Yusuke dropped the knife he was using to chop vegetables, but he deftly caught it before it could slide into the nearby pot of boiling water. He grinned but did not turn around as he greeted the new arrival. "Hey Hiei!" He said masking his surprise with his usual attitude, "Long time no see!" He finally turned to face the shorter demon after sliding the sliced vegetables into the pot and deftly serving several bowls of steaming hot ramen.

"So what's up, man?" He drawled, taking a moment to lean on the counter in front of his old friend. "I was beginning to think we'd never see you again."

Hiei frowned. "My sister is getting married to the oaf." He snapped, irritated by the situation rather than at Yusuke. "She wrote and said she wanted my blessing."

Yusuke nodded, "Yeah. I was beginning to think he'd never get up the nerve to ask her.....Hey wait! Yukina knows?" Yusuke's mouth dropped open, totally flabbergasted.

Hiei smirked. "Apparently she figured it out on her own and was waiting for me to make the first move." He did not bother saying that she would have waited forever had her patience not finally run out.

Yusuke whistled. He obviously hadn't given the little koorime enough credit, she was pretty smart. "Well, that's great. So are you going to be sticking around for a while?"

Hiei nodded and decided he had had enough of small talk. "I wish to ask you a question." He said, a tiny hint of nervousness creeping into his expression. "Privately."

Yusuke blinked, catching the flash of unease. Nodding seriously, he went over to Keiko and whispered to her. "Hey honey, look who's here." He grinned, jerking a finger back towards his guest. "He says he wants to talk to me about something in private, so I'm gonna step out for a minute if you can handle things here, okay?" He gave his wife his most winning smile and hoped she wouldn't flip out on him. Yeah, the restaurant was kind of busy but she was plenty capable of handling one lunch rush by herself....and it wasn't like he was going to be gone all afternoon, just a few minutes.

OOC: That's fine. I've never gotten to play Yusuke much. It'll be interesting.

((OMG! I just realized that I got so caught up with Kurama in my last post that I totally forgot to add in Kuwabara! Sorry!))

Kurama's pace quickened as he rounded yet another corner and began the final stretch to his apartment building. He avoided the elevator and took the stairs two at a time despite feeling a bit lightheaded. It only took him a minute to reach the third floor, his floor. Upon exiting the stairwell, he caught sight of the same woman who had greeted him that morning and grimaced. The middle-aged lady rather fancied him and once she spotted him would do her best to hold him to the spot with and endless stream of trifling banter. Kurama contemplated retreating to the stairwell but it seemed the woman had already honed in on him.

"Shuichi-kun! What are you doing back so early? Did you forget something?" she called out from her position down the hall in that sickly flirtatious voice. Kurama forced the corners of his mouth into a smile for the briefest of moments before letting the expression fade, leaving his face an unreadable mask, "Good afternoon Machi-san, I'm feeling unwell today so I have returned early to rest. Please forgive me if I don't stay to chat." He hoped this might deter the woman from approaching him but it didn't seem to work as the woman continued to walk towards him. "That's such a shame!" she said somewhat over dramatically, "Please let me bring you something for lunch. I'm sure a bowl of home made soup would make you feel better..."

The normally patient demon could feel his patience fraying already but did his best to reply politely, "I'm fine Machi-san, I just need a bit of rest." Pulling his keys from his pocket he deftly unlocked the door and managed to slide one foot inside the doorway before the persistent lady was on him again. "Are you sure? Well if you need anything don't hesitate to call..." Kurama gave a brief nod and pushed the rest of the way inside of his apartment, "Good day Machi-san," he said before closing the door behind him. Kurama realized that he had been somewhat impolite with the woman but he hoped she would forgive him for his lapse. He was "sick" after all...

Once inside, Kurama locked the door behind him and kicked off his shoes before heading into the living room. There he let himself sink down onto the small couch in the middle of the room and alone at last, he allowed Hiei to fully permeate his thoughts.

Kuwabara gave a start when Yukina mentioned the time. He had gotten so caught up with comforting Yukina that he had completely forgotten. "Is it time to leave already?" he asked, despite knowing the answer, "I better get going but I'll be back again my love, you know I could never leave you alone for long." His face turned into a sappy expression for a moment and he gave her a peck on the cheek before hurrying off to collect his shoes. "Goodbye Yukina!" he called before jumping off the porch and running for the steps.

As Keiko turned to collect an empty bowl from a vacant table, she caught sight of Yusuke approaching. She did her best to ignore the tickling sensation of his breath as he whispered in her ear and turned suddenly when he indicated their guest. Keiko had never gotten to know too much about the dark-clad man but she knew that he had been a member of Yusuke's team and respected him for that. When Yusuke mentioned stepping out however, her face turned into a frown. Couldn't he see how very busy it was at the moment? And she was supposed to greet, cook, serve, and clear tables all on her own? Still, it wasn't often that Yusuke got to see this particular friend so she grudgingly agreed, "Alright but you better be back here by dinner mister!" she said in a very firm tone of voice. She didn't care if he had said he would only be a few minutes. Somehow in Yusuke's mind a minute had the bad habit of turning into hours or even days.

OOC: lol, your Keiko is perfect! ^_^ No problem about Kuwa. I figured we were just sort of letting them go about their business until we needed them again. *shrugs*

Hiei waited impatiently for Yusuke to return, resisting the urge to tap his foot.

Yusuke grinned at his wife and surreptitiously goosed her bottom. "You're the best, Love." He darted away before she could smack him or lecture him for his unprofessional behavior. His face became more serious as he turned back to his dark haired friend. Obviously something was really bothering the guy. "This way."

Hiei followed him outside and to a nearby park which was relatively deserted.

The ex-spirit detective flopped onto a bench and gestured to the empty area. "Will this do? I'd take you to my place but Keiko's folks still live with us." He said apologetically.

Hiei scanned the area with his jagan and warded the immediate vicinity against wandering humans before nodding. "It will do."

Yusuke waited expectantly for a minute or two. "Um...you gonna ask whatever it was you wanted?" He prodded gently when it seemed the dark haired demon was not going to speak.

"What is love?" Hiei blurted, having been trying and failing to come up with a good way to phrase the awkward question. "How do you know if you are in love?" He added for clarification.

Yusuke sputtered. That wasn't the sort of question he expected from Hiei. "Um....I uh....why do you ask?" He waved his hands to ward off the fire demon's death glare. "Whoa! Dude, sorry I asked." Finally, he stopped and considered the question seriously. 'Man, Keiko is better at this sort of stuff....and why the heck didn't he just ask Kurama?' He thought to himself as he frantically dug through his own often confused emotions for an answer.

((Oh, okay. I just wanted to at least make Kuwabara leave before we dropped them, LOL!))

Kurama's thoughts turned to the sensations that Hiei evoked. The first thing that came to mind was his scent. It was a peculiar smell that stood out from that of other humans. It wasn't a sweet scent like his own but something deeper, something rich and indescribable in it's nature. Kurama could still recall those rainy nights when Hiei took shelter in his room. Though the demon's visits were fleeting, his scent would permeate Kurama's room for many days thereafter. Next came his energy. The jagan gave Hiei an interesting signature that was unlike any other demon he had ever felt. The two had often shared thoughts using the direct communication of Hiei's third eye and Kurama trusted the other demon completely with his mind. It was almost comforting to feel the touch of his companions conscious paired with his own. The sensation was not unlike that of the fox that inhabited a portion of his mind.

The thought of Hiei's unique properties made his heart thump in his chest but yet another thought made his stomach churn. He could feel all these things about Hiei, but what did Hiei think of him? Was his sweet aroma just as pleasing to Hiei as the allure of the fire demon's dark scent? Did Hiei often look for his energy for comfort? Did he enjoy their intimate conversations? His mind began to wander back to last night's encounter. What made Hiei eat human food? Last night it had been as a sign of trust but that couldn't be the case for the other times they had eaten together. If it not not out of hunger or a liking of the taste, then why? For some reason his thoughts turned to the Yusuke and Keiko of years prior. What made Yusuke go to the movies when he didn't want to? The answer was simple, to please the girl he loved. Did Hiei then eat the things he offered because he thought it would make him happy? Was it because he... loved him?

Kurama stood up out of impatience with himself and paced over to the window. Was it possible that he was reading too much into minute details? Even if all of those things were true, the reality was that ten yeas was a long time and it seemed they now that they were further apart then they had ever been before. But what of the message that Hiei had transmitted to him earlier, 'I've missed you too, fox.' If Hiei had taken the time to read his thoughts, perhaps they weren't a far apart as he really thought. And the indescribable sensation that had bled through his thoughts last night, could it have been endearment? His final question turned to rest on their prevailing argument. What did it matter to Hiei if he remained in the Ningenkai?

Keiko didn't even watch Yusuke's retreating back as she set herself for the double workload. She nearly ran from table to table collecting any used dishes and piled them into her arms. It was a balancing act of sorts to get them all into the back room to be cleaned but she managed to do it quickly enough. She then set herself in front of the stove to check on the soups progression. Yusuke had left his station in good order so it wasn't difficult to manage that end. The hardest part would be taking down and running out the orders but she would manage. She called a greeting to a new pair of customers that had just come through the door and brought two tables their dishes of soup before taking out a pad of paper and rushing over to take down the remaining orders.

OOC: Kurama's thoughts are fascinating. lol. Wonder if he might get hungry and decide to slip out to a certain Ramen shop. ;) lol

Hiei waited patiently for Yusuke to gather his thoughts. Much of the nervousness had left him when he finally managed to voice his question.

Yusuke closed his eyes for few seconds, feeling weird about explaining love to someone older than he was....and it being Hiei, who usually displayed the emotional depth of a puddle, didn't help.

"It's a little different for everyone, I think." He hedged, opening his eyes, but seeing Hiei's expression told him that was not enough of an answer. "Well, when you love someone you, uh...You want to be near them, you look for them even when you don't have any reason to see them." The half-demon thought for a few seconds. "You do things to make them happy, even if you'd rather be doing something else or don't like what they want to do. And you think about them a lot, you wonder what they're doing when you aren't with them." He wracked his brain. "You care about their safety more than your own. You want them to be happy..." He trailed off at Hiei's thoughtful look. "Any questions?"

Hiei nodded. "How does love feel? The emotion itself." He asked flatly.

Yusuke blanched at the idea of discussing such a mushy subject. "Er...why don't you ask Kurama that one? He's better at this feeling stuff...."

Hiei scowled and looked away. "I can't." He said simply. "I'm asking you."

Yusuke blinked. 'Is he...blushing?' His mind refused to make the needed connections so he filed the information away for later, showing a bit of recently developed tact by not mentioning it. "Alright. It feels warm, sort of. In your guts. And kind of fluttery when you look at the person." He knew he was screwing the explanation up. "Sheesh, come with me." He suddenly blurted. He started back towards the restaurant at a brisk pace.

Hiei trailed after him, a bit confused by the explanation and even more confused by the abrupt change of venue.

Yusuke burst into the shop and hurried over to his bustling wife. With the easy grace and speed he'd honed through years of training and battles he divested her of her apron and the tower of empty bowls she was carrying. "Hiei needs to talk to you." He said firmly, before moving smoothly to take over the restaurant duties. "Talk to Keiko." He called over to the befuddled demon. "She's good at these things."

Hiei blinked and eyed the human woman.

(("The emotional depth of a puddle." LOL! What if it was a reeeeally deep puddle? And OMG, now Keiko's getting involved too!? I like writing out Kurama's thoughts, it always seems like he's doing a lot of thinking in the background and it helps me sort out what he might be thinking. I think he's probably going to hide inside for a little while, he does want to chance getting seen by Machi. O. o))

It could be assumed that if Hiei missed him then his reasoning for wanting Kurama to go back to Makai with him would be so that they could remain together; there couldn't possibly be any other explanation. At the time they had separated, Hiei had grown into a powerful S Class demon just like he, himself, had. There couldn't possibly be any reason for him to need an ally in terms of strength as his powers far outstripped almost any other demon. And if it wasn't for power then it must be for companionship. The two had never really spent much time together in Makai. To Kurama, that part of his life was over save for his connection with Hiei but for the smaller demon, it was all he had to call home. No matter how hard Kurama tried to habituate Hiei to life in the human world, it seemed the fire demon was unable to grow accustomed to the place.

Returning to the couch, Kurama lay back against the arm rest and crossed one leg over the other. He could understand Hiei's frustrations with his choice to stay in the human realm. In Hiei's mind the decision was completely illogical and because Kurama knew that it was, he was powerless in any arguments with Hiei on the matter. Hiei had never understood Kurama's attachment to his human mother though with time he had grown to accept that fact. In all honesty, Kurama couldn't understand the reason for his attachment either. At some point he he grown to love the gentle human soul and couldn't bear to see her hurt. The problem, as he was beginning to realize, was that he loved Hiei in his own way as well and it seemed that within the next few months he would need to have to choose again between one or the other. Kurama had hoped that a day would come when he would not be torn between two worlds but it seemed that that was not meant to be his path in life.

Keiko's hands were so full of dishes that she didn't even notice Yusuke enter the shop until he had already untied her apron and relieved her of the unsteady tower of bowls she had been carrying back to the sink. "Yusuke!" she exclaimed in surprise, "What is this about?" Her husband answered her a moment later however with a rather vague explanation before leaving Keiko with the mysteriously dressed man who seemed to be looking at her expectantly.

Keiko sighed, what was Yusuke getting her into? At least he was giving her a short rest after having to run the entire place herself like a one woman army. "This way please Hiei-san." Keiko lead the way out of the maze of tables and into the back of the shop. Off to the right there was a small room for storage and she pulled out two boxes to use as seats. After perching herself atop one of them and inviting Hiei to sit she asked, "What did you need to talk to me about?"

Hiei followed the human woman but did not sit. Instead he stood, struggling to reconcile his need for answers with his reluctance to speak of his problem to anyone. It had been hard enough with Yusuke who he knew well. 'But if I don't figure this out...'

Fighting back a sigh, he asked his question careful to keep any telling emotions out of his voice though he blushed slightly. "What is it like to be in love? How does it feel? How do you know?" He shot the questions off rapidly, as if saying them quickly would lessen the embarrassment.

OOC: lol, now you can have a try at the hard questions. ^_^ Keiko and Hiei in a room full of boxes....deja vu, ne? lol

((Oh noes... Meanie. T_T))

Keiko really wasn't too surprised when Hiei refused her invitation to sit. The boxes weren't really that comfortable to sit on and she had noticed during the tournament that the black-haired man didn't often sit down but would rather prefer to stand against the wall.

The young woman blinked as Hiei shot the questions out at her in quick succession, one right after another. She felt almost like she was being drilled. Oh what did Yusuke get her into? Keiko sighed, "Those are some pretty difficult questions to answer..." she admitted though she was already beginning to brainstorm possible responses.

After a moment's thought, she started on the first question, "Well there can be different kinds of love: a mother for her child, or two adults for example. To be in love is to feel strongly for someone else that you cherish their wellbeing and happiness above anything else." She paused to make sure that the raven-haired man seemed to be following her before trying to put forth an answer to the second question. "How does it feel..." she asked the question aloud as if hoping the response might present itself to her. "Well, it makes your heart beat faster," she began, "It's a warm, tingling sensation...but it can hurt sometimes as well sort of like something's clenching at your heart..." Keiko blushed, unsure of whether she was really helping or not. The last question was the easiest for Keiko to answer, "You know you're in love when you feel happiest with someone and it hurts to be apart from them."

Keiko smiled when Hiei thanked her with a bow. "You're..." she began before the little man was already gone, "welcome." She finished her statement with a sigh and stood up. It was about time she returned to her duties in the restaurant. She could only imagine what state it might be in upon her return despite the fact that she had only been gone for a few minutes at best. Sliding the boxes back in place, she returned to the main room and after tying her apron back around her waist joined Yusuke in serving the busy lunch time crowd.

Kuama slid his legs over the edge of the couch and hunched over in his seat with his elbows propped on his knees and his head in his hands. His heart was beginning to ache with the acknowledgment that he would again have to search inside his heart to chose between the two people he loved. The simplest compromise would be to divide his time between the two realms, continuing to live a lie for the sake of his mother and Hiei alike however he doubted this would appeal to any of the individuals involved, himself included.

The fox could have never imagined the complications that would arise from his flight into the vessel of an unborn human child. He could have never predicted the feelings of attachment that he would develop for his human mother to the extent that he would go to any lengths to protect her. He had entered the arrangement fully expecting to return to Makai as soon as he was able but instead found himself torn in the end over his own demonic nature. Kuama had done his best to merge his two souls into one mostly human one since his decision to stay but Hiei's sudden reappearance was beginning to shake his careful resolve.

((This post seems really crappy to me, sorry! I'm heading out soon and probably won't be back until after dinner. Again, sorry!))

OOC: No worries. It seems fine to me. *shrugs* I have to do some homework for Thursday anyway. There's really no rush. I was only picking on you last night. *huggles*

Yusuke was holding his own, using carefully honed balance and agility to carry just slightly more than should be humanly possible and move just a tad faster than an average human would be able to manage. He was careful to keep his abilities in the impressive but not freakish realm of human understanding. He saw Hiei leave, though he was fairly certain no one else in the restaurant noticed the black blur. 'The guy could really be the shadow his name claims.' Yusuke mused with a smirk. He smiled at Keiko as she exited the storeroom at a more sedate pace. He leaned over to whisper in her ear as she moved back behind the counter. "Thanks. How'd it go?" He asked sheepishly, knowing he had dropped Hiei on her like a bomb. In his defense he really hadn't known what else to do.

Hiei unerringly followed Kurama's signature to an apartment building. He landed outside the sliding glass doors of the fox's tiny balcony, amused by the riot of plants crammed into the tiny space. Even without being able to track Kurama with his mind he would have known which apartment belonged to his redhead. His smirk melted into a grim expression. 'When did he become mine?' He berated himself silently. Peering in through the gaps in the venetian blinds, he could just make out the familiar figure seated on the couch. The fox seemed distressed and something stirred within Hiei, something he now had a name for, though he didn't dare voice it. Instead he rapped on the glass with a bandaged knuckle, half worried the fox would send him away after the argument they'd had the night before.

((*Huggles* Wow, there's a post in the group thread, I wasn't expecting to see that!))

Unaware that he was being watched, Kurama sat motionless, caught up with his own inner turmoil until his thoughts were interrupted by a tapping at his window. He lifted his head slowly from where it had been resting on his knuckles to peer through the glass and take in the sight of the figure beyond. He was taken aback by the sight of Hiei standing among his small jungle of plants yet unsurprised that he had been the source of the noise. Who else could climb three stories and land silently atop his balcony?

Kurama stood without hesitation and slid the door back for Hiei to enter. He bid the demon to come inside. The last thing he needed was for Machi to spy on his dealings with the fire demon.

As she rushed back behind the counter with another load of dishes, Keiko paused to allow Yusuke to whisper in her ear. Normally Keiko would have huffed to let Yusuke know that she didn't appreciate being thrown into such a bewildering situation without so much as an explanation but she was still preoccupied by the deep questions Yusuke's odd friend had asked her. "It went alright," she said after only the slightest of hesitations, "But would you mind telling me what that all was about?"

Yusuke shrugged and shook his head. "Heck if I know. He just showed up out of nowhere and asked me about love." He thought for a minute before jumping to a likely explanation. "Maybe it's because of Yukina's wedding. He might be worried about whether she's really in love with Kuwabara. I mean, she's his sister so it makes sense that he'd want to look out for her." He was just thinking out loud and he snapped his mouth shut when he realized Keiko hadn't previously been aware of Hiei's relationship to the aqua haired demoness.

Hiei stepped cautiously into the cozy apartment. It was bigger than the fox's old room but not by much. He didn't spare a lot of time to look around, beyond checking for escape routes and hidden dangers, instead he focused on the reason for his visit. Said reason being tall, redheaded and absolutely beautiful. Hiei mentally shook himself. Such thoughts were coming frequently now that he had confronted them and it was terribly distracting. He realized he had been standing there, staring, for longer than was acceptable and averted his eyes.

He wanted to speak but wasn't sure how to begin, never having had many people he cared about enough to apologize to. So he waited nervously for the fox to break the ice. It was how things had always worked between them. Kurama had a way of pulling words from him....rather like pulling teeth according to some but the redhead had always seemed to rather enjoy the challenge.

Kurama was relieved when Hiei willingly stepped in with the merest hint of hesitation. Sliding the door closed behind him, Kurama stood and watched the demon take in the layout of his apartment before turning to look at him. The look in Hiei's eyes announced that he had something to say despite his silence. Kurama studied Hiei's blood-red eyes as the other demon stood silently looking him over and even when the shorter demon averted his gaze, Kurama did not. What had Hiei come to tell him? Surely it must be important as he likely would have relayed any menial information via telepathy.

Though he was eager to learn the reason for Hiei's unexpected visit, Kurama didn't want to risk scaring the flighty demon away again. Deciding that Yukina would be a safe subject to start with he asked, "Have you gone to visit Yukina?" Kurama thought he already knew the answer to the question but that didn't matter. The point was to get Hiei to say something, anything, to spark a conversation.

Keiko wasn't surprised when Yusuke didn't know the answer for his strange friend's visit either. The explanation that he offered however didn't satisfy her. He had been asking questions too deep for them to be related to Kuwabara and Yukina's betrothal.

When Yusuke mentioned his friend's relationship to Yukina, her eyes widened, "I never knew!" The two of them had such different personalities that she never would have guessed it. Thier statures did however match so perhaps it wasn't as unlikely as she had originally thought. She felt happy for Yukina that she would have at least one family member at the ceremony assuming that the black-haired man was staying for a while.

Keiko became so absorbed with the piece of news Yusuke had let slip that she nearly neglected to mention her doubts on his hypothesis. She thought about relaying to him what the demon had asked her but decided it wasn't her place.

Hiei nodded. "This morning." He said simply, wondering if Kurama knew of the idiot's habit of joining Yukina for breakfast. He wanted to say more but the words seemed to die in his throat, as they often did when he was trying to say something uncomfortable.

Yusuke scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah, about that....I'm really sorry I didn't tell you but Hiei would've killed me if I had let it slip and Yukina found out. I didn't even know she had figured it out until he told me today." The lunch rush was starting to die down but the place was still plenty busy so he leaned in for a lightning quick kiss on her cheek. "We can talk about it more tonight, okay?" He said as he went back to taking care of their customers. Now that the little fire demon had gone, it was almost surreal to think that Hiei had ever been there at all.

Kurama wasn't deterred when Hiei offered only the briefest of responses. It was nice just to hear the other demon's voice again. Though Hiei's responses were usually brief, the way he failed to mention any more on the subject lead Kurama to believe that Yukina wasn't the reason for Hiei's visit and quickly revised his approach, "I'm sure she was happy to see you...as am I."

Keiko watched carefully as Yusuke did his best to explain his apparent neglect in letting her in on that bit of information. In the past Keiko had often been the last to know about most of the happenings in the young man's life. Things had gotten better with him however though and she forgave him for his lapse. It hadn't been anything too important really... Keiko nodded in response to Yusuke's suggestion that they discuss things more later that evening and smiled when he kissed her. Yusuke had really opened up to showing his affections for her and she was happier for it. She didn't have time to reminisce on that point however as there were hungry customers to be fed, dishes to be cleared, and places to be set.

((Kinda doing a 180 with this post. >.>))

Kurama tensed as Hiei froze in mid-nod. Had he been too abrupt? Kurama's body likewise stiffened but then relaxed slightly when Hiei spoke. 'Why?' It was a question laced with many possibilities. 'Why am I happy to see him?' Kurama asked himself, careful to mask his thoughts. 'I've missed his presence, his scent, but why?' Despite all the thinking he'd been doing, Kurama surprisingly didn't have a clear answer to provide Hiei with. How was he supposed to explain that he'd missed Hiei for every subtlety he possessed, from the way his mouth would only turn up at one corner on the rare occasions when he smiled to the silence of the rainy nights they sometimes spent together in the warmth of his room?

Kurama was growing increasingly annoyed with himself for not having all the answers for once. There was something about Hiei's presence that seemed to suddenly impede his ability to think logically. He was pausing too long and he knew it. "This place feels hallow without you," he admitted at last, "Even Yusuke and Kuwabara seem to miss you sometimes."

Crimson eyes widened in disbelief but Hiei covered it with a snort. "Hardly. The Oaf looked like he was going to explode when I told him why I was back." He took a deep breath, ready to say what he had come to the redhead's apartment for. "Kurama...I..." He averted his eyes to the side, unable to meet the fox's gaze. "I was an idiot." He managed finally. He pressed on before he could lose momentum. "I still don't understand why you choose to stay here, when you admit it doesn't make you truly happy." He chose to interpret Kurama's words that way, refusing to even think that the fox was unhappy merely because he wasn't there. That would imply Kurama harbored feelings similar to his own. "However, I shouldn't have cut off contact the way I did." He was staring at his shoes and wasn't sure when his gaze had shifted. He forced his eyes back up to meet emerald green ones. "I would like to...be your friend again." Unwillingly, his eyes fell to his feet again. He didn't want to see the fox turn him down. He didn't deserve friendship, he didn't deserve loyalty either. He'd been a complete...

OOC: That's definitely better. ^_^ Hiei is going to continue to beat himself up now until Kurama does something. lol. He was about to say a bad word though, so I stopped him there. ^_^'

Kurama smirked. He would have loved to see Kuwabara's expression upon discovering the news that had been somewhat unkindly withheld from him for years. It was a shame that Hiei hadn't taken him along to see the spectacle but Kurama reminded himself that he couldn't neglect his job. Noticing Hiei's agitation, he wiped the over-joyous expression from his face and replaced with with a more neutral one. It didn't seem to matter much how he arranged his expression however, as Hiei seemed to look anywhere but at him.

Kurama listened carefully to what Hiei had to say and a smaller smile, a sweeter one, crossed his face upon hearing the words that had surely been the reason for Hiei's coming. He admired the fire demon for putting aside his pride and seeking him out in an attempt to repair a crumpled friendship. As happy as that made him, he still felt a pang of regret that Hiei had misinterpreted the meaning of his words. 'Give it time Kurama...' he reprimanded himself.

Kurama noticed Hiei's red eyes focused expectantly on his emerald ones for a moment before looking away. "Arigatou gozaimasu Hiei," Kurama said softly as he bowed low before the demon, "It would be an honor." He held his bow a moment longer than protocol required out of respect before straightening.

((I'm glad. ^_^ Aw... Poor Hiei... T_T))