Hiei wasn't certain which stores were considered convenient but he accepted the explanation without further questions. The fire demon pulled out his watch and studied the hands again. The long hand was on the nine and the short one was nearly on the one. 'I'll see you soon.' He told the redhead with a mental caress as he stood and lightly jumped down from the tree.

"Mommy look!" A shrill voice squealed in delight. "That man was in the tree!" Hiei looked towards the voice in mild alarm but he didn't let it show on his face. "Is he homeless? Does he live up there? Can I live in a tree too when I grow up?" The small girl burbled questions excitedly to her rather harried looking mother, who smiled apologetically at the dark haired man.

"No sweetie. Hush now. It isn't nice to talk about the young man that way." The woman whispered sharply. "Maybe he just likes trees."

Hiei blinked as a feeling of relief rushed through him. The woman didn't seem to think their was anything odd about him despite his tree climbing habit. Humans were so strange sometimes, he decided as he passed the mother and child on his way out of the park.

"Sorry Sir." The woman offered with a small smile. "You know how kids are."

Hiei didn't really have a lot of experience with small children but he nodded anyway so the woman would know he hadn't taken offense to the child's words. The human brat was staring at him curiously from behind her mothers legs and she waved shyly as he passed by.

Hiei found himself nodding back to the child before he could think better of it. Then he hurried away to meet Kurama for their lunch date.

The redhead pulled up the sleeve of his lab coat to look at his watch. It was quarter to one and Kurama debated what he could do during the short time before he went outside to meet Hiei. As if the Jagan user knew what he was thinking, Hiei sent him a mental message confirming that he would be there soon. Kurama acknowledged that thought and sat down at his desk to check his emails. There were a few interdepartmental memos but nothing really important. Green eyes skimmed through the contents before archiving them, having already committed the information to memory.

Standing, Kurama moved around the desk before addressing his assistant. ”Hana, I’m going to head out for lunch now.” The brunette turned to look at him, ”Have a good lunch,” she said with a small wave. ”Don’t forget to take a break yourself…” Shuichi added, gently chiding the young girl. She had a tendency to overwork herself and the fox couldn’t help but wonder if she had any life at all outside of the lab. ”Don’t worry, I’ll go just as soon as I’ve finished this…” The redhead nodded that he understood before making his way to the door. He hung up his coat on the way out and took the stairs down to the lobby. The fox easily spotted his partner’s unique silhouette through the glass doors and walked out to meet him.

Hiei reached the building a few minutes early and leaned nonchalantly against the wall of glass beside the doors to wait for the fox to arrive. He tracked the redhead with his jagan so he was not surprised by Kurama's exit from the building. The shorter demon nodded in greeting and reached out a hand for Kurama's own larger one so they could go. Outwardly he completely ignored the intense look of dislike the security officer was giving them through the window as he caught the redhead by the hand. Hiei brushed over the man's thoughts and was amused to find out it wasn't their relationship that had him glaring, it was the fact that Yamata had called an emergency meeting of his staff after he got back from the cafe so he chew the entire bunch out for what they had let Hiei get away with that morning. 'Serves them right. They're lucky. In Makai they'd be dead by now.' He thought to himself without any real malice towards the humans.

"I'm hungry." He said out loud, tugging slightly on Kurama's hand to set the taller man in motion since he didn't actually know where the fox wanted to go to get their lunches. "Let's go."

Unaware of the staring security guard, Kurama smiled and intertwined his fingers with the hand Hiei offered. He took a moment to appreciate the feeling of knowing that someone would be waiting for him from now on. Hiei's hunger won out over introspection however and Kurama led the way to the convenience store, content to walk along in silent company.

The ready mart was conveniently located across from the park and the redhead entered with Hiei in tow. He steered them towards one of the coolers to look at the selection of ready made bento boxes. Some had uniquely vegetarian options while others combined meat with vegetables and rice. Kurama picked out two of the beef variety. "How about this?" he asked, holding the plastic container out for Hiei's inspection.

Hiei glanced at the carefully arranged meal in its plastic wrapper and shrugged. Food was food as far as he was concerned, and human's prepackaged food was often less than truly appealing. Hiei found they generally used too much salt and not enough herbs and spices, and they often skimped on the meat which he preferred to constitute a larger portion of his meal than anything else. Still, his current goal was to spend time with Kurama; eating was secondary. He just wanted to get to the park so they could relax together for a little while before the redhead had to return to work.

Kurama watched Hiei’s careless shrug and interpreted it as something close to “it’ll do”. Grabbing two bottles of water, the redhead approached the counter and paid for their meals. Taking the plastic bag that was handed to him in return, the fox slipped his hand easily into Hiei’s own despite the few stares they were getting and walked out of the minimart with a smile on his face, feeling more relaxed than he had in quite a while.

((Decided to stick with a shorter post.))

Hiei followed Kurama around the small shop and to the check out line, his face carefully impassive. He glared at the staring humans as he intertwined his fingers with his.love's as they left the store with their purchases. The fire demon disliked being gawked at but he disliked caring what strangers thought of him even more so he was quite content to hold onto the fox's hand all the way to the park.

"Look Mommy!" A small voice shrieked happily. "The tree man came back and brought a pretty lady with him! Hi Tree Man!!" The child waved cheerfully as her embarrassed mother tried to shush her unsuccessfully.

Hiei pretended not to hear but he could not help but smirk in amusement as the child referred to Kurama as a a pretty lady.

Kurama blinked in surprise as a little girl shrieked in their direction. He blushed slightly at the "pretty lady" comment but didn't let it bother him. The redhead was well aware of his effeminate appearance and had long ago gotten used to such mistaken remarks about his sexuality. The fox did however chuckle at Hiei's new nickname. "What do you say we sit under the oak, 'Tree Man'?" Kurama asked, squeezing his partner's hand lightly to reassure Hiei that he was merely teasing.

Hiei snorted at the nickname. "That child has no sense of.self preservation." He commented dryly. The fire demon lead the way to, the large oak and sat down comfortably against the trunk. Admittedly, he would have been more at ease in the canopy of leaves, away from prying eyes, but he knew the child was still staring at them and he didn't want to give her any further reason to find him interesting.

He tugged slightly on the redhead's hand to pull the fox down beside him on the grass.

"Nor apparently do I," Kurama replied fondly as he allowed himself to be led over to the giant oak. Hiei promptly sat down and the shorter demon pulled on his arm to get the fox to do the same. Rather than plopping down unceremoniously, the redhead carefully lowered himself down to avoid getting grass stains on his work pants. After setting the plastic bag containing their lunch down on the side away from Hiei, Kurama set to work distributing its contents. One water bottle and beef bento went to Hiei, while he took the same for himself with the addition of a pair of chopsticks and a napkin. "Itadakimasu," Kurama said after opening the box lunch. Popping a piece of cold beef into his mouth, the fox chewed slowly and swallowed. "Will you inform Yukina about your change in residency?" he asked curiously before taking another bite of his lunch.

The fire demon snorted at the redhead's comment about his own sense lack of self preservation. 'You have a tendency to block weapons with your intestines, Fox.' He pointed out dryly through their mental connection. He was mindful of the child still doing her best to watch them from behind the nearby slide and didn't want the nosy little creature to repeat that comment to her mother.

Hiei took his boxed lunch from the redhead and opened it, sniffing the contents curiously before deciding it was edible enough. He had worked his way through several bites before Kurama's question made him pause thoughtfully. After a moment to finish chewing the food in his mouth, he nodded. "I'll tell her tonight." He said slowly, hoping his gentle sister would be pleased with the news. "Did you tell your mother we live together?" He asked as the thought occurred to him. He needed to know exactly how much the fox wanted the human woman to know before Saturday.

Kurama simply smiled knowingly at Hiei’s mental comment. It was a truth that his friends had found extremely concerning. The fox was unusually aware of his own physique both externally and internally which permitted him to take an immense amount of damage without succumbing to his injuries, for at least the duration of his fight. Part of the kitsune missed the action of these tense battles but his more practical half was quite content with simply sparring to keep his skills honed.

Kurama mentally nodded to Hiei’s decision to tell his sister about his recent decision to remain in Ningenkai. He was sure that Yukina would be more than happy to hear that her brother would be sticking around for a while. ’Those two have as much lost time to make up as I do,’ the redhead thought fondly before Hiei’s question broke into his thoughts. ”I left that rather…vague. I didn’t want her to think me rash…” Kurama left his sentence trail off, sure that Hiei would understand. ”She also asked where you come from and what you do. I mentioned you work in security…” Kurama finished off his rice and worked on his remaining meat and vegetables.

Hiei frowned slightly at the redhead's anser but he knew humans had funny ideas about appropriate behavior so he didn't press the issue. To the comment about his occupation, Hiei nodded. "I suppose I have...and I will again after tomorrow." He said confidently. He had no doubt Yamata and he could strike a deal. "Perhaps to the question of where I'm from, we might want to just tell her I travel a lot." It was completely true and it would save them from having to lie about where he was from. Hiei didn't care much for lying and endeavored to do so as little as possible.

The fire demon finished his bento and drank down the water before he spoke again. "Is there anything in particular....besides the obvious, that you don't want me telling her?" He asked cautiously. He knew not to mention the name Kurama or anything about demons but he didn't know what other things the redhead might be hiding from the human woman.

While the two demons were eating and conversing, the curious child had crept steadily closer, escaping her mother's watchful gaze until she stood behind the tree the two demons were sitting under.

Hiei was aware of her presence so he was careful with his words, but the taciturn demon opted not to confront the strange little creature yet. She wasn't actually doing anything except practicing her stealth and in his mind that was a useful activity for a child. Much more useful than playing on the unfathomable play equipment scattered across the green park.

Kurama nodded. Hiei’s suggestion was an acceptable answer and could be used as a good excuse for the brief absences that were sure to occur in light of Koenma’s contract. His partner’s next question made the redhead pause to think. ”Beyond the usual, no,” the fox responded after a moment of contemplation. ”I think you know me well enough to know most of what is taboo by now…” Kurama said, ”Thank you for asking though,” the redhead added, looking down at his plate.

It was true that Hiei knew more about him than anyone else and he was quite confident that his partner would know what and what not to say when meeting his mother. His worry from Sunday was slowly fading and he found himself trusting Hiei more and more to formulate acceptable responses. The thing he was most concerned about at this point were the nuances of Japanese culture. If Hiei didn’t remove his shoes at the door, or properly handle his chopsticks, he risked to reveal himself as an outsider. Kurama decided that the fire demon’s suggestion of being a frequent traveler may give him a bit of leeway with those things however…

Balancing his bent box in his lap, Kurama unscrewed the cap of his water bottle and took a long swig. As he replaced the cap, the fox sensed someone approaching from behind them. A brief moment of scrutiny revealed the disturbance as merely a human child and Kurama paid her no attention. This was a park after all and children often enjoyed playing around the largest tree in the vicinity. The redhead had often ceded his place beneath its boughs to scampering youngsters.

Hiei was somewhat surprised by Kurama's response to his question. It showed a lot more trust in him than the redhead had shown previously. Their argument that morning would have lead the fire demon to think the fox thought him incompetent at behaving in an inconspicuous manner but that seemed to have changed in just the few hours they had been apart. Still, he nodded to acknowledge the trust the fox was placing in him. He knew it couldn't be easy for the paranoid demon.

The child soon tired of listening to the boring grown up talk. She had thought someone who jumped out of trees would be more interesting. Still, she wasn't quite ready to give up on her curiosity just yet. She peeped around the tree for a moment before stepping out into clear view of the dark haired man. She was behind the red haired lady with the deep voice. She bowed politely, the way Mama told her she was supposed to, and smiled brightly at the couple. "Hi!" She chirped happily. "I'm Suzume. What's yer name, Mister Tree Man?" She tucked her hands behind her back and bounced on her toes.

Hiei blinked at the unusually fearless young human. He hadn't expected her to actually speak to him. Still, he saw no particular reason not to answer the question, perhaps it would stop her from continuing to call him Tree Man. "Hiei." He said simply.

"That's not a name." The girl scrunched up her nose in confusion. "That's a mountain. We went there to meet Grandma and Grandpa for vac...vac-shun." She stumbled over the long word.

Hiei raised an eyebrow at her impertinence, but otherwise let it pass. "It's my name too." His tone left no room for arguing.

The girl nodded agreeably, not wanting to start a fight with her weird new friend. "Okay." She turned her attention to the redhead. "Who's your friend? Is she a mountain too?" She asked curiously, stepping closer to get a better look at the person in question.

Green eyes turned to regard the little girl as she emerged from behind the tree. Kurama hid his amusement and looked over at Hiei to gauge his partner’s reaction to the human child. Red eyes blinked but didn’t harden the way they might have in the past. The redhead hid his laughter behind his hand, ’He’ll be Mister Mountain Man next if he isn’t careful...’ the fox thought to himself.

A moment later Shuichi found himself at the center of the little girl’s attention and it was his turn to blink in surprise. The mindless babble of human children could still surprise him at times. His own infancy had been a very frustrating experience. Human children were so limited in their younger years and the fox quickly grew bored of their lacking intelligence. The first five years had been the most difficult but as his body began to allow him the freedom that his mind desired, his sense of claustrophobia decreased.

Setting aside his empty bento, Kurama sat impassively between the two parties. He could speak up to defend his sexuality and the fact that he wasn’t a mountain but he preferred to remain silent. Hiei’s response would no doubt prove amusing, and although he risked annoying his partner, the redhead couldn’t pass up such an interesting opportunity. The little girl hadn’t actually addressed him in any case.

Hiei smirked as the child once again called his mate a female. He was a little surprised that the redhead had nothing to say to the girl but from Kurama's amused thoughts he presumed the fox was simply entertained by his answers to the impertinent little creature.

"No...Shuichi is not a mountain...but I prefer to call him Kurama." The fire demon smirked, pleased with the way he had managed to make the fox's name seem like nothing more than a nickname without lying at all.

Suzume caught the pronoun and scrutinized the redhead's feminine features more closely. "She's not a lady?" The girl asked in disbelief.

"No." Hiei pronounced flatly.

"Are you sure?" The child asked dubiously.

Hiei snorted an almost laugh. "Reasonably so."

Suzume frowned. "Mister Kurama...I hope I can be as pretty as you are when I grow up." She smiled obviously intending the words as a compliment.

Kurama was surprised to hear Hiei pronounce his human name without the slight tone of disgust that it usually warranted. It felt odd to hear Hiei say it that way and Kurama wasn’t quite sure what to think. The sly demon did however manage to sneak his usual name to the girl. The redhead blinked as the little Suzume turned to stare at him. He stared back, face impassive, as she scrutinized his features but he couldn’t help but smile when his partner snorted. The fox could tell that the fire demon was amused rather than embarrassed by the child’s questions and he took that as a good sign. Hiei’s tolerance for humans was certainly more than it had been in the past.

Kurama blinked away surprise as the Suzume rounded on him next. Rather than rephrase her disbelief that he was a man, she expressed her admiration for his looks. The redhead laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. ”Wouldn’t you rather look like your okaasan when you grow up?” he asked, curious to see her response. Now that he had outgrown their company, the fox found that he could more easily appreciate the humor of their undeveloped wit.

Hiei smirked and remained silent as the child turned her curiosity upon his love.

Suzume shook her head vigorously. "Nuh-uh. Mommy's not as pretty as you." She smiled shyly. The child noted how close the pair were sitting to each other and her eyes widened as another thought struck her. "Hey...are you on a date?" She asked excitedly. "Mommy says sometimes boys date other boys. Tenshin-ni has a boyfriend and daddy won't talk to him anymore but mommy says daddy's being a big...bog...bigi-ut." She rambled.

"Bigot." Hiei supplied as the young girl once again tested the limits of her vocabulary. "And yes we are." He added hoping the precocious creature would take the hint and leave them alone. She was mildly entertaining but he only had a short time to spend with hos fox before the redhead had to return to work.

Suzume grinned, pleased to have figured something so grownup out all on her own. "Wow! Mommy says I can't go on dates until I'm thirty...but oneesan has a boyfriemd and she's only fourteen so I think mommy is joking...maybe." The child cocked her head as she heard her mother calling for her but she wasn't quite ready to leave her new friends just yet so she pretended not to hear.

Kurama merely smiled and shook his head at the child's response to his quesrtion. Suzume's next statement nearly made his jaw drop however. 'I have to give her mother credit for trying,' the fox admitted after the shock of Suzume's frank speech wore off. Hiei's terse statement confirming that they were indeed on a date served to remind the redhead that their time together was short. The little girl didn't seem to pick up on that nuance however as Suzume's babble turned to the topic of dating.

Kurama sighed, growing fatigued of the younster's overly talkative company. Checking his watch, he grew slightly annoyed when he realized his lunch break was nearly half over already. "I believe your mother is calling," the fox hinted not-so-subtely to the little girl. "You had better go to her, she seems worried," he added in an urgent tone of voice. "It was nice meeting you Suzume, I'm sure we will see each other again," he said quickly, not giving her a chance to interrupt him.

Suzume frowned slightly at the idea that her mother might actually be worried about her. She had never intended to hurt her mother by running off. She just wanted to talk to the only interesting grownup she'd seen in ages. She nodded slowly, her smile returning as she remembered to offer the two men a small bow. "It was nice meeting you too, Mister Kurama. Mister Hiei." She grinned. "Have fun on your date! Okay?"

Hiei snorted at the child's enthusiasm.

Suzume spotted her mother heading her way and ran to meet the panicked woman with a sheepish smile. "Sorry Momma." She said as she hugged the woman, hoping to avoid the scolding she knew was coming.

"Suzume! How many times have I told you not to run off like that? Someone could have snatched you away from me!" The relieved mother hugged the girl back fiercely.

"It's okay Momma." The girl soothed, patting her mother's back with her small hand. "Hiei-san and Kurama-san wouldn't have let anything happen to me. They're nice mountains."

Her mother shook her head, not understanding what the child was talking about since she couldn't see the pair of men from where she stood. "No back talk, young lady." She chided sharply. "Don't ever do this to me again, you hear?"

Suzume hung her head as tears welled up in her brown eyes. "Yes, Momma." She said meekly. "I'll try and remember. I didn't mean to make you mad."

The woman sighed and knelt down in front of the child, pulling her into her arms once again. "I'm not mad." She said slowly, her tone much more gentle as she realized the child had been sufficiently chastised. "When I couldn't find you I was afraid, Suzume-chan." She pulled back to look the tearful child in the eyes. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you. It's my job to protect you and I can't do that if you don't listen and stay close to me, ne?"

The child nodded, unable to squeeze words out through her tears.

"Okay. Come on. Let's go home." The woman reached out and took the girl by the had, leading her out of the park.

Hiei watched the pair's interaction with interest, though he tried to hide it. The child had been disobedient and caused her keeper distress and yet she wasn't beaten or cast aside to fend for herself. It was strange. 'Is that the sort of love that bound Kurama to his human mother?' The fire demon wondered thoughtfully. Having never had a mother to care for him in that way, it was difficult for Hiei to comprehend to woman's actions. Those who had raised him had kept him around as more of a pet or a servant than a child and the demon parents he had seen were often very harsh with their children. To be otherwise was to appear weak and invite disaster upon the entire family. Humans were so strange....but he couldn't help wondering what his life might have been like with a mother's love to guide his early years. Lost in thought, his face reflected some of his confusion, old hurts, and the barest hint of longing as he watched the woman and child leave the park.

Kurama just smiled and shook his head as Suzume departed to join her mother. The fox’s ears could pick up the exchange between mother and her child despite the distance and for a moment he listened in on their conversation before tuning them out and returning his attention to his love. Looking over at Hiei, he realized that the fire demon was similarly eavesdropping on their little stalker. Unaware of the fire demon’s deep thoughts, Kurama pretended not to notice his partner’s keen interest in the mother daughter pair.

Once the pair had moved out of earshot, the redhead reclined back against the tree and crossed one leg over the other. The fox carefully studied Hiei’s profile from below for a moment for before pulling his partner down next to him. ”We may have to find a different tree next time if you don’t want to be disturbed again,” he suggested. Suzume’s interruption hadn’t really bothered him but the simple statement allowed the fox an opportunity to fish for Hiei’s final reaction to the small child.

Hiei allowed Kurama to pull him down, letting the movement distract him from his thoughts. The redhead's next words brought his mind back once more to the child and her mother and he took a few moments to decide how to answer. Finally, his usual miserly way with words won out and he shrugged against the fox's side. "I like this one." He said simply as he he placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes as they leaned amongst the roots of the tree in question. His relaxed pose along with the statement made it clear, to anyone who knew him well enough, that the child hadn't bothered him at all despite her inquisitive nature. Truthfully, the fire demon rather hoped the girl would return sometime to pester him with her questions and her odd half learned manners. Perhaps then, he thought, he might manage to finally sort out his feelings on humans and the way they treat their young.

He purposefully avoided thinking any further on his own childhood. The past was often best left buried and in his case that statement was quite literal.

Hiei was silent for so long that the fox wondered if he would actually respond to his question. The raven-haired demon eventually did shrug and offer a verbal reply however. Kurama nodded that he understood and turned his head to watch as his partner made himself more comfortable. The redhead resisted the urge to curl his body towards Hiei and instead mimicked his partner’s pose.

With his hands behind his head and one leg crossed over the other Kurama watched the tree branches sway slightly in the breeze, taking comfort from the sensation of aliveness he picked up from the plants and surrounding them and the close proximity of his love. All too soon his lunch break would be over and he would secret himself away inside his lab once again. Only a few days ago he had very much enjoyed doing just that but now he found himself reluctant to move and return to the solitude of the white-walled, artificially-lit rooms.

Not one for idle conversation Hiei was content to relax in silence beside his fox. They were barely touching each other but he was acutely aware of the redhead's presence as the minutes ticked away. Hiei found himself feeling something very rare in his lifetime. Peace.