweet honey. Yusuke woke up with a pounding heart and a mess in his drawers. He couldn’t deny he’d fallen hard for a man he could never hope to have.

Or so he had thought, until that night when he’d had dinner in Koenma’s office and they kissed. It was almost as if the dream he had all those mouths ago had come true. In real life they were clothed and had only kissed, but what kissing! Yusuke had gone back to his room hard and wanting.

He replayed the session in his head as he rubbed himself. Koenma had caressed and nibbled at his face and neck. It felt so good. He had kissed and caressed Koenma too, and he was sure it had felt good to him. He wondered if his ministrations had affected Koenma the way he was affected. If that was so, there was a good chance that at that very same moment, Koenma was doing the same thing he was. Yusuke couldn’t help but moan at the image that conjured in his mind. Koenma would be in his bed-- or he could be doing it in his private bathroom, but Yusuke liked the idea of the bed better. Koenma would be on his back with his erect penis curving up in the air. Yusuke imagined Koenma had a long, thin one. Precum dripping down the pink flesh of the length as he firmly stroked it. He leaned his head back and moaned, “Yusuke!” as smooth cream flowed from his cock.

Yusuke shuttered and came in his hand. Before he fell asleep, determined he would to see the real thing.

The following day at the drill site was uneventful, that is, nothing broke and they made expectable progress on the digging. Soil samples brought up from the hole revealed the continuing consistency of the soil density. They had feared to hit another hard plate, but it looked as though there wouldn’t be one. These are all things that Yusuke conveyed onto Koenma when they met in the north/south corridor, both on their way to the barracks.

Koenma nodded his head and said, trying to sound light, “That’s good we’re moving right along on schedule. Before you know it well be filling up swimming pools with all the water we‘ll have.”

“Hey, I’d settled for a nice long shower without time limits” Yusuke chortled.

“Ah yes, one of those would be nice,” Koenma replied nervously.

“So, you going back to work in your office latter?” Yusuke groped to keep the stressed conversation going.”

“No, I got everything done already,” Koenma told him, “It was a slow day.”

“Really, what cha gonna do with yourself for the evening?” Yusuke asked. Koenma only shrugged indicating, he had nothing he planed on doing. They walked into the barracks together, silently. The quiet weighed on Yusuke as though the desert itself were sitting on him, and each moment served to bury him deeper. Yusuke decided to broach the subject that was obviously hanging between them, “Um, about last night--”

“Last night,” Koenma looked away, “I’m sorry, about that. I just don’t know what came over me. I guess being cooped up in this place-- No, no, never mind that. I‘m just sorry, I‘ve gotta go.” Koenma broke off and hurried away down the hall that led to his room.

“Well shit,” Yusuke muttered to himself.

Koenma was unsure about what had transpired between them. That much was obvious to Yusuke. It was understandable. He had put the man in a damned confusing situation. What, suddenly his chief foreman volunteers to help him explore his sexuality? It seemed like a plot from a cheap porno movie. Yusuke had seen what can go on in those kinds of movies. No wonder Koenma was spooked. But what had he been expecting? They make out for a while and then suddenly become boyfriends? Yusuke was going to have straighten this out with him, soon. It would require careful thought and a planning with an attention to even the minutest of details. Then again he was Yusuke Urameshi.

At the same time that Yusuke was concocting what would be loosely be called a plan for lack of a better word, Kurama was in the green house portion of the lab, humming to himself as he checked the irrigation lines to his plants. Working in the green house was one of his favorite things about his job. He was good at all the scientific stuff, but he really loved growing things. Back home he had a garden, which his mother was tending in his stead. It had daisies and lilies, peonies, and of course his prized rose bushes. It wasn’t anything like the garden he had in the complex. The things he grew here needed to be practical, so he grew beans, squash, corn, and other such consumables.

Kurama heard the door open and shut behind him, he turned with a smile, having assumed his visitor was Hiei, whom he’d invited to come that day. His smile slipped from his face when he saw the true identity of his visitor-- no intruder. It was Karasu.

“Is there some sort of emergency?” Kurama asked him tersely.

“No.”

“Then get out of here. I don’t want to look at you,” Kurama commanded as he turned back to his work.

“Oh, you’re mad at me,” Karasu spoke to him as if he were a cranky child. “I suppose I was a little forward yesterday.”

“You were completely out of line yesterday,” Kurama growled at him.

“I accept that,” Karasu nodded, “Can you forgive me?”

The redhead replied, “I’ll consider not filing sexual harassment charges, on the condition you never come near me again.”

“You haven’t filed a complaint? Don’t you think that says something?” Karasu said it as if it were an innuendo.

The truth was, Kurama had thought of complaining it to Koenma come morning. But then, Yusuke came in and told them about the romantic evening he’d spent with the man. Kurama knew how much Yusuke liked their boss and how happy this development had made him. He didn’t want to mess it up by suddenly giving Koenma a problem like a sexual harassment case to deal with. That was why he was going to handle this on his own, but he told Karasu, “I hadn’t gotten around to it, yet.”

The dark haired man smirked, “Uh-huh. Very well I‘ll go for now-- oh! One thing Kurama…”

Kurama turned on his heel to snarl, “What?” When all at once Karasu grabbed him by the forelocks and pulled his face close, pressing his lips aggressively on Kurama’s. Kurama tried to push him away or wriggle out of his grasp, but his fingers where locked tightly in his hair causing pain every time he struggled.

Karasu let him go, after one last a repulsive lick across his lips. He purred, “You know where to come when you decide you want more of that.”

“You bastard!” Hiei growled, coming seemingly out of nowhere. He picked up a three foot long steel measuring stick with the intention of beating Karasu to death with it.

Kurama intercepted him. “Hiei no!” He cried as he threw his arms around his enraged lover. He wasn’t concerned about Karasu. Kurama just didn’t want Hiei to get in trouble for killing the man. At first, Hiei attempted to shake the redhead off until he noticed the extent to which his body was trembling. He looked down. Kurama’s face was buried in his chest. Hiei could feel heat and moisture penetrating his shirt. Kurama was crying.

Hiei pierced Karasu with his eyes. “Get out.”

The man tossed Hiei a self assured smirk as he sauntered out of the greenhouse. Once he had gone, Hiei dropped the measuring rod and used his now free hand to tip Kurama’s face up where he could see it. Kurama’s cheeks were red with anger and shame, and wet from tears which still gathered in his beautiful green eyes. Hiei instantly wished he had beaten that louse to death.

“Kurama,” whispered Hiei.

“I’m so s-sorry,” Kurama gulped, fresh tears spilling down his cheeks.

“No, no, none that,” Hiei petted his head, “it’s not your fault, Foxy.”

The use of the nickname touched a brief smile on Kurama’s lips, so Hiei said it again, “I love you, Foxy.”

“I- I love you, too, Firefly.” Kurama stopped crying.

Hiei helped him up. “Come on, we need to report this to the Director.”

“We can’t,” Kurama shook his head, “You have any idea how stressful this will be on him?”

“I should think I have some idea,” Hiei retorted.

Kurama moved on, “It would only cause a big fuss that no one around here needs. And, what about Yusuke? He’s just started making progress with Koenma. A big scandal would only get in the way of that.”

“Kurama!” Hiei chastised him, “Yusuke’s your friend. Do you think he’d want you to just put up with this shit for his sake? I’ll tell you, I’ve known him for long time, and I know that if he heard that crap, he’d get sick on himself. And as for Koenma, if he‘s half the man Yusuke finalizes he is, he would want to put an end to this too. Now, get your ass together, we’re going to see Koenma.”

Kurama stared at Hiei in shock for a moment, and then said, “Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

“Yeah, you can tell me again later tonight,” Hiei smiled at him as he led Kurama out of the labs.

As Hiei and Kurama entered the barracks on they saw a freshly washed and clean clothed Yusuke coming their way. When he saw them, his determined expression turned to one of concern. He rushed over, looking at a much worn Kurama.

“What happened?” Yusuke asked, “Kurama, have… have you been crying?”

“There’s been an incident,” Hiei told him, “We need to talk to Koenma, but he’s not in his office. We‘re hoping to find him in his room”

“He’s there,” Yusuke told him, “I was just on my way over there. I’ll go with you guys. Can you tell me what happened?”

On the way Kurama told Yusuke everything about what happened that day. He also told him about the day before when Karasu tried to feel him up, and all the small incidents over the mouths-- those things were news to Hiei as well. By the time they arrived at Koenma’s door, near the north-west corner of the building, Yusuke and Hiei were fuming with rage at the scum ball, Karasu.

Yusuke knocked heavily on Koenma’s door and it was soon opened by the blurry eyed man. It looked like he’d been asleep when they knocked. At first his sight focused on Yusuke and he looked unsure, but then he saw Hiei and Kurama.

“What is this?” He asked the group.

“We need to report an incident to you,” Yusuke said, “Sexual Harassment.”

Koenma made a hissing sound and the asked with all seriousness, “Who‘d this happen to?”

Kurama hugged his arms around himself, “Me.”

Koenma shook his head and swallowed, “Come on in.”

“Can we come too?” Yusuke asked, “We’re kinda worried about him.”

“I’ll be fine,” Kurama told them as he stepped into Koenma’s room.

“We’ll be right out here,” Hiei told him as he shut the door.

Kurama stayed in Koenma’s room for a long time, until finally Koenma opened the door and called them in.

“I want to start by saying, I’m glad you guys came to me about this. In a company as small as ours, we cannot afford even the slightest dissention. So, first thing in the morning, I’m going to call home office to request Karasu be removed from this project. The company will bring him up on charges once he’s deported back to earth, that being standard procedure,” Koenma told them. “Of course we will have to wait for a transport to come and get him. Until then, I believe it best that Kurama relocate quarters, so as to avoid any unnecessary contact with the other.”

“He can stay in our room,” Yusuke piped up.

“The worker’s quarters are little small to accommodate three men,” Koenma mused, “Though it would be good idea to put him on the other side of the building. How’s about you temporally Kurama have your bed, Yusuke and you can share my room. It‘s big enough for the two of us.”

“That’ll work,” Yusuke said astonished.

“It sounds like a good plan,” Kurama nodded.

“Good,” Koenma nodded. “Yusuke go get your things together and bring them back here. Hiei, I want you to go with Kurama to get his things, while I have a talk with Karasu.”

Yusuke went to follow his orders. Koenma had finished with Karasu by the time he returned. Yusuke stopped to hug Kurama as Hiei helped him move his things to the south side of the building. Koenma was waiting for him at the door of his new quarters when he arrived with his foot locker in arms.

“You need help with that?” Koenma said quietly. His thin brows were drawn down tightly over nose, showing his tension.

“I’ve got it,” Yusuke said. “You okay?”

Koenma shook his head, “I just can’t believe something like this was going on right under my nose. You can put your trunk down over there.”

Yusuke put the thing down, “It’s not your fault, Kurama never said nothing… You handled that well by the way.”

“It’s my job,” Koenma sighed, “Though it has been a stressful few days.”

“Yeah, and I’m to blame,” Yusuke hung his head, “I was actually on my way to talk to you about something else, when I ran into those two.”

“I can only hazard to guess what that something was,” Koenma said sarcastically.

“I won’t bother you with it now,” Yusuke told him.

“No, bother me with it,” Koenma waved him ahead, “It’ll be easer if we just get this out of the way.”

“Right,” Yusuke took a deep breath, “To tell the truth, I’m not a very good friend. I only wanted to be around you because I’m totally into you. I kissed you last night, because I wanted to kiss you. I wish I could kiss you again and touch you and make you feel good.” Yusuke gave him a crooked smile, “So how’s that for spilling my guts?”

“That is totally not what I expected to hear,” Koenma stared at him with wide eyes.

“What did you expect to hear?”

“Never mind that, this is way better. This is… great!”

“Koenma?”

Koenma hugged his arms around Yusuke’s shoulders, “I was going to offer to sleep on the couch and let you have the bed, but under these circumstances, I think we could share the bed.” Yusuke looked at him confused, so he clarified, “I like you, too.”

Yusuke’s mouth gaped like a fish on dry land, looking for something to say. With nothing coming to him, he settled for drawing Koenma closer and kissing him. Koenma tilted his head to deepen the contact as his arms lazily twined around Yusuke.

Yusuke pulled back and asked, “So what would be considered appropriate dress for bed?”

“You can whatever you like, pajamas, boxers. I for one usually sleep in the nude,” Koenma smiled sheepishly.

“God all mighty, I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Yusuke proclaimed to the sky, making Koenma laugh.

“Come here you goof,” Koenma pulled him back to kiss him again. Then he said, “So what do we do now? Just kiss all night or what?”

“You what to try doing something… more?” Yusuke asked.

Koenma nodded, “Yeah, I think I do, but I’m kinda nervous. I’ve never done this with a guy before.”

“You’re adorable.” Yusuke kissed him near the ear, “I’ll start you off with something easy, ’kay?”

Koenma nodded his acceptance and Yusuke kissed him again on the jaw. Yusuke then took a step back and reached for Koenma’s shirt buttons. One by one he undid the buttons, slowly exposing the fair flesh beneath. When all the buttons were undone, he pushed the article off his shoulders. It slid off smoothly and floated to the floor.

“Oh, wow,” Yusuke muttered. He let his finger tips ghost down Koenma’s graceful neck and down over his delicate collar. Yusuke took in the narrow shoulders, and tapered torso, which held a bit more definition than he had expected. Maybe Koenma worked out a little in his spare time. His belly was firm and flat, with the cutest indention for his belly button.

“You’re beautiful,” Yusuke told him as he slid his hands down the lovely torso. He made a point of brushing his fingers over the man’s nipples to watch his reaction. The strong intake of air was encouraging, Yusuke made a note of it before moving on. His hands dropped to Koenma’s waistline, where he momentarily teased the man by running his fingertip across the lip of the pants. Then he moved to unbutton the pants and lower the fly. Yusuke was a little disappointed when he was greeted by blue silk rather than bare flesh, though it wasn’t that surprising. Koenma never did strike him as the going-commando type. Oh, well. Yusuke pushed Koenma’s pants down. He man obliged him by stepping out of them.

“Go lay on the bed,” Yusuke ordered him. Koenma complied meekly. Yusuke then began to calmly strip himself. He didn’t move slower than he had to, and he tried not to make too much of a show out of it. Koenma seemed nervous enough, the last thing he needed was Yusuke acting like some professional lap dancer. Yusuke would save that game for later. Yusuke slid out of his pants, unlike Koenma he did go commando, so he was completely naked after.

“Whoa,” He heard Koenma breath as he took in his nudity.

Yusuke was well aware of his own physical endowments. Between the demanding labor of working on a drill site and the marshal arts training, his body was fit, lean and toned to a perfection which artists and sculptors dream of. He was also quite blessed in the way most men wish to blessed, a point that was exaggerated due to the arousal he’d experienced while undressing Koenma. Yusuke didn’t like to brag, but still he was glad Koenma appreciated it.

Yusuke slipped into the bed and immediately brought his lips to Koenma’s neck, seeking out the pleasure spots he had found the night before. Meanwhile his hand crept down Koenma’s belly, sneaking under those boxers. Yusuke’s entire body thrilled when his hand came in contact Koenma’s erect and slightly wet member. Koenma moaned loudly and his fingers dug into Yusuke’s sides, when Yusuke started to stroke him. Much to Yusuke’s delight, Koenma’s hand tremblingly traveled down his frame, reaching for his roused member. At first, Koenma’s hand was unsteady, but soon as his confidence built, his strokes became smoother and firmer.

“Oh yes, that’s right. That’s good. Oh!” Yusuke gibbered encouragements to Koenma, while keeping up his pace.

Yusuke ran his thumb over the top of Koenma’s arousal, using the precum that ejaculated from it as lubrication. Koenma was so wet-- and hard. Yusuke could feel the heat rolling off of him. He must be really into him to get so aroused. Yusuke stopped abruptly, making Koenma whine.

“I want to see it,” Yusuke barked heatedly. Koenma looked at him confused, so he clarified, “I want to see you. Let me take those things off.” He tugged on Koenma’s boxers, pulling them down to his hips. Koenma’s perky member sprang into view and Yusuke moaned. It wasn’t exactly how he’d imaged. It was longer than he thought it would be, and a much brighter shade of pink. Then again, the difference may have been caused by the heightened arousal the man was experiencing. Koenma nudged his hips forward, silently reminding Yusuke he wanted to be touched. Yusuke conceded, taking him back in hand and pulling the heated flesh.

“Ngh, can I tell you a secret, Yusuke?” Koenma turned his blushed face up to Yusuke’s, “Late night, I dreamt about doing this with you.”

“Fuck you, sexy devil,” Yusuke moaned, pressing his lips savagely against Koenma’s. Koenma returned his affections with equal zeal. The two ravaged each other’s mouths while they pumped each other with increasing speed. Soon, Koenma spilled in Yusuke’s hand, and few furious pumps later Yusuke followed suit.

“I said it once, and I’ll say it again,” Yusuke panted, “wow.”

“You wanna do it again?” Koenma panted in return.

Yusuke took a few more deep breaths, and then, “You’re on!”

Koenma got Yusuke off with his hand twice more that night. Yusuke got him off once more with his hand and twice with his mouth, before the two surrendered to sleep.

The following day, Koenma made good on his promises and contacted home office to report the incident involving Karasu. After much deliberation, he was able to convince the big wigs to remove Karasu from the complex; however it would take time to find a replacement and set up a transport. A three week minimum was to be expected. Furthermore the company insisted that he continue to work until his removal, this Koenma was forced to concede to. But he was able to determine that when Karasu was not working, he must be in his room. Koenma had a chat with the third lab tech, Risho, who agreed to keep an eye on the man to make sure he did not bother Kurama.

As for the redhead, the next days showed significant brightening of his disposition. No doubt due to Hiei’s close proximity. The couple began to associate with Koenma, due to his close proximity to Yusuke. In fact, they even let Koenma into the confidence about the nature of their relationship. Though they were yet to speak about that night they… played with Yusuke. They had hopes of there being a time in the future when they might play with both Yusuke and Koenma-- an idea that made Yusuke’s nose bleed when they told him about it. That day however did not look to be anytime soon. Even though they kissed and touched a lot, and even spent some nights lying naked in each other arms, they had yet to have full intercourse. In spite of the man’s willingness to be romantic with Yusuke, Koenma as still nervous and very naïve about having a male on male relationship. Yusuke didn’t push. They had time so he would let Koenma set the pace.

One day, Yusuke and Koenma were in the latter’s office, trying to choke down the substance that served as food on the base, when Koenma asked, “What does it taste like?”

“Like cardboard, the same as it always does,” Yusuke poked at his food.

“Not that,” Koenma corrected, “Sorry I meant… um you know when you, uh, go down on me…”

“Oh,” Yusuke got it. Then he grinned, “You what to try it?”

Koenma blushed, “Oh, no. I was just--”

“Its okay,” Yusuke soothed his lover, “You don’t gotta be shy.”

He stood up and walked around Koenma’s desk so that he stood in front of the man. He carefully pulled down his zipper and took his cock out. Stroking it lazily, he grinned to Koenma, “Go a head give it a try.”

Koenma licked his lips. Nervously, he reached out and grasped the base. Already Yusuke was swelling from anticipation. Koenma opened his mouth, leaning in. His tongue was just a hairs breath from contacting Yusuke’s flesh, when the phone on his desk rang, shattering both of their nerves.

Koenma snapped up the receiver, “What?”

“Koenma sir,” It was Shishi on the line, “Is Urameshi up there with you?”

“Yes, he‘s right here,” Koenma put the phone on speaker, “Has something happened on the drill site?”

“Hold on and I’ll patch you though to Jin,” Shishi told them.

Moment’s later Jin’s excited voice came on the line, “Yusuke are you there?”

“I’m here, Jin. What’s going on?”

“It’s the site, it’s a flooded!”

“Flooded?” Yusuke gasped, “How?”

Jin began, “Well, Kuwa and I were just getting back from lunch, and we were planning on doing some prepping for the drilling when you got back. But when we walked out there, the whole place was under two inches of water. It seems be bubbling up from the well. Toya’s over looking at it right now.”

“I’ll be right down,” Yusuke told him, “Have you notified the white coats yet?”

“No, we called you right away,” said Jin.

“I’ll have Shishi call over to the lab,” Koenma put in before severing the call.

Koenma conveyed the order onto Shishi as he and Yusuke abandoned their meals to rush down to the drill sight. They had known that they were getting close to the water, but they still thought it would take a few more days or even weeks. This surprise strike was so unexpected, that Yusuke almost doubted it was true. But, the sight that awaited them there was no less than Jin had said it was. The entire site shimmered as the sun reflected off the shallow water.

“Wow,” Koenma breathed, “I think I’m going to have to requisition some rubber galoshes for the men to wear.”

The comment touched a smile on Yusuke’s lips. He kissed Koenma on the cheek and said, “That’s a nice idea and all, but this wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Its not?” Koenma looked at him.

“No, we thought that we’d have to pump the water out once we got to it,” Yusuke informed him.

Koenma bopped himself on the head, “Of course, that’s why we have all that pumping equipment in storage. But wait, if it’s flooding out like this, what does it mean?”

“Here comes Toya. I’m sure he’ll be able to explain this.” Yusuke took off at a jog to meet the blue haired man. Koenma followed suit.

“This is remarkable!” Toya exclaimed more excitedly than Yusuke had ever seen the man. “The water is actually surging up from the well.”

“We see that,” Koenma made a sweeping gesture, “But how?”

“It’s the pressure sir,” Toya practically shook with excitement, “The vein that we detected was relatively narrow, but because of the interference of the iron depot we did not get an accurate reading on how fast the water was moving through it. This is important because the speed of water is directly relevant to the amount of water that passes through it. Are you following me?”

“Yeah, a fast currant moves more water, than a slow one,” Yusuke nodded.

“Yes,” Toya nodded, “and our vein is apparently very fast. Thus there’s lots of water, which equals great pressure. So much pressure in fact that it’s pushing gallons and gallons of water straight up an 800 kilometer vertical shaft!”

“In other words we got a shit load more water than we expected,” Kuwabara declared as he arrived at the gathering along with Jin, Chu, and Hiei.

“Aye, we drilling a wee well, but it looks like we’re ending up making a big old reservoir,” Jin put in.

“I’d say we finally earned our paychecks, boys,” Chu grinned, “Hey, are we getting a bonus for this?”

At that point, the sound of running feet came from the direction of the complex, soon the lab workers came into view. They stopped just short of the gathered men.

“I can’t believe it,” Kurama panted from running, “we hit struck water.”

“Believe it, Foxy,” Hiei moved to his lover. Then he saw Karasu, who was staring in awe at the flooded land. “What is he doing here?”

“Risho and him need to run analysis’ to be sure there are no chemical or mineral toxins in the water,” Kurama told him calmly, “And I’m going to be looking out for any organic materials.”

“You do know we would have just brought samples to you,” Hiei lifted his eyebrow.

“Well yes,” Kurama shrugged, “But would you have begrudged me the pleasure of seeing this myself?”

Hiei smiled, “No, of course not. Go on and gather your samples.”

Kurama joined his coworkers at the edge of the water to start filling small plastic containers with the liquid for testing.

“This all sounds fantastic,” Koenma addressed Toya, “But before we start jumping around and squealing like little girls, I have to ask you. Is there a down side here?”

“There is one thing,” Toya admitted, “I measured the output of the well and I can see now that the water is steady rising. The entire site will be about ten feet under water before the week is out. If we don‘t move fast we‘ll lose all the equipment.”

“You heard him men,” Yusuke barked at his crew, “The waters rising, so lets get our crap to higher ground!”

After the workmen followed Yusuke off, Koenma referred back to Toya, “Do you believe this flooding will reach the compound? Because if it does, we’ll have to set up preparations to move.”

Toya shook his head, “The drill site if about fifty feet lower in elevation than the complex. We originally did that to save ourselves fifty feet of digging. It seems now to have had a second advantage. I highly doubt that the waters will raise that far. And in any case the land to the south is lower than the land to the north where the complex is, so if the reservoir spreads it will spread in that distraction.”

“Alright,” Koenma sighed his relief, “Then I have just one more question for you. What kind of liquor do the guys like to drink?”

“Liquor, Sir?” Toya asked, befuddled.

“Yes, of course this calls for a celebration,” Koenma cheered. “Oh! I’d better go notify home office of our success. Just tell Yusuke to come see me when he’s finished here and we’ll discus celebrations and such.” Koenma took off for his office with a wide smile plastered to his face.

Meanwhile, the men worked at packing up the equipment. The task was made much more pleasant by the three inches of cool water that they waded though. Kurama and Risho reluctantly started back toward the lab, while talking exactly about the prospects for the future of the project. The entire crew was in such a state of revelry that none noticed the one who had slipped off.

“This is the Crow calling the Big Man. Come in Big Man do you copy?” Karasu spoke into the radio that he had kept hidden all the months he’d been on the base. “Big Man do you read me?”

After a furry of static a deep booming came through, “This is the Big Man. I read you Crow. Copy?”

“Copy that Big Man,” said Karasu, “The nest has floated down stream. I repeat the nest has floated down stream.”

“And how are the eggs?” The Big Man inquired.

“Delicious,” Karasu confirmed in code, “And far more plentiful than expected.”

“The early bird will be catching the worm, three hours before sunup. Be ready Crow,” the Big Man told him before his voice dissolved into static.

TBC…
A/N: I like nicknames, don’t you? You know, I’m sure I’ve heard someone else call Hiei firefly before, but I can’t remember where. A lot of action in the next chapter, see ya then.