And Wildcard Smoochie

And Wildcard Smoochie
Part Six

Chu set a drink in front of Yusuke; a brown liquid who’s odor could curl a man’s nose hair. Good shit. After running into that brick wall, Chu called a chest; he followed the man to the kitchen. The reason: “Cuz Rinku don’t let me keep glasses or nothing in the room no more… find one moldy sandwich….” Yusuke took a gulp of the proffered drink, felt his nose hairs curl. Yep, good shit.

“That’s gotta ease your troubles,” Chu said as he refilled his glass.

“Troubles?” Yusuke repeated back. “What troubles?”

“Don’t know what troubles,” Chu drawled, leaning back and sipping his drink, “Seen enough men passed out at the bar to tell where troubles are. Though I’s think I could make an educated guess….”

Yusuke groaned, “Alright, you got me. I’m in heat. You gonna try to seduce me too?”

Chu actually looked affronted, “You’re a real cute bloke and all that, but I don’t think the little wife would appreciate me doing that. Might be up for a game of cards, but none of that.”

“Oh thank god!” Yusuke exhaled, then caught himself, “I mean… not that you’re not a good looking guy or nothing, but… I just can’t think of you like that.” That was true. Chu, with his drunken antics had always reminded him of his party girl of a mother. So by proxy, Yusuke saw Chu as a sort of a father figure. Even after he met his ancestral father, Raizen, he still felt that way.

“No offence taken,” Chu waved a lazy hand, “Anyhow, is that all that’s chewing at you? You being in heat; it’s a natural thing to your sort, you know.”

“I know,” Yusuke told him, “I’ve got a handle on it, I think. Hey, let me have another shot of that shit.”

“Careful with that stuff,” Chu warned, as he refilled Yusuke’s glass.

Yusuke took a drink, felt the pleasant burn roll down his throat. Suddenly he felt more comfortable. “At least I thought I did—Did you know that Jin and Toya…?”

“Hot and heavy couple, them,” Chu finished, “You didn’t know?”

“No I didn’t, if I had….”

“Ah, I see. They got ya, didn’t they? And you didn’t know it wasn’t exclusive.”

“It ain’t just them. You and Rinku were right about Suzuki and Shishi, totally in love. I think Suzuki actually used me to get in Shishi’s pants. I think there’s something up with Hiei and Kurama too.”

“Fox-boy and Barbeque-shrimp!?”

“I know it seems stupid,” Yusuke waved his drink in the air. The liquor was really working on him now, “I mean I’ve been sleeping around like a chronically fatigued house cat. I shouldn’t be all, I don’t know….”

“Jealous?” Chu supplied.

Yusuke opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came. Yusuke was hard pressed to put a word to the feeling that had assailed him when he saw his friends together like that. Could Chu be right; was that word, ‘jealously’?

Jealous of what though? Was he in love with all of them? Any of them? No. He was in heat and horny. They were sexy and strong. Man he liked strong. That jibed with Kurama’s theory that his heat was evolutionally designed to draw in allies. He already knew he had their loyalty. And their ‘services’ if he asked. So, why should he be jealous? Just because they all had someone to love and he didn’t.

“Yusuke, I seem to recall you had this nice little Sheila back home. How’s she figure into things?” Chu asked, seemingly out of the blue.

“Huh? Oh, you mean Keiko? She don’t. We ain’t together anymore,” Yusuke told him. “The way we wanted to live our lives was just too different, ya know. I make my living between running my Raman stall and doing Spirit Detective gigs, independently. Keiko was fine with it at first; especially when there was this ‘haunting’ she needed solving at her school.

“I really do like those jobs. I get to travel and stuff. It challenges me, ya know. And the pay ain’t bad either. I bought my mom a house with the payout from my last gig. But, it wasn’t the life Keiko wanted. She wanted the quiet life, with kids, a mortgage and a man who works from nine to five in the same place every day.”

“So, ya two spilt,” Chu nodded.

“I know what you’re gonna say,” Yusuke cut in, “If I really loved her I should have been willing to change, make scarifies and junk.”

“Don’t be daft!” Chu surprised Yusuke. “If ya changed that much, ya wouldn’t be Yusuke, and ya can’t expect a Sheila to love ya for who you’re not.”

“I… I never thought of it like that before,” Yusuke sucked at his drink.

“You and she was puppy loves and you grew out of each other. Happens all the time, no reason to feel bad about it,” Chu shrugged, “Ah, but I’m thinking you’re ready for a new kind of love now, ain’t ya mate? Bad timing though, with the heat on and all. Damn right confusing.”

“Wait. Are you trying to me that the reason I’m feeling… jealous about the other guys is cuz I want to be in a relationship too?” Yusuke sputtered. It wasn’t because he wanted any of them in a particular way, but because he wanted what they had.

“Wasn’t that clear?”

“Chu, nothing you say is clear,” Yusuke almost laughed, “I swear one day I’ll make friends with someone who talks normal!”

“My vernacular is not the issue,” Chu slurred. He pounded his fist on the table suddenly, “That’s what I’m gonna do for ya! I’m gonna go out and find that special someone just for you.” Before Yusuke could say anything, Chu was up and out of the room.

“And there goes a fool on a fool’s errand.”

Yusuke was jarred, nearly lost his buzz. “This is a new habit of yours, Hiei, hiding in pantries and listening to people’s conversations?”

“I wasn’t hiding. I was grabbing a snack when you two fools blundered in here and started drinking,” Hiei defended.

“And you were concealing your aura because you don’t want people to know you eat?” Yusuke asked shrewdly.

Hiei just grunted, “Hn.” After a minute of silence he offered, “You’re wrong about Kurama and I. There isn’t anything going on between us.”

It took Yusuke’s drink idled brain a second to catch up with the conversation. “But… but I saw you!”

“And what you saw was all there was,” Hiei replied, “Before that first time with you, we never… and that last time… was the LAST time.”

“I don’t understand,” Yusuke frowned.

Hiei took a deep breath, “We, um, ran into each other after practice today. We had an… exchange.”

“You got frisky,” Yusuke supplied.

Hiei made an agitated snorting noise with his noise, which was just as good as a confirmation. He eyed the bottle Chu had left on the table and decided to help himself. He poured a glass and took a hard slug. He waited until his nose hairs stopped curling before he continued. “I was under the impression that we experienced some sort of mutual enjoyment. I proposed we should make it… an arrangement. He didn’t agree.”

Yusuke wasn’t the sharpest shovel in the box, but even he could tell there was more to Hiei’s story than he was telling. He saw Hiei and Kurama together, twice. There was something really intense there. Yusuke asked, “Why not?”

“He had a number of reasons,” Hiei muttered into the edge of his glass, “Mother, human life, you know the bit. Of course he’ll still be there for you when needed. Point is, you won’t have to worry about that jealously thing.”

On that thought, Hiei set his drink down. He reached down to lift the hem of his shirt up over his head. He tossed his shirt over his shoulder as he stocked closer to Yusuke, “I’m all yours too by the way.” He fondled the front of Yusuke’s shirt as he attempted to crawl onto his lap.

“Hiei, you really shouldn’t….” Yusuke started to protest, but Hiei’s lips were already working on his. In his present state Yusuke just couldn’t resist those lips. His hands moved with a will of their own, up to squeeze Hiei’s firm little bottom.

Hiei growled against his lips, “Mmm, how shall we do this? On the table? Or maybe I should bend you over the counter. Ooo, I bet you’d like that. Oh, I got it! I’ll haul you into the pantry. There’s a jar of caramel sauce in there that should provide some fun.”

“That sounds…” Yusuke muttered. He paused as his brain switched tracks. “Hiei, why are you… I mean you don’t have…? ” Yusuke couldn’t find the right words for what he wanted to ask, so he settled for the wrong ones. “You like Kurama, don’t you?”

Hiei stopped stroking Yusuke’s chest long enough to give him a death glare. “I’m going to go get that caramel sauce now, and when I come back I want you naked and bent over this table.”

The caramel sauce did make things interesting as it turned out. So much so, they procured a bottle of chocolate sauce and a can of whipped cream. Then they adjourned to Yusuke’s room for round two… and three… and four.

Around two in the morning Hiei panted, “I… I can’t go on.”

“No no, I need it, just one more time, please,” Yusuke begged. Even after doing it so many times, he was still hot as hell. Was it his heat? It hadn’t been this bad before.

Hiei pressed his palm against Yusuke’s forehead. He sniffed the air, frowned. “You’re going want to get some rest now. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for you.”

Before Yusuke could respond, Hiei took off his head band. His third eye usually had no power over Yusuke; even back in the day when Yusuke was normal human teenager. But in his current state, Yusuke was vulnerable. In less time than it takes to tell, Hiei had put Yusuke down for a restful slumber. It wouldn’t last though. When he woke up, he was going to be in for a hard time.

Hiei tore down the hall, already dreading his destination. Last time he went there nothing good came of it. But it couldn’t be helped. Right now Yusuke was his prime concern, not his own feelings. Unfortunately, the only man who could help him with Yusuke was the same man who had stomped on said feelings.

Hiei rapped on the door. It opened. A very naked Jin stood framed in the doorway. Hiei took a second to note the supreme and fit beauty of the man’s body; broad shoulders and chest, fully formed muscles. He also noted the full erection and the mildly anxious look on his face.

Hiei said plainly, “Kurama is not here, is he?”

“No, he stepped out a long time back,” Jin told him, “Think he said something about sticky notes.”

Sticky notes? Like those silly little pieces of yellow paper humans used to leave themselves notes because they were too stupid to just remember things? Why would Kurama need those? His mind was sharp as a tack. When he was Youko he planted thousands of seeds all over the demon and spirit worlds and to this day he still remembers were every one of them are! Sticky notes; that can’t be right.

“Is there something wrong?” Toya joined them at the door. He had the taste to put on a robe first.

“The two of you have already pledged yourselves to Yusuke, right?” Hiei already knew the answer. “His heat is about to hit its peak. I think the task might be too much for one demon.”

“He’s in his room?” Toya asked.

“Asleep,” Hiei nodded, “for now.”

“We’ll be there when he wakes,” Toya told him.

Hiei nodded as way of recognition and gratitude. Then he left. Even with Jin and Toya as back up, it wasn’t enough. He still needed to find Kurama. Kurama knew things about the Mazoku cycle that were surely important. His knowledge of botanical medicines and healing abilities might come in handy too. There was no telling how this was going play out.

Jin’s clue about sticky notes was the only hint Hiei had to the fox’s whereabouts, even if it was stupid. There was a book depository on the north side of the compound. That seemed like a likely place to find Kurama. And there was an office in there, which surely had sticky notes.

Hiei charged into the library. He didn’t see Kurama. Suzuki was there, seated behind the desk. Hiei noted the stack of little yellow papers still setting on the desktop.

“Have you seen Kurama?” Hiei demanded without fanfare, “Do you know where he is?”

Suzuki looked up from the book he’d been reading. “Hum? Kurama? Oh, yes I met him outside my room an hour ago. He wanted to borrow, my Ghost Spigot. Handy thing; it permits you to draw sap and such from trees without damaging them. I use it quite often to get ingredients for my potions—ow! Sorry, I don’t know where he went with it.”

Sap? Sticky notes. Sap and sticky notes. It hit him. Sticky Motes! It was one of Kurama’s cuter tricks. He’d used it on him once when he’d been visiting the human world and wanted a good spar. Hiei thought it was some sort of smokescreen, until he ran into it. The moment it touched him the cloud collapsed in a sticky crush. Kurama left him glued upside down to a tree.

That aside, the stickiness in the mote cloud was derived from a specific type of sap. It had a specific smell. Now that he thought of it, Hiei remembered catching a whiff of it in the Fruited Valley. That’s it; he knew exactly where to find Kurama.

But first, he turned back to Suzuki, “You’ve… an interest in Yusuke, yes? His heat is about to its peak. You’ve skills that can be of help?”

Suzuki was stunned for a second. Then he said, “I’ve potions that can extend male potency. If I can get a few ounces of Ogre Kill from Chu, I can concoct a cocktail that can cool him a notch. Or if you’re looking to take things up a notch, I do have a number of interesting toys… epp!”

“Good, that’s fine,” Hiei cut him off, already heading for the door. “Yusuke’s asleep in his room, for now. Jin and Toya are with him. You should get your things and join them soon.” Hiei was almost out the door. He turned back and added, “You go with him Shishi.”

There was a thud on the bottom of the table. Shishi’s head popped up from under the table. He gasped, “How’d you know--?” Hiei was already gone.

Hiei practically flew down the side of the mountain, toward the Fruited Valley. The place where he’d scented the tree was on the south-west corner of the valley, near a brook where it dropped over a raise, forming a three foot mini-waterfall. Sure enough, no sooner did he hear the murmur of falling water; he saw a flash of red. Hiei bounded past the tree line and there was Kurama standing near a sweet smelling tree, swirling thick pink fluid in a glass bottle.

“Hiei,” Kurama quizzically acknowledged him, “What are you doing here? No, don’t tell me. I know. And I don’t think we need to talk about it. Everything that needs to be said has been said.”

“You’ve had your say, at least,’ Hiei hissed, clearly irritated. Hiei hadn’t come to re-dish their earlier discussion. This was about Yusuke. But Kurama’s cold address made him forget that.

“Hiei…” Kurama sighed warningly.

“No I get it; I’m not good enough for you.”

“That’s not true!”

“Isn’t it?”

“I told you,” Kurama defended, “It just wouldn’t work. I have my life as a human.”

“Ha, you call that a life?” Hiei was getting vindictive now. “You work as a sales person at your step-father’s firm; a waste of your talents and intelligence. And let’s not even get started on your personal life-- or lack thereof.”

Kurama argued, “Hiei, you know my reasons. I have a family. My mother--.”

“Your mother,” Hiei scoffed, “You’re a grown boy. Surly she’s prepared to let you off the tit. She won’t be lonely. She has her new husband. And didn’t they have a child together about two years ago, your baby sister, Fuyuki. Your step-father brought a son into the family too, Shuichi.

“He’d be in collage now, right? I bet he’s even got a respectable woman, too. It won’t be long before he gets an entire litter of grandchildren for your mother to dote on.”

Kurama stared at him blankly, “You do seem to know a lot about my personal life. I’m starting to think your interest in me did not start this weekend.”

Hiei flushed, realized how he’d incriminated himself. He sniffed, “I have to keep tabs on my interests in this world--. I watched Yusuke, too. Yusuke!” Hiei suddenly remembered, “I didn’t come here to argue about us. It’s Yusuke. He’s reached the peak of his heat.”

“He has!” Kurama exclaimed, “Why didn’t you say so? My god, Hiei, don’t you know how important this is? Where is he now?”

“I put him to sleep,” Hiei told him, “If he wakes up, Jin and Toya are with him. Suzuki and Shishi might be as well.”

“Oh no, not good,” Kurama paced worriedly, “Curses, I should have told you… but things happened….”

“What are you muttering about, fox?” Hiei snapped at him.

“Yusuke’s heat,” Kurama explained as they started to run back to the compound, “How can I explain? He’s going to be very aggressive, only the strongest will be able to handle him.”

“I’d better get to him right away then,” Hiei said with a smirk. The comment did touch a smile on Kurama’s face.

They neared the compound’s rear entrance. Hiei sensed it first. He skidded to a stop, grabbed Kurama’s collar and hauled him down to the floor. It was just in time for a buck naked Suzuki to fly right over their heads and smash into an unfortunately located tree trunk. It was at that time they saw Jin and Toya laid out on the steps leading into the sparing grounds.

“EIII!” Shishi flew out of the doorway. He landed with a thud.

“Are you alright?” Kurama rushed to him, “What happened?”

“Yusuke,” he replied, pointing.

Like an invocation, Yusuke appeared at the top of the stairs. His hair had grown. It was down to his knees now and sticking out in all directions. Dark tattoos streaked down his deathly serious face. Similar tattoos decorated his arms, bare chest, stomach and hips. The motif even adorned his erect penis. And his eyes, usually they were soft chocolate brown; now they were burning red.

He purred when he saw them, “About time. So, either one of you think you have the stuff to fuck me?”

TBC...
A/N: I’ve got the next chapter already in the works. Hopefully it will be finished soon. Next time.