Growth of a Spirit Detective

Title: Growth of a Spirit Detective
Author: Azalea J.
Beta: Amymcclair
Rating: R
Pairing(s): Kurama/Hiei/Yusuke
Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho was created by Yoshihiro Togashi and adapted by Funimation Studios. I claim no rights to characters or settings or dialogue. I am making no money off this work.
Warning(s): Slight Angst, Violence, Language, Gore, Slight Strip Teasing.
Word Count: Approx. 6 300


Growth of a Spirit Detective
Chapter Six


Kurama leaned carefully against a mostly intact wall, cupping an arm around his chest as he watched Hiei fight. His breathing gradually evened out. He had managed to keep Kaname pinned long enough for Hiei to land a brutal blow to her solar plexus, but she had then turned around and aimed her next attack at him out of spite. And after narrowly dodging, Kurama had stepped aside and given Hiei full command of the fight. He’d done what he could, and Yusuke would never forgive him for dying in what the detective would surely refer to as ‘this stupid place’.

Sunlight was flooding into the keep now the roof and half its walls were missing. The light illuminated the decrepit corpses, the tanks and glass showcases full of the decaying bodies, but the light also showed the blood for what it was - drying, cracking, fading away. These demons and humans had suffered, yes, but the crimes of the ones who had tortured them were also coming to light. And their victims would be avenged.

Kaname was strong, but now that she’d been weakened and wounded considerably by Youmi, Hiei and then Yusuke, she was in dire need of respite. Kurama could tell by watching her- her movements, where once fluid and swift, were now carefully considered and executed almost painfully. They were easy to anticipate, and even easier to counter.

Hiei was only toying with her now.

Unconsciously, one of Kurama’s fingers stroked his side through the robe. The silk caressed his skin, and eased a cut beneath with a pleasurable sting. His whip was curled around his other arm, but for now, a precaution only.

Hiei slashed viciously at Kaname, aiming for her face but satisfied with the cuts he managed to make across her back and legs as she ran from him. She was tired. He flitted to the left to cut off her retreat, and she hissed at him and slashed. Her claws clanged against the metal of his blade. She tried to fall back once more, and he was at her flank in an instant, slashing brutally into her thigh.

Blood splattered the floor and lay shining in the light. Kaname crashed down, clutching her thigh, smearing the blood, moaning in agony. The cut was deep.

Kurama straightened up against the wall, watching attentively.

Hiei landed softly, feet from where Kaname sprawled. He took two confident steps toward her, and brought his foot down solidly on her wounded thigh, crushing her own fingers into the wound, causing her to scream and paw at his leg with her free hand and claws.

Instantly he thrust his sword through her main arm and into the carpet and cement beneath, pinning her. For the first time, her eyes flew to his, fear shining fresh and raw in their depths. She whimpered.

He bent to speak to her quietly. “You know, Yusuke probably wanted you for himself, and under ordinary circumstances, I would have let him finish you without intervening.” Rising, he gripped the hilt of his sword and yanked.

She yelled in pain as blood splattered away in an arch and her arm flopped wetly to her side. With her other hand still trapped to her thigh beneath Hiei’s boot, she could only moan piteously. If she could only get away... Her eyes began to flit desperately.

The clatter of a sword against rock and Hiei suddenly pulling her to him by her hair brought her attention back to him painfully, and she began to shake and snarl. Hiei only dug his fingers into her scalp with more force, and looked her right in the eye. “-But my revenge against your psychotic brother for what he did to Kurama was cut short, so I think I’ll take the rest of my payback out on you!” His fist landed firmly in her stomach, forcing a groan from the deepest area of her chest.

Blood bubbled up her throat and into her mouth from wounded lungs. When she next tried to take a breath, it hurt, and more blood spilled into her airways.

From the sidelines, Kurama felt a wave of relief sweep through him.

Hiei pounded on Kaname mercilessly. She could do nothing but take it. Her nose was shattered, her ribs broken, her skin split and bleeding and bruised. Still Hiei punched. Finally, when he’d satisfied himself and when she looked about ready to pass out, he let her slip from his hand to the floor, where she lay gasping. Her eyes barely opened, and her fingers twisted in the pain she could not articulate.

“If you’d merely stayed in seclusion, you might have gone on living.” Hiei told her as he hefted his blade from where it lay, stained, amidst the rubble. “Your one mistake was allowing your brother free rein. That was something you should not have done.” Her eyes widened, and his blade flashed in the sunlight.

She rolled and the metal crashed through stone, just barely missing her neck.

Growling deeply, Hiei reached down and dug his fingers into her wounded arm. She jerked and a high-pitched scream tumbled from her bloodied mouth. Her body spasmed, trying to retreat, but her struggles only aided Hiei’s claws as they dug deeper into her arm, stroking bone, and finally ripped the tendons through. Her arm separated with a crunch.

“Tttt-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”

Kaname’s scream died, and she could only gurgle. Her one good arm scrabbled at the rubble strewn about and tried to pull the rest of her body away. Her eyes were glassy, her mind gone.

With a final grunt, Hiei levered back his arm, reversing the blade so the blunt end faced his opponent, and slammed his hand down, smashing the pommel into her forehead; effectively crushing her skull against the rock behind her. Blood pooled and dribbled down along the rock and wrecked remains of the plush carpet.

Standing, Hiei shook his blade to remove the worst of the gore from the fight, then sheathed it. He’d clean it later. Approaching Kurama as the fox returned his whip to a seed, which he then replaced in his hair, Hiei wiped his hands down his pants. He examined Kurama thoroughly and was pleased to see no new wounds since Hakane’s decapitation.

“I’m fine, Hiei. Tired and quite sore, but-”

Without warning, Hiei grabbed Kurama around the waist and pulled the fox into a hungry kiss that had him breathing harshly through his nose just to keep up. Hiei’s hands wandered, and Kurama’s eyes rolled up in pleasure as gentle fingertips worked into the tense muscles of his lower back. Massaging firmly, tenderly mindful of the lacerations at his sides, working his spine into putty until Kurama came to himself enough to notice he had somehow ended up on his back in the ruble with Hiei still kissing him, massaging his head now with slow firm circles, and dry humping his leg.

Kurama let his eyes fall closed once more and groaned deep in his chest. He bucked upwards.

Hiei couldn’t tell whether it was the adrenalin rush from the battle, remnants of the drug in his circulatory system, or just pent up lust, but something inside was telling him he needed to be as close to Kurama as possible, and he was in no frame of mind to argue.

Kurama bucked again and his fingers twisted into the waist of Hiei’s pants. He hissed as the robe he was wearing shifted and rubbed up against his wounds. Hiei eased off Kurama’s chest slightly, and pushed his pelvis down more firmly into Kurama’s hip, Kurama rising eagerly to meet him.

Something flickered in his head. Kurama blinked and reluctantly forced his mind to concentrate on it.

It was important.

At that moment, he couldn’t say what it was, but something told him it was important.

It flickered again. It was blue- a blue flame. And it was flickering as if it were being buffeted by a strong wind. Flickering as if it were slowly... going out... Kurama gasped and pulled back from Hiei. “Yusuke!” His head slammed back into solid rock and he moaned.

Eyes wide, Hiei’s jagan glowed and his head whipped around, searching. Subconsciously, one of his hands was still tenderly massaging Kurama’s scalp, the calloused fingers softly working their way back to soothe over the newly formed bump.

It felt wonderful. Kurama closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy the attention. But... “He’s in pain, Hiei... I can feel him...”

Hiei looked back down at his mate. When Kurama opened his eyes, he saw an expression he’d not seen Hiei wear since... ever. He was blatantly worried - worried and scared and aroused still from the fight and Kurama’s intoxicating presence. More than anything else, though, he was angry.

Kurama gently pushed Hiei away from him. “Go. I’ll catch up once I’ve found my feet.”

The barest of pained looks was sent his way, and Hiei flitted off, up and out of the shattered basement.

Kurama did not envy the fate of whomever had harmed the detective. Though... there were no other youki signatures as powerful as Kaname’s had been... except Youmi’s. What had Yusuke gotten himself into, to make him so... terrified?

Breathing in and out rhythmically for a short time, Kurama finally rolled to his side, and - with a wince - pushed himself slowly back to his feet. He was still throbbing with an uncomfortable mix of arousal and soreness, but he still had plenty of strength left. Carefully picking his way through the rubble, Kurama headed towards that desperately crying, flickering lit of blue flame.

---

The bloodied pieces of raw meat and bone strewn about the tree and the detective were coolly observed as Hiei perused the area for any more forthcoming adversaries. When nothing but the wind and Yoimi, Natsumi, and Kuju’s signatures touched his senses, he moved his attention fully to Yusuke.

The detective was curled up against a tree with his legs drawn in to his chest. He had no claws, no markings - if it weren’t for his wild hair, loose from its tie and falling at random angles, he’d look like a scared, pathetic, ningen.

As far as Hiei could tell, Yusuke sported only a few bruises and cuts. Nothing serious. Nothing life-threatening. Yet his mind was filled with the detective’s subconscious pain; stabbing, searing pain that staggered Hiei internally.

Kurama... how long will it take you to get over here?

---

“What did Kaname promise you to gain your allegiance!?”

The youkai gurgled, and its eyes rolled. With his hand fisted in its shirt, Youmi pulled it toward him and shook it. He could sense the demon’s heart stopping. The blood vessels constricting as the body cooled and motor function slowly ceased. But it wasn’t dead yet, and he wanted intel. “WHAT DID SHE PROMISE YOU!?” He hollered.

Blood spewed from the severed arm as Youmi squeezed, and the demon choked and swallowed, fighting death even as it welcomed it. “G- ...glor...eee...” It almost swallowed its own, swollen tongue.

“Glory? What. ELSE!?” When the demon seemed more inclined to listen to death calling than to Youmi, the demon Lord shook it again, violently. forcing the youkai’s head to snap back and forth. He almost broke its neck. Maybe he would, yet. “WHAT. ELSE!!”

“Food... Fresh.... human... fff- Gurrllllkkk!”

Youmi’s eyebrow twitched. With a flick of his wrist, Youmi snapped its neck.

The demon hit the ground with a thud, its body cooling rapidly.

Youmi wiped his hands methodically on the demon’s shirt and straightened, turning to face the siblings.

Natsumi was favoring her back and left side. Youmi could feel the heat gathering at her many bruises. Her biggest problem seemed to be a fractured left rib. A demon must have either kicked her there when she was unguarded, or landed on her with all its weight. She seemed fine otherwise.

Besides a couple bruises and a cut above his eye; Kuju was unharmed.

“So... Glory and plenty of humans as fodder in Ningenkai. Seems like your average bartering chip.” Natsumi walked a couple feet to kick another corpse ruefully. Dejected. The way Enki talked, one would have thought the whole thing was an elaborate ruse planned years in advance to stage a war between all three worlds, with Kaname at the epicenter.

“They were all low class. I doubt she needed much more to convince them. Having something to do to pass the time would have probably sufficed. These lower class demons can barely think past their hunger.” Kuju walked over to a large, blue demon, easily as tall as a tree, and stood before it with his arms crossed. “Though what of the A-Class? What did she promise them?”

“Glory and fodder in Ningenkai?” Natsumi shrugged and kicked her corpse again. Damn beast had broken her ribs! The demon’s body crunched wetly beneath her boot.

“At any rate, we should rendezvous with the others. We can continue this discussion then.” Youmi turned and headed off through the forest into the clearing where the keep smoldered in the distant sunlight. He navigated his way through the maze of corpses with little trouble, his robe fluttering behind him in the wind.

“Think he’s worried about them?” Kuju leaned closer to his sister.

“I’m not worried about them.” Natsumi gave the corpse one last viscous kick, sending it rolling into another body, and followed after Youmi.

---

Hiei slowly drew near the detective. Crying?

Feeling more confusion and worry than he had any right to feel, the Koorime knelt down beside the detective, and carefully examined him, without touching.

Yusuke was shaking, quietly and subtly. His arms were wrapped around his knees, his fingers white where he clutched at his legs. His hair was matted and tangled. His demon marks had faded so much that they looked like smears of dirt across random patches of skin.

Hiei’s jagan flared when he saw the blood soaking down the boys neck and onto his front - and where it came from.

My - But it... KURAMA! Get your ass over here!

A soft vibration stroked his frayed nerves, asking Hiei carefully what had caused the koorime to provide the fox with a headache, to add to his steadily growing repertoire of pains.

Hiei sighed and stood, backing away from the detective. Just... Hurry.

Kurama nodded through their link, took a deep breath, and climbed over an imposing piece of rock that had once been part of the wall. His cuts stung. He could feel it now, muted behind Hiei’s anger and unwarranted worry - Yusuke’s pain. There was nothing to cause it - no enemies, no lingering injuries. And Hiei and himself were fine – or as fine as they could be after a fight - so Yusuke certainly wasn’t agonizing over them.

...Could it be trauma? Had seeing Hakane debase Kurama the way he had caused Yusuke to sympathize on a physical level with the pain he imagined Kurama to be feeling?

No, that was too... complicated, for Yusuke.

Kurama sighed and trudged on. It was annoying, how so little a distance could seem endless when one was in pain because of moving his legs too quickly.

One leg before the other. Barely closed wounds started to open all over his legs and waist. They were small wounds, of course, but the sheer number of them was causing Kurama to grow exhausted quickly. And they stung. And somehow, dirt was finding its way beneath the skin in the wounds at his ankles and lower legs. Worming it’s way under. Rubbing. Aggravating. His feet were better left unmentioned.

He ground his teeth together in an effort to take his mind away from the rest of his body.

It didn’t work.

Reaching the tree line, Kurama supported his weight on an alder’s trunk for a moment; gratefully taking what strength he could, before moving on. When he finally came upon Yusuke and Hiei, he paused a moment more to take in the situation.

Hiei was off to the side, away from Yusuke, and away from Kurama. His arms were folded and his back hunched- almost as if the Koorime were the one in pain, instead of Kurama or Yusuke.

Yusuke... The Tantei was up against a tree...

Kurama quickly went over, his legs folding beneath him as he drew the detective effortlessly into his arms. “Yusuke...”

Hiei was keeping his distance because all he wanted to do was re-mark the detective. But the koorime’s common sense told him that that would be a bad idea, and so he fought his baser instincts. Hiei trusted Kurama to fix this. He kept his distance out of fear for Yusuke of himself.

“Yusuke.” Kurama nuzzled into Yusuke’s hair, whispering into the matted strands as he slowly rubbed the detective’s arms, back and legs. “What happened?”

“They...” Yusuke’s eyes were glazed. Marked by two? I’ve been marked by... Kurama... and Hiei. “-Kurama? What did you guys do to me?”

“We... mated with you.”

Yusuke drew into himself more. What the fuck did that mean? Before he could think too hard on the matter, Kurama’s eyes grew glazed; the scent of his mates’ blood and pain- so near... He dipped his head, and latched his lips to his mark - open and pulsing - and drank.

Yusuke sucked in air.

A growl sounded, and Kurama was thrown suddenly from the detective. He crashed into the ground and stifled his yell of pain. His left shoulder broke his fall, and dirt was crammed into his many cuts. He pushed himself up in time to meet Hiei’s pained stare, as the Koorime fought with himself- Which mate to go to first?

“Shit.” Yusuke stood panting; his fist clenched after throwing the fox. “I don’t- I didn’t mean to- You just. I wasn’t ready for you to, do something like... Shit.” He bit his lip and turned. Kurama could smell his tears welling up behind fluttering eyelids.

“I am sorry, Yusuke.” Kurama sat up and Hiei was there, cleaning his wounds with his mouth and hands as carefully as he could, as he drew the Kitsune into his lap from behind. Kurama didn’t fight him- welcomed it, actually.

Yusuke eyes grew pained as he looked at them and slowly began to leak.

“Yusuke...” Kurama started slowly, confused but determined to get everything out in the open. “When... you went into heat, Hiei and I lost control of ourselves. While we were...”

“Fucking him?” Hiei supplied helpfully from around a mouthful of Kitsune shoulder.

Yusuke went beet red.

Kurama’s complexion likewise suffered. “You’re not helping!” He hissed. “...While we were attempting to help you, Yusuke... -You have to understand, the Mazoku scent that you were putting off -or your own, personal scent, magnified by your heat- was more than either Hiei or I could ignore. We lost control of ourselves. We mated with you.”

“Wait... you were already fucking me, Kurama.” Yusuke managed to go merely pinkish, this time. “What’s the difference between that and... ‘mating’ with me?”

That was good. Yusuke was no longer in any emotional pain. He was staring at Kurama with clear, focused eyes, doing his best to keep that gaze on Kurama and not what Hiei was doing to Kurama. He’d brought his left hand to the marks on his neck, almost subconsciously, and didn’t seem to notice the swell of blood that trickled steadily over and around his fingers.

Kurama swallowed. “Those marks. On your neck, Yusuke?”

Yusuke gave a start and brought his hand to hover before his face. His eye growing glazed again at the sight of the blood.

The fox hurried to continue. “A demon mates by biting his chosen partner in the neck.”

“Just... biting?”

“The demon will usually bite close to the jugular, but really, it could be anywhere the demon finds most ‘stimulating’ at the time of the mating. The wound will heal, but a scar will remain.”

“They had healed...”

“The reason your marks reopened, Yusuke, is because you - whether consciously or not - are rejecting our mating.” Kurama winced from the combined onslaught of pain from his two mates.

A long time passed while Yusuke mulled over this new information.

“... Kurama... you and Hiei… are already mated?”

“Yes.”

“But you mated with me?”

“Yes.”

“It was an accident?”

“Yes, but-“

“So it’s alright then.” Yusuke smiled his broad, fake smile. “I’ll just go on ‘rejecting’ this mating, until it goes away, right? Then everything can go back to normal?”

“It doesn’t work that way, Yusu-“

Hiei snarled, releasing Kurama gently before flitting over to Yusuke and flattening the detective against his chosen tree. “Yusuke. I am going to say this without any of the fox’s ‘prettiness’ so that even a child can understand. It was and accident. When Kurama and I discovered you were in heat, we had no qualms about going to your aid, but we did not intend to mark you. But we did mark you. And you are now ours, and if I hear anything more to the contrary, I promise you I will tie you down and fuck you until there’s not a doubt left in that pathetic, hard, idiotic shell that you call a head that you are our mate, and you are just going to have to deal with that.” Hiei pressed right up close and personal, and kissed Yusuke so heatedly, the detective was left panting and glassy-eyed for an entirely different reason than previously felt.

Yusuke’s chest rose and fell, and his eyes were wide. All he could do was register the fact that Hiei’s tongue was stroking along his teeth. Then he had latched his mouth to the side of Yusuke’s and started to suck, stroking his tongue along the inside of his cheek and applying pressure carefully. Slowly.

Yusuke shuddered.

Satisfied, Hiei pulled back, pushing himself off Yusuke and away.

Yusuke sat, trembling slightly and staring blankly ahead at where Hiei’s face had been bare moments before.

What comforted Kurama the most was that the bite wounds had stopped bleeding. They were still open, still glistening wetly, but fresh blood was no longer pouring forth.

Hiei walked calmly back to Kurama and offered the Kitsune his hand. “The others are coming.” He murmured, watching Yusuke carefully from the corner of his eyes,

Kurama nodded.

“You’re not running back in that condition.”

“I suppose I would gain nothing by arguing with you?”

Hiei’s eyes narrowed.

Kurama smiled. I know what you’re thinking, Hiei.

Hiei’s eye flicked up to his, before flicking back to the detective.

He sighed. And I agree. It would be better for Yusuke if-

Just then, Kuju hailed them from beyond the tree line. Thanking Hiei silently as the Koorime pulled him to his feet, Kurama walked carefully over to Yusuke and sat down beside him companionably. Not touching. He spoke quietly, “Yusuke, Hiei and I will talk and explain everything and more when we get a chance. Right now, we need your help in convincing Youmi to take Natsumi and her brother and head back to Gandara without us.”

Yusuke looked up at Kurama, swallowed, and asked plainly, “Why aren’t we heading back with them?”

Kurama chuckled quietly, and continued in a whisper as Hiei strode forward to meet their impromptu backup. “It’s not to trap you between the two of us, alone, so we can have our way with you; I assure you. It is just the most prudent course- I could not make it very far in this condition.” He gestured broadly, indicating his many lacerations and bruises.

Yusuke winced in sympathy. “Right.” Slowly, the detective pushed back against the tree and rose to his feet. He allowed his arm to brush past Kurama’s perfectly healthy cheek in an almost-caress, and Kurama took hope from that small gesture.

“What happened?” Youmi’s strong voice came through the stilted air. Yusuke focused on that, and pushed everything else out of his head, striding confidently up to the others.

“Kaname had a brother named Hakane.” Hiei explained bluntly. “Who now happens to be without his head. I also killed Kaname. And yes, I confirmed their deaths. -Kaname and Hakane are both dead. The coup was stopped in its tracks. Mission complete.” Hiei kept his eyes on Youmi as he spat out the litany.

Kurama hid his smile.

Youmi, though he could feel the heat from Hiei’s gaze, kept his stance. “Kurama?”

“Deaths were confirmed.” Kurama nodded from his spot against the tree.

“... Are you fit to travel, Kurama?”

Kurama shook his head. “In light of such misfortune, I have a favor to ask: Would you, Natsumi, and Kuju continue on to Gandara and give your reports to Enki? Yusuke, Hiei and I will remain here for the night, to give myself time to heal before I attempt the journey back. When we arrive, we will also report to Enki and tell him what happened at our end.”

Youmi took his time before answering. “I don’t see why not. And the sooner Enki receives some form of news the better. I’m sure the King will understand.”

“Thank you, Youmi.” Kurama inclined his head. Hiei grunted.

As they passed, Natsumi gave Yusuke an odd look – more to the point, gave his neck an odd look - but otherwise, the three demons left without comment, heading off through the trees in the direction of the capital.

When they were well out of hearing range, Hiei went over to Kurama and presented his back to the fox.

“Hiei...?”

“Get on.”

“Hiei, I am quite capable-“

A jagan flashed over a suddenly incredibly tense shoulder, and Kurama clamped his mouth shut and climbed onto Hiei’s back. He almost giggled.

“Come. Detective.” Hiei straightened and started to walk in the direction opposite the one Youmi had taken.

Stifling a laugh of his own, Yusuke followed quickly, his Mazoku marks faint but visible.

---

Smoke continued to rise in the distance; a giant, black cloud of stinking sulfur burned out from the poisonous rocks that had once been Kaname’s keep. To the west, however, the sun had begun its slow decent into the earth. It had submerged itself already partly in the marsh water Hiei had located as the nearest body of water sanitary enough to bathe and clean their wounds. Kurama sat, nude, in a nest of reeds; watching it set.

The water was, at its deepest, two feet - at its most shallow, a couple of inches. Frogs chirped warnings at the three demons not to come any closer to their nests, but were ignored.

The sun flitted on the surface, sending gold stars to dance across Kurama’s eyes. The skyline was still light, but higher up, actual stars were already beginning to wink at him from their navy comforter.

From far off, there were so many reeds the marsh had appeared to be a grass field. The reeds however, were a blessing, shelter enough for the demons as they bathed quietly. They also kept the soft, fleshy soil beneath the water from becoming mere mud - sticky and watery and determined to suck them under.

Yusuke and Hiei had both washed quickly, allowing their clothes and skin to dry in the prairie breeze as they went about preparing a fire and tracking down a meal. Kurama had remained soaking. He luxuriated in the feel of the cool, shallow waters as the breeze forced them to lap at and splash him gently. He was slightly chilled, but the air was still warm enough to keep him from growing too cold. Slowly he had worked the grit from every single laceration on his form. Even the ones inside [after looking around quickly to confirm Yusuke’s position] had been stroked over carefully and cleansed.

Now he just sat, splashing water over his chest and shoulders now and again when his skin grew dry and started to itch.

A Redwing called to its mate from somewhere in the reeds, and Kurama felt his contented smile reach to touch his eyes.

“Oi! Fox! Get out of there before your skin gets all pruny or you get an infection... or something stupid, …like that... -Kurama! You listenin’!?”

Kurama’s face darkened. So much for a nice relaxing bath. With a sigh he levered himself to his feet and gave Yusuke an irritated look from over his shoulder.

Yusuke visibly blanched. The sight of the fox standing nude in the fading light, water sluicing from his form and glinting gold. Red hair stuck to his back. Firm ass cheeks- The detective turned around, blushing, and busied himself once more with plucking the duck Hiei had surprised. He hadn’t been ready for that either.

Kurama blinked, then smiled fiercely.

Yusuke hadn’t spoken much since their departure. He hadn’t spoken at all about his marks or what had happened - was still happening - between the three of them. And Hiei and Kurama hadn’t made any effort to broach the subject on their end.

Kurama, for his part, wanted to give Yusuke as much time with his own thoughts as logically possible. Hiei, he knew, would wait for Kurama and Yusuke to work through the problems; he’d already done his part.

Yusuke carefully kept his eyes trained on his bloodied, down sticky hands as the fox waded slowly through the water and reeds with long, graceful strides towards the fire; gathering the clean, damp robe from a particularly dense grove of reeds as he passed it. He deliberately distanced himself from Yusuke as he bent over, holding the robe before the flames to dry it faster.

“Hn.”

Kurama looked up to find Hiei running his eyes appraisingly over Kurama’s bared form, pleased to see the cuts healing as well as they were. Smiling, Kurama returned his attention to the robe.

Yusuke worked his hands furiously as he plucked out more and more feathers, keeping his eyes fixed even as they wanted to wander. The problem was, the blood was so sticky, the smaller feathers would always stick to the body, and he was having a difficult time distinguishing between the feathers already plucked, and ones still requiring the pluckingness.

It was easier to keep his mind on the duck.

Anyway, he was hungry, and maybe the bird didn’t look so edible right now, but it was promising.

After watching the detective re-pluck the same, sticky feather three times in a row, Hiei’s patience finally gave out. With a snarl, he ripped the duck from Yusuke, scattering feathers and blood behind him as he stomped towards the water. He was hungry dammit.

“Hey! I was almost done with that!” Yusuke got to his knees, resisting the urge to wipe his hands on his pants.

With a snort, Hiei tossed the duck into the water.

“HEY!”

“At the rate you were going, detective, we would be having that duck for breakfast. Now fetch.” And he stormed back to the fire.

Yusuke folded his arms and turned up his nose. “Fuck no. You can go get it. You were the one who threw in it there. Fat chance I’m going to go-“

“NOW! URAMESHI!”

“Che. Testy much?” Shoulders hunched, Yusuke rolled up his freshly washed and recently dried pant legs, and waded in. The duck was floating in the reeds, trapped in a congealed mess of its own trailing liquids and feathers. He grimaced, reached down tentatively, and picked it up by its feet. To his amusement, most of the gunk remained in the water. “Heeeeeey!” Moving four feet away from the mess, he dipped the duck in a cleaner area of water, swished it around, and brought it back up. His plucking efforts had not been in vain! All the feathers he’d managed to pluck before but had remained to thwart future plucking efforts had washed away to reveal a pink, mostly featherless body. Grinning, he ripped off the last couple of feathers, swished the forthcoming meal around once more for good measure, and waded back to the fire, prize held high and a grin plastered proud across his face.

He stopped short when his eyes met Kurama’s backside, as it wiggled into the still slightly damp robe, the fox trusting to the air to dry the rest.

“Uh...”

“About time.” Hiei snatched the bird away and went to skewer it over the flames.

“Ah- sorry?” Blushing, Yusuke watched the bird as it swung from Hiei’s fist, before shifting to the small line of fire at the horizon that was all that was left of the sun.

Dinner was cooked and consumed. With nothing to say, Yusuke kept his eyes on his meal, and Kurama and Hiei kept their own silence.

---

The trip was long and dusty, but to the three demons, it seemed relatively brief. They started out slow just as soon as the sun had begun its major assent; and picked up their pace as Kurama slowly eased out the kinks and tested his freshly closed wounds, products of a good night’s sleep. By mid afternoon, they were making decent time.

Yusuke found it was easier not to think at all. It had been quite a while since he’d gone for a run. He let the air pulse in and out of his lungs, felt his heartbeat, and measured it to the pounding of his feet in the soil. His hair whipped happily behind him in its tie, blatantly revealing the emotion he probably would never be able to again.

---

“King Enki, Lords Kurama, Hiei, and Yusuke have returned.”

Enki looked up from his book and grinned. “Well. Show them in, Gurlyyk*. Where are your manners?”

Gurlyyk twisted his hands before his king. “I-I wasn’t sure if you wished to receive them in the main hall instead. It is more befitt-“

“I sincerely doubt those three will mind if I receive them in my study or in the privy- show them in.”

“Y-Yes, Milord.”

“Enki, Gurlyyk. It’s Enki.”

“Yes! King Enki.” The imp departed in a hurry.

Enki smiled and pushed himself wearily from his chair to come around to the front of his desk. Youmi, Natsumi and Kuju had all offered their reports days ago- but these were the reports that would tell whether this mission were truly ready to be closed.

“King Enki.” Kurama bowed as he entered, clad in his formal robes of office. Yusuke and Hiei followed silently in his wake. The three stood abreast before the King.

“Alright then, Kurama, I’m awake and ready to hear this.”

“Did Youmi spin you a tale of intrigue, Enki?”

“No. But he made it clear I’d have to get the rest of the story out of you three - and I must admit, I’m quite curious to find out what happened inside the keep.”

Hiei tensed as Yusuke bristled slightly on Kurama’s other side.

“Do not hesitate to let me know if I am being unclear about anything-” And Kurama proceeded to tell Enki of all that transpired - albeit omitting parts and details here and there. Hiei and Yusuke were permitted to keep their silence, so long as they allowed Enki to stop Kurama every now and then and answer detailed questions directed at them.

Later, Enki sat on his desk, nursing a drink of sorts -Kurama had politely declined the gesture for a drink for himself and his two teammates. “I wonder how intel about Kaname’s brother slipped past us...” The king mused.

“No one seemed to know she had a brother - not even Koku.”

“I see...”

“I hate to ask this again, but you are sure both are dead?”

“Quite. I have yet to see anyone regenerate a head - save Toguro’s elder brother - or survive after so thorough a decapitation. Kaname herself suffered conclusive head and brain damage; she may as well have been beheaded, for all that her head now more closely resembles a squashed watermelon. And neither has shown in the past or in our most recent encounter to have hidden regenerative abilities.”

“Hmm... Alright then! Everything seems in order. You guys handled this real well, you know. I’m going to shut myself up for a bit and think about everything. I may need to speak with you again. -For now, you are free to relax a bit. It was a tough mission.” Enki slapped his knee and smiled at them widely.

“Thank you, Enki.” Kurama inclined his head.

Yusuke and Hiei turned and left without further acknowledgement.

“Yes, Kurama?” Enki pushed himself off the desk and stood regally, the whole of his attention at Kurama’s leave.

“If you wish to speak to me further on this matter, that won’t be a problem. Simply send a request and I shall come at my earliest convenience.”

“And...?”

“I regret to inform you, Enki, that I am handing in my resignation as of this moment. I thank you for every opportunity you have granted me while in your employ.”

“May I inquire as to the reason?”

Kurama smiled. “Looking for a change?”

Enki laughed. “Fine, you’re entitled to your privacy, I shall not pry. If you’re ever interested in having your job back, however...”

“I won’t hesitate in sending in my application.”

Enki nodded, and waved him away.

---

As the great doors to Enki’s study closed firmly behind him and the imp Gurlyyk bowed him respectively on his way, Kurama was suddenly aware of a space suddenly vacant in his mind. Painfully aware. He didn’t hit on it right away, but when Hiei came striding up to him purposefully with a set expression of angered dejection, he couldn’t help the conclusion that followed.

He’s gone back to Raizen’s keep.

“Did he say why?”

“Only that he had things to take care of; he tried to imply that Houkoshin might have gone crazy with his Lord’s absence, and he’d better return ASAP to clean up whatever havoc had occurred in his absence.”

-TBC

*Pronounced: Gir-Lick

A/N: I apologize for the extremely long and ridiculous wait for this chapter... I believe it’s been six months since an actual update? Give or take a month? I have reasons and excuses coming out my ears, but I shall spare you.

---I had fun writing Enki in this chapter: I see him as a very formal type... prone to occasional lapses to a casual demeanor; and this resulted in many rewrites for the scene with Kurama handing in his resignation. The final result was my favorite, but there were so many to choose from... perhaps some day I shall post them all for fun? :D

REVIEWER RECOGNITION!!!

I apologize for missing this two updates in a row. And I’m sorry to those who left a comment for chapter four and subsequently never got proper thanks for doing so: I just want you all to know that I read them all and took what I could from them -praise and construction both!

AmyMcClair
While this is slightly out of date now: Your post made me go out and request a beta - and we both know how that turned out. ^-^ I’m so ashamed at having missed such an obvious error! But thank you so much for pointing it out! Otherwise, it’d still be there. Which would not be very good for the fic... And yes, I seem to favor the cliffhangers, can’t seem to help myself. :P

Tellnoone_Noonetells
*Immensely flattered* Gosh! I hope I can keep meeting your expectations! I shall do my best to keep shelling out all the good stuff! *Showers with thanks*

yaoihentai69
Yes, the drugs. I really have no idea where that little bit of inspiration came to me from- but it turned out al right, didn’t it? Thank you so much for the wonderful comments!

FlameBody
I shall - as always - do my best!

Admiral ShadowWolf
Yes, I’m afraid Yusuke took care of those lower-class demons rather... effectively? I hope Kaname’s death [the evil kitty] pleased you? I know it pleased Hiei. *Evil grin*

Katonie
Don’t worry, I’ll have Hiei and Kurama take *good* care of Yusuke very soon. ~-^

Hemamal
You have to remember he’s of very unstable mind right now... Although I do agree, it does seem quite implausible. :D

kit-kit
And it’s only going to get better. Promise. ^-^

Nusku
As fast as I can! ^-^

deathrose
*nosebleed* A k-kiss from Kurama? A lick from Youko? *Swoons*

DuosAngel
I completely agree- which is why I handed him Kaname. ^-^ And Yusuke’s a predominately simple-minded boy, I’m sure he’ll get over it all quick enough. *Hint hint*

BlueUtopiah
I was worried after I finished that maybe it was *too* long, and tampered with the idea of splitting it at first- but then I thought, what the hell! ^-^ And yes, The blowjob was one of the scenes I had the most fun writing / planning. I’ve always wanted to see Kurama, Hiei and Yusuke fight together in a brawl- the closest we got to that in the series was Hiei, Kuwabara and Kurama fighting Sensui- which was awesome, but not good enough for fans like us. Your comments are always so flattering, I’m gonna keep coming up with the most kick-ass shit I can; just for you.

mary
:D

SirPsychoSexy
And here I thought you and all your sensible advice had gone away for good! I’m being quite serious when I tell you how glad I am that you’re still reading my stuff- and thinking it’s good, too! -As for the OCs, I try my best, I never want them to take away from the main characters, but at the same time, I want them to be the best they can be.
And for your latest comment: I have a knack for it? Thank you! I try to be as original as I can- no one likes slogging through the same old prose over and over again. ^-^

suicidein_angeleyes
I’m glad I can make someone as happy as that!

Vixenia
I’ve always been frustrated at the lack of good KxYxH to read- I finally gave up looking and wrote one myself! ~-^ As for the updating, I keep trying, at least...

Marikalay
My story is entrancing? Wow. Such flattery... I really must work on getting these chapters out faster... dammit! Thank you so much for your praise!

Jade
Yes, I seem to have a penchant for cliffhangers- but no worries. This fic is in no danger of being abandoned. -I also provide constant status reports on any fic I’m currently working on at my LiveJournal page, as some people don’t like to be ‘fooled’ with a fake chapter, to let people know how I’m coming with a chapter. The reason 6 took so long was in part laziness, but also because I went back and with a beta, edited all five previous chapters. This, as you can imagine, took quite a while.

kanezu
The sad thing was, when I received your review, I already had this chapter finished, I just hadn’t posted it for reasons mentioned above. *Crying* -Feel secure in the knowledge that your review finally kicked my guilt to a level where I just couldn’t ignore it anymore. So... Thank you! *Hugs*

-Azalea J.