((Oopsies, sorry about the screw up. I thought Hiei had waited until the very last minute to come. ^^; I'll edit out the last bit of that post, looks like we're both guilty of not paying attention!))

Kurama carefully opened the container of noodles and took a thoughtful bite. His mind was too caught up in with the strange sensations he had been feeling for it to be open enough to receive the small bit of information that the tree behind him could have passed long. He had just raised his chopsticks to take another bite when the sensation of familiarity magnified by a hundredfold and pinpointed itself to about ten feet above him and two feet back.

Kurama's grip loosened in surprise and noodles fell back down into the container in his lap. The energy that emanated above him was unmistakable as he realized that what he had been trying to deny was in fact true. The redhead carefully lowered his chopsticks and set his takeout down on the bench beside him. For some reason his throat felt inexplicably constricted all of a sudden.

The fox allowed himself a moment to regain his composure before slouching against the back of the bench and tilting his head back to look up at the crook of the tree. Sure enough a small black figure could be seen lounging among the oak's branches. Allowing his head to fall back into normal alignment once more he casually said as if speaking to no one in particular, "Hiei, come down and share some noodles with me." The act was so familiar that it almost seemed like nothing had changed.